Log:B is for Busted

Recommissioned 2020/08/12 Night Marshal Slinger Magda Grimm Allison Lia 8

It's a quiet Wednesday late afternoon. Late enough that the average working class are looking anxiously at the clock so they can mark off hump day and be more than half-done with their work week.

Of course, quiet days in Colonial Bay can be few and far between, as there's always some emergency to tend to: satellites falling from the sky, alien invasions, kittens stuck in trees, undead hordes, road construction and all those terrifying orange barrels...

Today turns out to be no different, as HeroNET explodes into activity immediately after an explosion in the Industrial Park. The problem? There's some sort of emergency at the Fuel Cell plant. Which is generally a bad thing, especially when explosions are involved in the vicinity of semi-volatile 1.21 GW power cells.

Grimm got the alert while she was on her way to campus to talk to a counselor about her options for the upcoming semester. If she can even make that work with her current schedule. But that'll have to wait as she notices the alert on her HeroNET app. She sighs, but knows she has to go. She puts her phone in her jacket pocket as her casual clothes shift to her adventuring grab, then teleports to the Industrial Park.

Jack Carpenter is off duty today. But he's keeping busy in his other identity instead. He gets the report...and he jumps off a building several blocks away...starting to glide out toward the industrial park on the energy wings produced by a couple of small generators in his costume. He's gotten the hang of it now...and he comes to a graceful landing on top of a neighboring building, overlooking the fuel cell plant.

Slinger is nearby but had absolutely nothing to do with this. He was at Wayfield Industrial returning a piece of tech that was stolen by a set of corporate raiders he ran across. He's in the middle of accepting payment for services rendered when HeroNET's proximity alarm goes off.

He sighs and bolts for the door, swinging onto site a few moments later to do much the same as a certain off-duty detective.

The Spyder lands on a overhanging lightpole and balances precariously on the top.

Lia was out refining her own magical capabilities when she got the notification. And so she shelves her thoughts, and arrives in a silvery mist that condenses into the fairy.

Magda's PDA alerts her with news that contains certain keywords; explosion, fuel, and power are three of them. Excusing herself from a meeting with the administration of one of the schools at which she will be teaching, Magda has transformed her clothing into her battlesuit even before she clears the room.

The plume from the explosion can be seen from the air, and only a couple of minutes from when this she received the alert, Korkoro Is above the scene.

As all arrive, it becomes apparent that the emergency is the fact that a pallet-sized carton of fuel cells has decided to grow legs and walk on out of the facility. No, seriously, the 1.3mx1.3mx1.3m cubic container looks like its hovering away slowly, until one notices the set of (compartively small) metal legs beneath it.

Situated to either side of the 'rogue cells' are each of a pair of matching armored figures. They are neither tall nor imposing, though their armor is reminiscent of at least one hero in the city. On each are markings across their chestplates and abdomens:

X

III

The explosion is likely from the shack at the security gate, which looks to be mostly destroyed and on fire.

Night Marshal furrows his brow and glides down to ground level, trying to get behind the power cell thieves...and also attempting to get a look under the fuel cells to see what exactly is carrying them.

Slinger doubletakes at the container making its own way out of there. Only then does he notice the legs and the armored bodies attached to either side.

"Huh." Slinger says to himself before hanging a line on the lightpole and using its elasticity to fling him toward the container, aiming to land on the top of the container. These days being the center of attention isn't so frightening.

Lia's first instinct is to turn invisible and sneak. So she fades until she vanishes, and follows Night Marshal behind the power cells.

Grimm recognizes the armor, and the number on it. There isn't time to waste or spare. It has to be stopped. Black energy outlines her protectively and she teleports behind the group of armored figures, trying to be unnoticed if possible. She doesn't recognize the one she's looking for, which is...disturbing. She focuses on one and tries to craft an illusion in its mind. Maybe she can trick it into thinking it hears commands to shut down for analytics and repairs.

For those sneaking around behind (NM and Lia), discover that the container's legs are only attached to the container via the limbs of a third, apparently identical, armored figure. It is carrying the (likely heavy) container that is larger than it is.

Slinger barring any unforeseen dangers between his perch & the fuelcell container, Slinger pauses a moment before scurrying over the side to get a closer look at them legs & what's attached.

He whistles, sensing Grimm but doesn't move to acknowledge her directly or anyone else for that matter since he's quite a stealthy one himself... when his mouth isn't motoring.

"Awww! They're collectible sized Paragons!" Slinger swoons. "Gee- these might be a little /too/ life-like though. Where's the off switch?" He inquires, playing the fool to try and keep the attention off of any other responders to the emergency.

Korkoro begins to swear, quietly, care

Grimm is half crouched as her mind tries to trick one of the Unit 13s she recognizes based on his dimensional signature. Hopefully she can trick it into believing its been given a shutdown command to take it out of the fight so she can help him later.

The rogue block of fuel cells suddenly comes to a halt. It then drops a half-meter to the ground (onto the feet that were under it), to reveal the head and shoulders of the third unit... who has apparently decided to take a break. Perhaps union rules are in effect?

The other two halt a step later and faceplates pan about, possibly curiously.

Night Marshal just moves closer. Paragon is quite a bit stronger than he is...and even a mini version...is probably quite a bit stronger than he is. He draws his pistol, unsure if it will actually hurt them, but he can't be sure until he tries.

Lia keeps just close enough to one of them so she can bamboozle them with her enchantments as soon as a fight breaks out. But she doesn't want to be the one to start it.

Units 13A and 13C (left to right from facing them, for lack of better designation) turn towards the crouched Grimm. Both lift their right arm, and ...energy beams shoot at her from their palms.

Well, that's new.

Slinger sees them charge up and attempts to throw a webwall up between Grimm and the Paraclones.

"Definitely too lifelike!" Slinger says as he tries to balance urgency with craftsmanship fearing he'll either be too slow or his webs won't be able to blunt enough of the blast.

The bad news? The web wall is disintegrated utterly. And them some. It was far too young!

The good news? The Grimm on the other side of it is not hit by the energy that punches through.

Grimm flinches and tries to dodge the blasts, just as the webbing tries to protect her. One blast misses her quite a bit, but the second blast narrowly misses her.

Slinger is just happy to see Grimm unscathed on the other side of his webbing- which has now assumed a hazy and rank cloud formation and is blow away on a gentle breeze.

"So..." He says to Grimm expectantly. "...you going to tell me what's up with these rock'em sock'em Paragons?"

He only pauses a moment before flipping around, hanging from the container by his fingertips and trying to kick one of the Paraclones away with a sidekick with plenty of focus on technique and style. Well they're so tiny its really more of a sweep.

Slinger's kick misses the tiny Paragon copy. "Just warming up!" He announces as if he meant to do that.

"It's not Paragon. It's Porter. Uh, Porters. From other dimensions. I even know the one that shut down," Gabrielle calls out to Slinger in explanation.

"Knew..." Gabrielle utters the correction sullenly to herself.

Lia goes for the other armored figure. She appears in short order and her hands glow with green arcane energies. And she throws a triple of ribbons at them!

The streams veer off course and vanish as Lia mutters something.

"I feel like I need my extra brain to keep this straight already." Slinger replies. "Porters- plural of other worlds. Tiny Porters. Not sure that these are going to have the same resell value as Tiny-Gons. I mean... people love that Boy Scout. People Punch Porters. In the face."

A is for arachnid, like the quasi one that attacked it. Which A attempts to punch.

C is for cookie, which is good enough, fairie. Such as the one who tried to tie it in a bow, and at whom C fires a new-fangled palm-energy ...zapping... thing.

Grimm nods. "Yes, plural. Our Porter got converted into one of those things, and he's been collecting other versions of himself from other dimensions to recruit. Like the...Worg? Porg? Those cyborg things from that retro scifi show!" She winces as she sees two people get blasted and holds a moment to see if the third is going to attack.

"I liked it better when he was a Kitten and not going all Five of Eight all over everyone's backsides." Slinger replies, seeming to understand the reference well enough.

Slinger of course is too busy yapping and catches a 13's tiny little fist to the jaw and is forced to catch & correct himself before crashing in a heap.

The middle unit becomes active again, and turns its faceplate to Grimm, since it can now see over the container. The container that's still on at least one of its feet. It attempts to solve two problems with one foot as it sudden "kicks" the container to/at Grimm. Think fast?

Lia meanwhile was busy getting frustrated with her magic to realize the attack sailing at her. Next thing she knows, she's flying some distance away, disoriented, and hurting pretty badly. There's a little scream that comes from her on impact.

Night Marshal is pretty sure Paragon is a cyborg. That means they're a good chance his non-lethal ammunition might have an impact. HE doesn't say anything. Instead, he just takes aim at one of the two guards with his revolver and he opens fire.

Grimm's eyes widen as the container gets kicked at her. She braces herself, and at the last moment turns into shadow just as the container crashes through her.

The round connects, and it -does- appear to get the attention of the one hit.

Korkoro focuses her attention on what it the Unit 13s have come for: the pallet of power cells. Flexing her fingers, she focuses her force upon the 13s' prize.

Slinger absorbs his fall and bounces straight back into the fray.

"Ok- fine. So Porters can punch and have a mean right hook. Hopefully that comes up on trivia night." Slinger says as he rubs his chin.

He primes his webslingers mid-flight and lands, trying to put himself between Grimm and the 13s. "If they're half as tough as Paragon we're going to be here all day or... get out heads spun 'round."

Lia is still flying erratically and doesn't yet have herself under control. That hit really disoriented the little fairy.

The three Thirteens' helms pan and elevate almost as one; first to the container as it bounces to a stop, and then as it is picked up by Korkoro. She appears to have their undivided attention as three arms raise in her direction. It's entirely possibly that they don't appreciated larceny of "their" bix box o' power cells. Energy blasts follow.

... All of which go wide. Close, but not close enough.

Grimm teleports within ten meters of the unit 13s and becomes solid again. Large, long shadow tentacles wind and twist out of her black aura and slither swiftly towards the one who kicked the power cell her way.

Night Marshal takes another shot at the same cyborg that he fired at the first time. Concentrating fire seems most appropriate, after all. He takes aim, making sure he has a clear shot, and he fires.

Night Marshal's shot goes wide. . o O (If these are based on Paragon, why do they seem to move so much faster?)

Slinger leaps in and moves to strike the 13 who Grimm attempted to grab figuring there was a reason she was targetting him sepcifically.

He lands and attempts to flip kick this Porter into the air.

"Grimm!! Pick one!!" shouts Korkoro. "Everyone -- ulp!!" She suddenly swerves sideways a couple of meters. "Everyone, dogpile the one she picks!!"

Grimm points out to the one she's familiar with, and the one she's tried to grab and shut down so far. "Uhh. That one. But don't permanently hurt him. We can still fix them!" she says. There's got to be a way to fix this.

Lia finally stabilizes her flight pattern and reorients herself. And she's a bit off from the action now. Lia sighs, and then decides that this is fine. She vanishes, and tries to flank the 13s everyone is targeting.

Units A and B seem to leave C for the moment, perhaps as a distraction as they both leap for the relocated container of cells. As Night Marshal pointed out, they seem to have better reflexes than Paragon, but still can seem to move-move like her when necessary.

Two units leap and one of them manages to catch the relocated and/or elevated container with its arms and face. Both land well enough. This leaves the former carrier (and designated 'pick one!' target) back where it was.

Unit 13-C now moves to joins its companion units, simply taking a sizable leap to land with them, some 40-ish meters away, now outside of the plant yard and in or across the street.

Grimm frowns as Unit 13C starts to get away. She's determined to save that one at least. "No you don't!" With a though, she teleports after him, appearing hovering a few meters in the air, then holds out a palm towards him. A shadowy portal opens up, sending a whispy stream of dark energy towards him.

And Unit 13-C halts. Again.

Night Marshal sighs as he sees the cyborgs go to leave. And far quicker than he can move on foot. He gives chase, trying to get at least a parting shot off. He fires again, but at the target Grimm indicated.

Isn't it supposed to be C that everyone focuses on for tests? Though this isn't a test, admittedly. 13-B is hit again, though still doesn't move. For better or worse.

Korkoro targets the case again -- but instead of trying to steal it back, she tries to flip it open!

The blue aura of Korkoro's power reaches out to grip the contested crate of materials, but the two Unit 13s' strength over matches her own and she only succeeded in ripping the top off!!

Lia evaluates the situation as she cloeses the gap. One of them is well taken care of, but the other two are trying to make a break for it. She can't have that now can she. So, she hovers around the one who's carrying the pallet, looking for a spot where he won't be lookin'. And then, she decloaks, and this time it's a green shimmery wave that she throws at him!

The carrier wobbles for a step. Not quite sleep-walking, but a momentary lapse in balance?

Lia grins as her shimming wave connects! And now both her hand and that unit are glowing similar colors.

C has the container! A is alongside! Yet the top is ripped off and C might have almost dropped it! Not to mention that A was shot in the back at least once by Night Marshal, too.

Unit 13-A puts a hand on the container. Could it be to steady it?


 * FLASHTWHUMP!*

Well... sort of? Both A and C, along with the container, vanish in a brief flash of light and the sound of displacing (or inrushing) air. That just leaves Lucky 13-B struggling against the mental block that Grimm placed on it. And it is actually making progress...

Lia was preparing to get shot again, but instead her spell suddenly ends as they teleport away. Lia looks a little dejected. Hey, at least she didn't get pummelled! That's a net win, right?

Grimm snaps her head towards the disappearance of the other two. "I need some time. Don't let the last one get a chance to leave!" she tells the others as she focuses on trying to tether herself to Unit 13-B.

Night Marshal continues to close the distance toward the final remaining cyborg, and he opens fire once more.

The shot isn't heard 'round the world, but it is enough. Unit 13-B doesn't crumple so much as ceases responding, leaving it to teeter over rigidly. To impact the ground with an un-mighty -CLINK-

Night Marshal jogs over closer. "I think you have all the time you need now, Miss Grimm."

Grimm wipes her brow and flashes a smile at Night Marshal. "Sharp shootin', Cowboy," she compliments.

Lia watches the unit fall over. And then looks back towards where they teleported. She then flies closer to the remaining 13. "I guess that's uh, everything?"

Night Marshal shakes his head, "Not so much. I missed once." He holsters his weapon. "You sounded like you knew what these things were. What are we dealing with?"

"You could've lied and I wouldn't have known," Gabrielle comments with a light smile. She looks to 13B. "And...got it. I'm attuned in case he escapes." She looks to Night Marshal and sighs sadly. "A villain called the Mechaneer has a past with Paragon and got his hands on Porter's body. Those things with the 13 numeral on them? That's him. Hims? Um. They each have a different dimensional signature, so the Mechaneer's been using Porter to recruit more of himself."

Gabrielle looks sadly to 13B and nods to it. "That's a Porter I know from another dimension. Was...anyway."

Night Marshal blinks. "That sounds...over-complicated-like for a villainous plot."

Grimm grins faintly at that. "I guess it's easier if you got other minions to do the work for you. Whatever it was taking from here was probably something he plans to build with."

Night Marshal shakes his head, "But going into a bunch of alternative dimensions to target Porter specifically? That's weird."

Grimm nods. "That I can agree with," she says to Night Marshal. "But...if you can swipe some avatars of fate that can travel across dimensions and..and..oh. No." Her blood runs cold for a moment.

Night Marshal pauses and looks at Grimm for a moment. "What is it?"

"You. Um. Probably don't know this, and I only just found out," Gabrielle says, keeping her voice down as she looks around. "Porter can time travel."

Korkoro swears sulfuriously as the two 13s disappear with the power cells, and is about to turn her telekinetic power on the last one when it keels over. Floating downwards, she lands next to the thing, then goes to one knee, her silver-shot ebon cloak rippling around her as she modulates her sensory reception to gather as much information about the ... thing ... as she can. Is there a computer in there, controlling the Porter or running the entire show? Is it possible for her to detach the technology from the body (corpse?) inside? How easily, is there resistance? All these questions and more must be answered, and quickly!!

Lia absorbs the information, listening intently. Man, how long has it been since she's even seen Porter? Or much of anyone, really. She's been pretty self isolated lately. "This is surreal. Dimension hopping mind controlled(?) Porter cyborgs."

"Add to that," says Korkoro -- Magda -- absently. "Grimm says they're dead, so dimension-hopping time-travelling mind-controlled necromantic Porter cyborg zombies. Which, I hope, we'll be able to use to locate Mechaneer and ... unmechanize him. Grimm, after we learn what we can from this one, we might want to let him escape when we're ready to follow him home. Have you any way of, mmm, perceiving his surroundings before jumping?"

"Not exactly. Not if it's such a long distance. But I can open a gate so we can at least have a directional charge," Grimm offers. "But only so many people can get through at a time."

Korkoro grimaces, but continues to study the thing. "Hm. /This/," she says under her breath, "is the kind of chess /I/ know. Knowledge before wit, wit before speed, speed before strength, strength before weakness. Hmm mmm mmm mmmm ..." Her cloak continues to ripple, stabilize, then shift after a few minutes to a new configuration.

Grimm takes a few moments to see if she can sift through the organic thoughts or memories within the shell, if there's even anything to reach.

Lia mmms. "That's uh. Terrifying." She nods at Korko. "Necromantic Porter Cyborg Zombies." She looks around again. "Well, I should probably take my leave. Hopefully we can meet sometime on uh, better circumstances?" She gives a weak smile.

Korkoro nods briefly. "601 Golden Sands Road," says the silver-haired heroine. "Knock on the front door, at least the first time, don't drop in through the outside entrances."

Lia makes a note of that from Korkoro. And with that, she turns to a silvery blue mist, and vanishes.

Grimm closes her eyes to focus on 13's memories. It's a mess in there. Finally she sighs and opens her eyes slowly. "I was getting push back. I couldn't make out much."

Magda has manifested an image, very much like an EEG-EKG suite, that displays (to her) the cyborg's system status. She nods slightly, her eyes refocusing to look through the imagery to the handler of the supernatural opposite her. "If I may take a look my own way ... ?" she inquires.

Grimm sighs and rubs her face. "Yeah. Just...careful with him," she utters, sounding guiltridden.

Magda nods, and her cloak ripples around her, shredding into minute particles that gather in a halo about the helmeted head of the Thirteen -- if, that is, halos were half a foot wide and rotated from the back of the head to the front of the face. The silver elements of the bodysuit begin to shed the magnetokinetic's tell-tale cyan-electric aura, and her eyes lose focus ... before, that is, electricity dances visibly within them. "All right," she says, faint and vague and far away, "let's see what we can find ..."

<> transmits Allison to Julius in her head. She is overhead on her grav-thrusters. << I guess you were right. I should know better than to doubt you Jules.>>



"Okay. So... someone called for I.T.?" a human-looking Allison, albeight human with protruding grav-pods sticking out from her body as she drops to land nearby... those pods merging back with her body as it reforms.

Grimm watches Magda work, taking a step back to keep clear of her work. She looks up to Allison. "Uhhh. I don't think so, but it's definitely needed. We managed to detain one of the Porter dopples that got converted into...this," she points to the armored body Magda is working with.

Glancing over towards the Porteroneer whatever. . . Allison lifts her brows. "What are you -doing-?" she asks towards Magda. She approaches and makes shoo'ing motions. "Before you trigger any fail-safes, I think we should study this thing a bit. Plus... if it's been constructed the way Paragon was, I bet my mind and memory extractor would work flawlessly on it. Then we could upload its memories into Julius and search them like they were a card catalogue at the library."

Magda breathes slow and rhythmic, her power and her training adapting the knowledge she's slowly and carefully reading from the hybridized biological/mechanical computer/mind inside the armor. "New ... format, partition, system functionality established ... diagnostics good," she says in the same faint, remote, abstract tone. "Mmm ... total run time forty-seven sixteen twenty-eight, twenty-nine, thirty."

A slow, slow blink. "Structural analysis ... twelve point one meters square ... heavy structure, armored ... mission receipt ... location receipt ... transferring ... GhHAA!!"

Magda flinches back, shaking her head violently and physically recoiling; the 'panel' serving as her magnetic array collapses, seemingly splashing onto the bland flat faceplate of the helmet before it particalizes and flows back into her cloak. "Sonofa--"

Grimm paces a bite, chewing on her inner cheek as she thinks. She halts and blinks at Magda's reaction. "What happened?"

Snorting, Allison approaches closer and glances to Magda, "Don't I know you?" she asks before she snaps her fingers, "Right. You were at the gym when I was helping on some other I.T. project. You didn't seem to have the ability to read computers with your brain at that time." She shrugs, "If you're new to it, you need to be careful of firewalls and other defensive measures that could be built in. That's why I prefer to use the hardwired Neuro-Cybernetic Interface. Firewalls don't melt -it- down." (Yeah, she invented the field of Neuro-Cybernetics. It's even documented. Basically, the ability to image brain-memories as data and store it digitally, more groundbreaking, the ability to re-upload memories -to- brains like they were computers, overwriting the existing memory there)

Magda shakes her head as if to clear it of lingering befuddlement. "It -- he, but I'm sorry, I don't think there's anything left in there to work with, Gabrielle -- transferred, teleported. The systems read it as a severe, if momentary, disruption, and that's how I got it. It's very jarring; I took the rest of the infodump hard and fast. Let me think."

She falls silent for a minute or so, her eyes closing as she sorts out what was fed to her so rapidly. "Their approach and attack here. And the fight from their point of view. All that was ... fed to me a lot faster than I was ready for."

Magda lifts her gaze to Allison, then, squinting a little. "It isn't my speciality," she concedes, "but I've been reading, rewriting, and erasing computer memories for a hundred years now. Just a little out of practice -- and not expecting the, um ... hrm." She scowls down at the Thirteen. "The experience of teleporting like a Porter."

Grimm looks stricken at the news from Magda. "What? No...they...they only got him a day or so ago. How can there be nothing left?"

"Huh. Nanotech. How ten years ago." remarks Allison as she crouches down and inclines her head, "Looks like he is shielded to cyberpathic contact." she adds. "Now, I don't think this -is- Porter so much as... a copy of him with.." and she narrows her eyes, "I bet Mechaneer even stole my Neuro-Cybernetic tech and uploaded memories to this one to think it was Porter. Come on, let's get it back to the lab. You remember where that is, right Magda?" She asks as she morphs her arms into more muscular arms and bends to heft the Porteroid.

Magda sighs, closing her still-arcing eyes for a moment, then leaning forward to press her hands against the ground to discharge the buildup. "They reformatted him," she says. "It's been some time since I've done any real hands-on computer work, and it'd take me time to get back up to speed on the current patterns, but it's still all electrons to me. Certain ... circuits, the 'how-to' of his powers, the Mechaneer kept."

When Allison mentions nanotech, she nods. "That. But no, this didn't think it was Porter; it was very much a ... mm. Robot, to use the most apt term. Set up the command programming, issue a goal, go to. No real memory or personality that I could identify."

Magda breathes a sigh, and gestures with her hands, floating upwards in response. "Was that the, mmm, workout room place?"

<> begins Julius in Allison's brain. But she is ignoring him, and says, "We'll know for sure when we get him back to the lab, as I said. You know, the place where I showed you how arro..." she begins, and Julius -yells- in her head, <> And she does so, immediately, mid-word. Then she nods and says, "Yea. That's the place. Sorry."

Grimm shakes her head to Allison. "It's a Porter from another dimension. One I rescued just the other day from some hidden base he was taken to. But...he got taken again while I was out warning people," Gabrielle explains.

Magda isn't an idiot; she can fill in the rest of the sentence herself. "Arrogance is thinking nobody else can have answers," she sighs, "not in the possession of knowledge. I have a lot of knowledge, Allison, and experience, and yes, power; I /used/ to be arrogant. In my experience, more knowledge and experience tends to cure arrogance -- or you get killed. I've come to terms with the fact that I haven't all the answers, and lots of other people know lots of other things that I don't. And more importantly, I think, I'm open to learning what they know. If, that is, they'll deign to teach me. Otherwise ..." She shrugs. "Otherwise, I have to figure it out on my own. And it's a different thought, so it's done differently. Doesn't automatically make it better or worse, determining that comes in the execution. Just makes it different."

Magda shakes her head a little, telekinetically letting her braids uncurl from the crown they make atop her head. "Are you afraid of the different, Allison? Of someone knowing something from an approach other than your own?"

"Right. Julius, please disengage social prompts. They won't help. She only -used- to be arrogant. As she is arrogantly pointing out, she's no longer arrogant." That said, she hefts the Porteroid and says, "So, shall we return to the gym?" She didn't even respond to Magda's question about being afraid of the different. She -is- the different. She's mutated, she's had her body rebuilt and replaced with synthetic crystalline liquiform materials.

"Feel free to join." she says towards Magda. "Do me a favor and see if you can handle having an open mind yourself. For once.." That said, her grav-drive-pods extrude from her shoulders, shoulderblades, hips, lower bhack, knees, and ankles as she lifts skyward.

Magda smiles ruefully. "Damned if you do, damned if you don't," she muses. "But then again, in for a penny, in for a pound -- and as well be hung as a sheep as a lamb." She suddenly grins. "English is so wonderful with the sayings. Want a lift?" she asks Grimm.

Grimm looks confused over what just happened exactly. "Sure. I could use one right about now. I'm still not giving up on there being something of him left in there, though."

Magda nods, and gestures upwards with both hands, magnetic particles of her cloak rippling off to press against Grimm in many places, securing and lifting her into the air near her. "Paragon got ... temporarily overwritten, I believe it was. Reset to an earlier operating system. After recovering herself, she went to ensure herself of her daughter's safety, and created a bit of a ruckus. I noticed her going, I followed, I ... watched, and only spoke. The words out of my mouth, however, were not taken well by Allison."

Grimm nods along. "I was there when she was in her overwritten state. And when she killed her husband. I tried to stop her. She broke a couple of my ribs and got away," she sighs heavily, trying to relax as she's secured and lifted along. "I can't say I really know her that much. She doesn't exactly move in magical circles."

Magda nods. "It's unusual for me," she says, flying the two of you along at a brisk 60mph, the wind barely ruffling your hair, "to have so much contact with the supernatural set. My mother would quite approve, I think, but my past usually put me next to technological or inherently-powered individuals -- mutants or altered humans."

Grimm nods lightly as she listens. "And I don't deal much with the tech stuff. And also tend to stay away from most supernatural circles," she chuckles halfheartedly.

Magda laughs. "It would be nice, wouldn't it," she says wistfully, "if we could just get on with learning new things and discovering wonders and not have to stop other people from trying to take wonders and do terrible things with them?" She starts to descend towards the technophile's lab.

"I mean. That sounds like about fifty percent of a hero's job," Gabrielle supposes with a wry smile.

Korkoro gives a soft huff of laughter, finally setting the two down in front of the Practice Room. "Seems like it," she agrees as she lets the other woman go.

Grimm floats to the ground when they land. "I mean, it'd be great if there weren't any villains, or greedy crooks, or just plain street criminals," she says longingly as they head inside.

"... or need, or hunger, or greed," Magda continues, their voices fading out as they continue inwards, both of them wishing for the impossible ... but working towards the impossible anyhow.