As Dean speaks with Skye suddenly the Door near him opens and a little kid in a hoodie tumbles out into the hall. The figure is clutching a huge oversized mallet.

*Barbara and Dean are now in the same location along with Jill, Skye and Xantastic*

  The big dark haired dude takes a protective step in front of the petite blonde young woman standing with him.  He looks to Skye and asks, “Friends of yours?”

Skye, "You can imagine I have had my fill of corrupt politicians. Is your world in danger of a similar fate ?"

Then the short one rolls out and Skye takes a step back but raises one arm hand up fingers outstretched. A blue light dancing about her hand.

Xantastic the little kid in a hoodie and domino mask looks at Dean and spins her hammer around seeing the women behind him and one making with a light show.  "Alright legs, tell your friend to stop or I play piano on your toes !" Making chop chop motions with the maul of a hammer.

A woman in a bat inspired costume, with a fancy cape, cowl, and fancy utility belt walked through the door, looking slightly distracted by her thoughts.  She snapped to almost comical attention, however, when she saw the small crowd of people.  She went into a combat stance, and instantly had a bat shaped metal boomerang in her hand, and an intense look on her face.

"Whoa there!!!  Who are you people!!?!  Where is Jessica Gordon!?!?"

She looked around at them suspiciously, and almost accusingly.

"Little girls, we don't have a Jessica here, I'm Skye, that is Jill, and Legs there is Dean. I will stop if you do, I am a warden and protecting these two." The light around her hand dims.

  Dean’s right hand had been in a half-cocked fist, but he visibly relaxed it when he saw who it was.  Some little kid with a Thor type hammer, and some sixteen year old dressed like...

  “Batgirl?” He blinked.  Couldn’t be.... but then again it had been a weird day.

  “Jessica Gordon?  Never heard of her.  I’m Dean, this is Jill, and Skye.  Who are you, exactly?”

Barbara looked around.
"Ah...okay, then.  Well, sorry if I'm a bit on edge.  A woman claiming to be my cousin was guarding this door,  and some persons unknown may have kidnapped her and destroyed her home.  We're trying to find her and whomever is responsible. "

She looked around with concerned curiosity
"Where ARE we, anyway?"

Then she looked at Dean with shock, blushing a bit.
"Wait.....you've heard of me??  How is that possible?  There are people in my dorm who don't even know who i am"
She looked at Dean suspiciously,  but was obviously flattered

In reply to Barbara (msg # 7):

  Dean thinks for a moment. “Well, in the world I come from, you are kinda famous, but this is gonna sound really weird.  In our world, you’re famous as a fictional character in an illustrated novel, kinda thing.  Let’s see if it correlates.  Daughter of the mayor of Gotham, secret crime fighter by night?  That about right?  Although in the stories they pegged you as being in your early twenties.”

The even smaller girl says, "And I'm Xantastic. Im Batgirl's sidekick."

Skye, "Suppose, if your here you know where you are. This is the Stair, the Grand Stair. You were able to come through a Door, so I thought you would know that."

Xantastic inhales and puffs up her chest like a little kid, "Course I knew that."

Barbara looked at Skye with a raised eyebrow.
"Well, I didn't know that! "
She glanced with annoyance at Xantastic
"My 'sidekick' hasn't been quite as chatty about this as I would have liked."
She looked back up at them.
"This Jessica Gordon sent Xan here with a key for me. Sort of one of those 'if anything happens to me' kind of thing.  What is this place?  Xan said something about a connection between dimensions or something, but that was about it."

She looked at Dean, blinking in surprise and wonder.
"Well...I'm 18 and I occasionally go out at night, though I try not to break curfew more than I have to.  And my Dad is the Police Commissioner of Gotham, not the Mayor, though....  "
She looked at him almost suspiciously.
"He's mentioned more than once that he could do a better job as Mayor than the current guy."

Barbara paused to take a breath.
"There is a LOT going on here, but I'm willing to learn.  I'm a fast learner, after all."

Xantastic looks at Batgirl, "That's my secret ID !"


Skye, "Well, yes this Stair is known by many names but The Grand Stair is the most common. It does in fact connect to an infinity of worlds each Door you see leading to another world. Some lead to the same world, others lead to shadow if the world passed them is gone or destroyed. I don't know this Jessica Gordon but if she had the key and now you have it, she was at the very least the Warden of your world, if not a Warden of the Grand Stair. These two are new to the stair as well, your welcome to join us if you wish."

  Dean nods as Barbara corrected him.  “That’s right, commissioner, not mayor.  It’s been a long time since I read those.  The reruns on tv were pretty good though.  Well Barbara, or do you prefer Batgirl?  Skye was just about to show us her spaceship, and teach Jill some stuff.  Then we were thinking about trying to find some bad guys to thwart and a new world for Skye to watch over.  Somewhere along the line I’m hoping to track down a murderer, and maybe we can find your missing cousin along the way.  Any of that of interest to you?”

Barbara looked down at Xan with an amused but apologetic look on her face.
"It is?  Really?  No offense, but it's not very creative."

She nodded to Skye thoughtfully.
"Well....I usually work alone, but this is a big case, so I'll take whatever help I can get.   So, you're saying that this key I've got belonged to a 'Warden'?  Is that like a guardian or some kind of hall monitor?  I need to find this Warden, I guess, and give this key back to them."

She tried to study everyone, seemingly evaluating them as allies.

To Dean, she smiled sheepishly.
"I usually prefer 'Batgirl' when I'm in costume, but I guess you can call me either one.  Just don't tell my Dad what I'm doing.  He thinks I'm studying abroad for the semester."
Then she blinked in confusion.
"Wait....TV show????"

  Dean winces.  “Yeah, it was actually Batman’s show, but you were played as a special appearance periodically.  They were pretty spot on with the look.  Gotta admit, when they showed her batcycle whip by in the opening credits I was pretty excited.  Had a big crush on her as a kid.  Her and Genie.  They came on right after each other. I Dream of Genie first, then Batman.  After that, my mom would call me for supper.”

Xan looks up at Batgirl and her little mouth drops open when she calls her real name not that creative. She turns to avoid people looking at her. Shoulders slumping.

Skye says, "May I see your Key ? You don't have to hand it to me but I could tell if it is a special Key in relation to this place."

She would be able to confirm that it is if Batgirl does.

Barbara listened to the tall, dark, and handsome man intently.
"Batman has a TV show??  I'm not surprised, I suppose.  That guy is incredible! "
She blushed when he mentioned a crush on 'her', and she nervously pushed a lock of red hair behind her ear as she looked down shyly.
"I've actually been saving up for a motorcycle, to be honest.  Good to know that it'll look good for me."

Barbara looked at Skye with almost a look of annoyance, for interrupting her conversation with Dean.
She held up her key for the other woman to see.

  Dean nods.  “It’s good to know there really is a Batgirl out there, keeping people safe, fighting crime, and all that.  I suppose the downside is that along with superheroes, there are supervillains too.  In our world it’s not so clear cut.  The bad guys are usually smaller-time, but way nastier.  Not just looking to steal some one of a kind jewel, or controlling the weather, or robbing banks.  In our world they hook people on drugs that ruin their lives, murder, rape...all kinds of bad stuff.  The prisons are so overcrowded that the bad guys usually get let out early. “ It’s one of a mess.”

Her face filled with sympathy,  Barbara looked up at the dark haired man.
"That sounds terrible!  I'm so sorry you have to go through that.  I definitely try to help regular people,  as well as thwart super villains and invading aliens.  I spent a whole year beating up muggers and car jackers in Gotham before looking to fight a named bad guy.  I've always felt that regular people deserve protection as much as government officials and the like"

  “In our world, most of the politicians are corrupt.  The people actually need more protection against them.  My work isn’t too glamorous, but it helps regular, hard working people.  We all do what we can do, right?”

She smiled at this honest, earnest man.
'That was brilliantly said, Dean.  Yes, corruption is a huge problem in my world as well.  That's  why I'm in school to learn how to use my gifts better to help humanity. "

"Keep a close eye on them then Batgirl, I lost my world and trillions of people to corrupt politicians. They saved themselves and left everyone else to die."

Skye looked at them all then started walking the stair.
Right off the bat (no pun intended) after an hour Jill will be exhausted the stairs go down, up, around, their are halls, ramps on occasion ladders. Batgirl is the next to grow tired. Xantastic and Dean seem to be doing fine and Skye only slows down if asked too.

Jill looks to Dean, "Dean my legs are burning this is almost like pole work." She rubs her legs.

Barbara,  who had thought she was in good physical condition,  was a bit alarmed by how quickly,  relatively speaking,  she was getting tired.  These people were in INCREDIBLE  shape!!   To distract herself,  she looked at Jill.
"Pole work?  Are you a pole vaulter,  or something like that?"

  The pace is grueling, but nothing Dean couldn’t handle, not by a long shot.

  “Jill, piggyback time.  Hop up.  Nobody left behind.  Barbara, I can probably carry you, if you want.”

  He had helped guys in boot camp, guys that outweighed the two ladies combined.  He’d manage.  The two could get to know each other while he did the grunt work.

Jill looks at the young superhero, "Something like that yeah. Just all these stairs. I feel like this is definitely exercise. Warden's must have to be in good shape."

Xantastic walks back over, "Yes, when Jessica and I are here it is a lot of climbing there are places where the stairs are huge made for giants and she has to carry me."

Blushing brightly,  Barbara smiled awkwardly
"Um....if it's not a bother?"

  Dean smiles. “No problem at all.  I’ve  never left a man behind, let alone beautiful women, and it ain’t about to start now.”

  With that he scoops up Barbara and crouches enough for Jill to climb on his back before continuing up the stairs.

Feeling extremely torn between not wanting to be some "damsel in distress", and being very content in the powerful man's arms.

  As they continue the ascent, Dean reminisces a little.  “ We were on a mission in the mountains in Pakistan.  Mortar shell took three of our guys down, bleeding bad.  No helicopters available for evac, due to all the inbound fire.  Sarge tied off tourniquets and we hoofed it back to the the closest camp.  Eight miles in full gear hauling guys my size.  I carried two just like this, Sarge and Talker took turns carrying the other guy.  We all made it back out.  Bad times.”

Barbara looked up at Dean, clearly impressed
"Wow.....the terrible things you've been through,  Dean.  I'm so sorry, but I'm glad you were there for your friends and comrades in arms.  That must have been very scary"

  “It’s just how I roll, y’know?  The bad times don’t last, and they toughen you up for when they come around again.  Every part of our lives, our experiences, they all go into who we are.  You can let them break you, or force them to break on you like a wave on a boulder.  There was a series of movies about a boxer.  I forget which one it was, but he makes this great speech about life.  Goes like this:

  The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows.  It is a very mean and nasty place and it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain’t how hard you hit; it’s about how hard you can get hit, and keep moving forward. How much you can take, and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done. Now, if you know what you’re worth, then go out and get what you’re worth. But you gotta be willing to take the hit, and not pointing fingers saying you ain’t where you are because of him, or her, or anybody. Cowards do that and that ain’t you. You’re better than that!“

  He does it in his best Stallone imitation, which is admittedly pretty bad.

Barbara watched the man with abject fascination
"That's a fascinating philosophy.   The guy who said it originally sounds like he had a head injury,  but he was definitely wise "
As much as being carried seemed to feel a bit demeaning to her sense of independence,  but she had to admit Dean's arms felt so nice

Skye turns a moment, "I forget sometimes, people not used to the stairs can grow quite weary upon them. Dean that is an amazing story, perhaps I should hire you."

Xantastic bounces along like a kid full of energy not having slowed down a bit.
Her hammer having miraculously been slipped into a pocket and no longer seen.

Skye says, "If we need to stop and rest just let me know. Better that then to suffer dehydration or other problems like charlie horse."

She will then go back to leading the group. Now the area they are walking through looks like an ancient temple with alcoves and statues watching from deep shadows.

Though still distracted by the feeling of strong arms around her, Barbara looked around the temple intently,  her natural curiosity getting the best of her

A day and a half later everyone is on an expanse that looks like the interior of a submarine or space ship. Grated metal floors. Finally Millenia stops by a fountain and takes a drink from it. "The water is clean and that Door." she gestures to one, "Is mine, we can go there and I will get you all hot meals and I will get you set up Jill to learn all the doctoring you want, now do you want surgeon skills, cyborg installation and conversion skills ? Do you know what your looking for ?"

Jill looks a bit shocked, "Any chance I can get all of those ?"

Skye nods, "If you would like, yes."

Barbara raised a hand,  trying to get the silvery lady's attention

"Yes, Batgirl ?"

Barbara smiled awkwardly
"I don't want to be a bother, but I was trying to find the previous owner of this key, who might be in serious trouble.   Are we able to find her, or do i need to head off on my own?  I know that new to all this Stairway Stuff, but it's been an entire day, and i think I've been very patient. "

"Well if you become a Warden or if I look for her we should be able to find her. Might you have a picture of her ?"

Barbara looked at Xantastic.
"I didn't find anything at her house.  Xantastic,  do you have anything?"

"I am usually good at finding her but only on our world, here it gets a lot more confusing. I'm sorry."

Barbara sighed.
"So, in other words, the entire last day has been a waste or time?  Well, as much as I appreciate the company,  if you can't help me,  perhaps i need to head back to my world to start fresh there."

Skye says, "Do you know how to get back ? I still think it safer you remain with a Warden, while it is true you have a key, you don't have much in the way of food and you can at least get cleaned up, and restock. If you must go I wish you luck but take some food with you and remember it will take longer without Dean to carry you."

Barbara frowned, feeling very condescended to, but shrugged in agreement.
"Okay, if you're willing to be a hostess for us, I'll gladly take advantage of your hospitality.   I can find my way back, because despite all the distractions I have a very keen memory for details.  But more food and a shower might not be a bad idea."

Skye goes and opens the Door to her space ship and ushers everyone inside.
It looks more like the space ship from Aliens then Star Trek though it is huge in scale. True to her word she gets everyone a hot meal and an energy shower for themselves and their clothing.

Their is an area where she starts setting up a pod for Jill.

Barbara gets some food and gets cleaned up, as well as trying to pack at least a week of food.  She is clearly fascinated with the spaceship, and started looking around everywhere, trying to figure everything out.
She was also very clearly impatient to set out again, though.

  Dean mentions to Jill that while she’s at it, some veterinary skills and a full martial arts compliment might be nice to add to her training, as well as any knowledge available about the stairs and doors and keys.

  He gulps down food and water like a machine, having put in a hefty exertion on the stairs.  Afterwards a shower would be good.

  “Hey, are we on the water rationing thing and need to share showers or anything like that?” He asks with a chuckle.

"Energy showers, not water so use as much as you want."

Barbara inspected her gear, to make sure the fancy showers didn't damage it.  Then she prepares to leave.
She grinned shyly at the "share showers" remark, but didn't offer
This message was last edited by the player at 23:51, Sun 24 Jan 2021.

No damage to anyone's belongings but the place has this hungering feel of entropy about it. The ship is sound enough and the technology is quite high.

Jill after about three hours will come out of the pod and ask for a drink. Which Skye provides her.

Xantastic runs around chasing little robots but gets ready when she sees Barbara get ready.

  Dean ate, took a long shower, and a short nap while Jill was getting her PHD's and whatever other titles went along with what she was learning.  She had always been the beauty and the brains, while Dean had been the muscle.

  While he drifted off into his nap he saw Barbara looking around at everything.  He smiled.
DUDE!  I HAD BATGIRL IN MY ARMS!!!  It had admittedly been a strange day, but a good one.

  When she comes out of the pod and asks for a drink, Dean asks her with concern in his voice, "So, Doc, how you feeling?"

"A bit tired, it seemed like I was in there for a while but wow did I learn a lot. I feel like my head is full, have a bit of a head ache."

  “So, now you know all about them glands, and that’ll free up you nights from studying a little.” He says with a wink.

Barbara looked at Jill curiously
'So, what procedure did you have done?"

Jill smiles, "I finished up my medical schooling in a big way. I guess I should have learned how to create cybernetics or bionics because I can install them but I have no idea how to create them. I also went with your idea and took Veterinary skills Dean."

Dean grins, “What, no Kung Fu Master of the Drunken Monkey Fist?  Huwahhhh!!!!” He asks as he goes into an exaggerated Crane stance.

Jill says, "I took some self defense classes besides I don't want you to feel useless Dean. So Batgirl, we are trying to find Dean's mothers murderer. Who are you looking for again ? Wonder if they are connected."

Barbara listened to Jill's comments,  fascinated,  then blinked in shock, looking at Dean.
"Your mother was murdered??  I'm so sorry!   I lost my mother years ago, as well, though it was to cancer"
She shook her head to Jill
"I'll certainly help you if you need me,  but my first concern is finding a woman claiming to be my cousin, who was rye original owner of my key.  Hopefully she wasn't murdered, as the clues seem to point to a kidnapping "

In reply to Barbara (msg # 57):

  "I'm sorry for your loss.  Cancer's a tough way to go out.  Maybe Jill will find a cure for it someday."  he pauses, "Yeah, my mom was murdered when I was sixteen.  They never solved it.  Locked door, no sign of forced entry, not aware of any anyone that had a key.  She was found nailed to the wall, cut open, disemboweled with all her insides taken out, with her skinn pinned back.  It was like someone dissected her.  There were weird symbols painted in her blood all around the room, but as far as anyone could tell they were gibberish, not even real letters.  I've tried searching in other languages, but nothing matches up.  If whoever kidnapped your cousin is the same one behind my mom's killing, she's in a lot of danger and we'd best look for her first.  The dead aren't coming back to life, so let's focus on saving the living."

Barbara's big eyes got even bigger as Dean described the crime scene,  and she regretted the full meal she'd just eaten. "That sounds like the work of some of the crazier people from Gotham,  to honest.  Definitely some kind of cult behavior of an u balanced mind.    If you'll help me find Jennifer Gordon, I'll definitely agree to help you find her killer, presuming they're not the same person. "
She went from shocked to detective mode
"At sixteen,  you say?  How long ago was that?  And you're presuming that her killer had access to this interdimensional staircase?"

  "Eight years.  Seems like forever ago, and sometimes like just yesterday.  My mom was into all kinds of weird stuff, fringe religions, new age stuff.  Always looking to find some higher existence.  She might have found it, or it found her.  Trail is really a cold case now though.  She was cremated, only things I still have that were hers is my ring, these iron knuckles, and the knife that Jill is carrying."

  He shrugs, "If any of that can lead to saving your cousin, let's make it happen.  You're the crime expert, so...how do we do this?"

Barbara nodded,  frowning in thought
"I'll admit that I'm less prepared for this mission than usual.   When i went through the door , i wasn't expecting an infinite staircase.   And meeting all of you, I'll admit,  distracted me more than it should have.   What i SHOULD  have done is try to find out more about Jessica before leaving my world,  but i was rushing in case she was in mortal danger,  which, admittedly,  she still could be.  And, i should have looked for clues outside the door,  thoughis looked like the stairs didn'tlemd themselvesto keeping footprints.   But there still might have been something to learn at the scene of the crime."

"Your mother was found in a room with locked doors ? It may be then that a Warden is involved. We can lock and unlock common doors without keys easily. It isn't even a challenge normally."

Barbara narrowed her eyes at Skye's casual pronouncement, as if it were offensive to  her personally.
"So, it seems that I need to learn about this Warden nonsense before I can properly solve this mystery."

"It is not nonsense, we Wardens serve a very important purpose ! We have saved worlds and even the Grand Stair before. While some turn bad, the vast majority of us hold true to protecting the Grand Stair and helping those lost on it get home, or find some way to survive. I know your worried about your kin, and I said I would help but even I need to rest after that walk. We can go back and search around your Door or I can use my wayfinding to search for her. I wish I had seen those strange markings you mentioned as well Dean. We have a power called Exgenises that let's us speak all languages once we are past a Door. It would take a return to your Door and an inspection of those markings. The reason we walked here was to give you the chance, the more we walk the Stair the more chance you all have of potentially becoming Wardens. Someone more skilled in the esoterica of the Stair told me it looks for certain qualities."

Barbara looked at Skye and nodded
"My apologies.  I didn't mean to be disrespectful.   If i need to learn about becoming a Warden, in norder to solve this, then that's what I'll do "

  Dean raises his eyebrows as he listens to the discussion.

  “Skye, are you saying that the stairs are sentient?”

  He yawns.  The brief chair nap had not been enough.  “I agree that we can’t languish too long, but without a good rest we might miss something important too.  Forty winks would probably do us all some good.  Why don’t we all get some rest then Skye can try her Wayfinding, whatever that means.  We’ll then all go look for your cousin together.”

"You might have to, you see being a Warden was forced on me and my friends. When I left my Door and others of my friends left their Doors and we all came across a dying Warden. He was beset by monsters and we joined in killing them but even with the magic they had, and the technology I had we couldn't save him. He sacrificed himself to make us all Wardens. The Grand Stair was in such danger it needed many to be created at once. I confess I do not know how he did it. Since then I have come to learn that the Stair does pick people when needed."

"Even if you don't become Wardens I promised my help as did Millenia and we will do what we can to help out. Most Wardens on this expanse are friendly so if you see people in the metal expanse near the fountain you might get help from them should something happen to me."

"Some think the Stair are sentient."

Barbara shrugged
'Whatever it takes,  let's do it"

  Dean looks around.  "So, what's the bunk situation?" he asks semi innocently.

Barbara blushed deeply  and tried very hard to only look at Skye to hear the answer

"Do you want a pod, or a set of blankets and pillows ?"

Barbara raised a confused eyebrow
"You don't have,  like, beds or cots, or anything?"

Skye gets up after pressing a few buttons on the chair she is on.

"So you mind sleeping in the infirmary ? There are enough places to sleep there that are open beds."

  The pods looked a little cramped, even for just himself.  Dean couldn't picture any kind of comfortable situation in the event that anyone had any interest in sharing.

  "Think I'll go for the blankets and pillow option on a bed, if that's okay.  More room to sprawl."

  He wasn't sure what Jill, or Barbara, or even Skye would opt for, or if any of them had any intent on sharing.

Barbara chuckled
"Meh.  It wouldn't be the first time I've slept in a hospital bed.  I'm game.  I'm curious about your infirmary anyway""

Xantria "Can I sleep with someone ? Im little."


Skye leads people to the infirmary and she energy cleans it before having bedding brought to the are so she could prepare the beds for everyone.

"I used to like the pods but I think I will join you all in here."

Skye looked to Xan, "Don't worry we will all be together."

  Dean waits to see if Skye has any preferred places to put people.  After all, it's her place, so he didn't want to go claiming a bed that she may have intended for herself.  While it's all being figure out, he shrugs out of his leather jacket and  black tee-shirt, then sits down to untie his boots and shrug out of his pants.

  Nakedness didn't bother him, having spent time in the military in close quarters and the year and a half working at the strip club.  In no-time he is down to his black boxer-briefs, and looking to see where he is intended to be.  Inwardly, he wouldn't mind cuddling up with any one or more of the beautiful women, even if it was just to cuddle for companionship...but hey, if there was more, he was game.

Barbara looked at Xan with a curious expression
"Are you feeling okay?  You're not scared to sleep by yourself,  are you?"

When Dean took off his pants, she gasped lightly and lokked away,  blushing hard enough to raise the ambient temperature in the room.
She supposed a soldier wouldn't have any problems with being in his "skivvies" (as her father, an ex army man himself, used to refer to underwear).
She accidentally saw his reflection in some polished metal.
"And with a body like that", she mused, " any man shpuld he happy to be nude as much as possible
Still, she worked not to look in his direction, at least for a while.

Placing her utility belt and cape nearby,  she got into the medical bed. Barbara kept on her newly cleaned costume.  They were all technically on the trail of a killer, after all, even if the trail had gone cold, and there was no telling what might happen during the night.  After some thought,  she took off her cowl, and let her red hair tumble free.   She figured she could sleep better like that.

"Xantastic,  you can join me,  if you'd like.   There's plenty of room here with me"

"Thanks yeah, I have to admit I am a little scared."

She pulled a stuffed dragon out of her pocket to cuddle it and climbed on to the bed.
"Thank you Batgirl, I won't take too much room."

Barbara smiled at thr little girl, who was supposedly her mean, tough bodyguard,  but also had a stuffed animal.
Of course, Barbara had a stuffed tiger back in her dorm room.  Not to cuddle with,  mind you,  but just because she liked it.  Her father had won it for her when she was seven,  at one of the last Gotham city fairs they'd been able to go to before James Gordon had all his free time taken up by work

She laid down,  trying to get comfortable

"Though I'm not sure why you don't have regular beds.   Hospital beds are notoriously uncomfortable..."  she yawned
"I know this is all high tech and futuristic and all that, but there....no way a hospital bed will be that comf......."
She was asleep, and snoring daintily

  Dean sat down on one of the empty beds (if there were any that were larger than others, he gravitates towards it, since tall guys usually wind up with feet or head hanging off one end otherwise), fluffs the pillow and leans his head up on one elbow.  He watched as everyone prepared to sleep.  Batgirl and Zan nodded out pretty quickly, leaving Jill and Skye yet to settle down.

Jill hopped into bed with Dean.

Skye climbed into her hover chair and then it reclined and she closed her eyes. A light blue glow came from her.

  Wrapping his arms around Jill, Dean smiled and took in her scent.  She always smelled good, even though she didn't tend to use a lot of cosmetics.  Hers was a very natural beauty.  He gave her a kiss.

  He whispered to her, "So Doc, now that you know everything there is to know about the human body..."

"Don't you ever get tired Dean ?"
Jill shook her head and laughed.

  Spooning up behind her, Dean wraps his arms around her.  Despite himself, he let out a yawn.  “Sometimes.” He murmured.  Just having her in his arms was a comfort, and he let his eyes close.  The stairs had been tough, but he didn’t want to let it show.  His breathing slowed, and sleep beckoned.  Dean succumbed to it’s lure.

The next morning the smell of cooking wafted through the previously sterile air.

Pancakes, sausage, eggs, and similar smells coming from a cafeteria area where Skye was busily cooking. A little holographic display hovered by one of her eyes as she worked.

Waking up the next morning, Barbara needed a moment to remember where she was and what was going on.  It was the first time she'd woken up in someplace besides her dorm room in months, which was a little disorienting.  That, and the last day or so has seemed more like a dream than reality.  And not just because one of the hunkiest guys she'd ever seen had carried her in his arms for man miles.

She looked around, embarrassed to admit that her first instincts were to check to make sure she hadn't been lured into a trap.   She seemed safe, though.
And, more importantly, she smelled breakfast.
It seemed weird that such a futuristic ship would have such a relatively mundane breakfast.  It smelled less like Star Trek and more like Denny's.
Still, food was food, and anything freshly cooked was a step up from the jerky and granola that Barbara packed for long trips.

She got up, stretching a little to work the kinks out of her arms and legs, looking at the sleeping chib who'd spent the night beside her.  She glanced over at Dean, feeling a sudden surge of jealousy, or was it envy?, when she saw Jill in his bed.
Granted, hopping into some strange man's bed, even a super hottie like Dean, wasn't her style.

Keeping quiet to let the others sleep, she padded silently over to the cafeteria.

"Good morning Batgirl, hope you slept well. I didn't know what any of you wanted so I checked resources and picked common things that I hope will apply to all of you."

She gestured, "Please just take a seat."

Sitting down,  Barbara smiled and nodded
"Thank you so much for your hospitality.   I'm sorry if it was a bit irate before.  All this is a bit much to take in.   Is there anything i can do to help you?"

"Well, I can understand trust me. I remember my own introduction to the Grand Stair it was traumatic. Annoying too, I had to take care of all the people on my ship, there was betrayal, an explosion of entropy, which changed me on a fundamental level. That little girl you are with going to be ok ?"

"If you want to help maybe you could help serve when the others wake up."

Barbara nodded
"I can help serve some breakfast.    When i was a teenager,  i worked in a fast food place for a big.  Their only breakfast was burritos,  but it was a good learning experience. "
She dug into her food.   She was curious about where it had come from, but decided that perhaps she was better off not knowing.
"I'm embarrassed to admit that my 'sidekick' Xantastic was someone I'd met for the first time less than an hour before i met all of you.  She apparently worked with, or for, the woman Jessica who says she was my cousin,  but she hasn't really had much information about any of this so far.  I'm hoping to get more conversation with her soon."
Chewing on what she hoped was real bacon, Barbara shrugged
"On my world, I'm usually pretty good at solving mysteries and finding clues.   Trying to do so on a sterile set of stairs and goodness knows how many different dimensions,  though,  might be unsolvable.   It's very daunting."

<Aqua>"Yes, that is something about the Grand Stair, it is nigh indestructible. Your right about it being sterile there are only very, very few places where this is untrue. There are some few materials that can stain the stair but not for long."<Aqua>


Barbara feels a slight tug at her sleeve and a sleepy eyed Xantastic looks up at her.
"Good morning."

Barbara looked down at the little girl, seeing her as a little girl for the first time,  since all this craziness began.
"Xantastic,  good morning!  Would you like some breakfast?  How are you feeling?"

Xantastic nodded enthusiastically but whispered to Barbara, "Do you know where the little girls room is ? Ive been holding it a long time."

Barbara smiled slightly, but was careful not to laugh.
_{"Let me ask Skye.  I'm new here as well, remember?"}
She looked at their hostess
"Ms. Skye,  ma'am?  Where do you have restroom facilities? "

Skye motioned to a set of doors to the side of the cafeteria.
"Down the hall on your left. Use either of them, there aren't enough people awake for it to make a difference."

That said there was the sound of little feet running for those doors.

Honestly curious about what the facilities would look like,  Barbara went to the restroom as well

  Dean awoke, but even before his eyes opened he felt Jill still laying on his right arm and heard her breathing.  It was a comforting thing to have her there.  It was a bit of normalcy in a strange place.  His right arm was mostly numb, and his shoulder ached from the position.  He let out a contented sigh.  He lay there for a long minute thinking about it all and watching her sleep before trying to extract his arm without waking her.  He smelled the food, and it smelled good.

  Rising, he dressed in everything he had except the leather jacket.  Jeans, tee-shirt and work boots.  He slid the iron knuckles into his back pocket.  Jill was still sleeping, so he let her rest a bit longer while he followed his nose.

  “Morning.” He said in a barely awake voice.  “Everyone good?”

Coming to the table,  Barbara smiled shyly to Dean.
"Good morning!  I slept surprisingly good.  Apparently hospitals are more comfortable in the future.   Would you like some breakfast?  Skye was able to make a fairly traditional Earth breakfast,  with eggs, bacon, pancakes and juice.  Would you like some?"

  "Oh hell yeah!" he smiled, "Oh wait, you do mean breakfast, right?  Still hell yeah!" he adds with a wink and a laugh.  Then he gets a serious look.  "It's meant as a compliment cause, well, you're a major babe. I wasn't trying to be crude.  Hope that wasn't over the top."

  That was the thing about Dean, he was rough around the edges, really rough, and a bit of an acquired taste...but for all his faults, he was the salt of the earth good guy who would help anyone who really needed it.
This message was last edited by the player at 06:12, Tue 26 Jan 2021.

Barbara looked confused,  and it was obvious that his innuendo went over her head.
"Well, yes, i mean breakfast.   Um, would you like some eggs and bacon,  some pancakes, or something else?  Skye can probably make anything for you"

  Ahh, to be young and naïve!  Dean though.  <i>Freakin' A, I'm getting breakfast served to me by Batgirl!  Man, I shoulda bought a lotto ticket yesterday!

</i>"That all sounds good, and if there's some coffee I might just sell my soul for some, but don't tell Millennia that." Dean says stretching and cracking his neck.  The pins and needles feeling had left his arm already.

Barbara grinned and poured some.  She didn't drink the stuff herself, but she'd made countless pots for her father growing up.
"No problem.  So, what do you know about this Stairway stuff so far?"

  Dean accepts the steaming cup of dark magic with a smile, his fingertips brushing Barbara's as he does.

  "Not a whole helluva lot, other than it's a long freakin' walk from where we were to here.  We got there through a door that was in the strip club at Vixens that nobody had ever been able to open.  The owner used to have a contest, and for ten bucks a try you could try to open it.  Winner was supposed to get ten grand.  Nobody could ever open it, but a lotta people tried.  I broke a crowbar trying one night after work and a couple of beers.  Lost ten bucks to my buddy Bobby on that bet.  Couple of weeks ago, Millennia, Skye's redheaded demon succubus counterpart, shows up out of nowhere and opens it, walks through, and vanishes with the door closing behind her.  I tried opening it again and damn near strained something trying.  No luck.  Yesterday she shows up again, opens it, and lets us in.  The door shouldn't have led anywhere....but it did.  Millenia led us to Skye, and that's when you popped in through another door."

Barbara listened intently, hearing that Dean's story wasn't that dissimilar from her own, in part.
She studiously ignored the part about Dean's door being in a strip club.

"Why did this Millenia person want to take you with her?  Did it know you from before that day?  What did she say to you?"

  Dean shrugs, "Well, it was weird.  I only saw her the two times in the club, and she was very surprised that I could see the hall beyond the door, because to everyone else it looked like just some dingy little closet with an old safe in it.  So, I called Jill because she was there the first time that Millenia showed up, and she looked and couldn't see it either.  I tried stepping through and it looked like I vanished.  I could still see back through the door, but only Millenia could see me.  Pretty weird, right?  So I came back, and then led Jill through to see if I had just gone crazy or was hallucinating or something.  Once through, she saw it too.  So, that's the long and the short of it.  How about you, how did you wind up getting to where we met you?"

Barbara nodded thoughtfully as she listened
"I was having a fairly typical day in my college when Xantastic over here showed up out of the blue with a package for me, from Jessica Gordon,  who claimed to be my cousin,  which contained a key and a note asking for help.  We went to her home and found it in ruins, as if it had aged 100 years in an instant,  though one door was still pristinely untouched.   I went through to find her and found you guys instead. "
She nonchalantly poired some juice for herself
"So, how long have you and Jill been dating?"

In reply to Barbara (msg # 107):

  Dean listened, sipping his coffee.  "College?  What's your major?"  he asks.  Dean waits for the answer before leading into the next part.

  "So this cousin of yours, did you know her well, or had you even ever met her or heard of her?  From the way you describe it, she almost sounds like a stranger.  Are you sure you even have a cousin by that name, or maybe someone was just trying to get you here?"

  Again, he waits for the answer before answering the last bit.

  "Dating?  Jill and I aren't really dating.  Not seriously, anyway.  She's my best friend, known her since I came back to NOLA and got a job at the club, 'bout a year and a half now.  She bartends and dances, I'm one of the bouncers, kind of the watchdog over the girls, making sure nobody hurts them.  They're nice girls trying to make a living, like Jill.  She's working her way through med school.  Anyways,  we're friends, sometimes with benefits, sometimes not.  You know, burn off a little steam, relieve some tension, have some fun, but it's mutually casual.  We've always been there for each other, but we're not exclusive.  We both date, but if there's nothing going on for either of us we got each other.  Feel free to ask her about it if you want, she's straight up about things.  It's one of the things I really dig about her, no BS."

  Another sip of the coffee.

  "Since we're getting all personal, what about you?  Is there a Bat-boy waiting back at home?  If so, he's a lucky dog.  Never saw any mention of him in the comics though."

She smiled
"I'm majoring in Criminal Justice and Forensic Science, though i thinking of adding Xenobiology to the mix as well.  There are a lot of interesting things going on in the world."
The mention of Jessica made her frown suspiciously
'Well,  that's because she IS a stranger.  In every sense of the word.  The first time I'd even heard of her was literally yesterday,  when Xantastic approached me at school with her message.  Dad never never mentioned any siblings,  but then he was alwaysa bit close lipped about his past. As if there was something painful there.
So i still don't know  if this Jessica person is on the up and up.  I mean, it seems a weird way to run a scam, but my world is a weird place.  But, yeah, I'm trying to find her and unfortunately I have literallyno information about her.  Not even a picture."


Barbara leaned in ever so slightly when Dean talked about his relationship with Jill.  She tried to keep her "poker face", both to hide her relief that Dean was married or anything, and to hide her feelings of inadequacy when she learned that Jill was an exotic dancer, a profession much more alluring than college student.
The fact that she, or some doppelganger of her, was famous in Dean's world gave her a boost of confidence,  but it felt fragile and artificial.
She giggled nervously at his questions about her personal life
"What?? 'Batboy'???  Now, that's  just silly!"
Blushing a bit, she idly traced the rim of her juice glass with a finger.
"I've been too busy for dating.   There are cute boys at school, but no time. "

Clearing her throat nervously,  she shrugged
"I don't mean to pry, but i was wondering: How did you get so much Endurance?  Is everyone from your world filled with such superhuman stamina?  I mean no disrespect,  but I've trained with Only athletes,  and you kept walking hours after one of them would have conked out.  If you don't mind, what's your secret?"

  Dean mulls over what Barbara says.  He crunches down some bacon, a few forkfuls of eggs, washes it down with some juice.  As he cuts up his pancakes he shrugs.

  "You know, with the tech that Skye has here for implanted learning you could free up a lot of that studying time and have more time for a social life, you know, get out and have fun and not have to be hitting the books all the time.  Betcha you'd have guys falling all over you if you weren't cloistered away in the library all the time.  I never went to college.  I barely got my GED.  That was the best I could do, what with being in juvie as much as I was."

  He wolfs down a few more bites.  "Surprised?  Horrified?  Well, it's the typical story.  Mom got pregnant with me and dad became a ghost as soon as he found out.  Things were good when I was little, me and mom...but I was always kind of a freak.  Way too strong, way too tough.  Mom got into this weird religious new-age something-bigger-out-there kinda stuff, and she started drinking because she could never quite seem to find it, whatever she was looking for.  Around eleven I started acting out, by thirteen I was a bad kid.  Real bad.  Always fighting, running with a bad crowd, in and out of juvenile detention.  Mostly in.  That's where I was when my mom was killed.  I was sixteen, and this big eighteen year old that bullied everyone started saying shit about her cause it was on tv.  I beat him so bad he was in a coma, almost died.   Because of my repeat offender status they were looking at charging me as an adult, and I was looking at twenty years for attempted murder.  Judge gave me one chance, enlistment.  I went into the marines, and they taught me stuff that decent people shouldn't know, but they turned me against the bad guys, terrorists.  I went special forces right outta boot camp.  Spent six years in the corps doing things I wish I could forget sometimes.  Finally I walked away from it, went back to New Orleans, started working at Vixens, trying to figure out who killed my mom in my off time.  Trying to do enough good to erase the bad I did before that."

  He looks up from his plate, looks Barbara in the eyes.  "I got a lot of flaws, and I don't know why I'm the way I am, but I'm still a freak, but I'm trying to be better."

Xantastic bounces back looking a lot happier and takes a seat at the table.

"Good morning legs."

  Dean looks at the little one and squints.  "Legs?  Really?  Well, so newbie at the table has to tell their story, so looks like you're up, Xan."

"What I look at you and I see legs. Your tall, tall, tall."

She looks up and shrugs, "My story ? What do you mean ?"

Skye comes over and serves Xantastic pancakes with whipcream smiley faces.
Xantastic smiles brightly.

"What do you want to know Dean ?"

  Dean shrugs, "Where are you from, what do you do when you're not out superheroing, how did you get into that racket?"

"Oh, I am from the Chibiverse it is near Ink. I was kidnapped by a sorcerer on Batgirl's world. They summoned me because my people are very magical. I was too young to protect myself. So they used me to commit crimes. Jessica rescued me and I repaid her by helping her out. Her family is very gifted with crime stoppers. She is a Warden and protects the Key to her world. We even adventure on the Stairs sometimes. I got knocked out when someone came through the Door. They busted in which isn't supposed to be possible. When I woke up I looked for her and she left me some things to do. I had to find her." She points at Batgirl.

"I had to give her a package and then help her out as best I could."

"So far I have been trying my best."

  Chibiverse?  Ink?  Sorcerers?

  "Well, seems like you're doing a good job.  Keep up the good work."

The little girl gives a big thumbs up. She then diggs into her pancakes.

"Thank you, Miss Skye."

  “How about you, Skye?  Gonna jump in on the history lesson?” Dean asks.

Unlike a lot of girls, Barbara was never particularly attracted to "bad boys".   Still, there was something about Dean's story of redemption that was compelling.
She vowed to keep an open mind.  There were a number of heroes at her school who'd started out on the other side of the tracks, after all.

She listened to Xan's story with fascination as well.  There was so much to learn.
Skye and her "learning implants were a tempting idea, but the shortcut seemed wrong to her.  Still, open minded,  right?


"If we ever get a chance, Dean, I'd be interested in seeing the limits of your strength and endurance.   You might actually be what my world calls a 'metahuman'. Though you seem to imply that those don't normally exist on your world "

  “If they do, I’ve never met one.  Hell , maybe my dad was some kind of Superman or something.  I’ll probably never know.  As far as how strong and all that, I don’t know.  I have this 24 hour gym membership, and I go at like three AM sometimes when nobody else is there.  I can max out every machine in the place.” He shakes his head and looks down at his plate. “I’m just a freak.”

Barbara made a sympathetic face and reached out,  putting a hand on Dean's arm.
"You're not a freak, you're Special.   And if you ARE a freak, then some of my best friends are freaks, so I'm glad you're here."

"I thought I told my story. Dean now that your mentioning the strength as well as the endurance. I believe you do have it in you to become a Warden. I experienced those things as well. Though I never really thought of myself as a freak more elite."

  Dean nods.  “You did, corrupt government, world ended, politicians got away as did your company....just not so much about you yourself.  Your climb up to becoming a CEO, how you met Millenia, whether or not there’s a Mr. Skye...you know, the personal stuff.”

"Ahhh, I don't really talk about myself too much. No Mr. Skye. As for CEO you might say I come from a legacy family. I had to work my tail off to prove my worth even though my parents were very much the power couple. If I didn't I would have been crushed and forgotten. I didn't have much of a childhood, all work no play, no fun. That is where Millenia comes in. She was my repressed child I suppose. When I was broken she emerged. When she feels overwhelmed or in need of logic or my serious nature she usually calls upon me. We have learned to live with it. I have never really met Millenia though I have more then enough experience with my wild side."

Skye folds her arms, "The Grand Stair is an amazing thing but there are other powers as well. My fellow Wardens delved into them some are dilettantes, others delved deeply into a power. So magic which has been mentioned is a real force it works in most places at least true magic. Be wary some powers have costs."

  With a smile, Dean says "See? Now we're getting somewhere.  This is how people become friends, by getting to know one another.  There are other ways, of course, like a game of naked baby oil Twister, but hey, whatever works, right?"

  He finishes his plate and says, "I'm gonna wake up Jill so she doesn't sleep through breakfast, which is excellent, by the way.  Thank you."

He pads over to wake the still sleeping one. "Waken, waken, eggs and bacon, best get up 'fore it's all taken!"

  Once she stirs, he comes back and refills his coffee and pours one for her.

Skye, "You have a good imagination, that is for sure."

Jill opens her eyes and looks up.

"We still in weirdville ?" She looks around, "Yup."
She rubs her eyes and slips off the med bed.

  Dean hands Jill her coffee when she makes her way over. “Yup, not a dream, sunshine.  We were all just sitting around bonding while you were counting sheep and healing them all.  Skye was telling us about powers and wardens and magic, and we were trying to come up with some ideas on how we go about looking for Barbara’s cousin.  I was just throwing out some team-building ideas.”

Xantastic looks over with a bit of whip creme mustache.
"Good morning Jill."

  Jill smiles at Xan and says, “Good morning.  Sleep well?””

  She then rolls her eyes at Dean.  “Team building?  Not the Twister thing again.”

  Dean counters with, “Hey, it worked at the club when there was all that drama going on between Amber and Chloe and Tanya.  They all became besties after that.”

Barbara studiously did NOT comment on the idea of naked oil Twister,  not even trying to make eye contact with Dean for fear of making an embarrassing noise that might be taken as encouragement.

She looked at Skye
"My apologies for being behind the proverbial class, but I'm still trying to understand what being a Warden means.  Is it a position to be earned somehow,  or is it granted by someone?  Does it have anything to do with the key Jessica left me?"

Skye after Jill is served comes over to the table.

"Alright Wardens are normally chosen by the Grand Stair or if your not in favor of a sentient Stair the subconscious will of the Wardens selects people. Originally the builders of the Stair did this. I do know that usually Wardens are a step above ordinary people. Like Dean here being strong and enduring, I myself was like that but I also became shattered, broken and as bad as that sounds power came with it. That happened while defending my ship from a blackhole." She holds up a hand and it disintegrates slowly turning to dust. She pulls all the dust back and the hand reforms.

"My fellow Wardens who were empowered by the man we tried to save when we all stumbled on to the Stair all like myself recently came into powers. So I think that influenced us becoming Wardens so quickly. As I understand it, it is usually a slower easier process. One feels a call while on the Stairs. You will kind of go into a hypnotic state and wander the stair. During that time the Stair kind of imprints itself on you. You become a Warden. Also if you were not endowed with super human ability you usually gain it at that time. Another way people become Wardens sometimes is touching a Key. If someone holds a Key and wanders the Stair it is almost the same. In fact that is how some lineages of Wardens are formed."

Xantastic smiles at Jill, "Yes I had nice dreams of having a pic nic with all of you my new friends."

Barbara's eyes went wide for a moment when Skye did her hand trick.  She'd seen some amazing things in her world, though,  and was only momentarily startled.
"Van you do that with your whole body?  How does it work?  What's the practical application of that?  If Jessica was a Warden, can i use her key to find her?  Is she liked to it? Who made the stairs?  And Why? "

"Yes, I can. In fact that is what happened when I first gained this power, the power is called the Umbra. Yet when I reformed I wasn't me I was Millenia. It took a while before I came back.  How does it work ? Well it is a natural force it is change, entropy, mutation, evolution and destruction. It is linked with me so it has become reflex almost."

A strange look overcame Skye for a moment, "Practical application ? Huh. You know I have been asked many things and helped a lot of people but I have never been asked that before. It is a strong force for destruction, so in a way it is a superior offensive power. It's opposite is a superior defensive power called Eidolon, I will get to that in a moment. At it's most simple levels I can perceive the Umbra in all things."

Skye proceeds to go around describing old wounds on each of the people here. As well as describing what there children may look like as natural evolution takes place.

"I can see the same weakness in walls, in computer programs, in conversations, philosophies. I see how entropy and change can effect things. It's useful but as you can imagine sometimes depressing so unlike some that share in the power I don't always actively use it. Millenia can explain Umbra really well she took to it like a fish to water."

Skye shakes her head slightly, "I am unsure. A seer or diviner might be able to use the Key in such a way. What I do know is a Warden can set their mind to finding something, or someplace and find it. It might take a while but unless another Warden is hiding what your looking for you should be able to find it as one."

Skye rolls her eyes looks at the ceiling and throws up her hands.
"The Grand Stair, or Yggdrasil, or The Maze, or any number of names this place has is ancient truly unimaginably ancient. I know some really ancient beings and they weren't even a twinkle in the eye of their great, great, great grand parents when the Grand Stair was already ancient. So I must confess I don't know who originally made them, but there are some hints as to why. Some claim to help keep things organized, some say Umbra was old and thus the early protoverse was a chaotic and planets and dimension struck each other in a grand mess. Then some being spoke ORDER and then their was the Eidolon and they saw it was good. This gave some order to things and something back then built the Grand Stair to separate things and give room for the many realities to not mix with each other and grow on their own. Every once in a while you might see some sigils near Doors those are known as Rhen Code the people who wrote them are ancient and they are one of the few who know how to actually leave marks on the Grand Stair that last. If you meet one they can perhaps answer your question better though they are very close lipped in general."

"Another thing the early universe had which strode the early dimensions as they clashed and merged and mingled before they were separated, were the mighty and terrifying Typhonians. Gigantic Titans of obscene power. I can testify these things are real not myth. The Grand Stair may have been invested to strand them in whatever world they were in when the Stair separated things. Doors were made to keep this megalithic beings from making use of the Stair."

Barbara looked thoughtful
"At Jessica's place, the area around the door was...altered.  As if it had aged centuries in an instant,  the very stone and wood rotted away together.   Could that have been caused by this Umbra?"

Skye nods, "Easily yes that is one application of Umbra the entropy of time. You or Jessica were in possession of the key the whole time ? I have head the Umbra can breach even locked Doors as can the Eidolon which I have witnessed. I have never had to use that myself since I am a Warden. Perhaps then following the same line of logic that is how your Door was temporarily sundered. If that is the case you have someone who is broken that has your relative. Either in body or mind. Sometimes both."

Xantastic, "Did you do it ?"

Skye looks at the little one, "No, why would I, I wouldn't need to steal a Warden, I already am one."

Xantastic, "Well what if you did it just to be mean."

Skye nodded, "I see your point, it could have been done just as an act of vengeance or villainy. Still my answer is no and before you ask Millenia has never kidnapped anyone it is not her style she is much more in the habit of freeing people and things which causes it's own set of problems."

She wouldn't have wanted to admit it,  but Barbara had indeed had Skye on her, admittedly,  short list of suspects.
Granted,  she was technically still on it, but Barbara was okay looking elsewhere,  at least for now.
"Unfortunately,  i was sent the key after the attack happened, sonl I'm not positive if Jessica had the key at the time of the incident "

Xantastic looks to Batgirl, "She always has it on her, but."
She slumps a bit, "I guess she didn't have it on her when she left it for me to give to you."

Jill, "Listen I know I am just a dancer and bartender but even before the download I was well on my way toward a medical degree. I might be able to help out if you will have me."

  Dean nods.  “We’ll help you find her, whatever it takes.  So, Xan, since you were the last person to see her, can you tell us what she may have been working on.  Did she have any enemies?  Was she investigating something?”

"Jessica was always working on things. Sometimes she worked with heroes on the world we lived on, other times we would wander the Stair. So yeah we had enemies. Joker was one, I don't like him he isn't even funny. We had some enemies from the Stair too Henrietta was one she was a wizard who we clashed with, uhm we also won an auction in the Agora once and some people were jealous."

Xan looked in thought, "Also some weird Sci Fi guy ! yeah he was pretty powerful and a real jerk I don't remember his name it was just a bunch of numbers."

Barbara smiled at Jill.
"If i were back in my world, I'd definitely get a team of friends together to slice this mystery,  so I'll definitely accept the help of  new friends now.  Thank you,  Jill. Especially if you have useful skills like a doctor."
She still felt a pang of jealousy when she looked at Jill, the other woman, besides being more mature and very beautiful,  definitely had a solid connection to Dean.

Still, she had learned to never let personal feelings interfere with the job.

Looking at Xan, she stared in shock.
"Wait, what??  She was active on my world,  fighting villians like Joker???   Did she work with Batman?  Did she have a superhero identity?  In fact, what did she even look like?  Whar powers did she have?"

  “Well, if it came through the door, it probably wasn’t one of the local villains like the Joker.  Guys like that always leave some kind of calling card or something, right?  So, let’s focus on enemies from the stairs.”

"She called herself Wild Card, Oh yes she fought alongside Batman a few times, He is too serious he really needs to lighten up. At least he says thank you if you give him chocolate. She was tall like legs over there but had dark brown hair and bright ice blue eyes. Powers ? Well she knew how to make cards and could call people out of them and talk to people with them. I was hoping she would call me."

Skye looks over, "I have a friend with that power it is known as writing and it is very useful. It allows one to teleport, communicate and mentally attack someone."

“Mentally attacking someone? “ Dean asks, trying to picture it.  “Sounds strange, but no stranger than anything else in the last day.  Okay, so the suspects we have.  The guy from the auction, someone with numbers for a name.  Who else?”

"Henrietta a mage."

  “So, that gives us a list of people to start with.  Barbara, what do we do with that?  Go talk to them?”

Barbara frowned,  not recognizing the superhero name "Wild Card", but then again she didn't really know Batman by more than reputation,  either.  She had desperately hoped to work with him one day, but....well, that was a problem for another day (though she was impressed that Jessica,  and even Xan, it seemed, seemed to know what Batman looked like without his cowl).

"Okay, so we need to look to the stairs for a culprit,  then?  Yes, Skye, I'll definitely need your help, then.  Thank you"

She looked at Dean, trying to sound more confident than she felt
"Yes, that's exactly right,  Dean.  If we have a list of names,  we need to start interrogating them for information. "

  “Okay, so who do we look for first, and where do we start?”  Dean asks, looking between Barbara and Skye for the answer.  After all, he was just the muscle of this endeavor.

"I know where Henrieta and Numbers are at least I know what their Doors look like. Though I would need to start from our Door Batgirl."

Barbara sighed and smiled wryly
"Which, admittedly,  is probably something we should have done when we were there the first time,  rather than walking for a day and night away from the scene of the crime,  but i suppose better late than never.   Okay,  when everyone is ready, let's head back."
She shrugged
"Perhaps i can glide down some of those stairs we had to climb up last time.  I'm not complaining about the help Dean gave me last time,  but being carried around like sack of groceries isn't the most efficient dignified way to travel ".

"Hold on, Millenia was on your world right Dean ?"

  Dean nods.  “Yeah, she was in the club in New Orleans, but she made mention of Miami while we were talking.  Seemed like she was talking about it during Prohibition though, almost a hundred years ago.  I thought she was yanking my chain though, you know, playing around.  Why, you think it’s relevant somehow?”

"She can get you places she has been it is not pleasant but it is very fast."
Skye makes a face at that but looks to everyone, "I can let her have control again, she will most likely adore you Xantastic, she likes kids. Dean she had a friend a Warden he owned a world like yours and it was during prohibition times, she was a singer there. I think she still has fond memories of that world."

Barbara held up a hand in support
"Please,  only do that if you're comfortable with it. "

  Dean shrugs. "Fast and unpleasant, slow and more pleasant...I'm good with either way.  I have no issue with being the pack mule when needed.  I'll leave the decision up to y'all on this one.  Down the stairs is probably easier than up.  But hey, that makes sense about her having been in a similar world.  She seemed to have a familiarity, but not an exact one.  Gold coins, old time jargon."

"Well. I like to be in control but Millenia has the experience to get you there which I do not." She looks down somewhat sadly.

"Alright let's get this over with."

Skye collapses in a black cloud and a red head rises up in her place.




"Ahhhh home again, home again !"

Barbara nodded, impressed.  She'd seen shapeshifting before,  but this was truly impressive

"Hello Dean ! Awwwwwwwwwww is this your little sister and daughter !"

Millenia sweeps across the floor towards Xantastic and Batgirl, "Wow now look at those clothes you two are certainly making a statement."

Batgirl smiled, though sheepishly
"I suppose you're right.   The Statement is 'Bad guys Beware!'"

  “Millenia, this is Barbara Gordon, also known as Batgirl, and Xantastic.  Barbara, Xan, this is Millenia.”  Dean says with a flourish.

"Well it is a pleasure to meet you two. Welcome to my little metal boat between the stars."

She smiles and spins around, "So, did she help you Dean ?"

  “She did some pretty cool stuff.  Hooked Jill up with some super doctor knowledge, made a great breakfast, blew our minds with some cosmic revelations.  You know, stuff like that.  What have you been up to?”

"Boring stuff, sitting in a time out. Sounds like you have all been having fun ! That is usually not her style she is so drab but she is very efficient. I am glad to be back. Especially with guests ! I don't get to play hostess often."

Barbara nodded to Millenia
"So, if you don't mind me asking,  how did you two,  you know,  end up sharing a body?"

Millenia looks at Barbara for a long moment.

"That is a delicate subject. I gated in she thinks were uhm multiple personality partners. It is inconvenient at times. Though now that I am here your so lucky, we can have a lot of fun."

Barbara nodded.   She wasn't exactly reassured,  but she tried not to show it

  “We were all just about to go start looking for Jessica Gordon, also known as Wild Card, who is allegedly Barbara’s cousin who went missing, possibly kidnapped.  She left a key with Xantastic here as a contingency if something ever happened.  We have three possible suspects, two of which are believed to originate far down the stairs.  Skye had been telling s that you had a quick, but unpleasant way of getting there.”   says Dean.

Millenia stopped and looked at Dean, "Unpleasant ? Oh she must mean traversing the black hole or tunneling. She can do it too but she is a bit of a prude about some things. Ok everyone line up and everyone concentrate on something or someone you hold dear to you. Where did you need to get to ?"  The hazy black around her finally resolved into a red trench coat and hat, a black band about the hat and black heels giving her a decidedly Carmen Sandiego look. Humming the tune to the shows theme to herself.

  Dean lines up, gets his mental focus, and waits.  The location was up to Barbara, as she was the expert on investigation.

Not having any clue what her alleged cousin looked like, and Xantastic seemed not to be of much help, Barbara pictured the crime scene on Earth.

Millenia looked at them all, "C'mon don't make me be a mind reader. Where do you want to go ?"

  "Batgirl's door, which is where I assume her key goes to.  It was right on the same hallway where we came from. From there Xan says she can find her way to either some guy who has a name made out of numbers, or a mage names Henrietta.  Both are possible suspects.  Our third suspect was some guy that Jessica had beat out in an interdimensional auction of some sort.  That's all we know about him though."  Dean says.  It was the best descriptor he had.

"Same hallway, ok well I don't know if I have ever been to Batgirl's world would your world be good enough ?"

  "I suppose that's pretty close.  From there we can go through the door in Vixens again and be right near where we first met her."

"Alright then good enough ! I am going to change to make things easier on myself. If you want me to do this for you just let me know. The Umbra is a hard way to travel not all Umbra Masters can do this."

There is a cracking sound her knees go backwards and her feet shrink down to split hooves with fur growing on her lower legs. Curled horns grow from her head and frame her fiery hair. the tip of a tail could be seen swaying at the bottom of her trench coat. Her back rises up and she sighs. The back of the trench coat rips in two lines and bat like wings come out.


Xantastic jaw drops, "Me next me next, me next."

Jill, "We become demons ?"

Millenia laughs, "No Faux demons maybe, I just find this form is highly resistant to Umbra and protects me when I travel through a tunnel."

  Dean chuckles, "So is this demonic form something deeply imbedded within us, or is it open to artistic interpretation?  Might be interesting to see what everyone's inner demon looks like."

"Well no, you might not look like a demon at all. You see I was born in entropy and chaos and this is my form, it is resistant to the like. What form you all take to resist entropy may be completely different."

(Artistic license is open to you here. Just remember what Umbra is.)

Millenia touches Xantastic who sprouts fur looking like a small ewok for a bit but then shrinks and walks out of her clothes looking like an incredibly adorable kitten. Silver fur, violet eyes and a long tail. Unlike most kittens she seems to have a pouch like a kangaroo.
"Meow !, neow ?" The kitten pads around confused.

Jill laughs a bit but covers her mouth.

  Dean says, “I’ll go next.  Millenia, you know a lot more about this stuff than we do, so why don’t you pick the form for me.  Whatever you think will work best and look good.”

Millenia walked over to Dean and placed her hands on him.

"Looks Good ?" she smirks.

  The hardest material that Dean knows of is diamonds.  Diamonds are forever.  Diamonds will take her breath away.  Yeah, DeBeers had done their advertising well over the years, selling the pretty little crystals to the world.  He knew that diamonds were used in industrial cutting technology because of their hardness, and that only diamonds could actually cut diamonds.

  His body became hard, translucent, bigger....especially in the upper body.  Still bipedal, but with the addition of armored scales of different colored diamonds.  His head protruded ridges and plates, and horns.  His hands had claws and protruding spikes along the back of them.

  It felt weird, but powerful, invulnerable.  His ring had grown to fit his hand, as had the iron knuckles.

  When it was done he held out his arms.

  "Well, how do you like me now?"

Barbara frowned,  but waited her turn

  Dean saw the reaction.  “What, not stylish enough?  I thought diamonds were a girl’s best friend.”

"They are but, they are not usually able to run away from us."

Millenia reached out for Batgirl.

Xan Meowed and moved over near Barbara. "Nyao !"

Barbara had been frowning towards Millenia, since she had implied she actually could read theirn minds, so she wasnt paying attention to Dean specifically.   When he spoke, she turned,  in her deep thoughts,  to look at him, and visibly flinched in amazement when she saw his diamond form.
"Holy Moley!!!!"

Barbara looked at Xan with concern
"What's wrong? "

Xan reached into her pouch and pulled out a sign Just be careful

Barbara sighed with friendly annoyance
'Be careful with what, exactly?  I don't even know what's happening."

Xantastic puts her clothes in the pouch and shoves the sign in there too.

Then pulls the sign out again She is going to change you like me. Look Im a cat. Swishes tail annoyed.

Millenia touches Batgirl, "I am just trying to help make everyone resistant."

Barbara looked at Millennia, shrewdly
"I'm assuming that this is....um, temporary,  right?  I don't want to become Platinum of the Metal Men or something?"

"Temporary,         of course."

Barbara sighed with resignation, and shrugged.
"Well, let's do this.  If it's necessary to solve the case, I'll do it."

Then she started to change.  Batgirl buckled over in pain as her limbs lengthened.  Her arms turned into wings, and her booted feet became claws.  Her form became curvier and shapelier, almost sensual and cartoonishly sexy.

  Dean lets out a wolf whistle.  “Dayumm Barbara, that’s hot!”

Barbara looked at herself, especially her much larger bosom, and blushed again.
"I'm....I'm not sure how to feel about this...."

"Well, that makes sense !" Millenia nods and moves to Jill.

Jill whispers to Millenia and Millenia smiles.
Soon Jill looks like a twin to Millenia but her knees are forward and she doesn't have hooves.

Jill smiles, "I have wings, this is great."


Millenia said, "Ok everyone hold each other's hands. Uhm someone carry that cute cat. I will open the way for us."

Barbara, tentatively, took someone's hand, and allowed Xan to be in her arms.

  “Man, surrounded by hotness all around.  It’s a good day, tater.” Says Dean as he extends his hand for people to grab as they will.  “I shoulda grown more hands.”

  “Twister is still definitely on the table though.” Dean adds with a sparkly grin.

Jill and Millenia take a hand and there is a wavering in the air very much like Raven's darkness from the Titans TV series. It swirls into a dark void and Millenia walks into it.
Your not sure how long your in it it feels terrifying a tunnel of darkness which light dies in yet your guide leads you through it and...


POP You find yourself in Vixen's bathroom. All jumbled up a bit.

Dean looks around.  “At least it’s the ladies room.  Floor isn’t gross.  Before we go out there, I hope we’re going back to normal?”

Barbara looked around, and realized,  to her dismay,  that her sense of smell was heightened.

Everyone leaves the swampy New Orleans spinnoff and finds themselves back out on the Grand Stair.

The Blood Hounds almost immediately start pacing and looking around.

Barbara looked at the group
"Very well, let's head out"

The Crocking leads the team along the stair. He seems to know where he is going taking turns when the Stair splits into different directions and ascending or descending as necessary. He keeps glancing to the hounds but as they calm down after a time so does he.

Without the sun or night sky it is hard to tell the passage of time but the aching of the legs of the regular people in the group tells them they must have gone at least a full days travel. They need to sleep.

With this conveyed the Crocking says they could find an unused section of Stair which would be some more travel or trust to the nature of the Warden's to find a world through one of the Door's where people could rest and get something to eat.

Barbara was trying to get used to the stairs, and worked to try to figure out,  and perhaps anticipate,  where good areas were.  Of course,  she did this while trying to keep one eye on their new "friend".
At the mention of resting,  something she was in dire favor of, she looked ro Millenia,  their mentor,  for advice.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:23, Wed 15 Sept 2021.

Millenia smiled, "Sure thing I can even disguise people to fit in, shapeshifting others falls within my capabilities and getting back on the Stairs should dispel it, or I can. So pick a door one you feel best fits our needs. You need to flex those Warden muscles sometime and now is a good test run."

Barbara nodded,  though she'd hoped for better instructions than that
She concentrated on a good meal, and happy times with friends.

Barbara takes them up a spiral staircase and down a short hall with doors to an odd looking door and she is feeling that this might be her destination that fulfills her requirements.

Barbara shrugged and smiled ruefully at her friends
'Alright,  everybody,  let's see what's behind Door Number One"
She opened the door

Beyond the door and up a street there is some kind of festival going on.

People are wandering the streets. There are costumes and the smell of food and alcohol is in the air. Music too from performers could be heard at different street corners though none is synthesized or coming from speakers the music is all live.

Barbara made a sour face.
"So my instincts send me to an interdimensional Coachella?  That's....disappointing."
She sighed and looked back
"Still,  if we can handle currency,  we might be okay.  Millenia,  what do you make of this place?"

Millenia looked around, "Hmmm festive, with our group as eclectic as it is might be good. Sensing a strong presence of Umbra so I suggest everyone being at least somewhat guarded. With the outward signs of what I am seeing, it might indicate crime, or cult like activity. I will make sure we don't have any particularly poisoness food or drink. You did good, but you look like your not pleased with yourself ?"

Barbara smiled sheepishly
"I'll admit that I was hoping I'd put us on board an all you can eat buffet cruise ship, or something,  but perhaps that was too greedy"

"Moving target with an active Door, very very rare I think I have encountered the like maybe once." Millenia still smiled then she moved to disguise the crocking.

The Crocking said, "Whoah whoah, I have heard of you lady,  don't know if I trust you changing me. Maybe I should just wait on this side of the Door for you all just someone slip me something to eat."

In reply to Millenia (msg # 213):

  Dean looks to the Crocking, "Really not wise for us to split up, my friend.  Way easier for us to get picked off.  Look, I know we've only just met, and trust takes time to build...but we've all had chances to do something crummy and we haven't.  I trust Millenia though, and everyone in this group...including you.  Now, when I was in the Corps, your unit became your family.  Same for this unit now.  Nobody gets left behind, nobody hurts anybody else, and we all got each others' backs."

The Crocking leans close to Dean, "Yeah but she's crazy." said as quietly as he can.

In reply to Little Mammoth (msg # 215):

  Dean claps an arm around the big guy's shoulder and laughs. "Ain't we all, man, in our own little way?  C'mon, let her do her thing, and we can get moving.  Sooner we get stuff done, sooner you get what your people need, right?"

"You promise she will return me to my handsome self." He pokes Dean lightly.

Then against his better judgement, "Ok I guess make me fit in."

Millenia walks over and after a short time reworks the Crocking.




Millenia smiles, "There you go."

Then forgetting to change herself she is about to go through as a succubi.

The Crocking looks to the others, "I look hideous don't I ?"

  With a shrug Dean says, "Well, you're not about to make me start batting for the alternate team, but nobody's gonna be running screaming at the sight of you either."

Barbara blinked in surprise,  her eyes wide and stunned for a moment, before she cleared her throat and nodded in a hopefully nonchalant way.
"Um....yeah, that's okay."

She looked around to get a lay of the land

Glancing over at Millennia,  Barbara cocked an uncertain eyebrow
"Um....no offense,  but is your appearance okay here?  How fussy are these people?"

"Huh what's wrong do I have something in my teeth ?"


Crocking looks like he might blow a gasket, "You look like a DEMON, ya know it might scare some people."

Millenia reaches up feeling her horns, "Oh, for heavens sake." She changes into her attractive red haired human looking self.

The hounds all unsurprisingly become hounds.

You all head in and the festive atmosphere and smell of food and alcohol is heavy in the air.

Everyone is easily able to get something to eat and drink here.
The mood among people is festive and the celebration is something akin to the Day of the Dead though very upbeat with the music and clothing being a combination of bright and morbid.

Xan gets her face painted like a skeleton at face painting booth along with a bunch of kids who are getting face paintings.

After first testing the food for poisons and other antigens,  Barbara has a good meal and plenty of refreshing lemonade.   She's tempted to sneak an alcoholic adult beverage, since she's too young for one on Earth and no one seems to be carding here, but she decides it's better for the mission to stay perfectly sober
There was a roasted chicken (hopefully it was chicken) pie which was delightful,  though

In reply to Barbara (msg # 223):

  Dean gets something resembling a kabob, a sweet roll, and something vaguely beer-like.  He makes sure that everyone else in the party has gotten something before eating his own.  He looks around.

  "So, we get some rooms, take a rest here, post watches on a four hour rotation until everyone has gotten eight hours of sleep then get moving again. Sound good?"

In reply to Dean (msg # 224):

Barbara winced, but nodded.
"I hate to stop, but you're right.  It's easy to lose track of time here."

  Once they manage to find lodging, Dean says "I'll take first watch.  Y'all get some rest."

  His plan, of course is to let the others sleep through.  He wasn't particularly tired.  During his days in the corps he had stayed awake for three days straight during one engagement.  Unless he felt himself starting to zone out or fade he'd just let the others sleep.

With a certain reluctance,  Barbara nodded and tried to find a safe place to sleep

Millenia makes some ratty local money after a time and distributes it.
After that it's not so easy to get a hotel with the festival many places are full.
It isn't till hours later that everyone is asleep at a hotel but the night passes peacefully. No attacks or anything of the sort just hangovers for those who over indulged.

The shower remains warm for the first three people (well first two then luke warm for the third) everyone else can get a cold shower before catching breakfast in the lobbey.

Barbara dosen't mind a cold shower,  as it's part of her physical training regimen.
She works the kinks out of her sore muscles and heads down to join the others.
Over breakfast she nodded greetings to her friends

Jill is rubbing her legs, "One word for you warden people, Escalators!"
She doesn't seem to be joking as she rubs her long legs.

The Crocking chuckles, "The Stairs can be a bit much, look at it this way after a while you will have the strongest legs on your world."

In reply to Little Mammoth (msg # 230):

  Dean smiles.  "There's always the piggy-back or chicken-fight option."

  He knew too well that Jill was stubborn though, and would push herself to her absolute limits before taking the easy way as long as everyone else was slogging it out.  The stairs hadn't been that rough on Dean, but it certainly would have challenged any workout freak at the gyms back in NOLA.

Barbara chuckled in agreement with Jill.
She ate a good breakfast, and tried to sneak a few rolls and other easily stored food in some pouches and pockets on her outfit.

Jill sighs resigning herself to it.
She eats a good sized breakfast and seeing the others hiding food she looks to Dean, "Could you hide some for me ?"

Xan is all smiles, "I had fun ! I was a skeleton last night."
She looks at Jill and pouts slightly, "I am sorry, Jill."

Jill looks down at her, "I don't know how you do it short stuff, all those stairs and you don't complain."

Xan shrugs, "I'm a sidekick, we learn not to complain."

Jill starts laughing.

  Dean fills his pockets with food, and then realizing how little extra room he had rolls some items up into the sleeves of his tee-shirt like the guys used to do with cigarette packs.  Anything he can carry flat he tucks into the sides of his shirt above his belt.

  "Time to hit it again, I guess.  Hey Millenia, what's at the top and the bottom of the stairs, anyway?  You ever follow them all the way to the end?"

Barbara nodded
"Good question,  Dean.  There's a theory about the multiverse that it is infinite and never ends, but that feels unrealistic with stairs, for some reason "

"Yes I have and might I suggest never, ever going there." She shakes her head as if remembering something really bad.

Barbara looked sympathetic,  but curious
"I hate to press you, but it'll bother me if i don't ask.    What's there?"

"Do you know what a mobius strip is ? Or the concept of one ? Imagine one being built and also being finished at the same time. There is a lot more to it then that but my mind allows me to perceive things from an entropic nature of things. The Omega of it all I could understand, and empathize with and I think since I am very much into change, evolution, a bit of chaos more then genuinely ending things I was able to escape the viewing of such a thing without going mad. Or perhaps without going more mad." Millenia now looks genuinely stressed.

"It's not like finding the shattered remnants of stair free floating, that I believe is from the old war. It was genuinely like you worded it looking for a beginning or end."

Barbara looked dubious,  and shrugged
"So...basically,  what you think you're trying to say is that reality at the ends of the stairs, though 'end' is not quite accurate,  is so bizarre and trippy that it can cause insanity?"

"Yes and I am immune to all usual causes of insanity. It takes an incredible amount to have any real effect on me. So that is why I am trying to warn you about it. Also you may want to avoid the center of the Stair for a while an area known as the Labyrinth. Not so much because it will drive you mad, though certainly one can get lost but because of the beast that dwells there and has claimed it. I am sure you have heard of it because echoes of it appear even upon the Gossamer Worlds. It's known as the True Minotaur. It hunts in the labyrinth and has even killed Wardens." Millenia smiles.

"Thank you both for asking, so many wardens and others discount my knowledge or me, even if they do fear me."
This message was lightly edited by the player at 10:56, Sun 10 Oct 2021.

Barbara stared at Millennia,  not sure if she were being serious, but hid her grimace when she realized the warden probably was.
"Well, knowledge has always been the ultimate weapon,  and i value your insight "

  "You know a whole lot more about all this stuff than most of us do, so we'd be fools to not listen to what you're willing to teach us about it all.  As far as fearing you, why would they fear you?  I mean, I know you can handle yourself in a scrap, but you seem like a fair and reasonable person.  Kind, even.  Generous, likeable.  I mean sure, if someone gets on your bad side I imagine you could make their lives pretty miserable, but same goes for most people."  Dean says, looking genuinely puzzled. "Unless you mean the whole Succubus thing, but isn't that all tied in with the other person's desires and all that?  They pretty much ask for it by trying to summon you, don't they?  It isn't like you just go walking up to innocent strangers and suck their life force out like a juice box, right?"

"Thank you both of you. It's just that well Eidolon users the users of high order are seen in a better light I suppose. I am friends with some and best friends with one. They can be just as threatening and scary it's just bad PR I guess. When I was a young Warden I worked with others to handle problems way above the pay grade. The Stair did not have many Wardens then something really bad had happened. The really Powerful Wardens were guarding key areas so we, well we were needed to wander and deal with problems on the wider scale. My looks." She looks at herself, "Well you know as you said, when I look like a succubi, were an immediate red flag for some people and since my powers were so new, and I didn't have anyone to train me, and the Umbra drives you more then a little insane for a while I had a really rough go. Some people remember me fondly, you will find some outright love me, but many fear me for the vast actions I needed to take to protect the Stair and often erratic way I went about things. Unlike most Umbra users though I had good friends of Eidolon and Order on my side so I didn't go so wild an unrestrained like most Umbra users do. It's a bad PR thing to be sure people fear change and just my mere presence means change. I changed your lives and hopefully for the better. I am one of the few Umbra users you will find that strives to change and evolve things for the better. It isn't easy but it does lay inherent in what I am and who I am."

Barbara nodded and smiled
"I'll admit that I'm not interested in other people's drama, just in what i can see myself.   And what I've seen so far is good"

"Alright great, let's get your cousin back !" Millenia smiled.

"I was a hero and I can still be a hero. Don't have to rule a hell dimension, or feed a wandering gossamer world of nightmares !"

Millenia seemed psyched to go.


The Crocking looked at her his face showing confusing expressions of course his face was human and most likely he wasn't used to all the muscles and emotions it could show.

Barbara nodded, still not completely sure what she was getting into,  but knowing that she was with the people with the best chance to succeed
"Indeed, let's head out"
She got up to go

Everyone is back out on the Grand Stair again.

The Crocking says, "Ok so can you change me back to my handsome self ?"

Millenia says, "Now what did you look like again ?"

The Crocking's jaw drops open, "Your joking, YOU ARE JOKING RIGHT ?"

Barbara chuckled

Millenia looks around, "Ah your not Dean, Your the Crocking !"

She starts working restoring him to the best of her knowledge to himself. It is still an odd thing to watch for a moment like a 2001 movie moment and then the Crocking more or less is back with you all. For lack of a mirror he feels himself and looks at you all for verification.

Xan just gives him a thumbs up.

In reply to Millenia (msg # 249):

  Dean nods. "So, onward and upward.  Man, too bad whoever built this didn't know about escalators."

 

"Some of my friends thought about adding to the Stair things like that but adding to the Stair does not seem to be something it likes, even though it is obvious that different sections of stair are completely different, there are even the ladders which I am not sure if they are an older section of stair or not."


KingCroc leads everyone again after he is reassured he is himself. He doesn't stop for some time perhaps not wishing for another experience of being human again.

Jill tries her best to keep up and not complain but it is apparent she is having the hardest time.

Dean you feel yourself zoning out at times kind of getting highway hypnosis but on the stairs.
You feel after a time like veering off and at least twice the group needs retrieve you.

Millenia then realizes something, "Oh Dean your going through something I have seen before, you are becoming a Warden. It happens this way sometimes. I think it might be best to let Dean follow his instincts."

Barbara wasn't as convinced,  but shrugged and let the Warden do her thing

  The monotony of the stairs was making Dean zone out a bit.  Had he been more with it, he would have been more keenly aware of Jill's struggle.  Dean tries to shake it off each time until Millenia states that he's becoming a Warden.  That snaps him out of it just enough to notice Jill wincing with each step.

  "Huh?  Wha?  Warden?  Me?  Can't be...aww Jill, babe, you're hurting.  Lemme carry you."

  He's still half dreamy as he moves to scoop Jill up.

  "Okay, let's keep goin..." he mumbles starting up the steps again.

Barbara frowned, but didn't say anything.   This was a serious mission,  and perhaps not the best time for any of them to be "learning new skills".
Still, Dean had been a solid, reliable part of the team so far, so she decided to trust him, and their guide.
Goodness knows she was in uncharted waters,  both literally and figuratively,  at the moment.

Still, she kept her eyes out for trouble,  especially if Dean needed help

Millenia shakes her head a bit then to Barbara, "He might just wander off on his own. He if going through a condition not entirely under his control the Grand Stair is imprinting itself on him or he is learning it. Something that I have witnessed before. So just keep an eye on him."

Barbara nodded,  acknowledging Millenia,  always amazed at how perceptive the woman was

The group makes it's way again.

The Crocking nods, "Yeah been waiting for that to happen to me for a while. Though it seems pretty random who it happens too." There is a tinge of disappointment in his voice.

In reply to Little Mammoth (msg # 257):

Barbara gave the reptile man a wry smile
"Don't lose hope.  The day, and the mission,  are just getting started "

"Yeah your right." He says and squares his shoulders.

Xan pats his hip and smiles up at him.

  Up the steps Dean continues, trying hard to focus on each step.  He has Jill in his arms.  Her warmth, her scent comforting him subconsciously as he keeps moving.  The added weight of carrying her was inconsequential.  Not only was she light and fit, but he was strong, and he could have been carrying way more weight than Jill accounted for.

  The steps though were having some kind of effect on him without a doubt.  They were pulling at his mind, numbing it so the only thing registering in his conscious thoughts were the stairs.

  Step...step...step...

Dean's steps take him in a different direction a different tug then the one Barbara felt. Soon when they came to a split Dean took a turn and off he went carrying Jill. He went up a flight into what looked like stairs that looked like piano keys that lit up as he strode them though they didn't make noise.

In reply to Little Mammoth (msg # 261):

Numb to all else, the pull of the stairs is insistent, drawing him up a white and black path.  Jill was gripping him tightly, looking around to see if the others were moving up the same path, or following a different route.  All the while, Dean followed the indomitable will of the staircase.

Dean Comes to stand before a gilded silver and ivory door.

Thrust into the silver gilding of the door is an ebon sword and a snow white sword.
Below Dean's feet the floor is checkerboard of white and silver.

Barbara looked at the door and sword curiously

Dean looks back and forth at the door, the swords, and the floor several times.

  "It's some kind of a choice, or a test, or something...isn't it?  Some kind of cosmic puzzle to see what I'm made of?  The floor and the door are silver and white, and one of the swords is white too.  The one thing that is incongruous is the black sword.  It begs the question though, is black a representation of evil, or merely something different?  Is white pure?  Is silver an even higher elevation of purity?  What symbologu then is the checkerboard floor?  Am I a piece in some greater game?  A pawn?  A knight?  A king?"

Jill says, "I only know we have white hats and black hats back home to represent good guys and bad guys. Usually people fear the dark."

  "I've worn a lot of black, but I've always thought of myself as a good guy.  Hell, I imagine back in the Marines the enemy didn't see it that way though.  To them, I was the bad guy.  To the people I saved though, I was the good guy.  Shit, at the club I was a little of both, I guess, depending on what side of the line you fell on, huh?"

  He stops and looks into Jill's eyes for a long moment, seeking the answer.

  "What am I to you?  How do you see me?"

Jill smiles, "I think your a good guy, but your a real good guys not some comic book unrealistic good guy. I have always seen you try to help people."

  "Then I suppose it's time I try on the white hat, hmm?"

  With that, Dean shifts his left arm slightly so that it frees up his right arm as he carries Jill.  With her arms around his neck and her dancer's body he could carry her like this for days.  Reaching out with his right hand he holds his breath and takes a grip on the white sword.  He doesn't try to pull just yet but waits to see if anything happens first.

Nothing untoward happens though he feels a dislike for the black sword and somewhat for Millenia. The white sword feels cool and solid in fact it feels more solid than anything he has ever felt before except perhaps the Grand Stairs themselves. There is a feeling of certainty of being part of something far larger then himself.

 "That's...strange." he says out loud, "Not bad, but strange."

  In his head he tried to remember the things that Millenia and Sky had told him about the Eidolon and Umbra.  Eidolon represented permanency, which was Sky's domain.  Umbra was decay and change, which was Millenia's thing.  The white sword must be something of Eidolon.  That'd track, with the sudden feeling he felt toward Millenia and the black sword.

  He tried to mentally push the feelings aside, but they hung like an aftertaste.  He'd have to be mindful of them.

  He tried withdrawing the sword from the door.  Maybe it was some King Arthur stuff.  If that doesn't work, he tries twisting it slightly, because maybe it was a doorknob.  If that didn't work, he'd try to push it open.

The sword springs free easily sliding free with no resistance at all even though it looked as if it should have been more of a struggle to pull it from just the restriction in the gilding it was held in.

The sword for a brief moment comes apart into component pieces. He could see how it was put together in that brief moment. He could see the Grand Stair in it's immensity. He sees it like the checkerboard floor stretching to infinity. It is not so smooth and orderly as the checkerboard pattern. Suddenly it all snaps into place and the sword snaps back together and he feels he has an understanding of the Grand Stair. He knows he is a Warden.
As he looks out on his fellows he can see Barbara and Millenia have a mantle about them and he can feel one on himself signifying that guardianship and tie to the stair.

Jill is looking at Dean, "Dean, Dean are you ok ?"

Barbara stepped closer to examine the area, though she kept a slight distance to let Dean take the lead, and to not interfere with him

  "I...I'm good.  I mean, I'm okay."  he looks at the white sword in his hand, looks all around.

  "What now?  Do I have to hold it up and shout By The Power of Greyskull, or something?  I'm not sure, but I have a feeling I have to go through this door."

"I have a feeling you should put the sword back for whoever else might come along. It is a very bright sword, the other though sings with the song of entropy."

Jill, "You were kind of zoned out for a bit Dean, you had me worried."

Barbara looked at Millenia
"So...do these two swords represent these two magical powers of order and chaos that run the stairway?"

"I guess in a way. First time I have come across them, but I have seen the likes of such things from time to time. Usually, they are placed for someone to make a choice. I wager the black sword can't be pulled out by Dean now. Though that is just speculation. When I was first coming to terms with the Umbra I placed such items about the Stair."

Barbara walked over and tried to pull iut the black sword

In reply to Millenia (msg # 275):

  Dean nods, sliding the white blade back into it's place.  He smiled at Jill. "Good guy it is then.  I'm fine...it was just something wierd, like I suddenly knew where I fit in the universe, or something like that.  Tough to explain, but I'm alright."

  Looking to Millenia he asks, "So should I try to open it and go through, or was that just the thing that it was drawing me here for, do you think?"

Barbara pulls the black sword free easily too easily as if it was wanting to be drawn.

The white blade slides back in easily.

Millenia says, "Do you feel an urge to go through the door or do you feel that you were just lead here ? I can sense you are a warden now so you can set your own destinations." She smiled.

  "No, no special draw or sense of urgency to go through.  Whatever it was that was drawing me here seems to be gone now.  Weird."  Dean shrugs.  "So I guess we should be back to the business at hand.  We've got a missing person to find, and best that we don't let the trail get cold."

Barbara puts the black sword back quickly
She shuddered
"I wonder if that's what Batman feels like all the time?"  she muttered to herself

Jill, "I wonder if I should pull out a sword."

Barbara shrugged and smiled
"On one hand,  'Nothing ventured,  nothing gained', but on the other hand,  we're also in unknown territory here"

Jill nods, "Your right."

Jill will hop down for a moment and tries to pull the white sword. She tugs at it, tries to twist it. "Ok how did you guys do it."

Barbara looked at the sword with narrowed, suspicious eyes.
"I'm almost wondering if the sword makes that decision. "

Jill tugs at it harder but it doesn't seem to come free.

"What is with this, there has to be a trick."

Barbara smirked
"I'm definitely thinking that this is like Excalibur or something.  The sword chooses you"

The Crocking comes up and says, "May I ?"

Jill shrugs and steps back.

He tries and even with his massive muscles he seems unable to draw it. He hesitantly looks at the black sword as he reaches for it he glances at Millenia and withdraws his hand.

"Yeah, don't know what calibur x is but maybe she is right."

  "I think it's like the door back in the bar was.  It decides who it lets open it, or in this case, who it lets pull out a blade and which one."

Jill smiles, "Ahhh I get it now. Yeah even you couldn't get that Door for a long time till Millenia came along." Jill tried her best she really did turning to Kingcroc, "Hey big guy it's ok I think if we hang out with them it's like grease or oil, eventually we might be able to open a Door or pull one of these swords."

Kingcroc looked down at her, "Perhaps, I used to believe such a thing myself."

Xan looked up at the swords looked at her huge hammer and said, "Eh, I'm good."

Kingcroc started laughing and after a while so did Jill.

  Dean shrugs. "Maybe.  Who knows, right?  I suppose anything is possible.  If you had asked me three days ago if any of this was possible, I'd have said no...but here we are.  Right now though, we aught to get back on track before the trail gets cold.  Shall we?"

  He scoops Jill back up.  Who knew how many hours or days of stair climbing lay ahead.

Barbara was fascinated by the conversation,  but nodded and joined the march forward

The group resumes following the Crocking though he talks with Millenia reluctantly.
After getting back to a main route they begin moving along the stairs and the group ends up in a hall with what looks like melted statues standing every fifteen feet from each other.

The Crocking eyes them warily as he walks along.

Barbara looked around warily
"Well, THAT'S not ominous at all...."
She crept closer to examine them

They look from the unmelted parts like they are made of marble and done in ancient Greek style. Upon closer examination some statues have items on them. A piece of jewelry here, a belt there, a helm there etc. These don't seem to be part of the statues themselves.

Dean quirks an eyebrow at the statues and their items, but doesn't get particularly close to them.

  "Fish bait?" he queries Millienia. "Ever seen this before?  Seems like shiny little lures to dupe curious fish to me."

Millenia looks to Dean, "The Grand Stair doesn't have many decorations too it so you may be on to something. There are a few exceptions, but they are rare. The melting is unusual since it takes a tremendous amount of force to damage something of the stairs, I could do it but it is exhausting."

 Barbara does a cursory glance around for traps
"Do we have to proceed through here, or is there a way around?"
This message was last edited by the player at 06:33, Wed 22 Dec 2021.

Crocking, "I have heard other Wardens say there is always a way around but it could take much longer one just has to follow there warden senses, which I don't have so I don't know."

Millenia nods, "True, it's like following a feinter pull but it could take much longer."

Barbara begins searching around and she does find a few hairline strands very thin and the same color as the statues that go under the items, they have on them. On some like the ones with jewelry she sees them wrapped about the jewelry but not enough to notice save for her now being hyper aware with the training she has. She thinks someone taking the items would trigger something, but she isn't sure what. There don't seem to be any trip wires going across the hall but she does find one between two of the statues.

If they just avoid messing with the statues, they should be able to continue at least she doesn't see any traps that way.

Barbara nodded grimly
"Yes, they're definitely trapped, though I'm not positive what it does.  Nothing helpful,  obviously.  We should be able to avoid them by not touching them. "

  "Good, then we move on.  Whatever did this is beyond us, and it doesn't seem to have bearing on our quest right now.  So...forward."  Carrying Jill, Dean begins to continue onward, following the stair further up, past the melted statues.

"It's very strange though, very strange and I know strange. As you all know by now few people have access to the Grand Stair and even fewer have reason to trap it. So well, it's odd but yes, no reason to set anything off. I am not sensing any power from anything, so those baubles don't seem to resonate with any inherent power of their own." She shrugs and will follow the others.

Xan eyes the statues, "You said there is a minotaur, is there a Medusa ?"

Millenia, "Yes there is why ?"

Xan points at the statues.

Millenia, "Oh, oh I see what your getting at, she doesn't tend to melt her creations and I don't sense enough umbra about them to suggest they were changed from their true flesh and blood form, so these I imagine are real statues."

Xan nods and clutches her big hammer tightly.

  As they pass them, Dean asks "Does anyone recognize who the statues are of?  Maybe there's some significance to it.  Maybe it represents something of the whole Umbra and Eidolon thing."

  A thought occurs to him.  "Where about are we on the stair, anyway?  Top half, bottom half, midpoint?  Do the worlds change based on where they fall on the stair, like, is there an Umbra kind of zone and an Eidolon zone?"

Barbara looked to see if she recognized anyone, either personally or from Legends

The statues do have a Greeco/Roman look to them but no specific person that she recognizes. Perhaps Diana might recognize them better.

All of them looking at the statues none stand out as people they recognize.

Millenia says, "Well, there might be zones like you say Dean but they aren't enough that the Grand Stair Warden's recognize them enough. There are some sages of the stair among the wardens who probably know more then me though. I am kind of a free spirit most of the lore I know is from personal experience. I was chased by the Minotaur. I have been to the Labyrinth. Medusa is a Gorgon and I have met Gorgons before if you meet one be on guard be very on guard."

"Let's move out, and everybody keep on your toes"