Log:Remember Where the Flying Carpet is Parked, Scene 1

Remember Where the Flying Carpet is Parked 2013/06/12 	 Anthony Quinn Elsewhere Ghost-2 Lorelei Sally Scrapper Sukeban Titan 1

Lorelei smiles as she wants again begins to lead the team down into the basement. "Let's hope we can see it this time without getting attacked or any such thing!"

Sukeban finishes up her snack and follows after Lorelei.

Titan raises a brow at that, since from a story-telling perspective, that means they'll all be attacked. He shrugs nonetheless, "Here's hoping."

Scrapper follows smiling, "What? and ruin the anticlimix?"

Ghost hurries back after going to her room in the team building briefly, and joins on the tail end of the group following Lorelei.

Lorelei leads the way down the stairs to a heavy oak door, carved, natuarally enough, in the Undermoon style.

Scrapper continues, "My guess is an electric water heater."

Lorelei says, "That'd be a good trick in here - though one of you knows a good trick."

Sukeban shrugs, "Ya need hot water, just ask."

Scrapper says, "I'll remember that if I am grubby at 3 a.m."

Lorelei throws open the door, to reveal a sunlit beach, with the waves breaking again the shores; the salt sea smell is obvious even from here. "You'll have to settle for a warm sea, I guess..."

Sukeban blinks, "Huh? So it just opens back up on the island?"

Titan raises a brow again, and looks around. "Huh."

Lorelei says, "A bit tropical for that, don't you think? COme in."

From the other side the door just seems to be standing open in the middle of the beach.

Ghost stops at the doorway and just whistles slowly. "I'm... impressed. Very impressed, Highness."

Sukeban looks around the door, "What the heck!?"

Scrapper groans, "Another door we need guard?"

Lorelei grins, and says, "Abracadra, off." And the scene vanishes to show a largish, but not huge room with stone walls.

Sukeban blinks, "Oh... I see it's like the workout room at the gym."

Lorelei says, "Exactly - well - not *exactly*. THis one works with magic, with gives it some advantages - and a drawback, I fear."

Scrapper says, "One advantage is no observation deck... that I can see."

Lorelei says, "If you consider that an advantage, yes."

Titan nods slowly, and just listens for the time being.

Lorelei says, "Another is - well, you're not likely to be worried about where the walls really are. Because, if you will, the the contents of the room shrink according to the scene size. Or the room grows. Whichever you prefer, it's all relative."

Sukeban says, "That's cool. I kind of worry about usin' Conflagration in the workout room if people are watchin'."

Lorelei says, "Better still, it's useful for people with just about any powers - the gym is useless for practicing telepathy, for instance."

Scrapper says, "I assume glamour Craft is not a requirement to operating it?"

Lorelei says, "Nope. Pretty much you just tell it waht you want after giving the keyword, and it'll do it. I chose it as memorable but not actuyally in common use in either English or fae"

Ghost tries an experiment, "Abracadra, comfortable chair beside me."

Lorelei says, "The main limitiation is, you can have only a fixed number of opponents with more than basic programing. At the moment, that number is four, but we hope to get a couple more." She looks at the far end of the room and says, "Come and say hi, guys."

Scrapper surveys the room, breathing deeply to analyze the underlying magic with her expanded sences. The calculating look on her face says, 'how can we use this tactically against an enemy and how could it be used against us?' She says "Abracadabra, erase exit door and replace all requests for exits with illusionary doors leading to a simulated embassy." to see what happens.

(repose) Scrapper surveys the room, breathing deeply to analyze the underlying magic with her expanded sences. The calculating look on her face says, 'how can we use this tactically against an enemy and how could it be used against us?' She says "Abracadabra, erase exit door and replace all requests for exits with illusionary doors leading to a simulated embassy." to see what happens

Sukeban glares at Scrapper, "Quit tryin' to get us stuck in an endless loop O-Chibi-chan."

The door indeed vanishes.

Four ghostly figures - of almost a cartoony ghost appearance - fade into view and give a friendly waves. "These are our actors. I'd tell you their names, but they don't seem to have any. If you need opponents capable of surprising you, they'll play the parts."

Ghost says, "Now," She looks at Scrapper, "We find out if there's an administrator override or you've just killed us all."

Sukeban waves to the ghosts.

Lorelei says, "Abracabra show exit - luckily I'm not that stupid."

The exit reappears.

Lorelei says, "You can always get the exit, shut down the room, or whatever. I made sure this thing fails on the safe side, at the expensive of being able to use it against opponents so well."

Sukeban grins, "That's why yer the Ojou, yer smart."

Scrapper shakes her head and says to Ghost. "I did that while you and Lorelei were in the room because you both have the ability to pierce whatever illusions the place generates and she knows all the controls. It is *much* safer to do it now while we are all together, paying attention, and at full strength. If that were an illusionary door, I might miss it. You would not."

[To Scrapper] Lorelei says, "DOn't make assumption. The primary enchantments here were done by Mum. She's about the best at glamour there is - if she'd wanted to trap us here she probably could."

Lorelei grins. "Which is the bad news, I guess. If you need tech support, the person to go to is her, and she has a rather busy schedule."

Lorelei says, "Let's see - what else? You needn't much worry about damaging the walls or the door, despite appearances - that's what the dwarves were here for. You'll find they're tougher than just about anything short of questonite."

Sukeban hmmms, "Tougher than I can burn through? That's tough."

Lorelei grins. "Yeah, I had you in mind in particular."

Sukeban laughs, "Cool!"

Titan nods again, and looks the construction over slowly.

Lorelei says, "And now, I'm afraid I have to return to Undermoon, things are.... well.... Do you have any more questions, or shall I leave you to play?"

Ghost says, "Highness, I notice the opponents are astral beings. Would I be correct in thinking that we should therefore avoid using any practice attacks that can affect such beings. My sword as an example."

Lorelei nods. "That's a good point - yes. If the opponent is actualy one of them. If you need to practice with your sword I'm afraid you'll have to use a pure-illusion opponenyt - or Steel's Gym."

Lorelei says, "Both technologies have their drawbacks - which is why I think it's useful the city has both."

Sukeban says, "Yer goin' to open this up for other people to use?"

Lorelei says, "Not it general - obviously there are security issues with that - but you can invite people to use it if you want. I'd especially recommend it for any telepathic heroes you might know who would otherwise have trouble practicing."

Sukeban nods, "Ryoukai."

Lorelei says, "Any more questions?"

Scrapper says, "How is it controlled? I mean, I assume there is some type of central intelligence if it can interpret spoken commands without required syntax."

Lorelei says, "Um, yes. Basically. To be honest, I don't fully understand how it works. But yes, it has some sort of intelligence."

Ghost says, "Abracadra, tropical beach, chairs, tables, beach umbellas, filter out the ultraviolet."

Scrapper smiles at that last bit and says to Ghost, "Reality plus?"

Ghost says, "Yes. So, does anyone want to hit the kitchen for snacks and a bottle or two of chilled wine? While I change into a swimming costume."

The scene that was on when you came in returns, with added furniture. THe furniture is probably more suited to a fae garden than the beach, unfortunately.

Lorelei says, "As you can see - it's not stuopid in its interpretation, but you need to teach it to get things *quite right."

Sukeban huhs, "I didn't bring a swimsuit. I guess I can just strip down to my underwear."

Titan shrugs, "It's about the same as a swimsuit anyway."

Sukeban nods, "Yeah. Not like I wear frilly stuff anyway."

Scrapper strips, "I'm dating Aquaman. The swimsuit under the clothing has almost become standard.

Lorelei grins. "I'll leave you to have fun. See you next time I'm back...."

Pied-a-Ciel
A couple of weeks later, round about midnight. Even at this hour, there's a muggy warmth to the air, and the overcast sky makes for a dark night.

Ghost is returning to the embassy having been back in Undermoon completing her extended and detailed research on the Goblic Compact.

Sukeban (in her secret ID) is at the Neko Cafe in Nicholston, helping clean up after closing.

Titan leans on the balcony railing of his apartment, overlooking the downtown area. He's just wearing shorts at the moment, having just finished taking a shower after working out.

Sally is outside, high above the city, above bridgend. Lots of magic surrounds her, basic pieces of her magic, in fact. She seems to be trying to create a new spell, or some such.

Scrapper is taking cooking lessons, although she wouldn't admit that to anybody.

From the sky, something flies down rapidly toward Titan, from a northerly direction. At first it's a bit hard to make out, but it then it proves to be a broom! A flying broom, sans witch.

Titan blinks, and stands up straight, not wanting to lean on the railing if the broom is going to attack him. He watches it as it gets closer.

The broom flies right up to Titan and stopsm rising to a vertical, handle-first position. Then it moves away a couple of feet, in a northerly direction. Then turns about on the spot and seems to wait.

 Titan says, "Any of you know about a flying broom? I have one outside my apartment."

 Sukeban says, "Nope, but if ya got a dancin' broom, I could use help sweepin' up."

Titan sends out a mental message over the Guard comlink, and grabs his set of keys to get back into the apartment later.

The broom gets closer to Titan and then waits again.

 Ghost says, "Did you say a flying broom. Sorry, no. What is it doing?"

 Scrapper says, "As in a straw broom? Round?"

And where is Q? Down at Serafino's enjoying a nice dinner. He's been killing himself, what with trying to figure out the strange crystal he found in the sewers, putting the final touches to the space station before it is moved out to geosynchronous orbit and working on a cure for nuclear girl he's barely had time to run his company, recruit for the Wayland Foundation and count is money.

Titan shrugs, and takes a hold of the broom with both hands, figuring it might try to take off after that.

 Scrapper says, "what is that fairy tale of the goose? The princess that wouldn't laugh?"

 Scrapper says, "Whatever you do, don't touch it."

Titan isn't wrong. As soon as he grab hold, it flies off northwards, climbing higher as it goes. It seems to be in a hurry.

 Titan says, "Too late. It's flying me northward."

At the Cafe, Kotone sighs, "Sorry Ma, I got to cut out early, hero business." She quickly changes into her costume and minutes late Sukeban roars into the sky on a pillar of flame.

As the broom climbs, its destination becomes obvious - the house that used to belong to Dr Quirk, still hanging in the sky about the Student Quarter.

 Titan says, "Uh...apparently it's taking me to that flying house. The one that was owned by Dr. Quirk?"

Ghost is outside the embassy, so she can use her PDA. Pulling it out she calls Quinn.

Scrapper comes charging out of the back room of the resturant, barreling her way through the dining room. (where else would she be getting a cooking lesson?) "Make way!" she yells as a few people are a bit slow to get out of the way.

 Sukeban says, "Oh, cool. I won't get lost."

Sally seems to take note of Sukeban's brilliant flaiming flight, given that she casts aside her magic (or most exactly, re-absorbs it), and reduces herself to that green blob-glow-stretching state that is her teleporting, reappearing as a more human shape ever so often.

Sally seems to take note of Sukeban's brilliant flaiming flight, given that she casts aside her magic (or most exactly, re-absorbs it), and reduces herself to that green blob-glow-stretching state that is her teleporting, reappearing as a more human shape ever so often. (repose)

The broomstick carries Titan right to the front door, where there is a small stone area one can stand, like a large step. Otherwise the house looks from outside like a perfectly normal brick house. Other than hanging in the air in exactly the way bricks don't.

Sukeban enters from Sky Above West Side.

Razael, Quinn's fetch, normally fields calls for Quinn during times like this but like all good programs it has come to learn who to put through even during times such as these. It recognizes the identity of the PDA, analyzes the vocal stress patterns, instantly consults internet chatter to and cross references all the available data to come to the conclusion that there is a high probability that Ghost's call indicates some form meta activity taken place and patches her through.

At that instant Scrapper comes bursting through the restaurant.

The broomstick carries Titan right to the front door, where there is a small stone area one can stand, like a large step. Otherwise the house looks from outside like a perfectly normal brick house. Other than hanging in the air in exactly the way bricks don't.

Over the PDA Ghost asks Anthony, "Are you free to help me out. Titan's riding a wayward broom to the floating house over the west side of the city. Any chance you can give me a lift up to there?"

Scrapper spots Q and says with an impish grin, "C'mon. Titan has been kidnapped by a magic broom." Then rushes on.

Titan lets go of the broom, and places his feet on the step. He then...knocks on the door.

There is no answer to the knock.

Titan furrows his brow, and then just...tries to open the door. Perhaps there's someone hurt inside?

The broom seems to be flying about in rather agitated fashion now.

The door proves to be locked.

Quinn gives a nod to Scrapper. "So I'm hearing," he says with a grin. He turns to the holographic display of Ghost that has appeared as the call came through and says, "Sure thing," to Ghost. "Give me a second to suit up and tell me where you are," and with that he moves towards the door and the waiting van outside where he rapidly suits up.

Scrapper pauses, "I can get Ghost faster."

 Scrapper says, "Ghost, I'll teleport to you."

Sukeban flies up and hovers next to Titan, "yo."

Sally flies over to Sukeban and the others, looks at the building. She tries sensing the magic that's contained within the broom and the building-if there is anyway. She also offers a wave, "Hey there, what's going on?"

Ghost nods in the image, "I'll be waiting at the main gate of the embassy. Thanks. Whatever is most convenient to you and Anthony."

Titan waves to the others as they arrive, "Hey there. I think the broom brought me here because there's something wrong inside." He tries the door again, only he tries to force it this time.

Scrapper successfully casts a teleport spell to Ghost's location and several long seconds later the pair appears near Titan.

Ghost thanks Scrapper, then turns invisible and tags along as backup for now.

With Scrapper going to pick up Ghost Quinn goes ahead and searches the skies for Titan. Fortunately that turns out to not be too terribly difficult thanks to his radar and so in short order he arrives at the floating house just after Titan.

Titan doesn't even have to put a lot of strength into it. The door bursts open, and he takes a step inside, looking around.

Scrapper frowns at the weird archicecture inside and purple stuff bubbles up through her skin, aggitatingly swirling with black and red. In the blink of an eye it forms into a suit of armor. She she glances around to make sure no surprises come from other directions and inhales deeply, testing the air.

 Ghost says, "I can hear several movements from inside. Ugh, this place is wierd. It's messing with my head."

 Scrapper says, "well, My senses are on overload. No surprise. No poison, for what that is worth."

Quinn glances over in the direction of one of the windows. "Someone or something is hovering just outside that window," he says, pointing straight at it. Subtlety isn't his strong suit. "Geez. You would think that out here at least you could get away from the Paparazzi."

INside the front door, the place looks empty, but not abandoned - just like the resident isn't at home at the moment. It's well=kept, but the lights are off.

 Ghost says, "Unless it becomes urgent I don't want to even think of going astral in here. There's some seriously distorted geometery here."

 Sukeban says, "I fought here a while ago. It's weird. I think it was ninjas then."

<Guard> Scrapper says, "Lets see if the body is the broom's owner then. No need to go inside if we don't have to. Other than Ghost and Titan, can everyone here fly?"

Quinn peers a bit closer at the window. It's a little hard to tell given his faceplate but to the observant the shift in his body stance makes it apparent. "Oh," he says, "I guess it's not paparazzi after all. It's a burglar." And with that he raises his arm and fires off a neural blast at the unseen target.

Sukeban gets ready to catch the perp after Q drops them.

The beam of light from the back of Quinn's gauntlet appears to strike something in midair, erupting in a coronal discharge of energy that seems to crawl over the surface of the target before dissipating without apparent effect.

Scrapper flies around the house to where Q's blast discharged, scanning the area with all her senses.

Sally also flies over to that area, analyzing it herself.

Quinn's head pushes forward a little more as he looks at where the discharge was a moment ago. "Is that an invisible flying carpet?" he asks. "Now I've seen everything." He pauses a moment to consider something and adds, "Or I suppose in this case I haven't." He cranks up the volume on his speakers so Titan can hear him. "Looks like someone's broken into the house," he calls out. "They are probably still inside."

Scrapper inhales, smiles and mutters, "Gotcha". Rather than drop her force armor by expending too much purple stuff on extra arms, she flies close and simply grabs at it.

Sukeban flies into the house, "Come out, come out, little mouse, or I'll burn ya out."

<Guard> Scrapper says, "Good news, we caught the burgler. Bad news, your house is burned down."

Sally likewise try traveling into the house...by becoming desolid if trying to go /through/ the wall.

As Sally tries to pass through the wall unfortunately bits of her try to end up quite a distance away from other bits - ouch.

Sally...painfuly yelps as her body momintarily tries to be...ripped apart. She obviously fails to go through the wall, and instead, starts falling towards the ground.

Something long and black lashes out of the shadows trying to grab Sukeban.

Ghost instinctively dives after Sally. She's in the air by the time her mind catches up. . o O(Oh s**t. This is Earth. My flight spell probably isn't going to work.)

Scrapper grabs ... a carpet? Smirking faintly at the thought of some burgler diving out of this window, she hauls on the invisible carpet and starts rolling it up.

The long weighted cloth that grabbed Sukeban dashes her again the wall before being yanked back into the shadows.

Ghost becomes visible as she arrows down to the falling Sally and tries to grab her before calling on the spirits of the air to help her make her flight spell work on this benighted mana improverished world.

The entrance hall is a room of doors: on the floor, the walls, the ceiling (all of which are covered in richly coloured carpets). From here almost every room of the house may be reached if one but knows which door to take. The front door, though, is unmistakeable by being larger than the others.

Ghost casts the spell... and it sputters for a moment before activating and bringing the two falling figures to a halt. "Hey. It works!" She says in a very relieved voice.

Sally shakes her head as she realizes that she's been caught and isn't falling anymore, she looks to Ghost, "Thanks. Um...that didn't go as planned..." Sally looks back towrads the house.

Sukeban clambers to her feet as her flames lick out from her skin and swirl around her. She smirks dangerously, "So ya like to animate cloth, huh? Let's see how ya do with nothin' to animate!." She holds out her hands straight out to her sides as the air ignites into a holwing conflagration.

The room, and the room with the open door, burst into flame.

Ghost smiles, "Glad to help out. That's a weird place. Uh," She looks up. "It will take me a while to get us back up there. Will you be up to flying us up faster than my snail's pace?"

Sally nods to Ghost, "Yeah, I can do that."

Scrapper is relaxing, taking her time rolling up the carpet. After all, there is a whole building between her and the front door and somebody would spreak up on a communicator if there was a problem. Then she spots Sally and Ghost plummeting just before the window a few feet from her explodes outward in a fireball. She flies back around to the front and yells, "What the frozen plains of f*ing h*ll is going on out here?"

Scrapper saw the plummet stop too, of course.

As Scrapper begins to wrestle the carpet into submission and Ghost dives after the falling Sally Quinn decides to head into the house to see what he can do to help. "Hey guys, you won't beliiiIEEEE Holy Mother of...!" he exclaims as he walks into Sukeban's raging conflagration.

Through the flames the shape of a woman in tight-fitting dark clothing can be made out.

Titan runs toward the woman he spotted through the flames, despite being barefoot and wearing very little in the way of clothing. The flames don't seem to deter him at all. "You really shouldn't have attacked my friend." He then tries to grab her with both arms.

When Titan's mighty arms close about her - the woman is just no longer there, but a couple of feet away.

The woman says, with some sort of foreign accent, "And you and your friends shouldn't have tried to steal the tome!" as a sort of crooklike weapon appears out of nowhere, with which she tries to sweep Titan's feet from under him.

The woman says, with some sort of foreign accent, "And you and your friends shouldn't have tried to steal the tome!" as a sort of crooklike weapon appears out of nowhere, with which she tries to sweep Titan's feet from under him.

Titan topples over after getting his feet swept out from under him, and then he rolls to his feet. "Lady...we didn't try to steal any tome. I was brought here by a flying broom...for a reason I don't know yet. I'm guessing it's because you broke in here."

"That or because of the raging fire," Quinn offers.

Sally, now righted again, enhances her wings with some sort of air magic, and starts flying back to the building, preferably to through the front door, hopefully taking Ghost with her.

<Guard> Ghost says, "What's going on in here?"

<Guard> Ghost says, "First things first. Can anyone do something about this fire? The whole house is likely to go up."

Ghost says, "I don't know who you are, lady, but we haven't stolen any tome. If it's in here, and I assume you think that which is why you're here, if you don't either help us put the fire out or at least stand by and let us try it's going to burn anyway."

Titan stands up straight, looking at the woman. "You're not going to be able to hurt me. Just tell us...what are you doing here?"

Quinn takes a moment to glance about looking for anything that might be useful for putting out or blocking the fire.

An inhuman scream can be heard from outside.

"That would be the insurance adjuster," says Quinn

The woman says, "I'm here to stop the theft of the Tome of Antomachus - I take it now so are you..." And then she seems to concentrate. "This could be difficult.

"By breaking into someone's house?" Quinn asks. "Is this sort of like a preemptive theft or something?"

From the area about the woman, water pours forth, drenching the room and putting out most of the fire....

... and the woman drops to her knees, evidently exhausted by the effort.

"Sorry.... you'll have ti stop them....."

Ghost half moves forward to be ready to interpose herself if anything, like the source of the inhuman scream, attempts to attack the exhausted woman.

With the fire out and the woman demonstrating her good intentions Quinn decides to stick his head back outside the door to see what could be making that horrible racket. "I swear, if those kids are playing on the lawn again..." he mutters.