Log:Sunny Beaches and Dark Foreshadowing

2017/06/18 Portennant Antigon Alistair Malcolm Grimm Amelia Griffin Kibin 1

Amelia has the choice of a thousand beaches, many far superior to Colonial Bay's North Beach. But although she's spending more and more time off dimension these days she keeps coming back to Colonial Bay City. It's her home. On a glorious afternoon such as this day the lure of the beach is irresistible. So Amelia is there, along with her older sister Julia and Julia's current boyfriend, Jack Strugeon, a CBPD patrol officer.

Malcolm Gibbs doesn't know what everyone else is doing here, but he is enjoying a good old fashioned beachfront barbeque on a lazy, hazy, humid Sunday afternoon. Clad in a pair of black and purple board shorts with white tribal design accents, Malcolm is grilling some hot dogs and burgers on a generic portable grill while the surf crashes against the shore behind him. Surely he will not be haunted by aquatic arch-nemesis Kala Marie today!

"Al, can you grab me a beer?"

Griffin enters from Sky Above Bay.

Kibin is here not for vacation, but more for training. Or at least that's what it looks like. Having not been seen for a while, he's right now running back and forth on the sand at full speed, staying out of the of people, but otherwise getting used to moving at full speed on surfaces other than pavement or concrete. Those with a keen eye might notice that he's slipping up some on the sand at the speed he's going, but reacting quickly enough in time to stay on his two feet. He's also still in his starguard uniform, usually not being seen in anything else.

The presence of a speeding Kibin, especially in a Starguard uniform, is drawing a lot of attention. PDA cameras are pointed his way, kids are shouting excitedly at the sight of an 'alien'. But lets ignore the muttered comment from an elderly woman who says to her companion, "They shouldn't let things like that out in public without guards around. It's not safe."

Another day, another appearance by Alistair. Sure he's not around as often as usual, his real job has been keeping him super busy, hard to go around fighting crime when you have to fight against the terrors of IT.

Still, as he's wont to do, Alistair appears right behind Malcolm, holding a surfboard in one hand, and wearing a pair of black board shorts and not much else, "Ooh man, that smells good brother." He leans over Malcolm's shoulder to get a good whiff of the BBQ, before his other hand reaches around to give Malcolm a beer, "I popped back to the store to get us some new ones, we'd finished off the last pack. Figured I'd grab my board while I was over that way.."

Grimm shadowsteps to the grilling area, just suddenly appearing while the area briefly darkens. She's carrying an extra cooler filled with ice, an umbrella for shade, some folding chairs, and a bag of groceries. That'd be a lot for one person to carry, but she has a few extra shadow arms, semi-transparent and dark, that sprout from her sides to assist in the carrying of all the extras while her normal arms hug the bag of groceries to her chest. She's wearing, what else, a black bikini. She doesn't do color most days. Or sun, since her skin is quite pale.

"Okay, I grabbed the last of the groceries and some more ice," she smiles to Malcolm. As she sets down the groceries, her shadow limbs stretch out and start arranging the beach umbrella and chairs, although they're one chair short. The ice chest with extra ice is placed near the current one.

It's a beautiful day to spend at the beach, as many others have realized and are taking advantage of. One more couple make their way down the wet sand from around the northern point. Even from a distance, silhouettes might be familiar to some. A young man of average build and height, next to a taller, far more impressive and armored... well, the armor isn't flattering or feminine, but her walk might give it away.

Despite the setting and their activity, neither is really dressed for summer beach frolic. She is completely ensconced in dark, shiny metallic plating with violet accents here and there. He wears a well-tailored charcoal suit and coordinating violet tie. Perhaps its a special occassion?

When he gets near enough to possibly make out a familiar face or two in the vicinity of the grill, Porter waves.

Amelia sits up and nudges Julia, "Hey. Look. That's Paragon. And Porter. They're like celebrity heroes. The best of the best."

Kibin slows down before stopping finally, taking a short break. He glances briefly at the person who talked about him, frowning a little, before turning back away and pretending he didn't hear anything. The attention is making him a bit nervous, though, and he forgot that the beach would be quite this busy this time of day... for a bit he just stays out of the way, taking a few deep breaths, regaining his stamina after the quick run.

Forty-thousand feet overhead a privately chartered high altitude 'skyskimmer' flies overhead with Griffin Freeman in tow.

A recent purchase of some next level meta-material 'costumes' put a pretty big dent in his nestegg saved up from bounty-hunting meta-humans for profit when he first discovered his powers.

As such, he's resumed testing military-spec equipment for a number of companies.

He radios to the eggheads and confirms they are receiving telemetry from his CommBracer and the new iteration of the Damocles.

He waits a few moments before receiving the green-light from CAPCOM.

Switching channels, he speaks to the pilot. "We're go, Captain."

A few moments later the door to the inside cabin opens after the Pilot's cabin is sealed.

30 seconds later Griffin is freefalling towards a small atoll about 150m out from shore.

The most keen eyed amongst the beach-goers will probably see some part of his fall after he breaks through the clouds.

He plummets hands open wide, loving the thrill of freefall- its one thing that has never changed for him since getting his powers.

"Wooohoooo!" He says before pulling his grav-chute some 100m above the atoll.

He shifts and begins gliding towards the beach sans-wings.

Malcolm gets jostled around by Alistair trying to attack the grill with his nose. The tall man lightly elbows Alistair in the abs with one arm, his other arm busily collecting the proffered beer. He tilts his head and awkwardly twists to look at Grimm. Offering a smile and a beer-y wave, Malcolm elbows at Alistair again, trying to clear some space around the grill. As Malcolm's head turns back toward the grill, he pauses at the sight of the appearing Porter and Paragon.

"Hey, hey! It's the Family P!"

Cheerily, Malcolm waves with his spatula at Porter and Paragon. He may have intended to say or do something else, but he's cutoff by the sound of a freefalling Griffin. Malcolm weaves around Alistair, turning toward the sound of Griffin shouting and looks skyward as the energized super soldier glides toward shore. Both eyebrow raise and Malcolm plants his hands on his hips.

"Not quite what I was expecting."

Amelia turns to her sister and the boyfriend. "I think you ought to consider going." she says, only half joking.

Jack gives Amelia a quizzical look, "Why?"

Amelia gestures at the various people she knows, either personally or by reputation, "This is a critical mass meta area."

Grimm situates the angle of the umbrella again to shade an empty spot near the chairs. Then she spreads her hands out as a black lawn chair materializes out of the shade, pure matte black. "Oh, nice. Invite them over, Malcolm. We haven't seen them in ages. Aren't you supposed to be planning the bachelor party?" she asks as she lifts one foot, then a second foot off the sand and just floats up and over to drift lazily into her lawn chair, legs outstretched and hands behind her head.

The pair of Ps both glances skyward briefly as a whooping Griffin falls out of the clouds and sails for the beach. Porter brings his eyes back to the grilling, first, and resumes walking. Third keeps her faceplate up a bit longer, despite staying alongside Porter. The same Porter who now takes a deep inhale of the salty air highlighted with scents of grilled meat.

"It smells delightful, Mr. Gibbs." A nod follows to Grimm. "Miss Grimm."

He gestures a manicured hand to the space between them. "You don't mind if we join you on this wonderful day, do you? An energertic soiree seems quite appropriate for such a historic day."

As Kibin is walking past her group of three, Amelia reaches wrist deep into the air and pulls back a can of chilled soda. With a smile she tosses it Kibin's way. "You ought to be thirsty after all that running." she say to him.

Griffin glides towards the shore easily, albeit a bit slowly.

He enjoys the view and scouts the crowd ahead and below as he coasts in easily when a pang of fear spikes in is heart as he sees black materia leap into nothingness from... well black near-nothingness.

At first, he thinks of the Mistress serving under the Bright King whne he was pulled into an alternate dimension long ago. Then he realizes its not her, but her equally as frightening doppelganger from this his home dimension.

He steels himself but tries to glide away from the Gal of Gloom but he's finding the beach packed with people in every other location besides near the metahumans.

He sighs, "Oh wha-- no. Its nothing. Touching down. Systems are good- though this new smaller unit doesn't 'slip' like the others. It makes it hard to keep on target." He reports after someone on the othe rline of his comms thinks his sigh is an unspoken issue with the Damocles.

Kibin catches the can expertly, reacting to it before he's barely even aware it was thrown at him. He blinks, staring at the can then at Amelia. "Er. Have we met? Have a terrible memory with people." He sniffs in their direction, then glances at the can. Shortly after he peers around at the other assorted objects around the place, looking for a straw.

After giving the beer to his buddy, Alistair grabs one for himself and then jams the board down into the sand, and then pops the top, "Seems like this is becoming quite the party." He says, before suddenly all attention is drawn towards Griffin. He turns to look up towards them, "Should we do something about that?" He asks, as Malcolm suddenly weaves past him.

Amelia shakes her head, "No, we've never met. I know you by reputation, Kibin. Back when I was in middle school I knew all the Starguard heroes." She grins, "I had a poster of you all on my bedroom wall."

Malcolm takes a few moments to regard Griffin seriously before he looks at Alistair. Shaking his head, Malcolm replies, "Nah. He's okay. Doing something kinda stupid, but he's not doing anything illegal."

Porter promptly speaks up and catches Malcolm's attention. His head swivels to regard the well-dressed, well-heeled Porter and the Paragon at his side. An eyebrow immediately quirks upward while Malcolm cocks his head to one side.

"... Aaaannnnnd you're not the local Porter and Paragon, are you?"

Malcolm absently spins his spatula in hand as he regards the Family P with his steel grey eyes. Shifting his weight absently, Malcolm regards Porter and Paragon quite seriously while he tries to decide just how to read this situation. It's gotten pretty hard to tell how these things are going to shake out, in Malcolm's opinion.

"Well, uh. You guys want a beer? A burger? A brat?"

Kibin ahs, and nods. "Ah. A fan then. I see. ...keep forgetting I'm famous, too. Second." He zips off for a moment, before coming back from a straw borrowed from a surrounding outdoor fast food shack. He opens the can carefully, sticking the straw in it and sipping. Difficult to drink otherwise with the snout, after all. "Guess you already know my name then?"

It may be a good thing Grimm doesn't hear that Amelia potentially had a poster that includes her boyfriend in her room. She's too busy greeting old friends nearer to the barbecue to hear. But Malcolm's comments catch her attention.

Gabrielle sits up as a pair of sunglasses manifest on her face, only so she can tip them down to study Porter and Paragon from over the top rim. "I was wondering about the formalities..." she mutters, studying them acutely.

Porter chuckles politely. "You're very observant, Mr. Gibbs. A beer, if you please." While awaiting the drink, he expounds, "I would expect that our ...local counterparts are off somewhere engaged in frivolous family frolic. I had hoped they might be found here, as a matter of fact. I wished to offer them my gratitude for their inspiration." He must be the talkative one, as Third simply stands, watching.

Grimm raises a brow as her eyes flit from Porter to Paragon and back again. "Inspiration...?" she asks curiously. "You two aren't even from the same dimension," she observes as her eyes fall onto the silent Paragon. "Did you both just happen to bump into each other on this one?"

Griffin has had his Damocles for over a year now and makes regular jumps with it. He's about as much of an expert on the device as you can get- though this version is, as he reported a bit squirrely.

Fearing he might pass over his new landing zone.

He's about 30 feet up and a few meters from Grimm's umbrella and still over the wet area where the waves meet the shore.

He cuts the gravitational field and drops to the beach below. He lands, taking the force of the impact by flexing his thighs. He hits the shore as if he skipped the last two stairs on a stairway but displaces enough sand to prove he just dropped three stories.

He taps his coms again and say, "Pulled early- Civilians around. Course correction questionable for such tight confines. Returning to the MobileLab now."

With that he's gone- vanishing in an instant. Even his footprints begin to fade as the sea laps at the shore. Observant ones will notice his steps lead towards the sea.

Across the Bay, Griffin comes to a stop at the Mobile lab.

He grins and tosses the new Damocles Mk.4 to Milos. "Its that time. Punching out. Catch you tomorrow." He says to the man who freed him from his cryochamber years ago before vanishing again, and reappearing miles away a few moments later coming to a halt just a few feet from where he landed.

He smiles and waes at VSA Gibbs, Alistair and then he forces himself to wave to the woman whos scares the bejesus out of him.

"Well I am a [Very] Special Agent, Porter."

Malcolm keeps his head cocked to one side, studying Porter thoughtfully. He glances at the beer in his hand before offering it to Porter, his grey eyes shifting to look at Grimm and Alistair in turn. Straightening up, Malcolm backs toward the grill once Porter's taken the beer. Quietly, Malcolm turns to tend to his grilling meats while he inquires of Alistair, "Could you grab two more beers, Al? For P- Paragon and me?"

Shifting his weight, Malcolm continues his conversation with Porter over his shoulder. There is a lot of sizzling going on on that grill at the moment.

"What kind of inspiration is that, Mr. P?"

Amelia nods, "I do. I remeber all of the names. Kibin. You. Random Factor, Psiron, Bibo, the Amber Twins. I'm Amelia. Also known as Raven. This is my sister Julia and her friend Jack." she says to Kibin.

Kibin nods a bit as he listens over the names. "Kibin, yeah." He nods to the other two people Amelia introduced. "Nice to meet you too, Julia and Jack. Sorry if, uh, my appearance is a bit disturbing."

Julia looks pointedly at Amelia as she tells Kibin, "I've gotten used to it."

Paragon's helm snaps around to Griffin at his sudden unexpected reappearance and remains there, observing, as Porter accepts the beer. A single sip is taken, though his expression immediately afterwards implies it will also be the last. Instead, he simply holds it as he responds to Malcolm. "Aside from the opportunity granted me by my counterpart dragging me here against my will, which I have attempted to put to best use... I have also come to be quite inspired by their collaboration." The bottle dips to gesture at Malcolm, Grimm, and others. "To a lesser extent, yours as well. Allies. Teamwork. The best, brightest, and most motivated consolidating their gifts."

Grimm flips her wrist out as she keeps eyeing the pair. The cooler flips open as it's surrounding by a dark nimbus, and a beer floats out and over to her waiting hand. As the cooler flips shut, she pushes her glasses back up the bridge of her nose.

While her beer can pops open by itself, she looks over to Griffin, her mouth a straight line rather than a smile. Their last encounter involved some very intense scolding at disobeying orders and the loss of a museum exhibit. A withering lecture that left Griffin wishing he was wearing his brownpants. "Hello there, Mr. Freeman," she says icily.

Amelia chuckles at Julia's obvious dig. "I used to be the Chosen One, Kibin. Demon hunter. Trust me, you look positively normal compared to many of the demonic spawn I've seen. Actually you look kind of handsome in a scaly kind of way."

"I ain't gonna lie." Alistair says, "I have like no idea what any of you all are talking about." He says, as he sips his beer for a moment, "But hey that's pretty normal for me." He grins and then drinks even more of his beer, reaching over with his tail to grab another beer, pulling it up and popping the top, finishing off his first one before tossing the can into the trash.

The second can gets put into his hand and he goes to work on that one as well, glancing back at Malcolm for a moment, "So that food ready yet?"

Kibin glances over at Julia, then at Amelia. He ahs in understanding once she explains. "Ah. Right. Demons. Supernatural. All that. I... try to stay away from that. Too much magic. ...and, uhm, thanks? Closest I've ever been considered a demon is someone splashing holy water in my face."

"Ma'am." Griffin says, seemingly returning the cold shoulder by being curt- but in reality he's glad she's left it simple enough. He nods to her before regarding the others gathered around- or encircled by those without powers, abilities, biologies or skills beyond normal men & women.

"Great day for a picnic eh? How are you Porters doing and where's that cute little Pink Princess?" He asks, looking at Porter and Paragon after smiling and nodding to Alistair and Malcolm.

Malcolm is pretty sure that getting splashed in the face with holy water is the same as being considered a demon. Fortunately he is a little distracted to weigh in on the matter. Grunting at Alistair, Malcolm twists around to provide the half-demon with a freshly grilled bratwurst in a hot dog bun. Several cables of biometal stretch out from somewhere behind Malcolm's back for the beer container, collecting two cans. One can is immediately stretched out toward Paragon, *konk**konk*ing against one of her pauldrons as Malcolm tries to distract her from Griffin.

"So. You're looking to learn how to work as a team with Paragon? Hopefully for good ends, am I right?"

A cheerful, hopeful smile is shot in Porter's direction as Malcolm cracks open his own can of beer. Taking a long swig, Malcolm quirks his eyebrows upward in silent inquiry for reassurance from the Porter of as yet unclear motives. He may also be blindly flipping burgers on the grill using a spatula and one of his metal cables. It's not pretty flipping by any means, but it's effective.

"Hey, Griff. Long time, no see. How's it going?"

Amelia laughs, "Well that's not a bad way to tell if someone is a demon in disguise. If you get it wrong the worst that happens is they get a wet face." she says.

Kibin "Probably a good thing water tends to wash off scales easily," Kibin notes. "Also nice in that I don't have to bother with washing hair anymore, heh."

As long as nobody is throwing water on him, Alistair is fine. Well he's honestly not sure if holy water will affect him, but that's not really a risk he's willing to take.

He shifts position to get behind Malcolm, and then steals a hot dog off of the grill with his tail, while his buddy is distracted, "Interesting crowd gathered.."

Amelia nods. "I heard you haven't been around Colonial Bay for a while, Kibin. Do you know the other Starguard people here? I want to go and say hello to Paragon. Feel like going over with me and introducing yourself?"

Kibin rubs his head, thinking. "Uh. Sure? I'm not doing much of anything. Go ahead?" He's still as awkward as ever, and not really much of a people person. Tends to stay in the lab a lot even when here.

Porter chuckles. "Something like that, yes. Though, as you can see," he gestures to Paragon with his held beer, "we have already come to an understanding..."

The *konk*ing metal can is snatched from a metal tentacle by a metal hand. Paragon's helm does turn from Griffin, finally, and to Malcolm. There is a loud pop and a brief, energetic geyser of diluted fermentation products as her grip reduces the volume of the can by 99.84%.

"...not that there are not minor idiosyncracies, of course."

Amelia stands, brushing sand off her clothing and ruffling her hair where more sand has gathered. Giving Kibin a grin she heads over the gathering around the BBQ. "Hi." she speaks out on getting close to announce her approach.

Kibin follows Amelia shortly behind, trying to not get too close. He waves a clawed hand, trying to look as not threatening as possible. Well, as non-threatening as a dinosaur can look. "Heya. Name's Kibin."

Grimm takes a sip from her beer as she watches Paragon obliterate her can with that killer grip of hers. "She don't talk much, does she?" she mutters at the heroic pair. Probably more to Porter, since Paragon isn't much for words. "What sort of idiosyncracies are those?"

"I'm well Malcolm, its good to see you." Griffin says, offering his hand to VSA Gibbs. Just as his smile returns to his face its replaced with a confused look, as Paragon continues to act weird and Porter & Grimm are speaking of idiosyncracies. It makes him feel very uncomfortable.

He begins looking for something out of place, he's clearly not entirely caught up on what's happening.

"That's just a waste of perfectly drinkable beer," comments Malcolm after Paragon compacts the beer can into a marble. He frowns slightly, looking mildly put out - maybe he knows that Alistair paid for this case of beer with Malcolm's credit card - as he plants his hands and a pair of cables on his hips. Looking from Paragon to Porter, Malcolm inquires, "So what exactly is the plan, Porter? It's a lazy summer Sunday, it's not exactly a raging battlefield for you guys to get... Inspiration."

Porter shakes his head. "No, she does not. It appears that her creator saw no need for verbosity, and her struggle to free herself from the same left her quite suspicious, albeit highly efficient. Should she deem interaction necessary, she will certainly act. I suggest that you do your best to avoid that."

Now back to Malcolm, though he does now nod to Griffin and offer an acknowledgment. "Welcome back, Mr. Freeman. As for the the plan, Mr. Gibbs, it is quite grand in scope, though elegant in its simplicity. During my time here, I sought the means to return while also gathering what resources I was able. I did achieve that means, of course, but then I realized what a waste it would be on a simple homecoming. If one can travel to any of an infinite universes, with infinite possibilities, why return to the one already monopolized. Rather dull, don't you agree?"

Amelia is starting to get hints that not all is as it should be. Which she had no idea of as super hearing is not one of her gifts. But she goes ahead with her original intention, approaching Paragon and extending a hand. "Hi. I've been meaning for ages to thank you for talking to Matthew Regent back when he was going through a difficult time. I'm glad to finally have the chance to do so."

Paragon's helm swivels once more, now to the approaching Amelia and her hand. Both are scrutinized with all the expresion of... well, a blank faceplate.

Malcolm starts to say something, but is cut off by a giant squid tentacle that lashes up out of the water to wrap around his head and shoulders. There is an awful, startled sound before Malcolm is wrenched off of the beach and toward the water. He disappears beneath the waves for a few moments before he resurfaces just long enough to shout at the shore, "ALISTAIR! YOU'RE IN CHARGE OF THE GRILL! GABRIELLE, YOU'RE IN CHARGE OF THE STARGUARD MEET AND GREET!"

Yep. Just another day in the life of Malcolm Gibbs.

Malcolm starts to say something, but is cut off by a giant squid tentacle that lashes up out of the water to wrap around his head and shoulders. There is an awful, startled sound before Malcolm is wrenched off of the beach and toward the water. He disappears beneath the waves for a few moments before he resurfaces just long enough to shout at the shore, "ALISTAIR! YOU'RE IN CHARGE OF THE GRILL! GABRIELLE, YOU'RE IN CHARGE OF THE STARGUARD MEET AND GREET!"

Yep. Just another day in the life of Malcolm Gibbs.

Grimm sits up slowly at Porter's comment of plans, eyes narrowed behind her glasses. "One of those types, huh?" she murmurs. Her bikini begins to spread out over her form, turning into a skin tight bodysuit. She waves off Amelia in warning. "Be careful and move slowly. That's not the Paragon you know," she cautions Amelia.

Just as she's about to confront Porter's intentions, Malcolm gets whisked away by a squid tentacle, causing her to gasp. She leaps to her feet in preparation to save him when he...takes the time to tell them to keep partying?

"...I really hate Kala Marie," she mutters to herself.

A look of understanding begins to pass over Griffin's face which is strange considering what's happening to Malcolm Gibbs. "*** damn it." The SuperSoldier says as his eyes begin glowing. He doesn't do anything directly confrontational beyond that, but he falls quiet and watches this non-Porter Porter.

Amelia is startled by the giant squid Malcolm kidnapping but on sheer reflex she races down to the water and dives in after him.

The sudden tentacle appearance, as with Griffin's, instantly draws Paragon's attention as well, though Porter lifts a hand in a halting gesture. The hand then lowers so that he can glance at his watch. "Interesting. She was early..." His eyes return to those remaining, "That, or it took longer than expected to join this little gathering." A brow arches at the sudden escalation in adrenaline. "Oh, I wouldn't worry. I'm sure he'll be fine... and you need not fret over us. If I'd wanted any of you removed, I wouldn't be explaining this to you, now."

Is leaving Alistair in charge of the grill the best idea? Well it would seem he doesn't have a choice right now, as he watches his buddy get hauled off into the water, "I'm sure he's fine." He says, turning back to the grill to begin to flip the burgers and turn the dogs, "Hey this'll be ready soon, folks. Make sure you save some for Mal though, I'm sure he'll be hungry when he gets done with that fight."

Grimm remains tense as she looks back to Porter and Paragon. "Strange how she isn't suspicious of you at all. More like your little lap dog," she says curtly, fuming quietly. "How'd you get Kala Marie to work with you?" she asks as her fingers curl into fists. No one just absconds with her boyfriend like that!

Griffin grumbles something incoherantly. He really dislikes this Faux-Porter a lot. There is nothing about thisPorter that doesn't rub him the wrong way- from the slimy know-it-all way he speaks to the flashy uppity way he dresses. It all makes him want to pummel his face in- especially after all the underhanded garbage he's pulled i the past.

He subtly shifts his energies into his field - reinforcing his defenses greatly as he prepares to stand his ground. Hetill he says nothing, he just watches the fake Ps with soldier like intensity.

Kibin is surprised by the sudden tentacle. But... stops doing anything about it, since aapparently that's normal for him? He blinks a few times in confusion, before looking at the others assembled. Glancing at the Porter here, giving a sniff, before looking at the others assembled curiously.