Log:The Imperfect Heist

Eclipsed 2014/05/26 Ellbeth Fox Paragon Pelana Pendragon Porter Snow 1

North Beach

Waves, typically gray and gentle, lap at the dark brown large-grained sand of Colonial Bay's northernmost beach, which runs northeast from the mall for over a mile and a half. At high tide the sea can come right up to the cycle path which runs along the edge of the boardwalk, but at low tide the sea is well out, even displaying a rocky bed where the sand has washed away. The scent of salt water wafts in from the east. During the day in season joyous sounds of the beach-goers lighten all but the darkest mood, but at night the silence of the dark and the call of the seagulls bring a quiet calm, almost chilling, but certainly relaxing. For the first mile the boardwalk parallels the beach, affording not only views of sand, sea and island but also many other entertainments. Tourist shops, food stalls, ice cream shops, a fresh seafood restaurant, rental shops for surfboards or bikes, and even a full amusement park can be found along its length. Each is in a "retro" design to give an old-fashioned seaside feel. Various entertainers amuse the crowds during the busy season, and during the off-season it remains the number-one place for joggers and those who simply wish to breathe the salty air. Benches and, near the food vendors, tables abound. Several ramps and stairways lead down to the beach.

Ellbeth has finished an article for her e-magazine and is just strolling along the beach. It's a warm balmy night. No surprise. For Ellbeth it's *always* warm and balmy when she wants to walk. Her feet have brought her to the North Beach, one of her favourite spots, especially at night when the beach isn't filled by tourists.

Paragon leaps from building to building on patrol, her eyes glowing green from the nightvision setting. But she's not fully paying attention to the task at hand. She can feel the rush of air filtering through the tiny seams in her faceplate, giving her some cool, fresh air to clear her head of troubling thoughts. Unable to truly focus, she detours towards the beach, not far from her home. One final leap from a boardwalk building lands her with a WHUMPH in the sand not too far from the water, a small amount of sand kicking up. She watches the waves wash up on the sore, placing a hand over her chestplate as she wonders why her chest hurts.

Porter has recently inserted his foot in his mouth, in a figurative sense. He's sitting on the beach nearer the boardwalk than the water, talking to a super-sized Pelana.

Pelana is, as implied, stretched out in a one-piece swimsuit on her side, wing spread out to give Porter some shade, speaking to him in her natural state.

Once the dark set in, Fox rises from the spot upon Porter's lap. Uncovered by fur, she treats the area as a nude beach once the night sets in and there would be far fewer objections to her state of exposure from the general public. She looks up at the enormous of Pelana, offering a wave. "Hi," she utters.

And what is the cause of the game changer that is about to happen on the beach? Well, to understand this properly true believers, we have to rewind a few minutes in time...

5 Minutes ago...

It is a dark vault in the corporate office of one of Quinn's major rival companies. This is where they keep the prototypes and plans for several of their cutting edge tech devices. The vault is only lit by dim lights, bright enough for the cameras to be able to see into the room but that's all. Suddenly, the lights go out, and the cameras turn off. The vault door is tough but... eventually what looks like something out of Star Wars... sparks flare and the room flashes as a man sized hole opens up in the vault door. "We have three minutes. Slipstream, locate the device. Corona... watch our backs." A blur of motion flickers through the room, cabinet doors opening and closing before a silver suited man comes to a stop in the doorway, "Over there boss." the man says, pointing behind an armored glass shield.

The man who walks in after that is dressed simply in a matte black bodysuit with no mask. His steel gray hair an indicator that he's in his middle years. However, he keeps in great shape of course. With a nod, the man heads over to the armored glass and gestures... what looks like a tiny little black hole starting to spin on the glass. In seconds, that glass shatters and is pulled into the singularity before he cuts off the effect and reaches for the device. It is a belt with tech doohickeys all over it. "Corona, Slipstream. This is what I need. Come in and we will test it to get out of here. Security will be alerted shortly, and I would much rather avoid having to -fight- our way out." Putting the belt on, Event Horizon (for that is his name...) nods and reaches down to power up the device. Green lights come to life on it and there is a flash of energy as they are just -gone-.....

Now - The Beach

Appearing just above about 6 inches deep water, with light waves rolling off of them, are the three of them. The belt sparks as it shorts out and Event Horizon looks around before saying, "These are not the coordinates that I programmed in! Of all of the blasted unlucky mistakes!" Corona lands in the water, her plasma aura already boiling water away from her feet as Slipstream lands and turns towards the beach, "Uh boss?" he asks, pointing at the gathered heroes.

Event Horizon didn't fall. He is merely floating there above the water, and his eyes look up without his head coming up. He has a fearsome sort of expression. "Okay. New plan. Whatever caused this to malfunction.... it is recharging. Slipstream, Corona... keep these capes from interfering. Cerebellum is on hand.... and en route."

Paragon blinks at the sudden appearances of metahumans in the water, noticing their distress. So of course, she wants to help. She takes a few bounding steps towards Event Horizon and the others, hand raised in greetings. "Hello there. Are you in need of assistance?"

Pelana rolls over and sits up. She's pretty easy to notice from out there, being red, and also huge, which also gives her a great set of lungs. "HEY! YOU FOLKS OKAY OUT THERE?"

Ellbeth has no reson to suspect the arrivals of any nefarious purpose. But neither has she any reason not to. So as a precaution she casts a quick Mage Shield spell and awaits developments.

Porter blinks at the sudden flash of light, again when it's replaced by people. He has similar thoughts to Pelana, though his lungs aren't as politely-not-fat-large. "Anybody drowning or-" He blinks again when some of them look familiar. In a not good way. "Um... weren't they on the news the other night for robbing someplace?" He could yell out to ask them, but he doesn't.

With an additional moment to think and once she's finished casting, Ellbeth turns her mind to wondering if she's heard of any of the arrivals. Yes, she has. They are not good people. If only she could remember their names. Corona and...?

Fox seems momentarily saddened at what she hears, rising to stand. With Pelana being as large as she is and Fox being as small as she is, a primary target would probably not be Fox. Or Porter.

Paragon's eyes flicker to Event Horizon and Corona, remembering their pictures from a news feed. Oh boy. Paragon's protocols require her to do what is right, not necessarily what is smart. She always has to give people a chance. "Event Horizon: You are wanted for questioning in relation to a series of crimes. Corona: you are suspected of murder. Please surrender peacefully, and I promise you will not be harmed." She stands firmly, awaiting the villains to take a chance to surrender peacefully. Or not. Her armor plates shift a little as her muscles tense.

Dark eyes narrowing Event Horizon just remarks, "Okay, these people are going to poke their noses in. Slipstream... activate case scot free. Corona... you know what that means. Now go..." that said, Event Horizon lifts himself into the air, levitating seemingly effortlessly. "We will just be on our way!" he calls out. "It would not be wise of any of you to involve yourselves in affairs that are not your business!"

Slipstream nods and becomes a blur again, moving at superspeed as he rushes off towards one of the residential buildings nearby.... he's almost there in the time it takes to blink, and Corona fires a plasma jet to angle herself towards a business, a small chinese restaurant on the beachfront...

"They trashed a place before just to get away before!" Porter yells that out because he thinks that's relevent. It looks like they might be doing it again, and he can't let that happen.

Paragon watches the villains suddenly disperse. She doesn't hesitate to go after the worse of the offenders, trying to leap after Corona as she heads for a potentially highly populated restaurant. Event Horizon can wait.

Paragon mutters to herself under her breath, "I really wish the surrender line worked once. Just once."

Fox darts after where Slipstream went, taking the shape of the monster-fox-thing to help her reach the location more quickly and to absorb whatever horrible thing might happen to her.

Pelana gets to her feet when it becomes clear they aren't just people who had an accident, and they don't seem peaceful. She doesn't bother to shrink yet, accepting that makes her a big target, but it'll draw fire away from everyone else.

Snow was just coming back to the beach, she had been down here hanging out earlier and while the cold doesn't bother her, she did decide it was time to change into other clothes. She was just about to the gathering when the bad guys appear. She blinks and doesn't hesitate as the icy armor forms around and encases her. She gets ready to assist.

As the Foxy chick furs out and charges towards him, Slipstream looks back over his shoulder, then forward a bit towards Rae and shakes his head. "Quick eh?" he asks Fox. "Keep up if you can." and he moves on... a blur of motion as he flashes past Rae, angling towards the buildings behind her (edge of map). He vanishes into one of them... blasting through the windows.

Snow takes a stock of the situation and for the moment ignores the fast one, there is one that might give her a bit more of a problem or at least might need her help in fighting and she forms her icy ramp moving up into the air and heading in the direction of Corona. She gets herself to the edge of the water and then frost forms around her hands as she blasts a frost ray towards Corona.

Seeing a ray of frost blast past her, Corona raises a brow. She grins, "Oh look. A clever little ice bitch." she remarks. She shakes her head and looks to Paragon, "Sorry big guy. You've just become a lower priority." In the distance, Event Horizon yells, "Corona! Stick to the.." and Corona, the hothead, ignores her boss and charges towards Rae... hands building heat. Paragon can feel it get super hot just from the girl flying -past- her. Yep, she's hot stuff. She flies straight up the beach and turns to unleach a tornado of plasma that will be washing over Rae, and also clipping Pelana. (It's an AoE Cone incoming)

Watching the events unfold, Event Horizon sighs. "Corona. We are -not- here to kill metahumans. They are your equals. Do as you are told or I will leave you here with them." That said, he drifts closer to the shore. "Cer.." he says, pronounced like: Sare, or the first half of Sarah. "..eta in ten." he says, not attacking... just drifing closer.

Fox follows Slipstream, bursting in where he arrived to let a roar to terrify him into fleeing from her, rather than think rationally and take hostages. Rather than endanger people. She is a predatory beast, and she will hunt him down. Or at least, that's the impression she wants to instill. She even provides a bit of collateral damage to accentuate her fright factor, her clawed hand tearing through window frame as she passes through the same opening.

Paragon leaps over Corona with a half-twisting flip, landing between Corona and the boardwalk with a heavy  of sand and clank of armor. "Well, I'm afraid you're still my priority," she informs Corona as her hand snaps forward as she tries to grab Corona's wrist.

Porter winces from the flames that don't quite hit him. Oh, a hot head, in all senses. And she's defying orders? Well, maybe she doesn't like taking orders? Maybe SHE wants to be in charge? Really isn't that much of a stretch.

"Wait! I'll burn you!" says Corona, almost as if she was worried about Paragon's safety. But the metal hand closes on her arm and the plasma field sears and is hot enough to melt through armored vault doors... obviously.

Paragon's hand glows white from the heat, searing the flesh underneath. She grits her teeth from the pain. But this pain is nothing compared to what will happen if Corona gets close to the boardwalk. With a twisting motion, she whirls Corona around like a salsa move, wrapping her arms around the villain to hold her securely from behind. She hopes to subdue her before she melts through her armor.

Pelana isn't going to worry about Corona or Slipstream; they're in hand. But the mastermind, floating so serenely out to sea... she can close the distance pretty easily. She bounds down the beach to the water, wading through what is, at most, ankle-deep to her here. As a warning shot, she rumbles, an electric charge building in her throat, and she breathes a cone of red lightning at Event Horizon!

As Pelana comes out, stomping into the water, Event Horizon raises a brow. He lifts a hand and the air before him takes on a shimmer, almost as if you were looking at refraction of light through water. The lightning strikes the field he erected and crackles all around it. "You get one shot." he says. "Should you try to interfere again, my hand will be forced. You should -not- be fighting me, you should be joining me. These pathetic normals are not worth your time."

Ellbeth is concerned about Paragon but hopefully Snow and Paragon will be able to handle Corona. Meantime Slipstream is already in a building able to cause harm to innocents. Casting a Mind Lock spell she tries to freeze Slipstream's thought. It won't hold him for long at the best, but hopefully it will delay him.

Snow blinks, "Now that wasn't very nice." she says and she doesn't realize there has been any change to Corona and Paragon is right there so she doesn't use her own cone attack which she had been considering. Frost forms around her hand again and she fires a frost ray at Corona.

"Lemme go." says Corona. "I'm just doin' my job! You don't gotta be all Daddy-like there E.H." yeah, she uses the nickname for Event Horizon. "But if you want to hold on, then -hold- on, cuz, this is getting warm." She looks out and sees what she thinks must be one of you guys floating over the water, and tries to blast at the person, even while grabbed. Sure, it's inaccurate as hell, but she's shooting at a friendly who she thinks is an enemy.... lucky eh?

When Corona shoots and hits his Grav-shield, Event Horizon narrows his eyes and looks her way. "Okay. If you want to stay here with them. It will be my pleasure to leave you." That said, he turns and starts accelerating away. The field of energy flowing with him.

Fox takes Slipstream in hands, capturing him without much effort at all. She expected him to run away in fear, but apparently she terrified him into paralyzation. She is gentle, but firm as she brings him outside. She is also ready for sudden escape attempts.

Paragon's teeth are clenched tightly as all of the armor in contact with Corona start to slowly glow red from the heat it's absorbing, until her arms, chest, and abdomen are all starting to change color from the rest of her armor. Some of the armor actually seems to be melting down on the outer layers, and more of her skin starts to burn from contact with the hot metal. Sweat starts to trickle down the side of Paragon's face inside the armor as she starts to cook within her own shell. It's taking a lot of effort not to cry out in pain. For now, she manages, but she's breathing heavily to try and control the pain. Corona's a complete loose cannon; who knows what will happen if she gets to civilians if she's willing to fire on her own people. She slips an arm around Corona's neck and tries to get her into a submission hold.

Ellbeth turns and sees the situation Paragon is in. Staring at Corona she summons up every possible itoa of her magical abilities and attempts to fry Corona's mind.

Ellbeth drops to one knee as she drains herself with the effort. But seeing Paragon no longer being burned makes it worthwhile.

As the mental push hits Corona's mind, she's recovering. "Wait. You're... this isn't... hey!" She yells and her field flares as she's about to supercharge it. But apparently she tries to push too hard, because she like... pops a blood vessel in one eye and goes limp, her field turning off. It turns out that she burns too hot... for even a costume. Her plasma -is- her costume. So, Paragon is left holding a very naked, very hot (pun intended) young woman with short red hair.... unconscious.

Pelana charges after the fleeing Event Horizon. "You IDIOT, I'm a PERFECTLY NORMAL DRAGON!" As battle-cries go, it's not the most inspiring, but her legs carry her more swiftly than he flies, and she trusts her fist a lot more than she trusts her lightning-breath to batter down his force barrier.

As the massive fist comes sailing in, Event Horizon looks back and narrows his eyes. "The next time we meet, I will not be so merciful." he remarks. His MO is... first meetings with metahumans, giving them all kinds of rope, and then hanging them with it the next time if he ends up not liking them. Then the giant fists strikes... and it almost doesn't break through the gravity field.. but then the energy bubble pops and he is strike... sailing further away before he flings his arms out to his sides and just... stops in midair.

And as he recovers, Event Horizon begins accelerating further. The gravitic field he controls is pulling him further, faster, and he really takes off...

Fox says, "shhh...." as she keeps hold of Slipstream. It's meant to be soothing, and that she has done no harm to him might help him understand just how little threat she is to him in her grasp.

Eyes widening as he reacts to Fox's grip and words, Slipstream just shakes his head, "You know. I've had enough of this." he mutters as ... he demonstrates one of the reasons for his moniker. Just as the jet stream is a high altitude area of clouds, he becomes wispy... just as if he himself were one with the air. And he just turns and vanishes into the broken window, and then the wispy cloudlike air-being he is... slips around the door set in the frame into the back room. Slippery!

Paragon's feet get tangled with Corona's as she struggles to hold her, the heat getting to her. She stumbles forward and crushes Corona a little accidentally with her weight, and then Corona starts to come to her senses. She holds her breath, preparing for more searing heat when Corona suddenly burns out. She pants, not understanding what happened. Maybe she accidentally broke something with her super strength? She checks Corona for vitals and discovers that she's fine, forgetting for a moment about her own injuries. The armor plating along the front part of her body is starting to dim to a dull orange, sections of which have melted into slag and are cooling into misshapen forms. She gently lowers Corona's body onto the sand, which has been melted into glass from the villain's heat shield. Slowly, laboriously, she stands up with the creaking and grinding of metal on metal, her armor plates no longer properly fitting together. It forces her to hunch over a little. "Ellbeth...are you...okay...?" she asks between pained breaths.

Fox emerges empty-handed from the houses of buildery, taking her smaller form as she does, still uncovered by fur. "Went...away," she informs as she reaches Ellbeth. She's smiling. Apparently this was on the list of things she counted as a good outcome.

Pelana hmphs, then wades back to shore, checking on what she can see first - Corona and Paragon. Kneeling, she reaches out to poke at the villain - ow, hot! "Kinda a pity, ain't it."

Ellbeth starts coming over to Paragon after she rises to her feet. "I'm fine. The last spell just took it out of me a little. She glances at Corona, and just to make sure blasts her mind again. No inchantation. No gestures. It takes more effort but nobody is the wiser. "You are the one I'm concerned for Paragon. How badly damaged are you?"

"What's a pity?" Paragon asks Pelana. She looks down at Corona and looks around for something to preserve Corona's decency. She tries to retract her armor, thinking to use her jacket underneath to cover Corona up, but as her armor starts to shift to unwrap, it just grinds and gets stuck, having melted together and twisted in parts. She grunts from the strain and gives up trying to retract her armor. She responds to Ellbeth, managing a coughing laugh. "Just a little burned and out of sorts. I got to enjoy my own personal sauna for a bit there."

Fox brings a beach towel she found, abandoned at the invasion moment, offering it to Paragon.

Pelana shrugs down to Paragon. "Well, she's ain't bad-looking, to avoid the pun, and I can see all kinds of things her abilities are good for. Just she's also apparently some kinda psycho, you know?" She sighs. "I mean, *I* figured out there's lots better things to do than knock over ATMs."

Ellbeth frowns in thought, "I could repair you, Paragon. Since you are... well. I'm geased to not be able to cast healing magic but non-living I can repair. However I'm not sure how it would affect you. Back to new condition might leave you exactly as you were at the date of your creation."

Paragon blinks and smiles at Fox. "Thanks," she says, taking a knee beside Corona and draping the towel over her, taking care to make sure she is covered. "Hopefully Starguard is equipped to keep her safely incarcerated."

The now contrastedly nude Fox smiles, bobbing her head.

Paragon gulps a little as she looks up at Ellbeth. "Well, just to be safe, maybe we should just wait for my systems to repair themselves. It'll take a couple of hours, but I should be good as new. Worse case scenario, I get a hammer and knock out the dents," she winks. Her head turns to Pelana. "I just know that she's wanted on suspicion of murder. I don't know what made her into an alleged killer."

Ellbeth says, "I would say, Paragon, she gave plenty of reason to believe that by her actions here."

Paragon nods to Ellbeth, remaining kneeling by Corona just in case she were to wake up. She has no idea Ellbeth has ensured that won't happen. "Well, while we wait for the authorities to respond, does anyone have any idea why this group of villains suddenly ambushed us here at the beach?" she looks to the others curiously.

Paragon tilts her head curiously. "They retreated so quickly...I don't understand what their aim was."

And... it's not long before a Starguard VTOL comes in to land, disgorging agents with restraints designed for metahumans. Four armed guards and an agent in charge. Gotta love the Cavalry, always two minutes late.

Ellbeth smiles, "I don't think it was an ambush. I suspect it was a long range teleport that didn't go where intended. I've had the same thing happen to me on occasions."

Pelana hms. "Maybe they didn't MEAN to. Could have been, I dunno. Some kind of accident?" Paragon allows the agents to handle Corona, rising up to her feet slowly. "If it was an accident, I wonder what they were up to before."

"Distract...capes," Fox says, quoting in part what she heard from Event Horizon. You paged Aftershock with 'The google map thing was awesome, btw :D'

Having seen the VTOL craft rush overhead, Bethany was up late working on a report. She took a walk to get some air and well, that VTOL got her attention. She stepped around a corner... and a few seconds later she came charging out on the back of Snowmane. So once the VTOL takes off... the horse leaps over one of the fences near the beach. Yeah, that's a heck of a leap for a horse, and the hooves kick up sand as the two of them land, the animal slowing to a jog as she sees things are... well... handled. She trots up, and pulls to a stop with Snowman turned side on to the group. "Sorry I'm late, did I miss anything?" she asks.

Pelana just sort of stares. "Yeah, I'd say you missed just about everything, myself."

Paragon raises a hand stiffly to salute Pendragon. "Ah, hello, Pendragon. Snowmane," she says respectfully. Her armor groans and creaks in protest at her movements. She looks back to Fox. "Distract capes? Hmm..."

Ellbeth says, "A brief interlude but," she waves to the undamaged surroundings, "a very successful one. It could have been much worse. I do not wish to make light of your injury, Paragon. But it was clear the two of the villains were intending to wreak havoc on the normal inhabitants and you stopped them from doing so."

Hearing Ellbeth say that, Pendragon raises a brow. She flexes the muscles in her legs to lift from the saddle and then steps down off the horse. She gestures to Ellbeth and asks, "Hey, can you magick up an apple for Snowmane? I'm all out." That said, she approaches Paragon and studies the armor damage, "It looks like you tried to manhandle the sun." she remarks, "But if you stopped innocents from being harmed, then I salute you Paragon."

Fox nods. "Escape," she explains. "Organized."

Ellbeth mutters, "The wisdom of the ages. The power of arcane forces beyond human comprehension. nd what do I hear. Conjure me up an apple." However Ellbeth does in fact conjure up and apple and offers it on the palm of her hand to Snowmane.

Well, Snowmane has his own priorities. He listens to Ellbeth griping, and then when the apple appears he steps over and looks her in the eye. He bobs his head and then reaches down to take a bite of the apple. It seems he prefers apples to wisdom.

Paragon moves to rubs the back of her head sheepishly, only with her armor mishapen, she can't quite reach. She lowers her arm and says sheepishly. "Everyone did their part. Fox and Ellbeth dealt with another of their number, and Pelana tangled with their leader. I just held one of the villains in place as best I could."

"Well then, good show all around." says Pendragon with a nod. "I'm sorry I was not on hand. I arrived as soon as I was able to."

Paragon chuckles a little. "It certainly felt like I was hugging the sun, though, now that you mention it. I'm glad you came in case the tide turned."

Pelana hehs. "Well, now, wisdom of the ages is plenty good, but wisdom that can make an apple, I mean, that's the whole basis of farms, yeah?"

Paragon looks to Ellbeth and smiles a little. "I have a feeling you took care of Corona, too," she says with sneaking suspicion.

Ellbeth smiles at Paragon and without a further word she opens a gate to the cabin of her yacht and steps through.

Paragon ponders what Fox said. "They did seem mostly attempting to escape. Although it seemd there was dissension in the ranks." She rubs her chin and ponders the strange events of the evening.

"Many leaders have that problem, subordinates who will not follow instructions or who make things difficult. I have seen that many times in history." says Pendragon. Snowmane finishes the apple and leans in to get scritched by Ellbeth before he just steps over to Paragon, leaning in to sniff the burn marks on her armor. Then he looks her in the eyes and concern can be seen in his. It's odd to see such intelligence in a horse's face. But he leans in and nuzzles her shoulders with the side of his head.

Pelana looks down to Snowmane. She knows he knows English, but she can't resist trying again. She intends to say "Hello, Snowmane". The results, if one was an intelligent horse, come out sounding a lot more nonsensical.

Paragon pets Snowmane gently in response, wincing a little as she feels the burn on her hand. "It looks worse than it is," she says to ease his concerns.

A snort is the reply Paragon gets from Snowmane. His eyes roll over towards Pelana and widen a bit. If she were to understand his body language and all as he sucks on his large lips... he's basically saying.. BIG. But what he heard from her is... I'm still a bananna.

Pelana sighs. "I guess I need to brush up some more." Still, she grins... then closes her lips, because the last thing an herbivore needs to see is a big mouth of sharp, carnivorous teeth.

And now Snowmane looks up at Pelana, then turns his head towards the water, then steps back from Paragon to look at her armor. He looks to Pendragon pointedly, snorts and then points nose at Pelana, then the water, and then at Paragon. Pendragon raises a brow and looks to Paragon and Pelana to ask, "Okay, any idea what he's trying to say? I think it has to do with the water and Pelana or some such."

Paragon blinks and turns around to look at the water, thinking maybe there's something out there that Snowmane sees. The hue of her eyes change to green as she switches to nightvision, trying to scan the waters. "I don't see anything unusual..."

Pelana shrugs. "Beats me. Apparently horses don't translate well into draconic. Maybe he's talking about the fact I was just IN the water? Yeah, I waded out there to punch a guy."

Flailing his head about.. Snowmane is obviously frustrated. He turns and steps over to the waterline. Salt water... and then dips his head down as if taking a drink. "No wait!" says Pendragon before moving to follow. Snowmane pulls his mouth out of the water, turns his head to the side, and then spits out the water on the sand.

Paragon approaches the water slowly. "I still don't think I understand..."

Pelana rises and steps back to the beach, peering out into the water. Maybe that Event Horizon guy dropped something.

If a horse could facepalm.... Snowmane dips head back in water, sucks up some and then turns to lift his head over Pendragon... spitting it out onto her shoulder. Then LOOKS at Pelana, and jerks his head towards Paragon.

Paragon continues scanning the water with her night vision, then her eyes flick to red as she looks for any thermal signatures in the water. "Hmm...maybe..?"

Pelana sighs at the horse. "What is it, really, is Timmy in the well?"

Getting water dumped on her shoulder, Pendragon raises a brow. "You want... oh..." she looks to Pelana and smirks a bit, "He seems to think that the water might cool off Paragon's armor and maybe you could..." she holds out her hands in that double cupped gesture....

Pelana oooohs. "Yeah, that could help." She's big, she's got big hands, and that makes for a lot of water.

Paragon looks down at her armor. It's no longer glowing from the heat, but still sizzles a little like a hot pan. It's uncomfortable, but bearable. "Hmm, it should be cool enough now that it won't shatter the armor from the temperature shock." Her eyes flick back to white.

Pelana then scoops some water, carries it back to the armor, and dumps it down, grabbing another handful as needed.

And.. Pendragon steps back a few paces as Snowmane finally seems happy. He bobs his head twice and paws at the sand.

Paragon gets drenched by the portable waterfall that Pelana creates. It's a lot like having a hot tub's worth of water poured on top of her. A loud hissing sound and steam escape from her armor as it cools back down to normal temperatures. The cool water seeps in between the plates and soothes Paragon's burns, causing her to sigh in relief. "Thank you. That is so much better."

Bobbing his head again, Snowmane seems smug and satisfied. Once she's been drenched, Snowmane steps closer once more and sniffs at the armor before nuzzling her again.

The fox-girl approaches Snowmane, curiosity more than awe in what she sees. "Hi," she offers plainly, addressing the steed.

Paragon pets Snowmane again in long, gently strokes as the water runs in rivulets down her armor.

And the horse turns his head as he's nuzzling Paragon, looking at Fox. He takes in her appearance and then looks back to Pendragon. Then back to Fox. "Fox, this is Snowmane of Avalon, son of Wardancer." she says, the whole... formal introduction thing. Snowmane lifts his head proudly. He's quite... well, proud of his lineage. He's bigger than most clydesdales. It's a wonder how Pendragon gets up into the saddle.

The small unclothed fox-girl bobs her head as Pendragon explains, lifting her hands to better be able to touch Snowmane. She is watchful for signs of this being unwelcome though.

Not at all unwelcome. Snowmane accepts petting and scratching as only what he deserves for his prestigious lineage. Modesty is not a very horselike trait it seems. He steps closer to Fox in fact as he recognizes the desire to touch.

Fox shows a pleased sort of grin, resting her hand on Snowmane's chest. She knows so little about equines, so she plays it a bit safe.

Paragon watches Fox play with Snowmane, shaking off a little of the remaining water from armor. She looks down at herself and starts trying to fiddle with the plates that have melted and resolidified, merging together at the joints to limit her flexibility. You say, "I know it's difficult to speak, Fox, but can you tell us anything about the villain you were fighting? Or...perhaps you could have Porter relay it to us later?"

Fox shrugs. "Wanted... escape." There is a finality to her tone. This is all she knows for sure.

Paragon nods slowly, then looks to Pelana. "What about the villain you faced?"

Pelana shrugs. "I've heard of him, barely. Event Horizon or something, maybe? Real pro-metahuman racist type. Pity the jerk didn't get that I'm not human, I'm not metahuman, I'm a friggin' DRAGON."

"Sounds like a jerk." mutters Pendragon. "So, you captured one and... what, two escaped? I wonder what they were after in the first place."

"Was he tough to fight? Dangerous? He's out there somewhere, and we may run into him again," Paragon rationalizes. She looks to Pendragon and nods. "Yes, two managed to escape, but we don't really know what they were after, or why they were here exactly. They seemed a bit surprised to be here, now that I think of it. Hmm...maybe it's like what I experienced with Mentalica..."

Pelana offers, "I think they didn't mean to be there, it looked like maybe they just popped in. I did just clip that guy before he flew off, so I guess I'm off HIS Christmas card list..."

"Well, if he's as much of an activist as you say, the odds are he won't just break into your house and try to kill you while you sleep... figuratively. If he wants a rematch, I wager it will be something of a public spectacle." says Pendragon.

Paragon actually feels a little relieved if that were the case, considering her home is public knowledge for anyone wanting to research it. She continues fiddling with one of the smaller plates along her obliques when >chink!<, part of the plating breaks off in her hand from overzealous use of strength. "Oh..." Paragon holds up the piece and inspects it, sounding sullen.

"Do you need aid getting home Paragon?" asks Pendragon. "Snowmane can carry you if that is the case."

Paragon says, "Well, they're down one nefarious partner. Next time they show their faces, I'm sure they'll be brought to justice."

Paragon thinks. o O (I should keep this and reattach it later. Hrmm...)

Paragon waves off the offer politely. "I can make it from here. It's not far."