“Yes, you, Danny, & Wade would look like the proverbial Frank Frazetta painting,”<purple>, Sally said with a bawdy grin, momentarily distracted from their debate. <Purple>“Oh, and Countess Susantia?” She turned back toward Sue.

“It’s not ‘Sallyndra’. While we walk this land, all will address me as the Lady Saladane.” Her voice held a strange edge, her face somewhat more distant than the vivacious Hippie the group had come to know. Underneath her ambivalence about their mission, Sally felt another pull in this world. Was it the call that Betres spoke of or something else?

"Tigro, I think an axe is a great look for you, and we should totally find you one."

To the group, Gwen says "It doesn't really matter who we talk to first, right?  If going with Blue Man Group gets them to stop fighting that seems like a win.  As long as they don't make us convert.  That is not my color."

"Are we choosing silly names for ourselves? Because that seems like the sort of thing where I should be consulted. And by 'I', I mean 'he'." If Wade thought something was a waste of time, one could be assured that time was being wasted. "So, have we decided where we're going? Because we should probably call ahead for a reservation."

"You make a good point," Danny nodded to Wade. "If going with the Stygians stops the fighting, that's what we need to do."

The "Lord Daniel" had no doubt the team would get an audience with King Conan sooner or later, in any case.

"Us wizards gotta stick together, right?"
This message was last edited by the player at 18:47, Wed 13 Oct 2021.

Sue noted the change in Sally.   It wasn't a subtle one.

Her immediate thought was that she was mad; about something beyond the matter of a name.   She was tempted to ask, telepathically, but decided this wasn't the time.  She nodded to Sally's request, but said nothing.

Lacking any assurances from Lord Aragones - and she anticipated none - she was ready to follow Betres and her people.

For reasons she was conscious of, as well as feelings she couldn't define or name, this whole situation seemed like an atom bomb waiting to go off.   It echoed others where things had gone way south.    These people, she thought she knew somewhat by now, felt more like the strangers she'd met in the beginning.

Or was it herself who was somehow different, here?   Or both?

Perhaps this was a chance to prevent another fiasco.   Supposedly, it was what they were here for.  She had to remember that.  But it was almost hard to do.

Unseen was her codename, and her schtick.  She had spoken too much.  And reckoned it had been ineffective, as well as stepped on some toes.  Observing, listening -- more mileage from those, in this altogether delicate situation...

"Well, I'm just your everyday sorcerous forged beast-man in these kind's of books, so ax it will be--are we sure about where we are going?" Tigro deeply mistrusted Apocalypse, but it wasn't the one he'd heard of, at least not yet so has to consider maybe forging a change is possible.

“Lady Saladane” sniffed disdainfully at Wade’s crack. “You always make a joke out of everything. It’s not just annoying when the Flaming Skull does it.” When “Lord Daniel” changed his vote, her face softened a little. “It’s the right choice. You’ll see.”

Gwen’s new outfit caught her eye. She stared at Gwen, looking over her Sword & Sorcery makeover with an appraising eye. “Yes.” Sally rubbed her chin, her eyebrow arched as she pondered an idea.

Then, Sally turned back toward Aragones’ men. She waved a hand, and a few swords and shields flew from the soldiers’ hands! A few silver coins sputtered out of some purses. A small vortex of metals flew around Sally, molding into new shapes and textures according to her will. A silver breastplate with a turquoise sheen encircled the top of her mini-dress. A skirt of metallic fringe flowed from a new belt around her waist. Gleaming bracers wrapped her forearms, while shin guards enclosed her boots. Shiny bands laced in three rows from the rips of her boots to mid-thigh.

The coins formed a sort of cowl that left her entire face exposed, and let her raven locks flow in a silken fall. The swords clanged together into a half-cape that resembled metallic feathers. Sally’s metallic accents looked like they should have scraped her, but they didn’t cut her at all. They moved with the flexibility of cloth, but the keen eye would note that they lost none of the metal durability.

“Yes. Much better,” Sally said with a husky purr.

"I see you have made your decision," Lord General Aragones speaks plainly. "You are making a mistake, but one that is not irreversible, and I cannot fault your motives. When I tell my king that you have deigned to meet with his enemies first... I will tell him that you have done so to accomplish our mission. We are not your enemies, and I hope I can say the same when next me meet."

He withdraws from the parlay, giving his soldiers the order to stand by.

Betres is solemnly pleased. ~You've saved lives today. Maybe we can save more. We can travel faster than horses... I will send my flyers ahead to herald our arrival, but I trust by your unusual conveyance you can keep up?~

On cue, two of Betres' men sprout enormous, angelic wings made of razor-sharp metal and take off.

~Shall we, then?~

The Swarm stood ready.

Any Apocolypse was dangerous; and so he felt himself on guard.

Sensing Sue's quiet contemplation -- and finding the idea of traveling with the "Swarm" somewhat unsettling-- Danny sidled up to the newly-armored Polaris.

"Nice threads. I don't suppose 'Lord Daniel' could hitch a ride with 'Lady Saladane'?" he asked. "Flying with you earlier was..." He trailed off, lacking the words to describe the incredible feeling.

There was a crackling, tearing sound as Wade burst once again into flame. His skin and musculature charred and fell away to ash, leaving a burning skeleton dressed in denim and leather.

"Miss me?" he asked. With a wave of his bony hand, he conjured a flaming motorcycle from thin air. Mounting the hell-cycle, he turned and patted the seat behind him. "Come on. Ride of a lifetime."

“You can always hitch a ride with me,” Sally said with a smile that seemed more like her usual self. Raising her arms halfway, Polaris floated from the battlefield. Iron Fist, Tigro, Unseen, & Spider-Woman lifted gently alongside her. Sally looked at Betres with a more sober expression. “Let us meet your Prophet.”

"You all suck," Funnybone sulked. "Just putting that out there."

Gwen looks at Funnybone.  "Kinda sorry, but I think I might get eaten if I sat on that bike on purpose.  I'd rather move on my own but... nothing to attach to."  She waves her hands at the lack of tall things in the area.

OOC:  I'm just deciding there's not enough trees so we can move on.

Betres lets out a low, appreciative whistle. ~You must be the champions of the lands you hail from.~

Even given your powers... it's a long ride, several hours at least, from the center of Argos, through the lands of Shem and Stygia itself, to En Sabah Nur's capital city of Khepri, rechristened after his rise to power. Plenty of time to ask questions.

Chemo today.
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:39, Thu 14 Oct 2021.

Good Luck, friend.  And I hope it doesn't knock you around too much

When it becomes clear that they're going to be traveling for hours, Gwen is a little thankul for the ride.  Venom is already hungry from that last battle, no sense in wearing herself out right before meeting this Egyptian guy from the future.  Future past?  Whatever.

"So some of you have seen this guy in your worlds?  Didn't the Tallus say he was supposed to be in ancient Egypt?  Were there mutants that far back?  No one in my world knew about superpowers until WW2, and there's still not that many of us."
This message was last edited by the player at 14:03, Fri 15 Oct 2021.

"Not at all," answered Sue. "The nearest, maybe, was what Charles Xavier could have been.  Was on the verge of becoming.   There were suspected mutants, in ancient history -- never any proof.  It was hard for some to swallow we were just a thing of the last few decades.  Reed had an idea about it."   

"Gwen, I think we should understand more about your friend, MJ.  Like how did she travel back in time, and meet this Sonja?"   

"Wait, Charles Xavier is a mutant in your world?"  Gwen asks.  "He plays Captain Picard on Star Trek TNJ, who is exactly what we need if we want to send this guy to the time he's supposed to be.

At home Em Jay complains that she didn't get any crazy abilities like I did, even though she stopped Mysterio and Cindy just fine without them.  But the MJ in the last world told me that a Stygian sorcerer named Kulan Gath linked her mind with Sonja way in the past.  They had one body - maybe not the whole time, and sometimes they were in Stygia, and sometimes back in New York.

The General said that Sonja was like two different women" which makes me think that MJ was here too.  Or that this world and the last one are the same.  But I never heard anything about Conan.

I guess I should have payed more attention to the plot of the movie instead of finding out what happened to their Gwen."

"Jesus!  If you knew what Xavier became in my world!  He's a f--king actor, in yours?  That's scary!  And, what happened to Captain Scotty?  Engineer turned ship's captain - that was the greatest backstory!  An example that doing the best you can may really take you places!" 

Sue contemplated what Gwen said about Em Jay. "Wow...I mean, wow!   So, she knew, and dealt with one of these Stygians.  If they were sharing the same bod -- maybe Aragones just meant he could tell the difference in personality, or mannerisms?   Anyway, so why did Kulan Gath link the two of them?  What purpose did that serve?"   

"I don't know.  There was a lot going on!  I was caught up in Peter being alive and having my powers plus MJ being 20 years older and they were caught up with me not being an exploding clone and showing up with a talking rabbit."

"Yeah, believe me, I get it!  I would've been more interested in my loved ones, and what happened to the other me, too.   But that's a hell of a thread between this timeline and the last one." She thought for a moment.

"I guess the question - one question - is whether this Gath guy is a potential ally?  Or someone we need to be careful of?"   She asked the Tallus:

"Tallus, provide any known data about the Stygian sorcerer, Kulan Gath."
This message was last edited by the player at 19:20, Sun 17 Oct 2021.

Swarm travelled along with his companions.
His particulate body separated enough that a million tiny wings hummed and buzzed through the air, leaving a slight vibration and tingle in his wake.

These people ...  some of whom he had met in his lifetime, some not ... now talking about other people that he was familiar with, or not.   But all different from whom he knew.
He was realising the extent of the planar cross-contagion within their group now.    And it bothered him.

He had, as any good scientist would, a growing entourage of questions:  but still, now was the time to listen.
And he did.

The Tallus chirrups:

"Kulan Gath is a Stygian sorcerer, cannibal, and immortal. He is classified as an Extinction Level Event and in this era is known to have defeated and consumed three bearers of the title 'Sorcerer Supreme'. Kulan Gath is a known time-traveller who has presented an ELE threat to this timeline in the current era-- designated The Late Hyborian Age-- narrowly averted by the combined efforts of Conan of Cimmeria and the Red Sonja of Queens (disambiguation available); in the 7th century, averted by Iron Maiden (Ada Stark), Merlin and Victor von Doom; the late 20th century CE, averted by Spider-Man (Peter Benjamin Parker) and the Sorcerer Supreme (Stephen Strange); the early 21st century CE, averted by Spider-Man (Miles Gonzalo Morales), the Scarlet Spider (Kaine Parker), and the Ghost Spider (Gwendoline Maxine Stacey); and in the early 22nd century when he suffered a much more serious defeat at the hands of the Harbinger of Thor (Miguel O'Hara) and the Sorcerer Supreme (Sylvia Lauffeysdottir)."

"Kulan Gath is rated as one of the Top 11 Threats to Multiversal Stability."

It makes a harsh buzzing "sound" in everyone's psychic awareness: "OPERATIVE ADVISORY: Do not engage Kulan Gath. In the event that conflict is unavoidable, retreat to a minimum safe distance of-- ERROR:-- and request Priority 000 Mission Assistance. A team of Weapon X timeline operatives will be dispatched to your chrono-spatial coordinates immediately."
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:39, Tue 19 Oct 2021.

“Gwendolyn Maxine, huh?” Sally smirked at hearing that middle name. Any humorous mood evaporated when she heard the sheer menace presented by Kulan Gath. “Holy shit. A cannibalistic Wizard who’s also a One Man Extinction Level Event?” She face a low whistle and shook her head.

The Tallus dropped another name that caught Sally’s attention. “Weapon X? Who or what is ‘Weapon X’?”