Harbinger turned towards white witch. "I'll dress when I feel strong enough to not have a breakdown in the middle of the meeting. Until then deal with it we have bigger issues." she answered darkly the ooze shifting under her skin and in her eye fluid making her eyes appear pitch black. She was trying to emotionally control herself. She looked over at darkstar then back to the woman. "thank... you for offering..." she forced herself to say.

A steady rhythmic clanging heralds Otto's arrival. He enters, carried by two mechanical arms. In his hands he tinkers with a small mechanical device, too preoccupied to be bothered with his own mobility. The arms gently lower him into a chair across from the others.

With a satisfying click Octavius completes his work and pockets the device, finally looking up to take in his surroundings. He gazes dispassionately across the room from face to face, with no outward reaction until finding Harbinger's apparent nudity. He does a double-take and flushes a deep red. "What is the meaning of this?" he sputters with indignation.

The red man looked Doc's way, then followed his gaze to what was embarrassing him. And back to Doc.

"Girl interrupted," he said placidly as if he thought that he was explaining something.

Offer refused, Galina gave Harbinger a confused frown and stood silently for a moment, thinking about what to say or perhaps holding back some remark. During this time, Dr. Octavius entered and had the predicted reaction. Sighing, she held her cloak out towards Habringer and let go, letting it float in the air. "In case you get cold."

Taking a seat nearby, Galina relaxed back into the chair and crossed her arms, looking slightly cold herself. Settling down, she appeared fatigued, as she had in the common room, like she wanted to close her eyes and take nap where she sat.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:33, Wed 22 Aug 2018.

"My Emotions are tied to my other half. And thanks to some cowardly shit called Belial my emotions are making me near feral. So I'm keeping my other self inside my body. So unless you know how to become emotionally numb deal with it." she explained tapping her fingers on the table making her switchblade dance through her fingers on the opposite hand. She ignored the coat she knew her scars were ugly and nobody wanted to see them. But she wasn't going to cover up just for other's sensibilities.

Unlike before, Two appeared in her street clothes. It made her look even more tiny than she already was, as she sported red sneakers, jean shorts over floral leggins, a turquoise t-shirt with a much too large for her (but well worn) sweater. She felt much more comfortable this way, and it seemed like it was part of the deal for being here anyway. No uniform or dress code. So she embraced it.

After entering, she smiled at any who bothered to look her way and hopped up to sit on the edge of one of the desks/tables as her legs swung back and forth. She didn't know what to say, so kept it short. "Hello everybody." She offered a complimentary smile to go with it.

Spider-Man arrived, joining the gathered group and saying, "Time to see what this first job is." strange enough, he didn't feel too worried about whatever it could be, considering he already had something else bothering him.

---> From Common Room

Kent entered slightly after Galina and Spiderman. Seeing Harbringer in her state concerned him but that wasn't his problem...yet. He would wait to continue his conversation with the Witch. He didn't want to say it with so many other people around.

Kevin waved a greeting at those who'd entered and then looked over at Harbinger, hesitating a bit before addressing her comments and hoping she didn't go ape-shit on the room in general and him in particular.  "It's... probably a little more complicated than that and my reasoning is kind of thin."

"I came to see you in the shooting range, because of a dream.  Nightmare, I guess," Kevin explained her and the rest of the room. "The setting was kind of unclear.  You had your toothy, drooly aspect on.  Your, uh, other self had it's limbs around my neck.  Your human face appeared and you were trying to stop your other self from killing me.  During this I saw Belial and some other weird figure behind you.  I felt my neck snap and woke up.  That's why I went to see you despite our, uh, difficulties.  I wanted to see your face.  I wanted to know if the name "Evelyn" meant anything to you.  Especially about the name because it just appeared in my head.  I saw your human face and the name I knew it as in the dream was "Evelyn."

"It was like a telepathic thing.  Karin used to do shit like that sometimes.  She'd study a building layout and just put the layout into your brain like you'd known it all along."
"

He broke eye contact with Harbinger and addressed the room as a whole.  "Now, for the rest of you, something like that might be a threat, a warning, maybe a trick to sew distrust.  And that was part of it, I'm sure.  But coming from Belial, it was also maybe an offer.  On the spectrum of the bad shit that can happen with Belial, murder by neck-snap isn't such a bad thing.  It's quick and fairly painless.  In a dictionary for phrases, there should be a picture of that grinning motherfucker next to the phrase, "Worse than death."

Kevin turned his attention back to Harbinger.  "Dream aside, you fit the kind of project or "art" as he'd call it, that he'd make.  Abused.  Raped.  Tortured from a young age.  I don't know any details about how you and your, uh, other half got together.  But after ward you start going after pedos like the fucker who went after you.  And it feels kinda good to hit back.  Of course, you're not really healing or getting better.  You still have all that rage, guilt, fear and pain festering away inside and now the only thing you can really do to get a little relief from all that is to find a pervo and drag him into his own private hell with you as the Devil.  So, you're suffering and the only way to feel better is to make other people suffer even worse for a little while.  That's classic Belial.  He might not have done it or even been involved, but it's absolutely something he'd do.  When William gets here to do the briefing, you might want to think back and see if anyone resembling him entered your family's orbit.  Maybe he gave your abuser an encouraging word or two to kick things off."

"Plus, there's your other half being in a full-on killing rage about me," Kevin continued.  "Why?  I've never met you before I entered this building that I know of.  Hell, I've never run into anything like you two.  And I'm sure as shit not a diaper sniper.  Maybe Belial has a link to your roommate there and the link goes two ways, so it feels his emotions.  And Belial's emotions about me are probably gonna involve a shit-ton of rage.  Which gives me an idea."

He looked over at White Witch.  "There's this book series called The Dresden Files about a wizard.  One of things in the books is that if somebody draws a circle around themselves and empowers it with magic or for a human, a bit of their own blood, it cuts them off from magical effects and influences.  Can you do that?  Or do something like that?  Maybe see if you can break any links that are affecting Harbinger from the outside?"
This message was last edited by the player at 12:29, Thu 23 Aug 2018.

Harbinger tapped her fingers on the table listening as he explained his information to the room. After he had finished that's when she decided to finally speak. There was no real Malice or rage this time just dark cold sarcasm. "How would I know who my father talked to when I was in diapers?" she scoffed. That was just stupid. Perhaps the boss would know something better and more useful.
This message was last edited by the player at 04:42, Thu 23 Aug 2018.

William wasn’t far behind the others in entering the room. Seeing Harbinger sitting in the chair naked and refusing  the offers William looked at White Witch and then back to Harbinger,  as heard Darkstar speaking/

Harbinger, Take the Cloak or get something on!  It’s time to get some answers and I need all of you to do that! he motioned the middle screen.
Darkstar is Partially correct in his assumption.

William said not waiting for her answer but instead raising a point that could possibly allow her to understand where a lot of these emotions were coming from.

On the screen came a picture of a Man he was completely Purple.
Meet Purple man. A super that can control emotions.   looking at the screen Harbinger realizes this was the same man that was causing trouble downtown he just wasn’t purple at the time.

We are heading to Laredo TX. For our first mission. Green Goblin will not be joining us on this mission. he says putting up a display of some of the streets in Laredo on the central PC

You can see that all roads in are blocked off by the authorities.  The video shows people laying in the streets, some building on Fire and people fighting amongst each other with various minor abilities like blasts of energy, one seems to be leaping real high and landing on people  many seem to have augmented strength.

You can see a couple of images of People dropping to the ground after using their abilities.

What we know so far is something weird is going down in Laredo Texas, I sent 2 agents to follow a lead on Belial,  A possible super or something more who is extremely twisted and has crossed path a few times with Darkstar and S.H.I.E.L.D. His Name is Belial. He is possibly directly working for or leading the cartel, Belial has a habit of kidnapping people with powers and killing them for their genetic material some reports have even gone as far as to say he could of cannibalized his victims also.  The genetic material left is the base component of a drug developed by him, The drug effects seem to  temporarily empower humans with super abilities it is called  Dextro-mutazine, AKA DMZ or simply, Demonz. Depending on the version that is given, This drug possibly give its users great strength, endurance and a sense of aggressive invincibility for a time.

In some it even triggered temporary random superpowers that more often than not kills the user and those around them.
There was an operation in New York but it was shut down, However Belial managed to escape. The 2 agents I sent out to follow up on leads have not reported back. They were last seen approached by the Purple man  and are now presumed dead.

To Make matters worse  the City of Laredo  is said to be going crazy. The citizens are either attacking and killing each other while others are suffering from mass hallucinations and severe Depression and fits of Despair causing them to commit mass suicide . Sound a little familiar? He let the last statement sink in a little.

  We are going in to see what help we can offer the town and deal with Belial and possibly The Purple Man. With comparing of some notes and some of the info that has come my way… I do not believe they are working alone. Some of what we have been feeling  may be in part his work but they are in Texas their powers are not strong enough to reach us here in New York. So we believe this is something bigger.    his tone was low.  William REALLY hoped he wasn’t setting this team up to get slaughter.

I know you guys have yet to work as any sort of team as of yet But whatever issues you have with your teammates or in your personal lives As of this moment you leave it behind!  I don't want any more disrespect to any of your fellow teammates.
Get your heads in the game or i will escort you out myself if you can't. The team does not need any liabilities for it's first mission he looked around to the group.
The last statement was not meant for any specific person... The group was up against something big. He wanted to be sure they were ready.

"Well, first off, I'm fine with Harbinger going au natural.  It's weird and making people uncomfortable, but that's a good thing.  Best get used to that feeling," he told William and the others.  "Because if you guys can't handle a cute naked girl, you sure as fuck won't be ready for the shit we'll encounter in Laredo."

"Meanwhile, you said Goblin isn't coming?  Okay, but can we still fetch along some of those knockout gas bombs of his?  They'd be useful in dealing with crazy mobs.  Especially crazy mobs on DMZ," Kevin told them his voice turn more serious and focused.  "Meanwhile, what's our entry plan.  I really don't think we should, like, land a fucking jet in the middle of town.  Belial wouldn't be this obvious without a reason.  It could be this whole thing is a lure to draw supers to investigate so he can and kill them for their raw material.  FYI, except maybe William here, that's everyone in this room.  If we really wanna help those poor bastards, the best way to do that is to find Belial and this Purple Freakazoid and shut 'em down."
This message was last edited by the player at 02:40, Tue 17 Nov 2020.

Evelyn toom her switchblade and cut her wrist open once more without hesitation letting the blood spill.turning inky black once more. She processed the information about their quarries and the drug. "Demonz? Where's Noodle when you need her." she remarked sarcastically. So there were two assholes behind this. Grape ape and Belial. Great the more the maulier. As her suit covered her she had to think how she could keep from turning into a rampaging beast in such a scenario. She let the comment about being cute slide obviously she hadn't realized she had been working with a blind man.
This message was last edited by the player at 16:19, Thu 23 Aug 2018.

"So that's what's been going on?" Spider-Man asked after he finished watching the screen  "Shit, no wonder my spider-sense has been keeping me alerted for a while now.  Let me think..." He crosses arms before adding, "If we're going to investigate and he expects a group of heroes like us to show up, then it might be smart to play it safe until we have an idea of what to do, which means some of us like myself should at first not be in costume. And that's if this Belial doesn't have a way to detect who has powers and who doesn't."

William looked around to the group, he seemed Happy that Harbinger seemed to understand the manipulation now and was refocused.

I'll double check if Goblin may have left a few bombs behind Darkstar. Unfortunately the entry plan is pretty much That, with the quinjet's stealth we can get close enough into the city undetected. He pulled up the map of Laredo Texas,

the last transmission came from  the
Southern Distributing
220 Guadalupe St, Laredo, TX 78040,
so for now this is the main focus point. This place is large enough for Belial to do what he needs.
And we will be landing Here just outside the Rio Grande.
Laredo Texas, 27°29'51.9"N 99°30'44.2"W

ooc: adding for google mapping to follow along.
BIC:
Spiderman I can't risk having you or anyone else wander in like that even with your spider sense, It is still not 100% clear if either Purple Man or Belial can sense Supers or not. our agents were the best of the best and were still somehow detected,and we have a feeling we are not the first to try to go in. We've been Told ...

He clicks the screen again and a picture of a Flaming Skeleton on a flaming Motorcycle appears.


Ghost Rider was last seen there and is now MIA. Our priority needs to be to subdue as much of the citizens as possible close to the Warehouse to allow us time to get in.

Bloodrager was listening, his ring still dim, and had been confused by the initial descriptions of the quest they were being sent upon. People in danger, a purple man with mind control magic, agent units missing, evil alchemy (drug), those he had grasped. Now they were being shown a picture of some kind of undead.

The red man scratched his armpit. "Is cure evil potion for?" he asked, unclear on whether or not an antidote for the drug was known.

Galina didn't answer immediately, she watched Darkstar and silently considered how much of his 'briefing' was knowledge and how much was paranoid fantasy. Her concerns  were validated when William came in and provided more information and less guesswork. The plan was a bit lacking, but the situation sounded urgent. Maybe it would evolve as they traveled.

Beginning to respond, Galina first answered Darkstar. "To answer your question, while it is possible to sever mental connections, that spell is currently beyond my ability. The best I can do is trace the connection, which I intend to do given the opportunity."

"Also you are mistaken. There is no unique bloodline or special trick to learning magic. Only time, dedication, and knowledge is required. That said, I assume the agents sent were similarly mundane, so I would not recommend us trying to scout things out without adequate force backing us up."

Galina then leaned forward and studied the map. "I can fly from Austin and get us a doorway there in about an hour.. maybe an hour and a half, winds depending. Wiliam, once we subdue those affected by this drug, where would you like them delivered? Also who is going to be in command? Are you going to join us in the field?"

William stood looking from team member to team member,

It took a second to register what Bloodrager was asking. As of yet no, there is no cure for the evil potion. Bloodrager.


He listened to Galina. An hour and Half? That is a lot faster than the Quinjet. But that would be a good option. A portal would be better than a large plane. White Witch you can use your trace connection to confirm if the warehouse Is the correct location. Once we establish it is.  Spiderman, Bloodrager, Darkstar to allow a clear path to our location, Yes I will be along for this mission I need to see firsthand what we’re up against, As for the affected. I don’t think any hospital is set to take on that many people at once That being said we will not use our own resources to move them, Our first priority are Purple Man and Belial.

Once inside. If we can see where these drugs are being made. Two, will be used to shut down the computer and machines with   Myself, White Which  to back her,  while Harbinger , Doc Ock, Barbarian would be joined by Bloodrager, Darkstar, and Spiderman on the offence inside.

"Yeah... no, I think we'd better go with Plan A and just taking the jet," Darkstar stated.

He looked from William to White Witch.  "As I understand it, White Witch's idea is that we fly in the jet to Austin.  Then she flies alone into Laredo to set up the portal, with the flight and setting up the portal taking 60 to 90 minutes.  Except what if Belial and his tools can detect you coming in and they're waiting for you?  Trust me when I saw you do not want to be this fucker's prisoner.  Especially if this Purple freak can screw with your mind and emotions.  They'll pull any info you have and might even be able to brainwash you into joining them against us."

"Not quite." Galina replied. "I already have a doorway in Austin. If we were in Austin with a jet, it would be quicker to just take the jet. It is only a timesave since I can travel the bulk of the distance instantly."

"While I appreciate your concern, there is always going to be risks. We could sit here all day and ask what-ifs. What if they know we are coming and mentally assault the jet pilot, shoot us out of the sky with a laser, wrap a building in illusion causing us to crash. What if we land and immediately take sniper fire or step on a landmine. What if we enter the warehouse only to find it is filled with bombs or poisonous gas."

"We will be in serious trouble if they know when and where we can coming and the best way to mitigate that risk is to surprise them as much as we can. Everyone just learned how quickly I can get us there, so unless they can see the future or are listening now, they will be not expecting us for hours. If they have any plans in motion, arriving hours before they expect us is our best chance at surviving them."

"I am not planning on getting too close, which means we will have to do some walking. However it's unlikely that will monitoring that wide of an area. If they can predict our movements beyond that, they wouldn't need to lure us to the other side of the US and let us be on guard."
This message was last edited by the player at 16:42, Mon 27 Aug 2018.

"I didn't use your, uh, moving service here, so I don't know what setting up a portal really involves," he told White Witch.  "But I'm guessing it requires some level of focus and concentrate so you won't be focusing and concentrating on your general area while you're doing it."

"Could you expand the portal to include the jet?" he asked.  "If not and if the exit point in Austin wouldn't work for the jet, how about if you took Spider-man and me with you to Austin?"

"Spidy has that danger/spider/whatever sense that would kick in to warn us about ambushers or just random shit in Laredo.  And I can teleport fast, taking you and him with me since you two are small enough and light enough for me to carry you both."
This message was last edited by the player at 22:09, Mon 27 Aug 2018.

"So our plan is. Run in, kill the bad guys, get out, and let the chips fall where they may? I have experience in that field. Stop the criminals but don't do enough for the victims. but I understand I saw Jesus Christ Superstar. " Surely youre not saying we have the resources to save the poor from their lot. there will always be poor pathetically struggling look at the good things you've got." right? " she understood the necessity if taking out the source of the problem but there didn't seem to be a solution to dealing with the victims.

Bloodrager was looking from speaker to speaker in confusion. That the Witch wanted to do some sort of Way magic to get them there faster was easy to grasp, but the strategy was going over the head of his human side and the alien hive mind wasn't doing anything to help this unit deal with it.

William looked at Darkstar and White Witch

If we can get there faster with the portal we will do it that way.  Where in Austin does your portal lead? And can the opening be 12.5 Meters wide, Large enough for the jet to fly though?

William asked White Witch.

He turned to harbinger immediately.

our mission is priority one Purple Man and Belial, not the civilians. he told Harbinger.
Seeing poor Bloodrager William would have to condense the plan in 2 syllable words to him it seemed once they were done discussing.

In reply to William Naslund (msg # 31):

"Got it, beating up bad guys is what I do best," Spider-Man says in response to the plan. "I'll make sure to keep an eye out for anything else once I'm done making an opening." He had a feeling that he should definitely count on being careful enough to not let anything catch him by surprise if he can help it.