Bermuda Holiday Session 10

Princess Guard - The New Era 2017/09/03 	 Charm Titan Pulsar Wolf Cecila Harlequin Aaliyah

33

The Crystal Caves
Titan had drifted to the back of the group so he was closest to the stairs when the gunmen arrived. He turns and looks them over, trying to determine if there is anyone with special powers, and who the leader is.

Sasha tries to quietly, subtly heard the kids into a tight group. He murmurs mentally over the PG comm .oO(If we can get the kids and the others into a smaller group, I can shield them all behind a barrier. Hopefully.)

Charm quickly and quietly checks out the interesting feature she's found.

Charm passes through the dimensional soft spot. Checking out what's on the other side, to see if it's a place one could safely escape to!

Ben Ray merely comes to an abrupt halt, crossing his arms as the Brownshirts surround them.

Considering the fact that there are real tourists here, he's not quite ready to go all Pulsar all over everyone's butts. So - that being said, he looks to his new teammates and remembers his new comm device.

He directs his thoughts to the disc behind his ear .o0(Boy did these guys ever pick the wrong tour group to ambush. So do you guys have some awesome plan to deal with this? Some kind of Delta Wave Formation or something like that?)

Titan says over the link, .oO(They'll likely round up people to keep them penned in. That might give you an opportunity.)

The dimensional soft spot leads to a open square in a hi-tech city. There are people in sight. They look prosperous and happy.

Sasha smiles nervously as he draws Leonid close to himself in a protective hug. Over the link, he murmurs, .oO(I agree with you, Titan. We should wait to see what occurs for now. Hopefully they'll give us the chance to protect the innocents and then the rest of you can...correct their arrogance.)

Charm is surprised, she was expecting another cave.... She slips back through the portal.

It seems Titan's is good at guessing. The invaders start herding the tourist group into a tighter bunch at the north end of the cavern, to be able to control the tourists easier. The assumed leader meanwhile has phoned someone and is dictating a statement - demanding the release of 'The Leader' and that the government stand down and declare The Leader to be the new ruler of the island.

Charm sends .oO(A fae path leads from the north end of the cave. I can evacuate people that way - given sufficient distraction!)

There's a gentle mental knocking at Sasha's mind. Sasha recognises the touch as that of young Peter.

Titan goes along with the other hostages, trying to not give away that their guns won't likely hurt him.

The mage lets Peter into his mind. .oO(Yes Peter?)

Charm adds, .oO(I can only take seven at a time, though.)

Peter sends to Sasha .o(What can we do?) Peter adds .oO(I don't know how long I can hold Anne-Maria and Maria-Anne back.)

.oO(Tell them that we are going to put a barrier up between all of you and the brownshirts. They are /not/ to engage the enemy unless the barrier falls, understood?)

He then says over the PG link, .oO(The Philip's twins are getting impatient. I suggest the PG moves to the front of the group save for Charm and I. I will raise a barrier that should stop the bullets to protect the kids and the tourists. Charm can then open a path to Faerie and we can evacuate the innocents there for a time while the team deals with the brownshirts? Titan, sound good?"

Peter's mental voice sounds doubtful as he replies to Sasha.oO(I'll tell them all.) There's a mental undercurrent that if fighting breaks out he doubts the twins will stay out of it.

Titan says over the link, .oO(Let's do it. I was about to suggest something similar. )

Ben Ray nods and begins to let the tourists fall back around him so he can assume the front of the group.

Titan subtly moves toward the front of the group, closest the gunmen.

Getting the tourists to the back of the group is easy. There's a general milling as those nearest the guns move away, and then those who find themselves near the guns also move away to the rear.

Charm indicates by gesture to hostages near her to follow her, once she's sure that she's not obvious to the gunmen.

So it's not long before the heroes and the kids are at the front of the tourist party.

Ben Ray thinks to the group .oO(In position.)

He pretends not to eye the gunman nearest him.

Titan says over the link, .oO(Let me know when you're going to create the barrier. I'll shout to draw their attention.)

The tourists need little persuasion to follow Charm. But when Charm takes the first group through she finds herself in front of security robots and a pair that, despite differences in uniform, might as well have POLICE written on them. Charm has to use her persuasion to get the other Earth police to allow her to continue.

Wolf is wonderfully surprised to learn of the Faerie Trod at the North end. And that we're being herded toward it! What luck! He .oO(sends) an offer to use Jam Technology on the bomb, as a backup to prevent things going 'South'. . . if someone can tell him exactly -when- to try it. ..

.oO(A work that human hands have made, their bomb has Spirit, too!

But it may take some -time- to Jam! A minute? Less than two!)

Charm hopes they speak English, or fae. She tries the former first. "I apologise for the intrusion!" she says. "I am rescuing these people, who were being help hostage on another world. Can they be permitted to remain briefly until it's safe for them to return?"

Sasha .oO(Raising the barrier now, Titan) murmurs Sasha over the PG comms. He curls one hand into a fist then lets it go which is all the barrier needs to come into existence it seems. A perfectly tessellated wall composed of translucent blue octagons springs into being between the tourist group, including the kids, and the shooters. Titan, Wolf, and Pulsar are located on the shooter's side of the the wall.

Titan sees the barrier go up and he steps forward toward the gunmen while simultaneously dropping his holo-disguise. No point in it now. "Everyone set down your guns! You can't possibly defeat us!"

One of the police looks at the closest robot. The robot states, "Falsehood probability is less than 0.26%." The police agent nods, "You may proceed, Gentle Fem."

Charm says, "Many thanks! There are but a few dozen in all. I will return in moments with a few more."

The moment the barrier goes up, Ben Ray steps toward the nearest gunman and then erupts in a ball of light - bright as any spotlight. Charm called for a distraction - this ought to do it and should make him a fairly decent target to boot.

Pulsar grins as he glows brighter and brighter and Titan gives them one last chance to stand down.

The brownshirt invaders were so confident they had the whip hand. The shock of unexpected resistance of this nature freezes them briefly. Combined with being confronted by Titan, of all people, they remain frozen in shock for almost six seconds.

Peter shouts, "NO!" Sasha picks up the mental fringe leakage as he also mentally shouts at the Philips twins .oO(If you knock down the barrier to get to the bad guys they'll be able to fire at the normals.)

After Wolf's first attempt to affect the bomb - one of the three lights on it goes out.

Sasha shouts out, "If anyone knocks down the wall, I will spank them, no matter how old they are! Stand down!" Who he is addressing is not really apparent.

Pulsar is the only one standing there when the bright light he was emitting dies down.

"Hardheads make for a soft rearend - and probably ends up with a glass jaw." He says as he reaches back to smack the man down and away from him.

Pulsar's backhand hit the gun-toting terrorist right in the jaw. Despite hardly trying at all - to a baseline the blow is a good as most professional boxers give. It will be no surprise to this man that he'll have a cracked jaw - of course that won't be until he wakes up.

The man hits the ground in a limp pile. He was unconscious long before he hit the ground.

Titan strides forward toward the leader, and attempts to take the gun away from him. And hopefully break it in his bare hands afterward.

Titan takes the gun away from the leader, and looks directly at his opponent while he tries to bend the weapon into a horseshoe shape.

...and succeeds in doing so.

The brownshirt flinches but as the leader he seems to be made of sterner stuff than the others.

Sasha walks right up to the edge of the barrier and glares at one of the brownshirts. "I would like to go on one, /one/ vacation not interrupted by fools," he says in an incredibly irritated voice. "Now thrown down your weapon and surrender!" he continues in a more gravelly sounding growl as his entire eyes turn a sooty red.

The brownshirt who Sasha, or rather the man who looks nothing like Sasha going by the name of Stephen, was glaring at goes a bit stiff as his eyes too glow the same sooty red as the mage.

The device at the foot of the stairs, some kind of explosive device, seems to power down when the remaining two lights go out as Wolf stares at it.

Charm takes the remaining tourists, and Leonid, through the Fae path to safety.

Wolf continues to "just stand there," staring at the bomb, as an angular shadow crosses over it.

Pulsar sticks to what works and charges the next bad guy. "You guys feel like giving up yet? We can go all day and you're already 2 down." He says to the man he stands in front of. Pulsar has no idea his crack squad of metas has already disarmed the bomb and evacuated the hostages.

He turns to his target and repeats the process. Backhand strike.

This man crumples too. Folding bonelessly to the ground as Pulsar turns toward the leader again. "Make that 4 down." He smiles as he notices the man with the glowing red eyes that match Sasha's own.

Titan grabs for the leader, who is now disarmed. He doesn't bother grabbing the man's arms. He just reaches for his shirt, intending to hoist him off the ground with one arm.

Titan hoists the man a good three feet off the ground, using only one arm. He keeps his eyes focused on him. "Threatening kids. Really."

There's a subdued muttering from the Philip's twins, "He's not the one threatening us." with a glance back at Sasha.

Sasha murmurs, "Sticks and stones, children. Now, go with Mistress Charm when she gets back." He looks out at the rest of the brownshirts as he then calls out, "Just give up already! Throw down your weapons and get on the ground! All of you!"

"...Well, not you," he adds pointing at the leader Titan is holding up. The brownshirts finally take notice of reality. First one, with sooty eyes, and then the rest throw down their guns and surrender.

Wolf updates everyone over the comm link:

.oO(Sun's Shadow falls!: the bomb now sleeps, and Charm has done her job . . . Now Titan's might, and Pulsar's light, have whelmed the brown-clad mob . . . )

Titan smiles slightly and looks at the man he's holding up. "Who's your leader. The guy you answer to."

"That's better." Pulsar says with a smile. "Finally using your brains..." .oO(That went well.) He says over comms to his teammates.

The brownshirt gang leader says "LeBuk Chardhard. The government arrested him this morning."

Peter is talking quietly to the Philip's twins. The girls pout at first but finally nod. Going over to Sasha they apologise.

Sasha listens to the Twins apology then murmurs, "Apology accepted. And there are no hard feelings. Your plan, while very courageous, didn't take into account the need to protect the innocents. Peter has a good tactical head on his shoulders." He smiles slightly. "You might listen to him more."

Titan says over the link, .oO(Yeah. Not even any gunfire at all. Great job, all.)

The Philip's twins tell Sasha, "We don't have any choice. If we don't listen to him speak he yells in our heads." They sound amused about it though.

The PDA that the brownshirt leader was talking to someone in the government is still making noises.

Sasha glances over at the PDA. "Oh, we might want to let the government know that the situation is under control."

Titan takes the PDA from the leader in question, though gently, to make sure it isn't broken. "Hello? The situation is under control."

"Who is this?" the voice coming over the PDA asks.

Titan says into the PDA, "Johnathan Vasilikos. Also known as Titan. The gunmen have all wisely surrendered, and the tourists are safe. I suggest sending some policemen to collect the terrorists, though."

Titan corrects himself, "Sorry. Police officers."

"The police are already on their way, Titan." the voice says. "I'm Renios Justin, the Minister for Home Security. "Mmm... Titan..? You handed a villain group over to my department two days ago, didn't you?"

Titan nods, "That's correct, sir. I seem to be a...trouble magnet." .oO(Or the group I'm travelling with is. That's more likely.)

"Well, anyway it is our good luck that you were present today." Renios hesitates, and then asks, "Are there many casualties?"

Pulsar rounds up the terrorists weapons, bending the barrels back on each one as he passes.

Wolf heads over to where Sasha is standing, to see if the kids might want to help fly the bomb out over the ocean, and/or dissemble it, or etc., now that it's (safely) inactive. Wolf's thinking is that the kids can both see themselves being clearly useful in -cooperation- with the "grown-ups" while also helping permanently get rid of this dangerous thing. He'll pose an "invisible group aerial expedition" to Pulsar (re: Inviso-via-Images) and Titan (re: flying) and Sasha, and see what everyone thinks, first? But once the bomb is permanently taken care of, Wolf is *intensely* curious to explore the Faerie Trod that Charm has discovered!

Titan looks around, and says into the PDA, "None. Looks like a couple of injured gunman, but they'll recover, it looks like."

Graham, the quiet one of the kids, goes over to the bomb and safely disarms it, taking it apart.

Charm reappears from the shadows of the cave. "Oh... danger past?"

Wolf is suitably very impressed. He tries to understand what he just saw, replaying the rapid disassembly over in his mind a few times.

Wolf *noses* Graham in thanks, wagging happily!

Renios says in a hugely relieved tone, "That's wonderful..." A slight pause, then he's speaking again. "The police are there. Thank you for your assistance. Bermuda owes you a debt."

Sasha murmurs, "Now remember, children, what do we say when the police ask questions? And it is not a tactical breakdown of what happened. It rhymes with innocent bystanders."

"Yes, Steven." the kids all say in reply to Sasha's warning.

The police take the brownshirts into custody. It's probably not surprising that Peter raises the issue. "Some of the others on the cruise liner are going to know or guess you're heroes after this, aren't they?"

Charm asks, .oO(Is it safe to bring everyone back now?)

Titan says to Renios, "You're welcome. I'm happy I was able to help." He doesn't mention the others, just to obfuscate how many heroes there are, rather than as a means of grandstanding.

Titan says over the link, .oO( Yeah. You can bring them back. Thank you. )

Wolf pads over to the Trod entry and *sniff sniff sniff* 's at it with intense and obvious curiosity, his tail threshing with excitement as his nose works overtime in and attempt to decipher this Mystery. . . he tries to play closest attention when it "activates" as Charm brings back the hostages, safe and sound. ..

Sasha murmurs to Peter and the other kids. "They will know that Charm, Titan, and myself are. Wolf and Pulsar may still be in the clear." He then grins. "We can ask them not to speak, the ones who were with us. And in the end, saving lives is more important that being secret."

Charm slips back to the other dimension to lead everyone home - and thank the authorities on that side once again.