Calculating... Arca, standing near Adrian, closed her eyes for a split second as Titan crunched numbers. Enemy force size: 26 to 45. Type: Criminal, Organized. Projected armaments: Small arms; pistols, machine pistols, submachine guns, assault rifles. A grin crept across her face. Threat level: low. Current equipment should be more than adequate to deal with the threat.

... But 'adequate' has never really been your style, has it?

Her grin grew even wider as she raised her right arm. A moment later Adrian, as well as the rest of the area near her, was showered with small specks of black blood as a hunk of metal burst out of Arca's forearm, forming itself into a large, flat shield. The weapon on her left arm changed as well: its short, wide muzzle resolving into six long barrels arranged in a circle, as the body of the weapon dropped from its former position over her arm. It was now held to her by a trio of thick metal bands around her arm, and she gripped a stick on the weapon adorned with only a front trigger and a button on the top.

She pulled the trigger, the minigun's motor roaring to life as she walked over to the door. "So," she began, her thumb hovering over the button that would start the minigun dispensing hot death in whatever direction it faced, "who wants to give these guys a warm welcome?" The smile on her face now could only be described as demonic.

Romanadvoratrelundar – D:< Fine then! So long. (And thanks for all the fish)

Upon hearing what Roy had to say, Romana opened her mouth, half in protest and half in stunned silence. She tried again.
“You…what?” she rhetorically asked him. Roy was right in his assumption that she was disgusted. “I’m sure you meant well, but that was completely unnecessary,” she told him angrily, none too impressed.
“I can’t argue with your logic; it seems if you are going ahead with this, I’m of more use at the Lander, but you could have just asked me. I would really prefer it if people could just get to the point, instead of playing me like an emotional fiddle!” she said with a cutting glance at Roy. “And I do not accept your apology or your excuses.”

She then turned her back on him, adjusting the long trailing scarf around her shoulders. The fact that Roy’s idea was then supported by veterans didn’t do anything make her feel better. She then turned in Charles and Adrian’s direction, still looking peeved, although her anger wasn’t directed at them. “I’m ready when you are,” she told them both with a wave of her hands. “And please Charles, calling yourself Grandpa, you’re making a young time lady feel old,” Romana commented with a sigh.

_________________

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.

~Charles Price: Space Port----Into the tunnel again~

Once Romana voiced her comment, Charles couldn't help but nearly crack a smile. It sounded like something an old friend would say. It was quite funny actually, or ironic. "Would you prefer I call myself Charlie then?" he commented back, although rather squarely. He did not wait for Romana's reply or reaction, but took his position so he was in front of Romana and Adrian with the portal behind him. It threatened to suck him in at any minute, yet Charles merely stood there, holding onto his hat with one hand. "Very well, if it'll be only you two I suppose we'll be going then. I hope you understand that if you're inexperienced with using a portal keeping your hands at your side will most likely be the best option. And in case anyone else wants to change their minds; remember, five minutes and the portal will close. I don't want to hear anymore fucking complaints." To accompany this, he lifted his free hand in front of the group (palm open), before turning around with a quick dash into the portal. He trusted that Romana and Adrian were close behind.

_________________

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

{Roy}

_Retro City_

" A person who fought gods and empires, strikes me, both as someone who is stubborn and a manipulator . " Roy pointed out to Romana as he had remembered some of what she had earlier mentioned. "So I'll admit, you're going to be in my way a lot and I need to figure out how to manipulate the manipulator." He mentioned in a nonchalant way. " That's no excuse or an apology. Good luck, to your endeavors, Romana."

Roy now approached Adrian, and nodded his head. " Sounds good to me, you have my permission." He replied " Through as much as that annoys you, Adrian." Roy then leans in closer to Adrian and mentioned this to him within ear shot of Romana " I had a feeling, he would agree, because, honestly I did my homework on them." Roy stepped away from Adrian and company walked over to one of the corpses Frank made. He reached and picked up a gun off the ground, picked pocketed one of the other men for clips.

With a simple adjustment, Roy caused the gun to drop its clip and then inserted a new clip. He then slammed the bottom on his palm. " Here we go, this would save me some ammo for awhile." Roy remarked as he examined his newfound gun. His eyes went over to Alcas as he observed the weapon she chosen. " Alcas, I don't want to turn this area into a war zone. Don't go for another strike." He warned to her " You shoot if they shoot or I tell you to shoot, I hope this clear for you."

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

-Frank, clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right-
Patting and rubbing as his suit, straightening it a bit and working on the blood stains, the new guy decided to stay quite in the midst of conversation. They sure did seem to love conversation. Frank just looked around them as they talked, an incredibly neutral look on his face. Bored, even. Not having much to say, he reached into his coat, pulling out a new cigarette and his lighter. Cupping his hand around it while holding it in his mouth, he struck the lighter a few times until a solid flame sprung forth from it, and he lit his smoke. Satisfied, the sharp dressed man started appraising his new found compatriots. Suffice to say, he found them lacking. Completely unprofessional, vast internal arguments, personal disputes, a whole lot of yelling, explaining, discussion. The fuck was this? These were the famous "Lunatics", whose name struck fear in the hearts of the system, the known galaxy? He guessed they were all tough enough, and at least one or two had some blood lust to drag them along. Well, if they weren't tough enough, Frank guessed they just wouldn't make it to their ride, and if nothing else gave his foes something else to fire at.

"You kids shouldn't play so rough. Some one's gonna start crying." Twisting the smoke in his mouth, he stepped forward a bit from where he was before, a bit away from the group. "I call for the toughest, most dangerous Corporation to come give me a pick up. They get here, I find out it's a bunch of babies." Pushing through them, he nonchalantly walks forward while giving out his opinion on it all. "Three punks who can't decide who's in charge, a dame who can't look at me straight without getting weak in the legs," Taking a deep inhale on his cigarette, he nods at Romana as he mentions her, using his powers just slightly and hoping she looks over before she hits the teleporting circle... whatever it is. Frank's not one for those sorts of weird things. "A kid, something just fire crazy enough to get us killed, and the rest of you, well." Making it over to the other side of the group, closer to the doors, he stops and half turns back. "So, take them alive? Not used to that. And don't go thinking it's easy. They may be "just" guns, but we happen to buy quality ones around here. Besides, at least a few can do some crazy shit. Like Vinny's energy.... whatever. Manipulates something. Or Jackie's absorbing bullshit. That fat bastard "Megaton" has got to be here. Hate's me for some reason. Anyway, he'll be the huge guy."

_________________

Earlier...

The situation with the multiple Jakes reaching the point of insanity, Scael had opted to just sit off to the sidelines, thinking to himself, Just keeps getting weirder and weirder. After Jake was taken out by a well-placed bullet to the skull, it was all Scael could do to keep from laughing his ass off.

Afterwards, he followed the group automatically, walking with the body of the group--he did listen to the nature of the mission, but then lost interest--eventually finding himself seated inside an old airplane. But it was fine with him, he didn't care much. And then the plane made those exhilarating loops and barrel rolls, making some cry out in fear, some complain, and others just slept through it. Scael nodded appreciatively as they leveled out, and ignored most of the commotion when they landed.

Walking along, Roy said, "Through it does make me curious, Scael, Kallis, and yourself, is a bit of a puzzle to me. You three, are the true warriors amongst the group, a gunslinger with two swordsmen, west meets east, really."

Scael grinned. "I'll take that as a compliment, Roy."

" And a puzzle called your motives for fighting."

At this, Scael remained silent, which, if anything his silence was forming a bit of a trend. His reason for fighting wasn't relevant right now. They were on a job, so even if he felt like explaining, it would take too long to tell his story. He would keep it to himself...

...for now.

And then it was time to decide who went back to the Lander and who stayed at the site. On the one hand, if there were only going to be three of them going back to join up at the Lander, he might want to go to support them, seeing how many people there were here.

On the other hand, the forces here were, for a lack of a better term, psychotic. Well, Milan excluded, he was just incorrigible. But they had a distinct lack of organization. They might need him here.

He cast his eyes askance. Yeah, like that worked so well last time.

"I'll go," he decided aloud, and went to join Adrian, Romona and Charles.

_________________

Milan – Who Do You Think You Are?

Milan waved to Scael, knowing that the taller man had his reasons. He looked to Frank, and said, “We could leave you to take care of it if you don’t want our help. But since you’re not telling us all to fuck off I’d say you can’t do it on your own.” He glared at the tall man, “And besides, this is probably the group you’ll be joining seeing as we all got to Lunatic yesterday.” The cat-boy smirked and turned to Roy, “What’s the plan, Captain?” He started to hum and glared at Frank.

_________________

{Roy}

_The Building_ The Plan

"Yes, Yes, Yes, Blah, Blah, now, isn't the time." Roy remarked to Frank as he approached the window of the building. He spotted the black vans stopping in front. He grumbled and then went on to say " Commander, Milan, and my plan is quite simple." Roy strolled over to Frank and simply said " Franky, thanks for the info about the mafia, I hope you know about this city as well. I need you to lead our remaining numbers somewhere, where we can set up an ambush. "

" Arca, where ever Franky leads you, I want you to be on a roof or somewhere high. Cause when they are there at that spot for the ambush, rain hellfire with that minigun of yours. Aim for the cars, and the most troubling." Roy mentioned as he issued an order that even Arca could at least find some amount of joy with. He then turned back to Milan, and said to him " Milan, I want you to stick to Franky like glue and have your CA out at all times, so I can contact you. Cause you're going to give me directions."

"Kallis, your with me, our objective stall them and then lead these Mafiosos to the ambush spot." He commanded to Kallis and then used his thumb to point to himself. " You have your orders, no more arguing, its time to get the show on the road. Good luck and godspeed with your objectives." Roy address them as he wanted them to leave except for Kallis. "Please, use the back exit of this building, It should have one. I don't want you guys to draw attention to yourselves." He added, hoping they wouldn't argue with him any further.

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

Romanadvoratrelundar – That does it!

The corner of the time lady’s mouth lifted a little. “Anything’s better than calling yourself Grandpa,” Romana told Charles in answer to his question, as he vanished through the portal.

But what little part of her bad mood had started to lift, soon came right back again like a ton of bricks. In the bitter mood she was already in, Roy’s words felt like a slap to the face. Romana gritted her teeth. Was that infuriating smart arse still speaking?
And hark who is talking! Romana scoffed angrily to herself. Manipulator, indeed…

“I won’t deny I’m stubborn, but I am no manipulator,” she snapped at Roy coldly. “Manipulation is a game for people seeking control and power, and I don’t. I leave that to my planet’s politicians and the people I fight...There’s more than enough manipulation in the universe already without me joining in. So I’d think again about who’s doing the manipulating.” The time lady gave Roy a hard and furious stare, before turning on her heels…

And then Frank spoke up, with his little speech. The blonde woman’s expression was one of contempt as he began talking, but just before she jumped into the portal, she heard the man refer to her (or at least she assumed it was her he was referring to), and she turned on her heels to look at him.

- Unfortunately for Romana, it meant that she stumbled right on cue. The timing could not have been more comedic, for as soon as Frank nodded to Romana, the time lady suddenly found her legs give way beneath her and she stumbled, tripping and falling backwards into the portal and vanishing from view.

“I am going to kill him,” Romana seethed through clenched teeth, as she travelled down the tunnel. If she hadn’t been furious before, she certainly was now. “And I’ll kill Roy too! Both of them. Or they’ll wish they were dead but the time I’ve finished with them. Arrogant, insolent, conniving…urrgh!”

God help the first person to attempt to speak to Romana once she reached the other side…

_________________

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 stepped through the portal, completely ignoring Frank's objective, idiotic speech. Apparently looks were everything to this moron. Not to mention that if he weren't such a fuck-up himself, he wouldn't be knee-deep in trouble and asking for help.

Appearing on the other side, he almost bumped into a fuming Romona. "Oh, excuse me, Romona, I--"

_________________

~Charles Price: Parking Area, Space Port----How Ironic~

Charles waited near the portal for someone to come through. He felt as if his group was taking far too long going through a portal of all things. One had to wonder what was going on the other side. He checked his watch for the twentieth time. "Goddammit, I told them five minutes" he said aloud to himself.

The winds of portal picked up a few knots signifying that someone was coming through. The old man's face lifted up as he went to greet the first person coming through, "Ah!" It was Romana.

Then, Charles' first thought was that she looked silly stumbling out of the portal. He supposed he should catch her least she fell. But, then there was another. A lost of balance, words of apologies, and Charles' ever so stoic expression as he caught Romana before she could fall face first on the ground.

"You know, I thought that since you were used to traveling through time and have some knowledge on metaphysics you wouldn't be so clumsy in using a simple portal. Next time, please just walk through like everyone else." He was completely unaware of what happened on the other end of the portal of course. Scael was not spared a look of disapproval either.

_________________

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

Adrian wiped the blackened blood, courtesy of Arca, from his face. Honestly that woman was a nuisance on so many levels it wasn't even funny anymore. On the other hand, Frank's mouth was beginning to strike a whole new set of nerves. For awhile, Adrian pondered blasting the man across the space port. Though that probably wouldn't have gone over well later on. Before he could give it any more thought though, Romana stumbled comically through the portal. "Oh, that's not going to end well...." he sighed, adjusting his sword slightly to keep from losing his grip in the portal. The swordsman approached the freshly ripped hole in space warily. He was used to more traditional means of transportation, among which did not include portals.

After taking one last deep breath, the half-elf stepped through the portal, appearing behind Scael and the others soon after. Unlike the others though, Adrian exited the portal quite smoothly. No sooner than did he arrive though than did he note Charles supporting Romana and Scael apparently apologizing for bumping into her. A low whistle emanated from the swordsman in an attempt to grab the others attention. "Scael, from what I understand Charles and Romana are going back to the Lander but what about you?" he questioned with a raised eyebrow. "I'll be heading back to try and help the others flank any resistance they run into. Will you be coming with me or going with them?"

Romanadvoratrelundar – Hell hath no fury like a Time Lady scorned

It was bad enough that she was in a bad temper. It was bad enough that she had to stumble through the portal and stumble out the other side. But then to have Scael bump into her, and then almost fall flat on her face if Charles hadn’t caught her…as soon as she got over the embarrassment, Romana’s blood boiled.
If ever there was a moment where I felt tempted to break the laws of time just to get back at someone, I swear…

Without a word of thanks to Charles, she got to her feet, turning swiftly on Scael. “Excuse you? Excuse you for what?” she snapped at him, advancing on Scael with a rage that was surprisingly frightening. “I have had it up to HERE with people’s excuses! Have you come to ridicule me and stamp all over my ego too? Have you?! Go on, you might as well, EVERYONE else is certainly getting a kick out of it! Let’s all mock the Time Lady who thinks she’s SO much BETTER than everyone else!” Romana was inches from the lizard man’s face, intimidating close. Despite her size, despite being no more than a mere novice, Romana stood with such a presence of authority and absolute fury, it was actually terrifying. She then held up a hand as if to silence him. “-DON’T even THINK of replying to that! I don’t need to hear ANOTHER SINGLE WORD. UNDERSTAND?”

Romana then turned, advancing on Charles this time. “And as for YOU,” she scolded with the same terrifying fury, jabbing him in the chest with a finger, “I suppose you think I blundered through the portal BECAUSE I FELT LIKE IT, do you? Don’t think for a moment I did it because some ARROGANT IDIOT, decided it would be funny to PURPOSEFULLY use his temporal powers to make me collapse again, WILL YOU? Oh no, that would be COMPLETELY far fetched to ever think that! No, I’ll just DELIBERATELY TRIP OVER, and make myself look like a bigger fool than I already have! IS THAT WHAT YOU THINK? DO YOU?” For a moment she simply stood there fuming, eyes blazing into Charles’ own, daring him to speak.

_________________

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 – Roger Roger

He flicked the CA on and clipped it to his right shoulder, making one ear focus on it. “Righto Commander,” he said standing straight, “C’mon bitch.” He pushed on Frank to make him move, and popping his blades out, his Intent out and attentive for hatred, the hatred would get stronger as they got closer.

_________________

~Charles Price: Parking Area, Space Port----You'd think Charles would be the only angry person in this relationship~

At first, he did not say a think. Instead, Charles quietly listened, with a blank scowl on his face. He waited patiently, until Romana was done at last. Once he was certain she was done ranting, Charles tightened his glove over his left hand. He then raised his hand, and gave Romana a solid smack.

"Are you done? Because there's only one loud and angry, senile bastard, and that's me. I expected more of you, Romana. A mature, sensible young lady, letting some asswipe get the best of her. What the fuck is wrong with you?" The portal behind him closed as he said this the portal behind him came to a close. The magical circle still there until it slowly faded away. "And I never fucking said that you deliberately fell over. I only suggested to be more careful. Don't you start take my words out of context, Romana."

There was a lapse of silence, coupled with a disappointed, scolding glare. Out of all the people in the world Charles would expect to flip out. Someone must've made her angry. "You can at least tell me what the hell happened and who did it instead of fucking taking all your anger out on Scael and me. Actually, no. You can yell at me as much as you want, but don't fucking yell at Scael for being at the wrong place at the wrong time."

_________________

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

Liam - Checking In

Liam took the handkerchief from Romana and put it back into where it belonged, inside his suit. He had a small concerned frown on his face before but upon hearing the time traveler's reply, had soften it into a relieved smile. Telepathy between two parties was a risky activity, dangerous consequences could happen if a problem occurred. The man looked at her again with his lime green eyes, perhaps she was in worse shape than he had thought. The way her face had suddenly heated up and how she had stuttered with her words seemed to increase his concerns.

Without noticing it, a cold sensation was suddenly felt by Romana. In front of her, Liam had put his hand on her forehead. His fingers and palm were surprisingly cooling on her skin, easily sending surprise into anyone who had not been prepared to feel it. The two different temperatures slowly melted into one similar warmth, easily comforting Romana's sudden fever. It was only a brief moment however, before Liam lifted his hand away with a relieved sigh.

"It doesn't seem like you are in bad condition. I was worried that we would have to end your visit because of any problems," he said politely, unaware of what had really happened to Romana on the outside or his sudden intrusion on the woman's personal space. "Shall we continue then?" Romana's body suddenly collapsed in front of him, she had fainted again due to Frank using his abilities. Liam quickly grabbed her by the arm and lifted her up, while calling her name in a worried tone. "Miss Ro... na?! Roma... He... llo?! Mi... Rom.. na!!" Her vision began to blur again, obscured by the much hated same jar of egg whites. Liam's voice began to sound more distant, and an annoying high-pitched hum pierced and rang through her eardrums. An imminent blanket of darkness covered her mind and Liam's voice disappeared.

"Dammit,"Liam cursed in the heavy silence surrounding them. Romana had fainted before he could do anything, and her body was now leaning on his for support. Jake had some interesting companions visit his mind before this, but this was the first time someone had fainted inside it. Most importantly, he was certain that he did not want Romana to end up like she did. Not wanting to ponder any further, Liam lifted the woman off himself and carried her effortlessly. With Romana steady in his arms, he began to walk towards the door carefully. When he finally reached the door, he noticed that both his hands were too busy to reach for the bronze knob.

Truly a troublesome problem.

With a frustrated slight furrowing of the eyebrows and a slight frown from his lips, he gently edged his right side closer to the door. Using his fingers, he slowly felt around the wood and eventually touched the cold surface of a doorknob. With a calculated twist, the door opened and slowly retreated into the building's interior. Inside, Liam walked on a floor of simple but of good quality oak panels with Romana still in his arms.

There were a few armchairs and sofas nearby, placed in a corner and surrounding a beautiful stone fireplace. Liam walked over to one of the sofas and settled the time lady down on its white cushy seats. He looked around, the black low coffee table in the middle had been kept clean and the fireplace had a warm fire crackling happily as if to welcome him back. A tall window placed directly on the wall and above the sofa Romana was on had its velvety green curtains drawn, preventing anybody from looking out or in. Moroccan red wallpaper made the place appealing and a small but pretty chandelier illuminated the place from the middle of a white ceiling.

"Master Liam? Welcome back," a familiar called out from a nearby counter. A door behind the counter was closed by a thin old man dressed in a white dress shirt with a green vest with black stripes on the outside. He sat down on a chair behind the counter, waiting for a response from Liam. As expected, Liam approached him.

"Thank you, William," he said with a polite smile. The old man nodded with and made a smile behind his white mustache in response. He reached for a drawer and opened it, pulling out a small leather book along with a pen. The items were put on the counter and opened. "I take it that you've been out escorting someone?" William spoke in a questioning but polite tone as Liam wrote in both his and Romana's name into the record book.

"Yes. Anything interesting happened while I was away, William?" The book was handed back to William and was given a brief check. "Eh, sort of," he looked at the names with a pair of reading glasses that were sitting comfortably on the bridge of his nose. "Roe - mah - nahd - ve - rah - lunh - dar," the old man pronounced the name slowly, trying to grasp the correct way to say it. "Lovely name, but I think I'll stay with Romana. Is she a friend of Master Jake's?"

"Yes"

_________________

Captain of Innuendo Strike Forces & Founder of Innuendo Striking Technique

-In the Port-

No one would be able to tell, but Spider was rolling his eyes furiously at the rest of the group. And just what he needed, another Smart-mouth in the form of Frank.Exactly what he didnt need.
"Lets try to keep our unnecessary opinions to ourselves and focus on the task at hand, okay?" Turning to the others, he felt the need to clarify."As a kind of company policy, we usually try to take targets alive when possible, but honestly, when it's you or them, it doesn't take three guesses to figure who we're going to pick."Spider took a quick look around, to try to get a good head for the area."Okay, I think we should try to-"
Spider's diatribe was cut off by the sound of the Space Port doors slamming open, as about two dozen men of disreputable occupation made their way inside. Spider reacted quickly, darting into a nearby alcove out of the newcomers sight and motioning And all but dragging the kiddie squad with him. He bade them be silent as he peeked surreptitiously around the corner at the newcomers.

Fittingly enough, the gangsters were mostly dressed in various forms of what could be called 'Business casual', suits, gloves, and that sort of thing. There were however, a few individuals who stood out. One grim looking fellow, with A long scar going across his eye and mouth, Was wearing a bulky looking red vest over a black shirt. From his worn gloves and shoes he was obviously prepared for more physical work then the more dressily clad mobsters with him.
Another man was oddly enough, dressed in an open Hawaiian print shirt and shorts. From the confident skip in his step to the vicious smile on his face, he looked like he was expecting to enjoy himself.
And the last one, Spider couldnt help but mentally refer to as the boss, Not just from his clothing, but from the way all those others acted around him, and how the underlings seemed to form up on him. He wasn't an overly large man, though he was well built, and dressed expensively in fine clothes, particularly a big dark overcoat draped over his shoulders. Currently, as he entered the building, a mail obscured hand poked out from the folds of his coat to place a lit Cigar in his mouth. Stopping Just past the threshold, Samuel "Sammy the Hands" Gallow turned to two of the underlings. "Lock it down," he instructed, taking another puff from the cigar, " I dont want anyone getting in or out unless it's in a body bag."
The thugs nodded their understanding, and as the doors to the entrance closed, they both made a strange sign towards it, causing their hands to be lit by a strange green glow. Within seconds, the entire building was sheathed in an impenetrable field of sealing energy. From now on, No one would be able to enter or exit the building, through teleportation or otherwise until their business was done. It appeared that Charles and his passengers had left just in time.

"Come on out Frank," Called Samuel, his voice echoing through the station, " We both know you've got debts to settle, why dont you come on out so we can get this taken care of quick?" This was accompanied by a chorus of jeers and call from the entourage.
The Hawaiian shirt clad gangster cackled hysterically. "Yeah, Come on out Franky! We both know how this will end." he yelled mockingly.

_________________

Back at the Lander...

Scael jerked back as Romana got in his face and started screaming at him. His eyes wide, confused and alarmed, she blared her sudden rage at him. He was too shocked to reply, even when she put up her hand to silence him. Then she turned to Charles, and Scael relaxed just enough so that he didn't have to be arching his body defensively.

He groaned and flexed his neck side to side, listening to the gratifying sounds of his own muscles popping, then waited until Romona had calmed down. Charles seemed to have his own way of calming her. It seemed to work. "To be fair," Scael sibilated calmly, "I never thought you were arrogant to begin with. You actually seem pretty normal to me." He shrugged and looked away with a half-smile. "You're one of the few people I think I could get along with."

He glanced up at the Lander, the junky-looking plane that flew them here. "Thing really doesn't look too good. I wonder how long it's been since they took it to a shipyard."

Then he looked around, glancing at the members of his group, and at the surroundings. "You really think we can expect an attack here? I mean, it's gotta be a mile or so from the station... why would they come here, anyway?" He crossed his arms and looked skyward. "Not that I'm complaining. Just wondering."

_________________

Romanadvoratrelundar – The Ice Maiden I once was *FLASH BACK*

The slap took Romana completely by surprise. She stumbled back slightly, her anger replaced suddenly with shock. She could feel her face burn hot as she touched the side where she’d been hit, though whether that was through anger, pain or embarrassment she couldn’t tell. She stared back at Charles still clutching her burning face, her mouth open in stunned silence. However, the anger burned in her throat.

“How DARE you slap me!” she exclaimed, her voice almost hoarse. But instead of launching into another shouting match, she simply stood there in silence, visibly seething. Breathing heavily she swallowed, listening to what Charles said but not looking him in the eyes. As furious and as hurt as she was, admittedly, he did have a point.

Taking a moment to compose herself, she sighed. “I guess...I deserved that,” she muttered regrettably after a considerable pause, rubbing the side of her head. Her hot headed anger seemed to have gone, for the moment, but there was still an underlying bitterness, which she seemed to be doing her best to restrain. “And, you’re right. My behaviour was unacceptable.” With a deep breath she turned to Scael, genuinely apologetic. “I am sorry. I shouldn’t have verbally attacked you or Charles like that.” She shook her head bitterly. “There was no call for it. I don’t often lose it like that...I think I’ve even surprised myself...but that’s still no excuse for the way I spoke to you.”

Hearing what Scael said, a faint look of surprise crossed her expression. “Then I thank you,” she replied, with the trace of a smile. “Although I do know some people who would disagree with you there .Though I tend to be more agreeable these days, I am hardly what you’d call modest,” she laughed, although there was a touch of sadness to it. “There used to be time when I was much more hot-headed and self-assured than I am now, and a lot less friendly... But that was long ago now,” Romana said, turning away and moving on swiftly. “And if you want to know why I’m so riled, certain members of our group happen to be getting under my skin, and from what I can gather deliberately for one reason or another...namely Roy and that new member, Frank Vic,” she explained with an edge to her voice. “But I’d really rather not go into details right this second. Just know that I’m not in the greatest of moods right now,” she added darkly.

She then regarded Charles with a wary look. “By the way, thank you for the... innovative way of knocking me to my senses,” she commended him with just a hint of sarcasm. “But please...don’t do it again...Ever,” she requested. “Or I really will not be able to resist the temptation to slap you back.”



But privately, Romana still felt angry and irritable, although she was keeping it well controlled. Why the sudden outburst? Why had these emotions risen to the surface now? She hadn’t felt this bitter in such a long time…but she could guess what had triggered it.

It was just like she had mentioned to Scael (and anyone else who happened to be listening)...Romana hadn’t always been so nice.

She remembered, a long time ago…oh, such a very long time ago, when she had faced similar mocking and jibes, to the one’s she had faced today. Just for a moment, she had remembered what it had been like; back when she had been a lonely, arrogant, bitter 70 year old child, looking no older in appearance than a human teenager. No care for friends or for family, just herself with her head held far too high, dreaming of all the great things she was sure she would achieve in life. She had been so hot-headed and egoistic back then…oh, far more than she was now. It embarrassed her to think back on what she had been like, all those years ago.

And just now, getting so furious with Roy and Frank like that, getting herself worked up over it…it had all come back to her. All the taunting, the snide remarks and sarcasm, the tricks her classmates had played on her. She could hear it now, echoing in her head…


~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~
Oh look, watch out, here comes the Ice Maiden.
The teacher’s pet, isn’t she? I’ve heard she’s working her way through the Academy so fast, she’ll be out before the end of the year.
I bet she’s never seen sunlight…she spends so long locked away, studying.
Wouldn’t surprise me if she’s secretly a vampire.*snicker*
Would explain a lot. I hear she has trouble sleeping at night, too.
Probably goes out late at night to feast on male Time Lord hearts!
[Laughter].
I can hear you, you know.
Great Rassilon! It speaks!
Ice Maiden, where do you think you’re going?
Away from cankerous vermin like you! Do you mind?
She’s probably going off to sit on her icy throne away from all the commoners!
No wonder she has no friends. Only the tutors can stand to listen to that acid tongue of hers, and that haughty attitude...
What a shame for such a young beauty, she has such an ugly nature.
We are not worthy!
[More laughing].
Can someone inform me what it is you find so contemptibly amusing? I see nothing funny.
*snicker*…oh, nothing, your Excellency! *snicker*…please do not spare us lowly Flutterwing larvae any more of your ‘precious’ time…
It would probably melt her two ice cold hearts if she stayed near us any longer *snicker*
Oh, so very funny. How long did it take you to think up that one? Now let me pass. Unlike the intellectually inferior people around here skulking about the Academy corridors, I have a class to attend.
What class is it, Ice Maiden? A lesson in boosting your ego to the size of the entire citadel? Or a lesson in becoming the most despised and pretentious student in the entire Prydonian Academy? Really you should be getting a lesson in respect…and gratitude. Perhaps, some dog tricks too.
I do not care for your tone! How dare you. You disgust me with your petty attempts to insult me. Why don’t you just crawl back to whatever repugnant house you came from?
The feeling is quite mutual, I can assure you. Watch yourself, Ice Maiden. One day you might slip on your own ice. And I hope I’ll be there to see that day when it happens…
Everyone here would just love to see you fall off your high horse.
No one wants you here, Romanavoratrelundar. Face it. The tutors might tell you you’ve got a bright future ahead of you, and you may graduate with flying colours while we’re still stuck in here for another century...But the truth of the matter is, you’ll always be just a naive, stuck-up Ice Maiden with nothing but your own pride and intelligence for company.
I will become better than anything you could possibly dream of, just wait and see! All of you are simply jealous that I am going to achieve great things in my life.
[A sudden burst of laughter from all around her.]
Oh look! Now you’ve done it, there she goes!
Storming off to cry in her dormitory, no doubt.
Oh, but haven’t you heard? The Ice Maiden never cries.
Better keep out of her way for the remainder of the day. She can be quite the verbal little wretch, that one…never stops...
~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~

Romana shook her head, trying to clear it of the memory. The past was the past. That was long ago; she was different now. She had changed. And those Time Lords who hated her were still on Gallifrey; she was not. She was away from all that now.
But some things about today had made her question whether certain things ever really did change...



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

Romana blearily opened her eyes, as everything slowly began to come back into focus. For a moment she was confused about where she was...but then she remembered. She could hear the familiar voice of Liam somewhere in the room she found herself in, and she stirred. She passed a hand over her face, as she lay on the sofa. She had done it again, hadn’t she? Fainted telepathically whilst trying to contact Jake.

And all thanks to Frank, she growled irritably. Still, she had to keep going. She could deal with him later.

The time lady slowly lifted herself up to a sitting position, looking around the decorated room until she spotted Liam. Tentatively she stood up, making her way over to him. “I’m sorry,” she apologised to him, “It happened again...but I’m still here.” She smiled briefly. “Have we got long to go before we reach Jake?” She then noticed the old man, and studied him curiously. “Hello,” she greeted him with a weak smile, holding out her hand for William to shake.

_________________

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.

{Roy}

_Sealed Building_Changes

" Damn." Roy cursed under his breath as he watched from between the slits of the window as the mobsters sealed them in. In his eyes and in his thoughts, that magic, this source of power, had so many possibilities. He cracked a smile despite the situation and muttered " And yet, so brilliant...." to himself. There was so much to learn, Roy thought as he pulled out the CA from his jacket's pocket. So why not access it all, Roy figured. The dual armor shattered and within its shell the real Roy, the mechanical Roy, glazed at the handheld device with his own eyes.

The electric eyes shut off. His chest opened exposing his organic still beating heart. The inside looked like a fusion of circuitry and organs, as energy pulsed and blood pumped, horrific sight. As Roy inserted the CA into his body, wires instantly latched themselves to it, drawing it deeper into his body. His chest shuts and Roy's eyes emit electronic light once more. It displayed thousands of digital blocks, moving and blinking. Blocks of blue electric light started to appear all around, reforming the Dual Armor, first into Roy standard garb and then into his black and purple suit uniform. ".....So very brilliant." He went to say. Under the bandages, he closed his eyes and thought of Charles.

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

_Lander_

At the lander, Charles CA would start to ring, vibrate, go crazy as it was possessed. The screen displayed the image of Roy's Mechanical face with his name below it. When Charles goes to answer it, he hear Roy's voice saying " The mobsters got us, sealed up with some kind of crazy magic. Other than that, they seem to be taunting Frank to come out." He then went on to say " They might be waiting it out, so remind Romana to develop something so she can work with Frank. I'll keep you updated so don't do anything yet."

" Speaking of Romana, I remember most of your discussion about teleportation with her, and I wonder if you could teach me. From the sound of it, it has a lot of scientific methods. We can discuss matters of payment later, but I want to know if you'll teach me. " Roy asked over the phone.

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

_Sealed Building_ Whispering Orders

Roy remained silent for a moment , but this moment was brief as he then shook his head. " A change of plans, Arca, just stay ready and don't do anything." He said in a whisper to her. If she was left to do for her own devices, she would most certainly cause a disaster from, Roy figured. " After skimming your file, Spider, I've got to ask, what would you recommend for our next course of attack ?" Roy said as he carefully approached Spider, avoiding windows and the likes. " I've informed the others of our situation and told them not to do anything yet. " He mentioned to Spider.

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

Liam - Memory Is Key

Liam turned around when he heard Romana's voice, his face had a relieved smile on it. "No need for apologies, Miss Romana. I assumed you experienced interferences from outside and I don't blame you for any of it," he made a sigh. "To be honest, you really had me worried when you fainted again. I had thought that something dangerous had happened to you outside to make you faint like that," he chuckled in order to ease the atmosphere. "As for Jake," he coughed and regained his composure. "You will be able to see him in a moment. He is being kept safe and resting in a part of his mind."

"But you'll only be able to go there if he trusts you," William continued, smiling and giving a warm shake of Romana's hand. His wrinkled face had a kind and comfortable glow to it, making him seem incredibly friendly and easy to talk to. "Hello to you too, Miss Romana. William, caretaker of the Green Dragon," he let go of her hand and continued speaking. "You may not know this, but Master Jake's mind is quiet complex. You will be following a set of rules whenever you decide to visit, I'll leave it to Master Liam to tell you about it afterward," he opened the book from before. Liam's name along with Romana's was written. Surprisingly, a list of many other names were written beneath theirs. It was apparent that she was not the first to have visited. "You should remember, that you were sent to a train station upon your arrival?" He paused before continuing, making the air suddenly feeling tense.

"Some of the others here have never seen the station, they did not even require an escort to reach here. Rarely, some would even get kicked out if they attempted to enter. The most trusted were given permission to view his past, memories and thoughts if they asked. Permission based on trust," William's face became serious, his presence had a sort of authority in it. "So I ask of you, Miss Romana. Please don't abuse his trust," Liam remained silent, as if to agree with William without interrupting him.

"Well," William smiled again, the tense atmosphere from before was gone in an instant. "Now that I'm done and all that, I'll be giving you your keys now," he slammed the book with both his hands and put it back into its drawer. The sound of another drawer opening was heard, followed by metal rattling annoyingly. A drawer was closed and William emerged again with a ring of keys in his hand. A small pink metal plate was attached to the ring, with the Romana's name engraved on it along with a small clock beside it. William slid it across the counter and put it in front of Romana. "Go on, take it. They're yours," William smiled.

There was apparently only one key attached to the ring, saying 'Jake' on it. "You will be able to visit him with it," Liam said, walking up to the door next to the counter. "All you have to do is insert it here," he said, referring to the keyhole.

_________________

Captain of Innuendo Strike Forces & Founder of Innuendo Striking Technique

~Charles Price: Parking Area, Space Port----I suppose I'm a personal tutor now too~

"Not a problem, it's just like a Grinch like me does it." mentioned Charles after Romana's reluctant apology. A time when Romana was meaner and bigger headed was tough to picture, he had to admit. But it wasn't that tough. Still, it shaded a sort of irony on how the Time Lady felt towards Enine, Roy, and now Frank. Not that he would laugh. He was a bit surprised that the Time Lady let Roy of all people under her skin. Frank, he could understand; Enine, he could really understand that one; but Roy? He must've said something pretty nasty to tick her off.

"If it makes you feel any better, I used to be a lot more optimistic, and nicer."

He'd probably go and yell his head off at Roy if he could. Unfortunately a large barrier was hindering him from doing so, and he didn't even know it. Well, there was always the-

*Ring ring ring....*

....C.A. "Hold on a second, I have to get this" Charles informed his half of the crew. With a click, Roy's voice sounded from the C.A.'s speakers. "Oh Roy, great timing. What the fuck did y-Wait..." He held the C.A. up to his ear better.

"They fucking sealed us up?..."
"...Oh alright, I suppose I'll pass the message."
"Hold up..."
"...How many people will I be forced to teach in this damn squad!"

Charles groaned, holding his head in his hand as he paced around, trying to think. He was alright with teaching Romana since she had experience. But teaching Roy? He wasn't so sure. It wasn't him surviving the first try he was worried about, but how he would create a portal. Usually the U.T.T. only taught those with psychic backgrounds how to teleport, they never even considered teaching those without the third eye. At the same time teleportation was dying, and unless he somehow ensured it's continuum it'd continue to die, and it was one of the only things he ever had to comfort him. Not to mention there was business involved. And Charles was all in for business.

"Alright, fine" he told Roy, putting the C.A. back to his ear. "But you have to promise me you won't try anything risky once you learn it. Sure, we've perfected it so much to turn it into plenty of lethal traps, but that doesn't mean it doesn't have it- Why the fuck am I even telling this to you?"

_________________

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

Milan – Status: Eww~ *faint*

Milan twitched at he watched Roy. GET IT OFF! GET IT OFF! his mind screeched remembering them ripping him open. Their cold hands as they pulled apart his insides and then forced it to heal so they could do it all over again. He roughly rubbed his arm with his opposite hand. His ears flattened to his head and he grew quite pale. “Imma gunna be sick,” he mumbled covering his mouth and swaying beside Frank, “Don’ do it again please.” He mind continued to rant, FILTHY, DIRTY, FREAK, WORTHLESS, SPECIMEN.

_________________

"That's not good," Arca mumbled as she peered cautiously at the thugs setting up the magical barrier. Not quite able to make out what the 'boss' had said, she wasn't sure exactly what the barrier was for, but she was sure that anything involving green glows and strange signs was bad.

She shot a glare at Roy as he told her the blindingly obvious, and ordered her not to do anything. Of course there would be a change in plans if the enemy barged in! Regardless, she moved back from the corner and quietly rested the end of her now-silent minigun on the floor, waiting for either Spider or Roy to give further orders. Speaking of Roy... Arca adjusted her grip on the minigun's control stick. How that tin can had been chosen as a squad leader confounded her. He was obviously very comfortable giving orders, but it seemed to her like he had no idea how to effectively command a unit of any size.

Arca shook her head, as though to clear it of such thoughts. There would be plenty of time to ponder Roy's suitability for command after the enemy was dealt with. Until then, she needed to calm herself and focus on her orders and targets. Of course, she couldn't focus on those until she actually got them, but still.

{Roy}


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

_Lander_ The way of Roy_

"..... Because as you much as you can hate me, Charles, you want to see, what I can do with it, how far can I go, I presume." Roy answered, he had to think of his answer carefully. There was much about Charles he did not know of, only what has he mentioned so far to the others and to Roy. "Anyways, I agree to your terms. Nothing risky with what you teach me." He went on to say, being very specific with him. " Through, what makes you think, I'm forcing you?" Roy questioned as he felt that was odd for Charles to say that. " I wouldn't force you to teach me, Charles."

" If you didn't think, I was up to the task, I won't argue with you, because you would know better than I." Roy admitted over the CA.

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

_Sealed Building_ Waiting_

The glare, Arca shot confirmed to Roy that she'll do as she said. " Good, Good, one less problem to deal with." Roy remarked as he turned away from Arca. She was probably thinking the same thoughts as everyone else " Why Roy was made leader". These people were not soldiers, most of them not even trained to fight in a group, and some egos bigger than their weaponry or worst, they were completely psychotic. And yet, he still thought of ways to use them, trick them to do what he wants, and make them work together like a real team.

He then glanced at Milan and noticed how his skin turned pale and his ears flattened to his head, he realized immediately the problem. Of course, this is based on the details that Milan has mentioned and hinted. " Of course, Of course, I forgot, I apologize." Roy whispered to Milan while gesturing with his hand. He made sure to keep his distance with the boy, a single touch could probably, as Roy thought, would make Milan catatonic at this point.

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