Reluctant Heroes

[LadyBlueMoon]

Mirage

With the hunger had come a change in her physical appearance. No longer did she bear the likeness of the warrior priestess. No, looking at her hands, she knew she had taken on the attributes of the hag.
She laughed then, a high pitched cackle. 'Is that supposed to frighten us? To give us a taste of the cross-worshippers' fantasies?" She projected a sense of calm, pecefulness, outwards, encompassing her comrades. The distasteful one, Plague, had already gone into the cave, to check on Wayfarer she supposed. But the others were responding. Weaver was already on his feet, defiant. And the girl, Blazer. The hag smiled. THIS one has spunk, she cackled again.

Then she felt it, a strange sensation emenating from the cave... She turned to the others, the Seductress taking over, and said to the men. "Now, to the cave!" She ran, not waiting to see if they followed, but knowing they would.

 

[Dark Warrior]

Weaver

Weaver followed the others into the cave, trying to take everything in. It was all going a bit fast for him; maybe it was a nightmare.
Soon, the group reached the cavern where Plague was, Wayfarer on the ground before him.
"Is she okay?" Weaver asked, afraid of what the answer may be.

 

[airborne92]

Demon

I get up and ignore my pangs of hunger. 'There are more important things to wqorry about now' I think to myself as I follow the rest into the cave. Fear is something that will get us killed if we let it control us, and dying is something we have already faced and accepted.

 

[The GrandMage]

Plague

He felt something pulling at the back of his mind with the question, but ignored it. Instead, he looked up to the gathering as he put the glove back on, his hand freezing with cold. "How should I know? I don't have any medical training. Some one else get down here."

He noticed the small white cube, and cocked his head as he reached out for it, wondering what it was.

 

[BadForm]

Asha Tambika/Wayfarer

She lay, not dead, because she was still fully aware of her environment. Yet she could not move at all. She was not asleep, and her awareness seemed to stem from her body, so she was not spirit walking. She was not breathing. Her heart was no beating. Her vital organs had closed down. Wayfarer was not dead, but she was not alive.

She was aware of Plague reaching for the box by her side and tried to warn him. She could not however. When she picked it up, she saw the numerals on its face VIII:VII, the same as the last numbers that had been received by the Worldgov. Before she had been able to ponder whether this was the transmitter, the box had erupted with the soundless, white explosion that rendered her into this state. Then, as if summoned by an alarm, the horsemen had arrived. Not, she noted, the ones from the apocalypse - not all rode the correct horses and even then, rather than bearing their symbols of office, they wore them on their armor. She wondered about the 'earth people' comment, but could not discuss it with the others. Not unless she ever regained her body.

 

[The GrandMage]

Plague

He stopped, and noticed something. It was a goup of numbers, written upside down on the side of the cube facing away from Wayfarer. He raised an eyebrow, looking at the thing. "Ahh, and now, the dreaded question: to touch, or not to touch?"

Reaching out a heavilly gloved hand, he grasped the little box in his fingers. He never could just leave things be.

 

[BadForm]

Narration

White light. Soundless, cold, white light, erupted from the box at Plague's touch, filling the cavern and flooding his body. Strangely, it didn't hurt. Rather, it healed. He felt the pleasant warmth of good health begin to radiate though his disease-racked body, destroying all traces of pestilence. As he healed, he weakened. Seemingly he grew weaker than he had been before the change - not ill, but weak. It was as if the energy had wiped away the source of his power until he stood, whole, but tired.

 

[The GrandMage]

Plague

He wheezed, collapsing to the floor, breathing hard. He felt it, like a disease. He stared at the box in horror. He was healed. It was gone. The very thing that had supported his existance was gone. "No! Damn you, no!"

He reached for the box again, planning this time to smash it against the floor of the cave until it was gone. He stopped, staring at it. Maybe their leader could find a way to reverse the thing? If so, he could get back to the way he wanted to be. Determined, his fingers snatched up the cube again.

 

[BadForm]

Narration

And grasped it safely. The box felt extremely light weight, yet solid, like a non-pliant, low density, plastic. It was cool to the touch, matching the chill of the explosions which had so badly affected the two heroes. Other than that, and the roman numerals, it was entirely unremarkable.

 

[The GrandMage]

Claude

He stared at the cube with hatred, and motioned towards wayfarer to the others. He stood up, feeling very tired and weak. "If someone could please get her? She's fine. But this cube does,....things to our power. It probably effected me the least, considering how I changed. So I suggest no one else touch it. We have to get out of here, get back to HQ."

He was stopped by a sudden thought. He looked around the cave, then his teammates, and then towards the enterance. "We can only hope they'll know we want to get out of here. I have no idea how to signal them..."

 

[Lacewing]

Smoke signal

Blazier offered her opionion for anyone that got the idea off her signing. "Who cares, I dought they want us back. We'd have as much luck with a fire signal than anything else!"

She sighed and sat aginst the wall arms crossed figuring they were dead men.

 

[airborne92]

Demon

I move to where Wayfarer's seemingly lifeless form is and lift her up. I am probably the strongest amongst us all, so it will be less effort for me. I carry her out of the cave and watch the others try to signal HQ somehow.

 

[Dark Warrior]

Weaver

Weaver looked around at his companions, wondering which of them could get them out of this mess. He considered his own new-found powers: he assured himself that they would be watching this area, and he could somehow twist the air around into some recognizable symbol or word. Still, that would take quite some time.
"Don't you guys have anything you can do? Can't some of you communicate with your mind? And, if none of you can think of anything, I have an idea, but it would take me quite a while to do." he said to them.

 

[The GrandMage]

Plague

He trudged back out of the cave, falling behind the others. It was so cold, and he felt so weak. He wondered how long the process would take. He didn't want to share his fear with the others. He could always send them on ahead, and wait where he was. He looked up, then around.

"Well, this area they didn't know what happened to their men, right? So, their bodies should be somewhere around here. They should have some kind of communicators, or maybe a ship? It's worth a shot, and, if not, maybe our movement will alert them to something. I dunno.....AAAAHHHHH-CHOOOO!"

He took a hard breath after the sneeze, reaching down and wiping his glove off on the ground. He straightened. Not very long, it would seem. Not very long at all.

 

[Abraxas Winterlight]

Bloodwynd

"Ummmmmm, I think I may be able to help ya here, but I'm not 100% sure it will work."
Immediately I'm the center of attention in our little band of survivors. I don't particuarly care for it either.
" I think Imay be able to teleport myself back. Every time we have been 'ported I've felt something inside me responding, & I think I can do it now. I'll pop back & try to get some help"
I close my eyes and concentrate onmyself. I feel my heart beating, feel the blood rushing throughout my body. I go in deeper, feeling the cells moving in my blood, individual atoms. Then I twist something inside myself, and my body flies apart, rushing to a destination at a speed faster than thought. Suddenly, I am standing in the domed room, & then on the floor throwing up my toenails. Eventually I regain my composure and stand up.
" Oh Great and Powerful OZ, Dorthy and the kids are stuck and could use a lift home."

 

[BadForm]

Dollar

"What happened?"

It was a simple question, but carried a weight of fear with it. This group were the world's only chance and already, at the first hurdle, something had gone badly wrong. But it seemed like there was more than that in the voice, and his next question confirmed it.

"Is Asha all right? She was keeping a pyschic link open with us, but it dropped suddenly. We have been trying to open a monitoring or teleportation link to the area you landed in but something seemed to be blocking it... wait... Glasnost tells me we have a connection. It opened up a few seconds ago..."

The rest of the group were suddenly beamed back to the control room, arriving to a cry of concern from Dollar as he saw Wayfarer lying prone.

"What happened out there?"

 

[Lacewing]

Smoke Signals

Blazier signed :Some freaky guys on horseback totaly wiped us off the map without even thinking about it: she watched them and figured no one would pay attention to her. But then maybe she could go to her room and find something to wear. That wasn't skin tight.

 

[Abraxas Winterlight]

Bloodwynd

" What happened? We ran right into a trap is what happened. What Sparky over there was talking about are the friggin four horsemen of the apocolaypse, I think. Also, I don't think they are from here, Earth I mean. And," ( I reach out with my mind & grasp the white cube from Plague's hands, holding it up in front of me) "this little white thingie zapped Asha, & did something to him ." I said pointing at Plague.
" Bytheway, everyone here can call me Bloodwynd. I figure my old life is pretty much dead, so thats as good a name as any."

 

[Dark Warrior]

Weaver

Weaver looked slowly to the man who had just spoken.
"Bloodwynd... well, if we're all going to take on names... I guess I'm Weaver." he said, running a hand through his hair.
With that said, he sat down somewhat ungracefully on the cold floor. "So, what now, big guy?" he asked.

 

[LadyBlueMoon]

Mirage

"Are you going to zap us to some other location, just as inadequately prepared as this first time?" Mirage challenged The Voice. "What did you expect? None of us has an inkling as to what is going on, except perhaps Wayfarer. So, she does down and, poof, the whole thing collapses." Mirage looked around the room for support.

"I think it is time for some answers... NOW!"

 

[The GrandMage]

Plague

He stared, and then quickly grabbed the white cube again. Almost as fast, he shed the outer layers of clothing, trying to get comfortable. His eyes, normal now, stared angrilly about at them all. He clutched the cube to himself, backing away as he looked at the group. "Don't touch this! In any way! Look what happened to her! What happened to me! Who knows what this could do! It could kill you!"

He turned, and glared at the speaker where the voice same from. Taking a deep breath, he began. "We arrived where we were supposed to go, and found a cave. Inside the cave was this cube. She," he said, pointing at Wayfarer, "Touched it, triggering a chain event. First, four horsemen appeared, or, at least, images of horsemen, I don't think anyone actually touched them to see if they were solid. Anyway, they were poorly done up to resemble the four horsemen of the apocalypse. There were a great deal of little mistakes, they called us 'Earth people' or something like that. Anyway, they said our myths were going to kill us, even if they couldn't get it straight, and then they left. I went in the cave, and I touched the cube, and IT STOLE MY POWERS! So no one touch it! Anyway, then we came back here, lickity-split. And you need to find some way to change the process back, find out what this cube does. Undo what it did to her,....and me,....befre....it's....too.....la-"

He closed his mouth, as if trying to fight something back. He fell to his knees, one hand going outy to prop himself up as he began to cough violently, red blood exiting his mouth, dropping in tiny drops to the ground. He breathed hard, his body shivering. "Oh, and I almost forgot. I feel like crap, and I'm probably going to die."

Without the very diseases that had been a factor in the creation of his new body, his bodily functions were startingto break down. His body had been made not only to use disease, but to depend upon it. Although his body had been healed, a great support of his being had been removed, and he was slowly begining to die.

 

[BadForm]

Dollar

OOC: Corrected, with apologies to all and particularly Abbie. Tired today for some reason, misread something making the Narration irrelevant. BTW: Will be away tomorrow, possibly Saturday. Oh, and a note - I am reachable through PM, Yahoo (BadForm69) or ICQ (157551102), so if anyone needs or wants to ask me ANYTHING on this thread, feel free. I'll respond.

IC: Dollar's voice was more afraid than just concerned, as he heard what had happened to Wayfarer and Plague. The group had been easily trashed, and on picking up the box, something had happened to rob both of their powers - something different in both cases.

"It seems to attack you in ways that eliminate your powers, but what I do not understand is if this is the case, why would it not kill instead. Asha is not dead, our scans indicate life, but she is immobilized. Her powers depend on her ability to move freely... and you, Plague, you it healed. Please, let me get you both to the medical wing. And the box to our technology department. I... I'm not sure what else we can do at the moment. We have research facilities, or a combat training center if any of you feel that it would help you to work out there. Alternatively, you may stay here or return to your rooms...

"You deserve the truth about us, about all this. Worldgov is simply a collaborative enterprise on behalf of the most wealthy and intelligent people of the world. We have representation from every nation and have, so far, sought to influence politics to try to minimize harm to the planet and humankind. We have had limited success in doing so, though we have managed to devise many technological improvements beyond the scope of any one nation. This has allowed us to prevent nuclear war through mistakes on four separate occassions. None were made public by the governments involved.

"Perhaps our technology is why we were contacted by the beings who are trying to simulate the holocaust. We thought it was ridiculous at first, some hoax by a wealthy group or individual, but investigated as nobody, in theory, should even know where to broadcast to in order to send a message to us. That was when we lost several operatives in the area you were attacked in. And that is why we created you, soldiers, we hoped, with the ability to work without the technology that seemed to be failing. We had hoped to provide training, but when the volcanoes erupted in time with the revelations verse, we knew we had to act.

"To be honest, none of this makes sense. Whoever is doing this is using technology, or some form of mysticism, which is beyond anything here on earth. The comment about Earth People would support the theory that these may be extra-terrestrials. But why the warnings? Why the faked apocalypse? If they have this power, why not just invade, or insinuate themselves? Frankly, we don't know what is going on. All we know is this is deadly."

 

[Dark Warrior]

Weaver

Weaver listened to everything they had to say, rubbing his chin as he considered what was happening. When the group fell silent, he spoke up.
"Well, I think we're going to need everything we can get... anyone want to join me in this training center? Personally, I haven't really explored my full potentials yet, and I would like to try these powers out." he said, flexing his hand and slowly reaching out to bend the air around him.

 

[The GrandMage]

Claude

He let himself be taken to the medical wing, leatting the box go off to it's prospective place, glaring at it as it went. He was taken to the medical wing, where he lay down. A doctor, he suppose, was reviewing a chart nearby. At least, it looked like a doctor.

"What's wrong with me?" he asked, worried. He felt weak, and he had coughed up blood. Yet he was healed. Somehow, it didn't make sense to him. The person looked at him, and turned away, reviewing the chart again.

"Simply? Your body thinks you're too old." Claude blinked in confusion, runnig his hand up, through black hair that lay useless around his shoulders, not at all like it had once been. He blinked, and the doctor continued. "It's like this. According to some basic scans after the process of change, your body was completely filled with disease. Down to each individual cell. As far as our tests can conclude, your genetic code was mutated by the genetic codes of certain viri which existed in your body. Usually, this would make your cells reproduce more of the virus, but in your case, the virus DNA was mutated to affect you in a way that helped you. Some studies show that cells only reproduce so many times, leading to cellular degeneration which ends the effectiveness of body parts, as the count of active cells decrease. Your body, missing the viri which affected your body to stop this process, has been prematurely shoved forward. Your genetic code was reversed back to before the change, but in doing so, it has removed that which ended this process from occuring, making your body beleive, then, that this is supposed to occur, and now. Your was healed, but your lifespan was significantly shortened. In the next month, your organs will cease to function, and you will die a completely natural death."

He stared. He didn't understand what he was hearing. Natural death? It couldn't be natural, could it, if this had been done to him? He stared about, then looked back. "You're lying. You're lying, it can't be true.....Can it?"

"I'm afraid it is true. Add to this the fact that without even basic sickness wiped from your body, your immune system is having a hard time fighting off everything, since your body isn't immune as it once was....Your body is fighting a losing battle. We could give you antibiotics, inoculations, blood transfusions, artifical parts,....but it won't help. Your body is dying, but it is dying naturally. Technically, you're at the peak of health."

"The peak of health? But I'm dying!"

"Yes. I'm sorry. There's nothing we can do. Nothing anyone can do. You're,....at the end of your lifespan. No matter what we do, you'll still be at the end of your lifespan."

 

[Lacewing]

Blazer found herself back in her room staring at the ceiling. In slightly more comfortable but still fire retardent clothing she laid on the also fire retardant couch and rather wished she was still the normal if nerdy kid who made fun of everyone in class.

This sucked. Sucked big. Now she was 'suposidly' working for some major organization. Only she wasnt' hired, she was kidnapped. Hr body changed and then shoved out into the antartic cold to try and fight some major bad guy bent on destroying the world.

God this was sounding like a bad comic rip off!!

She wasn't a super hero, she didn't want to be ANYTHING. Just wanted to graguate college with honors, get some middle managment job were she made life hell on the people who were all once sport jocks and 'popular' kids with no sense for reality and sudden under the tender mercies of the once class geek.

They didn't even know what a Geek was! After all, she didn't eat bugs and chickens.

That brought a smile to her lips but it passed as quickly. Here she was, suddenly forced to silence in a talking world. Unable to touch anyone except a few freaks. And setting everything else that comes too close on fire or given a bad case of first degree burns.

She wanted a book. Taking off her glasses she flung them acrossed the room where they landed fairly harmlessly on the floor. Which made her madder since she couldn't even break the damn things! Staring at the now blurry ceiling she desided that at least it was more entertaining than the normal cottage cheese look.