~Charles Price: Parking Area, Space Port----To teach or not to teach, that is always the question~

More groans can be heard from the other end of the C.A. "It was a rhetorical question." he said through gritted teeth. He did not expect Roy to actually answer his question. Man, that man was strange. "But you are correct, for the most part." In an attempt to clear his mind some more, he began pacing, rubbing his temples. "I may have slipped my tongue a bit. Though if you must know, it's a bit complicated. I'll be honest looking at the lot of you makes me feel like I'm looking through a fucking photo book at times. But when it all comes down to it when you're like me you can't help but always feel like you're being forced into things. I could write you a fucking essay if I could, problem is I don't happen to enjoy wasting time sharing my 'hidden feelings'. Especially when we're currently in a situation." It seemed that this was the only answer Charles was willing to give Roy at the moment. In truth, he already said quite a bit of situation, but when it comes to his past there are some things he'd rather not remember. A lot of things. Except those days back when he had not a care in the world. But those days were gone now, and now he had this squad to worry about.

"And it's not that I don't think you incapable. I've no doubt you're mind can handle the strain of calculations and accuracy. I just don't know if you'll even be able to create your own portal. Romana has it easy with slight experience in time travel (which is like teleportation I suppose), which is why it was easier for me to agree to teach her. But there are reasons the University for Transportation and Teleportation completely denied non-psychics into the program. Our powers aided us during our exercises. Although your case will be easier, since the portal system is almost non-existant here. Timing isn't an issue, neither is control really. HOW you're going to go about creating a portal is." He continued on to the base of his point. From any persons standpoint, the creation of portals seemed to have too rules and laws to follow. Admittedly, the consequents were never exactly prominant or lethal, but there were always these notable differences, slight flaws to the trained eye. The science of teleportation was a science that stressed a certain level of perfection. The biggest fear in any teleporter's life was to be the direct cause of an accident. For in this was the golden chance of a lawsuit. "If you found a way to harness enough energy that can be used to create a portal taller than me, I'll most likely feel a lot better about teaching you the tricks of the trade. In the mean time, I'll have to think about this. Trust me when I say being suced into a portal the side of your fist is not a pleasant situation."

_________________

Musicmac: "Sam4Books: Always ready to cheer things up with awesome art. Terms and Conditions apply."

Romanadvoratrelundar – Time Lord Tinkering

Romana raised an eyebrow at Charles. “Charles Price being optimistic and nice? Now that I find hard to believe,” she replied, tongue-in-cheek.
Though it did make her wonder, why he wasn’t like that now. She frowned inwardly, concerned. Something significant must have happened...or perhaps several things. It only added to her suspicions – like the way he had reacted to that hamster...

At the interruption of the CA, the time lady rolled her eyes – even more so when she heard it was Roy.
“Oh wonderful,” she commented sarcastically, hearing that they’d been sealed up.
“Hah, and no need to remind me,” She sighed at the reminder, fishing around in her pockets for something. “The sooner I don’t have to suffer with the after effects of that primitive, tasteless temporal manipulation of Frank’s, the better.”

Pulling out a small, metallic, wand-like sonic device, she put it to her lips thoughtfully. “Hmm...There are several ways to fix this, but the question is which is best?” she asked herself, frowning. As she weighed up her options silently in her head, she couldn’t help but overhear Charles talking into the CA. And she couldn’t help but raise her eyebrows a little over what she heard.
Now there’s something I need to get to the bottom of, she thought silently. But later.

Finally, she had decided what she was going to do to resolve the issue between her and Frank’s abilities. Rolling up her sleeve, she slipped off the device wrapped around her arm, her Time Ring, and with the other hand held up the thin sonic device, aiming it at the symbols embedded in it.
“I’m so glad I took lessons in jiggery-pokery as one of my extra curriculum activities at school,” she muttered, as she turned her Time Ring this way and that. Flicking a few switches on its side, a faint pink glow could now be seen from the tip of the sonic device, accompanied by an oscillating hum. “It really has turned out to be surprisingly useful.”

The time lady frowned, biting her lip as she worked, running the sonic along the circumference of the temporal gadget, both inside and out, pausing to hover over a specific marking every so often. With another adjustment to the pen-like tool, the hum rose in pitch, growing more intense for a few brief seconds before Romana clicked it off, the sound and glowing disappearing completely. Besides the Time Ring’s glowing markings pulsating ever so slightly, there seemed to be no apparent change. But Romana knew better.
“There.” Tucking the sonic device into the very top of her pocket where it was easy to find, should she need it again, she also slipped the Time Ring back onto her arm.

Romana tapped Charles on the shoulder to get his attention. “Sorry to interrupt your no doubt important conversation on teleporting, but this should do it, temporarily at least,” Romana said, close enough to the CA for Roy to hear her on the other side.
“To fix the issue with Frank, all I’ve really done is to modify my Time Ring to expand its own residual temporal energy field. Basically speaking, my technology is now radiating my own temporal feedback like a shield around me. Invisible to the eye and undetectable unless you’re time sensitive like me. Harmless to me since it’s my own and I’m used to it. And it uses very fine amounts of time energy, so unless Frank is more time sensitive than me (which I doubt since he’s only human), it shouldn’t affect him. Any foreign temporal feedback like Frank’s is met by my own feedback – the two cancel each other out on impact. A very crude method and not completely ideal, but it should stop the worst of the adverse effects from Frank’s temporal powers, whilst keeping my own powers fully functional and effective. I’ll fix up something more refined and practical later, when I have more time and better resources,” Romana explained, techno-babbling again, although it would certainly make enough sense to anyone paying enough attention.

“Of course I won’t know how well it works until I’m within range of Frank’s abilities, and I may have to readjust it accordingly on a trial and error basis...but considering I don’t have much to hand at the moment and I don’t know the specific nature of Frank’s abilities as yet, do you think that will do me, Roy?” the Time Lady asked. She said it all in a rather casual if cordial manner, although the question at the end seemed to carry its own weight on how she was feeling towards Roy right now.


{Romana’s telepathic extension, inside Jake’s mind}

“Oh no,” Romana said to Liam, shaking her head, “Nothing dangerous.” She sighed. “Just something that is a bit of a nuisance, that’s all.”

The Time Lady smiled as William shook her hand. “Nice to meet you, William,” she replied. She tilted her head slightly one side as she listened. “Yes, I noticed on my way here how complex it is...I must say, for a non-telepath the security measures are very impressive,” she nodded, looking around her in admiration. Seeing the list of names though, her eyes widened slightly. It surprised her to learn that Jake’s mind had been visited by others before her. People worried about him like me? she wondered. Or maybe something else? Romana looked concerned as she heard the rest, a faint frown on her face. She nodded sincerely. “I understand,” she replied. “And I can assure you, he can trust me.”

Romana was mildly surprised at the personal key ring. But she picked it up, making her way tentatively to the door. At the door, she paused, looking down at the key in her hands. “Keys to the mind,” she murmured, seeming wary. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust herself with it, but that it felt wrong to her; to have access to something that important. It certainly drew Romana’s attention to the responsibilities of psychic power, in a way the Time Lords hadn’t shown her before. It made her slightly uncomfortable as she placed the key in the lock. But I’m doing it for the right reasons, she thought to herself. For good. But does that make it alright? Does it give me the right...? she questioned herself. The young woman turned the key, unlocking it. First looking back to Liam as if to check whether it was okay to go on, she carefully opened the door.

_________________

Hiryu: Doc's bag is a portal. She's actually from another dimension and when she jumped into it, she ended up at a desk with a browser open on this site. That's how she found it.
We have a Doctor Who thread now. Doctor Who threads are cool.

Milan – God no

Milan swayed and moved further from Roy. The man’s assessment that he was near catatonic, he wouldn’t look at the man either. No where safe, no one to trust. His body shook and he put his fist into his mouth, biting it to keep quiet. No noise, no noise, won’t find me, he thoughts screamed. He moved and half-hid behind Spider, his ears flat and his eyes scrunched closed. “No more,” he whispered near silent, “I’ll be good.”

_________________

{Roy}

====================================================================================

_Phone Call_ Charles to Romana

" Well I can't blame you for feeling like that. I just wanted to be an average joe, drink wine, and read books." Roy said as like Charles, he too feels like he was forced to the do the things he must do. " But, now, I have to finish what I started. However, whether we are forced into something or not, never forget... " He said and then mentioned " We always, have a choice, to go through what we're forced into. The problem is, we have to accept the consequences, if we don't act."

When Charles finally addressed what the real problem for teaching him, was to harness enough energy, Roy chuckled over the CA. " Haha, really now, you would be surprise, how much energy, I can harness for myself, Charles. Just depends on what I eat." He remarked " Remember, the trials, when I was eating apples and bread, while washing it down with wine, I was gathering energy for myself, to prepare for anything as well as storing some for the reserve battery."

When Romana started to speak, Roy was surprised, but was glad she was working on something with the time she was given. " I see. " Roy said simply as he answer to Romana as she explained what she modified and what it is suppose to do. Of course, as she mentioned, their might be problems so Roy mentioned to Romana " Well worst case, I act as a meat shield for you, Romana." He couldn't help, but noticed the tone, she used when she said his name, which is why he remarked "... Still angry with me, are you? Fun Fact, the best way to kill me and others like me, is to destroy the brain."

" You can't show mercy to people like us nor discuss peace. Because we'll get stronger and smarter, adaption is our greatest strength after all. " He replied " Monsters, we are, but honestly, you need a demonstration to believe me." Roy went on to say to Romana over Charles's CA.

====================================================================================

_________________
"Fate smiles on the strange. So its a good thing, I'm the strangest of all." - William Livingstone, Cirque de la Nuit

~Charles Price: Parking Area, Space Port----Consequence~

"...we have to accept the consequences, if we don't act."

Those words struck a chord in Charles' hardened heart. The irony of it all was unbearable. Memories just kept on flooding him. Memories he would rather forget, that he worked so hard to forget. Why were there always these people who would exist to bring back those memories? Isaak, Kris, Eddie, Dirty Joe, Romana, and now Roy? Who else would force him to face himself next? For how long will this continue? He began to think there was no way for him to live in solitude. And as much as he refused to believe their were gods out there, it always seemed like one of them was just playing with him and his life, like a cat would with a yarn ball. He glared at the heavens. There wasn't any time for this. Why was Roy so suddenly having a prep talk with them. He didn't get it. Looking from the C.A. to Romana who had just tapped him on the shoulder, he was searching for a way out. He sighed in relief when she started to have her own eye opening conversation with Roy. How he hated him right now, if only because he was right. Again.

"Believe me Roy. That is one thing, I could never forget..."

--------

_Two years ago_

Snow, he hated the snow. He hated Solstice, the festivals. Everything they represented. He can't help but leer in contempt at every unique snowflake. Each and every one of them held a memory in them. Each and every one of them carried with them somebody else's pain. He wished today would end soon, staring at the couples acting so lovingly towards one another made him sick. 'Course, he really wouldn't be out today if it weren't for the fact his friend practically forced him to.

They were supposed to meet at some in. His friend always did like solitude, and Charles couldn't blame him, now. Once they were great friends who shared everything with each other. Sure they were an odd pair, but there were no better pair of pals back at ol' Gloomwood. The old fucker. Whenever he got in trouble as a kid he always seemed to find his way in ol' Gloomwood's office. And Isaak Hue was always there with him.

Isaak hadn't changed a bit since they last met. Except or that new hat, and the badge, but otherwise things remained the same, for the most part. There was something different about his eyes. Usually, Charles was able to look into them comfortably, but now, they were frightening. 'Must be a Scout thing' he concluded. The entire time he never, not once, took his eyes off of him. It was quite annoying actually. Almost as if he knew he was trying not to reveal everything. Though he felt he owed him that much. The last time they contacted each other was twelve years ago. And that wasn't just to keep tabs on how their lives were. He knew Isaak hated him for not keeping in contact for so long. Well, he would say "screw you", he was busy. But that wasn't the only reason. Ever since she died, it was difficult to talk to any of his friends that he knew were connected to her somehow.

He almost felt like he betrayed them.

"What happened to you Charles?"

He expected him to say something like that. He expected them all to say something like that. "What made you such a bastard?" "What went so wrong?"

Instead he asked him where had he been, how he'd been doing, and why didn't he write back for twelve years. And then he went on talking about Charles' line of work and how much of a reputation he earned for himself, as if Charles didn't know already. "The Pricey Prince", "Old Orkface", it was all the same. It was only when his old friend mentioned Ana that Charles grew silent. "Ana", that name stung him like a needle from a bee.

"What happened Charles?"

It made him almost wish he had never came.

"Charles?"

He could not take the memory of it.

"Charl-"

"She's dead Isaak."

She shouldn't have died though. She should have never died. She was supposed to be engaged with him, they were supposed to have this great life together, and then he went and blew it. Something happened that night. A small instance of bad timing perhaps? Some cold splash of reality? Some horrible hand of fate?

They say that if Charles did not let the love of his life drown that night he would've died. His mission was simple, to escort the genius of his generation. In the mists of an entire battle. They were all going to die, she was probably going to die anyways. But they survived.

Charles did not want Isaak to know. He did not need him to know. Not him, or anybody who happened to know her.

Because somehow, she was supposed to live to.

Supposed to.

And later on there were these other things too. Little things. Like that Ami kid for example. There were so many little things.

And it killed him.


"Alright, fine" Charles gave in, still in quite a daze. "It sounds fucking strange, but who am I to judge? As long as you have something. Well test it out later. But holy shit, I knew food was a great source of energy, that one's a no brainer, but I had no idea you could store it in a battery for Khron's sake." He shook his head, clearly his mood wasn't it's usual bright self at the moment.

_________________

Musicmac: "Sam4Books: Always ready to cheer things up with awesome art. Terms and Conditions apply."

While Charles fiddled with his C.A. and spoke with Roy, Scael reinspected his inventory of weapons. His remaining weapons were the one war axe, his short sword, the punch dagger in the holster at his right leg, twelve throwing knives, his caltrops, and his smoke bombs.

As his hands traveled over the leather of his holsters, he felt an odd bulge, like something tucked into the broken holder for his other war axe. Curiously, he reached his hand into the fold and pulled out a bundle of cloth. He pulled it out in front of him and his eyes widened in surprise.

His white cloak. He hadn't really thought about it this morning, but here it was, hidden unseen behind him in the holster. The lining was a dark, morose crimson canvas-like cloth, the color of dried blood. The outside was a very thin leather, perfectly smooth despite how it had been folded--almost wadded--into his holster. He held it out before him, inspecting for damage. There was some dirt splattered across it, but nothing that couldn't be cleaned. Fortunately, no rips.

Scael smiled and folded it back up, tucking it tightly back into the holster. He wondered briefly if the one who had saved him from the forest also returned his cloak to him, but the fleeting thought vanished a moment later.

Next he pulled out his punch dagger and his short sword, testing the grip of the first in his right hand and the second in his left, he inspected the blades and then sheathed them. He flicked his arms and drew both weapons in an instant, then flicked his arms again and sheathed them.

He blinked curiously and flicked his arms again, once more drawing his weapons. He stared at his arms, testing the weight of the weapons and gauging his speed. He flicked his arms again and sheathed the weapons.

It was hard for him to perceive on his own, but... was he just a little bit faster right now?

_________________

Romanadvoratrelundar – Wait...what?

The time lady sighed, putting a hand to her temple. “No. As...flattering though that is, if worst comes to the worst you will not sacrifice yourself for me,” Romana replied to Roy matter-of-factly, with absolute insistence. Then, in an undertone, she added, “I’d much prefer it if no one risked their lives on my behalf.”

As Romana rolled down the sleeve with her Time Ring underneath it, she then did a double take at the CA, at what Roy said next. Shaking her head and blinking, she stared at it. “...Even if I did believe you, why are you telling me this, and why right now?” she asked over Charles' C.A. irritably, after a considerable pause.

_________________

Hiryu: Doc's bag is a portal. She's actually from another dimension and when she jumped into it, she ended up at a desk with a browser open on this site. That's how she found it.
We have a Doctor Who thread now. Doctor Who threads are cool.

-Frank, actually doing something-
When the little... whatever, called him a bitch, he just stared at him with a hard glare, taking the last inhale he could on the current cigarette. He wasn't planning on responding, but was still wondering what exactly the robot man wanted him to do when suddenly people started entering the building. Along with the others, he was hidden around a corner from their assailants. Sitting back for a moment, he listened as the gangsters called out to him, trying to make him pop out and show himself. Luckily, from the sound of it they didn't know he had backup, which means he had the upper hand. If his "teammates" were any help, that is. Gritting his teeth, he tried thinking while the others dealt with whatever the hell they where doing, which to Frank didn't look like much. With the shield up, the others outside wouldn't be able to do much, and now their "commander" was doing something, rather than focusing on, you know, the guys trying to kill them. Finally fed up, and finding death better than this snoozefest, he knocked Roy on the side of his metal head, trying to get his attention.

"Hey, you, ya you. And you too, boss guy." He said, glancing over at Spider. "I've got a great plan, one that involves, you know, getting to work. I'm gonna go out there. When their shooting at me, you guys attack. Or you sure as hell better attack, or I'm dead. And if that happens, I'm coming back to get you guys." Turning around, apparently not caring to wait for a response, passing back towards the people out to kill him. As he passed Arca, he made a short gesture for her to, well, start shooting people soon. I mean, she did have a minigun. Passing out into the gangster's field of view, he had his hands at his side as he walked out. "Hey fellas. All this for me? I'm fucking touched." Giving them a second to give a response, he suddenly sped up, drawing his gun and a knife, and opened fire, moving at super speed towards some cover, letting loose several well aimed bullets and throwing knives, hoping to take out some of the lesser mooks while drawing their attention away from where the Lunatics were waiting.

_________________

{Roy}

_Building_

Under the bandages, Roy arched an eye brow at Frank. " Let me, paint you a picture, the enemy has sealed you in. Nothing can get out, supposedly and now their taunting you." Roy mentioned as he described the situation. " If they're taunting you, its probably because they are unsure if you are actually there or because, they want to show you something. " He went on to say as he had put some thought into this. " Anyways, why don't you put faces and powers to those mentioned earlier on what's out there?" Roy questioned him. He had felt Frank's actions weren't well thought out.

" Besides, if Spider saids to attack, we will." Roy remarked as his body started to leak green slime, that spread rapidly. " That means, you too, Arca." He mentioned to Arca, when Frank made his gesture to her. " However, don't worry, you will be protected, Frank." He went on to say as the slime fully engulfed his entire body.


================================================================================

_Phone Call_ Tag Team_

When Charles was on the phone, he listened well to how Charles said he could never forget. The phrasing of the sentence, the very tone that was used. " I'm guessing a tragedy, with someone very close to you, but not only that. Since you agreed, its something you feel you blame yourself for. " He mentioned as he made his guess. " I'm sorry, for making you think of unpleasant things, Charles. I honestly don't like being right, most of the time." He admitted.

As the subject changed, Roy then went on to admit another thing. " Come on, Charles, I may not be a psychic, but I'm not exactly normal, either." He went on to say to his mentor. " It would've been nice, through." Roy remarked. " And oh god, damn it, Frank has drawn their attention. I swear, there is too many idiots on this team. Continue to remain at the Lander."

When the phone switched back to Romana. Roy chuckled as he explained something about himself to her " Hahaha, Romana, have you seen my real body, I can take quite the punishment. " . He then went to say " Besides, I don't just have offensive weaponry, I also have defensive capabilities as well. I was a warlord after all." Matching her matter of fact tone with his own. " And, I don't think, I can keep that kind of promise either."

" Right now, because I felt it like it and you would probably figure out my hidden agenda. So tell you what, I will tell you my history in exchange you do one simple thing for me. We'll discuss more after the mission." Roy said to her over the phone.

_________________
"Fate smiles on the strange. So its a good thing, I'm the strangest of all." - William Livingstone, Cirque de la Nuit

Adrian - Is it time to throw down, yet?

Adrian stood by relatively quietly while the others settled their individual spats. He was quite shocked to see Romana going off on the others like she was. She always seemed like such a level headed girl. The swordsman's mouth practically went agape as Charles struck the woman, causing a visible look of rage to appear on his face. The half-elf kept his mouth shut as Romana calmed down. By this point though, Adrian had shifted his gaze back towards the hangar, just in time to see the mobster's barrier go up.

"Uh....guys...." No response came from the others, just more constant yammering. "Guys...." Again, nothing from the group, not so much as a glance in the swordsman's direction. Adrian sighed, allowing his elfish hearing to drift towards Charles and Roy's phone call. So he wanted them to stay at the lander now? "Great. That's just fantastic isn't it?" he thought to himself, crossing his arms in annoyance as the two's conversation went on."Why is he asking Charles to teach him how to teleport now!? He see's the big guys with guns right? What the hell!?" It took every ounce of his willpower to resist storming off towards the hangar and laying waste to everything in his path.

To make things worse, the other three seemed to just silently ignore the fact that the rest of their squad was presently trapped inside an impenetrable bubble or, if they did acknowledge it, simply dismiss it as though it were no big deal. "Are you all done yet? You'll have all the time you need when we get back to teach each other whatever the hell you want. For now though, our teammates are in what is very much a life or death situation. The slightest bit of concern for their well being would be appreciated." The half-elf glared at the three. Frankly he was surprised at Scael more than anything. Romana and Charles seemed like the talkative type but Adrian had taken the lizard man for more of a hands on type. "I swear I'd have stayed in the hangar if I knew this was what awaited me."

Scael blinked and turned to Adrian. He paused in reflection before opening his mouth to speak, and then said, "This is a life-and-death job. You think they would have joined Lunatic without knowing that?"

Scael flexed his neck, listening to the gratifying, loud popping noises from his muscles, then crossed his arms turned his head towards the lander. "I'm fine with nothing to do right now. Just as long as something happens eventually."

_________________

Milan – Wow. What a douche.

Milan peeked from behind Spider and stared after Frank. “Did he just fuck us over?” he asked, still shaking from memories and the hatred outside. “Can we just leave him? He’s a dick, and obviously when their done killing him, they won’t expect us to come out and capture them. Win-win situation. They will be complacent because they think the threat is neutralized, let their guard down and we’ll be rid of someone whom pissed off us all.” He shrugged, still shaking, and said, “Seems logical to me.” He popped his claws in and out of his gloves silently.

_________________

Liam - Sudden UnWelcoming

Liam gave a silent nod to Romana when she looked back at him. As the key was turned, clicks and snaps were heard in a somewhat rhythmic tune. When the key had finally reached the end of its clock-wise journey, the time traveler had yet to let go of the cold piece of metal in her fingers. The faint sounds of grinding metal were suddenly heard behind the door as if she had just unlocked a large vault containing dangerous secrets. The sounds soon faded away with one final click coming from the doorknob. Romana's hand could finally move again and the key she had been holding onto slid out effortlessly.

When the key had been pulled out, the door unlocked itself and made a long high-pitched creak as it opened to reveal what was behind it. It seemed as if the doorknob had been turned from the other side by someone else. Beyond the door, was what seemed to be a dimly lit room. Light spilled in as the door progressed and helped illuminate the interior. Liam walked up beside Romana, his lime green eyes taking a brief glance at her before saying anything.

"Ladies first, Miss Romana," he said with a smile and kept the door open for her. "There's no need to worry. It's safe to go in," Liam reassured her and ushered Romana into the room. Once inside, the door was closed behind them and the light from before was replaced by darkness. Although the place was pitch black, Romana would notice that the room was smaller than the last one. "Please wait here for a moment," Liam whispered the message from behind, with a hand placed gently on her shoulder. His cold hand was lifted and faint sound of his leather shoes walking on a wooden floor were heard.

The man's footsteps however, soon melted into the silence and darkness that were surrounding Romana. It was as if Liam had forgotten about the time traveler and had left her there alone. If she had noticed, a faint shuffling sound was being made behind her and getting louder as the seconds past. A hand suddenly lunged out of the abyss behind her, effectively covering her mouth and taking her by surprise. "Kekeke..." The cackle was surprisingly familiar to Romana for some odd reason. "What do we have here? A guest perhaps?" A knife was suddenly brought to her neck by a heavily bandaged hand. The cold touch of a blade was felt when he brought it closer to cutting the girl's throat. Like a barber getting ready to shave his customer.

"Or perhaps, maybe you are an intruder?" The voice was smooth and gave anyone who heard it a sort of tingling sensation that could have made them recoil. It cackled familiarly again beside Romana's head and revealed its face as it talked. It was a horrible sight, a head thickly wrapped in bandages. The face was completely covered by the white cloth, except for its mouth and one half-closed dark green eye lazily peeking out from under the bandages. "We can't have intruders you know? I hate those the most. Kekeke..." A smile formed as the voice continued to make conversation, its clean white teeth was slightly pointed and seemed almost carnivorous.

_________________

Captain of Innuendo Strike Forces & Founder of Innuendo Striking Technique

Romanadvoratrelundar – Trying to keep a level head

Romana raised her eyebrows over what she heard over the CA, her mouth open slightly in surprise. Was he for real?

She wasn’t quite sure how she felt about doing an apparently ‘simple thing’ in exchange for Roy’s history...in truth, after witnessing him lying to her twice and openly manipulating her, she wasn’t exactly in the mood to trust him right now. But it would have been lying to say Romana wasn’t interested. In fact she was very interested.

Romana sighed. “Very well, ‘warlord’,” the time lord replied. “But I will want to know what this ‘one simple thing’ is before I agree to anything. Good luck with Frank in there, it sounds as if you need it.”

She then turned in Adrian’s direction, realising her was trying to speak to them. “Sorry?” she said, absently. “Oh,” she thought about it for a second. “Life or death situation...alright, I guess that is important.” She shrugged, looking to Adrian with a small sardonic smile. “And with a high magical energy field preventing us from going inside to help the rest of our team and Roy telling us to simply stay by the Lander, what do you propose we should do?” she asked him simply.



{Romana’s telepathic extension, inside Jake’s mind}

The young time lady listened as the door gradually unlocked. It seems to have very strong defences, she wondered. Like opening something that shouldn’t be opened. Why does a mind like this possess such security? I haven’t seen a mind this well protected apart from in other psychic individuals, and even then... And Jake isn’t one anyway...So then why...? What’s the purpose of it?

When it had finally finished, Romana pocketed the key as it she slid it out, peering in at the darkened room. She looked to Liam, smiling faintly back. “Thank you,” she nodded to him. The lighting seemed a little ominous, but Liam had assured her it was safe, so she stepped through and into the room. “Alright,” she whispered back as she felt his hand on her shoulder, although she wasn’t sure why they were whispering.

She listened as Liam’s footsteps got further away, until she couldn’t hear them anymore, looking around her as she waited. Not that she could see much...
What’s taking him so long? she wondered, starting to get concerned. Of course she wasn’t going to worry just yet. There had to be a rational explanation for it; of course there would. He wouldn’t have just left her there!...would he?

And then there was that shuffling noise....sounding like it was getting closer...
But Romana didn’t have time to react, as a hand closed around her mouth before she could barely cry out. She stayed perfectly still, trying not to panic as she felt a knife pressed against her neck.

Keep calm, Romana, she tried to reason with herself, eying the bandaged hand with the knife nervously. Remember; you’re just a telepathic projection here...just a physical manifestation representing a stream of controlled conscious thought. Nothing can harm you; you’re just a collection of thoughts and feelings. she swallowed. She could hear her two telepathic hearts beating inside her chest. At least...nothing can harm you without breaking down your own defences first...

However she kept still all the same, not wanting to take the risk. She wasn’t sure how strong this...person, was, or what they were capable of. She felt like she recognised the voice, however. She realised it sounded like it was the same person that had...well, she supposed ‘possessed’, Jake for a while, since she couldn’t find a better word for it. The voice made her skin crawl, especially when it was so close to her. The young time lady shuddered involuntarily.

Her pale blue eyes looked over at the bandaged face as it came into view. “I’m not an intruder,” she attempted to speak out, hoping the unpleasant figure would at least have the decency to uncover her mouth and let her talk. “I’m just a guest, and if you let me go I can even prove it to you,” she stated calmly, trying to keep her voice level.

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Hiryu: Doc's bag is a portal. She's actually from another dimension and when she jumped into it, she ended up at a desk with a browser open on this site. That's how she found it.
We have a Doctor Who thread now. Doctor Who threads are cool.

“Remind me to leave you behind to die the next time we’re caught in this kind of situation, Scael.” Adrian stated, shooting a cold glare towards the man. “Just because they knew there was a chance they could die on this job doesn’t give us the right to just sit back and let them.” The half-elf couldn’t believe what he was hearing. It was one thing to follow orders, it was another thing entirely to be this passive about one’s allies’ lives. The swordsman’s gaze lost some of its edge as Romana spoke up. In truth, Adrian didn’t have a plan. He just couldn’t stand the way things were going.

“I’m not proposing that we do anything. All I’m saying is that we should at least focus on the problem at hand rather than worrying about who’s teaching who what, or who’s doing favors for whom. I don’t think that’s asking too much now is it?” Adrian was doing his best to keep his tone down. He knew full well that showing any kind of outrage would just earn him a verbal lashing later on. After throwing in his two cents, Adrian simply tucked his hands back into his pockets and leaned back against a nearby tree. He didn’t agree with Roy’s keeping them at the Lander. What good could they do from there? Even if there was a barrier separating the two squads there was surely something more productive that they could be doing.

Scael turned with irritation to Adrian, and snarled, "Then, how would you 'focus on the problem at hand?' If you don't have a plan, then don't act like some righteous knight in shining armor. You walked through that portal--left the others behind--because you thought they could handle themselves. Didn't you? Now you say they're going to die?!" Scael turned his head and spat on the ground, then turned back to Adrian, his snake-like irises constricting with his anger. "Don't you dare act like I'm the one at fault here."

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"Damn it, think, think, think." Adrian's mind raced as he attempted to formulate some kind of plan. Not that it mattered much since in the end none of them were likely to listen to him. "Just keep a cool head for now. Buy your time. Things will work out, right?"

"Then, how would you 'focus on the problem at hand?' If you don't have a plan, then don't act like some righteous knight in shining armor. You walked through that portal--left the others behind--because you thought they could handle themselves. Didn't you? Now you say they're going to die?!"

So much for that. Adrian's mind snapped like a twig as he suddenly went off on the lizard-man. "Good Gratu, were you even listening to the plan before we left? I stepped through the portal because I was under the impression we'd be going back to help them. I never assume someone can take care of themselves. That's how people get killed. And why the hell are you asking how to focus on the problem at hand? It means focus, think, be productive. Talk about something relative to what we're dealing with. Is that so hard to figure out!?" Adrian practically spat as he spoke, slipping further into rage. "Damn it this is not what I wanted to happen. Calm down." Adrian massaged his temples as his veins practically popped out of his skull. "Look.....It's not going to do any of us any good to keep arguing. It's because I don't have a plan that I'm asking you all to try and think one up while we've still got time."

Romanadvoratrelundar – "Thinking is action"

“And we are trying to think of a plan, Adrian,” Romana put in with a sigh. She went over to put an arm around Adrian. “Just because we went off on a tangent doesn’t mean we’re not concerned about the situation. Most of us are.” she glanced over to Scael, before continuing.

“And I can assure you, my species don’t often look like we’re doing much, but one thing you should know about us is we’re always using this.” She tapped the side of her head. “We never stop thinking. And I’ve been wondering about what to do about the situation since that energy barrier went up, just the same as you undoubtedly have. Do you honestly think if we had any ideas we wouldn’t share them? The fact is, there isn’t much we can do.” She rolled her eyes, “Frustrating though that may be. But I’ve been doing all I can to help. I’ve been sorting out my problems with Frank’s temporal manipulation so that I can fight without becoming a liability, I’ve been racking my brains trying to work out a way to help the rest of our team more directly, and I am currently in telepathic contact with Jake’s mind, trying to get him back so that we have another team member to help us. I have been all this time,” Romana explained. She readjusted her scarf, betraying a hint of anxiety. “I only wish it was going more smoothly...I’ve been facing problems...”

The young woman closed her eyes briefly. “But that’s not important. What is important is that I haven’t been standing around twiddling my thumbs like you think.” She laughed slightly. “I never could understand how people could just stand around and do nothing. Even back on my home planet, where you’re expected to. I always have to do something to help. The difference between me and you is simply our methods, and the way we respond to the situation. It doesn’t mean either of us care less about the problem than the other. But I can understand why you would think that way, and I don’t blame you.” Romana sighed. “Just know that we’re not abandoning them in there, whatever you might ‘think’ we’re doing with our time.”

Suddenly she straightened up, pulling away from Adrian. It was clear someone had to take some initiative...and although she didn’t have a plan, anything was better than standing around and arguing.

“Scael,” she said, swivelling on her heels to address him, “Do you think you could look inside the Lander to see if there is anything constructive we can use to help them inside there? And while you’re at it, see if Toro and Marus have any useful advice or suggestions.”

She then turned to Adrian. “You are good at finding your way around magic, aren’t you? I want you to find out everything you can about that energy field, or if you can find out anything about it. Even if it turns out we can’t get through it, it certainly won’t hurt to know exactly what we’re dealing with. Every piece of information is important.”

“And Charles...” Romana halted for a moment, realising she had no idea what job to give Charles. “...Just...try not to complain too much. I think that’s a good enough challenge for you.” She tried hard not to laugh, clearing her throat. “Unless you have any better ideas?” she asked him. “You are team leader, after all.”

_________________

Hiryu: Doc's bag is a portal. She's actually from another dimension and when she jumped into it, she ended up at a desk with a browser open on this site. That's how she found it.
We have a Doctor Who thread now. Doctor Who threads are cool.

Scael cooled down as he listened to Romana's explanation, and realized he had been wrong to snap like he had.

"Of course," he said as Romana directed him, and turned, half sprinting, half jumping over the ground towards the ship that carried them there, and then jumped up and into the open doorway as he got close. He looked around, searching for something to help, but didn't really know what he should be looking for. Maybe a gun or something that shot magic bullets? Whatever that looked like.

Failing that, he turned to Marus and Toro. "There's some kind of magic barrier around the warehouse, trapping the others inside. Do you guys know of any way we could disrupt it or something?"

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~Charles Price: Parking Are, Space Port----Yeah, I Got Something~

Charles felt a big lump in his throat at the mention of the word "tragedy". "I suppose, you can describe it that way." He never had the heart to blame anyone else. When picking the situation apart countless times, over and over, he supposed no one else was at fault but him. At least, that was one way of looking at it. It happened so face, he didn't even know anymore. But he didn't blame Roy, not him nor anybody else. He couldn't bring himself to blame him. Goddammit, what was with people and just looking right through him? "In any case, while I thank you for your sympathy, really, there's no need to apologize." He didn't want anyone to apologize to him, especially Roy. He already knew enough to know the guy was going to get him involved in things he simply doesn't want to get involved in, just as Romana would. So why do people apologize? Didn't people know that only made things worse? 'Whatever' he thought, 'I just hope no one will graze that topic again any time soon.'

What Roy said next struck him as odd though. Not the normal bit, hell nobody here was normal as far as he was concerned, but "It would've been nice though."? Did he detect some self regret there? Charles wasn't the sort to dwell in the business of others, but there was obviously a story behind there. Such a thing, was a very strange thing to say. He'll probably learn about it one day, but for now, it was just an odd occurrence. In the mean time, it seemed like some of their squadmates were getting impatient. "You have to be fucking kidding me." he swore, hoping he did not hear right. "Please tell me you're joking. He did not fucking do that." The old man exchanged looks with Romana, "The more I hear about this guy the more it seems like we're not gonna get along." Grimacing, he added, "Well ain't that super?" Just when he thought Frank was the least of their problems, Adrian started calling them out on the situation at hand. Just what he needed. "Oh fuck, don't tell me you're going to do something stupid. Look, don't think I don't kno-" Everyone started arguing with one another before he could muster in a word. So, in defeat, Charles just stood their grimly nodding his head between faces, counting to ten over and over again in his head. 'Well, isn't this a wonderful first day on the job. As it turns out, I'm the fucking babysitter, AGAIN.' In an effort to control himself, Charles resolved to staring at the large barrier before him, in an attempt to figure it out. It was something he hadn't seen before, and while he had seen many barriers in his time, this one was new. Barriers. He hated barriers. Something about them always irked him. Why now? Why fucking now?

“And Charles...Just...try not to complain too much. I think that’s a good enough challenge for you. Unless you have any better ideas? You are team leader, after all.”

He didn't even get a chance to say anything, since Scael already saw fit to run off. The entire thing bewildered him, so he was staring with his mouth gapped open, just trying to gather his wits for this ambiguous humiliation. "Huh? Wait. He. It. You. Where? WHAT?" With no choice but to go along with Romana's plan he threw his hands up in defeat. "FINE! Fine. Adrian, you better fucking keep in touch, because goddammit I'm responsible for you guys, and since people are going to run around willy nilly before I can say a fucking thing, go right ahead. At least we actually have a plan I suppose, and for the record, no one here is going to get harmed on my watch."

_________________

Musicmac: "Sam4Books: Always ready to cheer things up with awesome art. Terms and Conditions apply."

-Outside the port-

Toro, who was with his legs hanging out of the open door of the Lander, raised an eyebrow as Scael ran up to them. As Scael voiced his query, The instructor scratched his chin, looking sidelong at the building and barrier, as if sizing it up. "Yeah..." Toro replied after a moment, " I could bring it down."
He didnt, however, make any attempt to move from his current location, and didnt appear like he really intended to do so.


Back at the main group, Adrian, Romana, and Charles' C.As All chirruped simultaneously.
" I can See youre all embroiled in your own dramatics right now," Came Marus's voice slowly from the devices, "But you might want to drag yourselves out of them for a few minutes, as I think youre about to receive some company. To your right."
To the right of where the group was talking, a few hundred feet further down the parking lot and closer to the space port building entrance, were the multitude of black cars the mobsters had arrived in. Loitering around those cars was another group of mobsters, similar to the ones who had entered.About 3 dozen rough looking men in various states of attire but still mostly suits, were talking, smoking, and generally standing about as they waited for their fellows to finish their business inside.
However...it appeared that a few of them had taken notice of the group of squad mates and their petty argument, as two of them were currently making their way across the lot, directly towards Romana, Charles and Adrian. They werent armed, at least in a manner that the group could tell, and from the disinterested way they were coming towards them, they almost certainly hadnt seen them come through the portal, and didnt appear to recognize them. one might hazard a guess that they were just coming over to shoo them off before they saw anything incriminating, but such an assumption could still be dangerous...

In any case, the Squad mates would know one way or the other once the mobsters reached them, an event which was drawing closer by the second...

_________________

Scael blinked, staring up at Toro.

Toro stared out at the barrier, unmoving.

Scael blinked again and a light, pleasant, refreshing breeze wafted through.

So Toro wasn't going to do anything unless explicitly asked...?

"Understood," he said with a nod, and was about to go back and tell the others that Toro had the ability to take the barrier down when Marus' slow communication brought his attention to the mobsters approaching the group.

Finally, he thought to himself. Something to kill. Oh, but first...

He pulled out the CA and patched himself through to Charles. "Charles--Scael. Shall I go around the long way and take out the mobsters around the cars, or do you need me over there?"

_________________

"Well that plan certainly sounds better than just sitting here waiting." Adrian sighed as Romana ordered him to check out the barrier. "If it is magically based then there are a few ways to take it down. Come to think of it there's a spell on my home world that's perfect for this sort of thing. Unfortunately I don't know it. Our other option is to either blast through it with a stronger magical force, or take out the one's keeping it up." Adrian wasn't sure how much the others knew about magic but he figured it couldn't hurt to impart what knowledge he had of it on them.

Before the half-elf had a chance to leave though, Charles started his own rant. The young sowrdsman smirked a bit at how flustered their leader had become when Romana superceded his control of them but shrugged it off nonetheless. "I'll be careful don't worry. Just call me on this thing if you need me." he said, holding up the C.A.

However, he was again interrupted before his departure, this time by the very device in his hand. "They found us already? Shit." he thought to himself as he struggled to determine the best course of action. "Romana, you and Charles should go with Scael. We'll want the majority of our forces attacking their blind side. I'll deal with the patrol and engage the main group head on after you start your assault. If all goes well we'll catch them in a pincer before they know what happened. Now go on, get before we all get caught." Adrian shooed them off as he turned his back to the group and awaited the patrol.

Milan – Bring it Bitch!

Milan pressed the CA and spoke softly, “Hey, Captain, any chance of a regroup? If not, we better get swinging, like it or not, we have to save the asshat.” He swayed at the wave of hatred, anger and sadism, the pleasure they had from the thought of this, the victory they we already feeling; the lust for Frank’s pain. He flattened his ears and sharply shook his head, pushing the memories from the doctors, the lab, the needles and scalpels away. Those would have to be put off; he was good at putting it off, not thinking of it.

His eyes darkened to emerald and he showed off his fangs, feeding off their lust for power, making it his own. “Let’s show them what we’re made of, yess?” he purred dangerously, popping his claws out. Nothing mattered but instinct, nothing but the battle, all else could wait. “Stick to him like glue,” he purred, stalking to Frank, and spoke loudly to the enemy, “SURRENDER OR FACE THE CONSEQUENCES!”

_________________

~Charles Price: Parking Area, Space Port----Not Again~

That all too unwarranted feeling of dread and terror came over him at the mention of unwanted company. He was hoping it wouldn't come to this, this was the exact opposite of what he wanted to it. 'Damn it, damn it all to Khrons stomach.' There seemed to be a whole lot of them, other than the pair who were heading right towards him. For a heart stopping moment there Charles actually believed they were going to be attacked. Protectively he moved near Romana, his hand at his side, ready to pull out a gun at any moment.

It seemed they weren't about to attack them after all. At least not yet. In fact, from the looks of it, they didn't recognize them at all. Perhaps, they just thought they were innocent bystanders. Charles hoped to Diana that this was true, if not, their lives were on the line. "I'd prefer if we don't engage them in battle just yet." he said as his response to Scael, looking right into Adrian's eyes. "We are already outnumbered enough as it is. Before we try anything we should find out as much as we can about the barrier itself which I believe you and Adrian will be best at. However, if we end up running into a problem here you are free to attack on my signal, just try not to gather as much attention as possible, I don't know whether they will send in reinforcements or not. See if they have an outside source if you can. And in the case you run into someone and I haven't given you the signal, act a bit.

"Scael, you have never met neither Romana or I, you don't even know or recognize our names. Adrian, you have just met us, and you are a young man with a blossoming sense of curiosity and adventure. This may seem weird, but trust me, it's best we remain as inconspicuous as possible, and that means pretending we're 'normal', average, every day people. Romana, please don't slap me for this, but I'm afraid you and I will have to play the part of a married couple. It is by far the most believable, and would explain why we're together in the first place. Once Romana and I deal with the men, we'll meet up with you after pretending to go back to our ship. But do not engage them yet. I cannot stress that enough." And that was the basics of it, an entire act while scoping around for information. Worst case scenario, at least one of them would end up at the mercy of the mobsters, but Charles was prepared for that. The dangers of an early attack were clear as crystal, something he would not let happen again. If Khron willed it, this plan would be a success, and he can sleep well tonight. All he needed was a bit of cooperation. He cooperated in everyone elses crazy schemes so far. Hearing Milan's voice on the C.A. he quickly answered, "Working on that Milan, but I sure as hell hope so." At the moment, a regrouping seemed almost impossible until the mobsters inside the barrier were dealt with.

_________________

Musicmac: "Sam4Books: Always ready to cheer things up with awesome art. Terms and Conditions apply."