"Just don't get in front of me.." - Raina
Raina arrives at the base the next day to find Jack giving Grim more hand to hand combat lessons. She pipes in with her own advice and readily agrees to demonstrate certain techniques. Grim proves to be a fast learner and the group is soon joined by Rusty and Brandon. Brandon states that he wants to go out and do some good, and the rest agree.
Raina mentions a weapons deal going down that she needs help on. The issue is that it is going down in Dark Astoria. The place means little but bad for Raina as something about the magic of the area drives her cat into a killing frenzy. The group agrees to help her take care of it and Jack says he'll help keep her cat in check. During the mission, Raina is able to take out her bloodlust on the unlucky council members. At only one point does she take a swipe at a teammate, Grim, but with more council nearby, the 'attack' is half-hearted and misses.
They follow a few more leads and raid more council bases, including one that, to Jack's annoyance, is in Kings Row. John signs on with what Raina calls his "radio show", and she greets him but is ignored. After clearing out a few more hideouts, the group decides that they've had enough for one day. They break up and Raina and Jack head back to base for the night
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
...There's fire
"Prey lives!" - Raina Sylvir
Raina contacted Jack the next day and found that her love was no better for the time away from the base. He hadn't slept and was worried about all of them. She caught up with him at Crown Memorial Hospital in Kings Row where his father was being treated. Jack admits to missing her and Raina says he same. His father is doing better and Jack decides its time to go home.
The two head back and meet up with Grim and Rusty. Apologies are exchanged and friendships are reinforced. Raina is happy that things seem to have worked out again. The decision is also made to dismantle the brig and use the space for something else. However, everything is thrown for a loop once more when Jennifer comes in with a man named Darren. Raina, still mistrustful of the girl, is even more deeply disturbed that she would bring a stranger to the base with no warning or having them checked. Angered but in the minority, Raina and Jack head up to their room.
There Raina rants about the removal of their sense of security. She admits to Jack that she wants to be able to let her guard down here at "home". However, with so many newcomers, she's not sure that its going to be possible. Jack worries about the same and promises to work harder in learning magic and "ward the entire place myself". Raina says that she needs a break and leaves.
She ends up in Pocket D where she finds John meeting with some other people but does not approach him. After John leaves she finds Bladeless nearly passed out drunk. Rusty also shows up and Raina carries Nathan back to base to sleep off the alcohol. She then patrols the base out of nervousness and stress.
A little while later she finds Jack and Jennifer in the bar talking. She takes her cat form since she still doesn't trust herself to talk civilly with the other girl. Walking in half-way through the conversation, Raina quickly catches up to what's happened while she's been out. The questioning takes a more ominous turn when Jennifer states that she was not controlled when she set the fires the day before. Then, in a random move, Jennifer states, "I'll do it!" and yanks out a torch and proceeds to set Jack and Raina on fire.
Screeching with her own and Jack's pain, Raina's cat seizes control and shifts straight to her wereform and attacks Jennifer. She screams into the comm to summon the others as she tries to subdue and possibly kill Jennifer. A confused Grim and Kalius show up and Kalius immediately pulls Raina off Jennifer who takes off into the rest of the base to set fires.
Furious and aware that her prey is still alive, Raina punches and struggles with Kalius to free herself. However, Kalius's god enhanced strength make him a match for even her were strength. Only Raina's killing rage allows her to overpower him and get free. She takes off after Jennifer to attack her again. She finds that Grim has cornered Jennifer in the room she and Jack share. Raina attempts to pin and kill her but is tackled once more by Kalius and the two crash through the window to the training ring below. Indeed, the training mat does bounce. Jack, badly burned, stumbles in as Kalius and Raina grapple on the training mat. Jack orders Kalius to let Raina go and the werecat takes off for her target. She tackles Jennifer down the stairs and proceeds to sever the girl's tendons and prevent further escape. As she goes for the killing blow, Kalius tackles her off again. As Raina struggles to get free and ignores Kalius' and Jack's attempts to calm her, Grim banishes Jennifer and the girl disappears.
Kalius finally ends up headbutting Raina hard and knocks both her and Jack unconscious. They are taken to medbay to recover. Unsure if Raina or her cat will be control when she comes to, they restrain Raina to the bed. Jack comes to first and speaks of what happened as Grim completes his healing. The white mage then attempts to heal Raina, but her cat is far to agitated and attempts to attack him. Using extra power from his watch, Jack manages to get through Raina's bloodfury and pull her back to them. Raina wakes calm, but pissed.
They collect Jennifer's blood from Raina's claws for Grim to use to steal away Jennifer's memories of the base location. Raina states that she warned them that Jennifer was a threat. They talk for a while longer before deciding to head to bed. Their room burned, Raina and Jack claim the TV room couch and go to sleep.
Raina contacted Jack the next day and found that her love was no better for the time away from the base. He hadn't slept and was worried about all of them. She caught up with him at Crown Memorial Hospital in Kings Row where his father was being treated. Jack admits to missing her and Raina says he same. His father is doing better and Jack decides its time to go home.
The two head back and meet up with Grim and Rusty. Apologies are exchanged and friendships are reinforced. Raina is happy that things seem to have worked out again. The decision is also made to dismantle the brig and use the space for something else. However, everything is thrown for a loop once more when Jennifer comes in with a man named Darren. Raina, still mistrustful of the girl, is even more deeply disturbed that she would bring a stranger to the base with no warning or having them checked. Angered but in the minority, Raina and Jack head up to their room.
There Raina rants about the removal of their sense of security. She admits to Jack that she wants to be able to let her guard down here at "home". However, with so many newcomers, she's not sure that its going to be possible. Jack worries about the same and promises to work harder in learning magic and "ward the entire place myself". Raina says that she needs a break and leaves.
She ends up in Pocket D where she finds John meeting with some other people but does not approach him. After John leaves she finds Bladeless nearly passed out drunk. Rusty also shows up and Raina carries Nathan back to base to sleep off the alcohol. She then patrols the base out of nervousness and stress.
A little while later she finds Jack and Jennifer in the bar talking. She takes her cat form since she still doesn't trust herself to talk civilly with the other girl. Walking in half-way through the conversation, Raina quickly catches up to what's happened while she's been out. The questioning takes a more ominous turn when Jennifer states that she was not controlled when she set the fires the day before. Then, in a random move, Jennifer states, "I'll do it!" and yanks out a torch and proceeds to set Jack and Raina on fire.
Screeching with her own and Jack's pain, Raina's cat seizes control and shifts straight to her wereform and attacks Jennifer. She screams into the comm to summon the others as she tries to subdue and possibly kill Jennifer. A confused Grim and Kalius show up and Kalius immediately pulls Raina off Jennifer who takes off into the rest of the base to set fires.
Furious and aware that her prey is still alive, Raina punches and struggles with Kalius to free herself. However, Kalius's god enhanced strength make him a match for even her were strength. Only Raina's killing rage allows her to overpower him and get free. She takes off after Jennifer to attack her again. She finds that Grim has cornered Jennifer in the room she and Jack share. Raina attempts to pin and kill her but is tackled once more by Kalius and the two crash through the window to the training ring below. Indeed, the training mat does bounce. Jack, badly burned, stumbles in as Kalius and Raina grapple on the training mat. Jack orders Kalius to let Raina go and the werecat takes off for her target. She tackles Jennifer down the stairs and proceeds to sever the girl's tendons and prevent further escape. As she goes for the killing blow, Kalius tackles her off again. As Raina struggles to get free and ignores Kalius' and Jack's attempts to calm her, Grim banishes Jennifer and the girl disappears.
Kalius finally ends up headbutting Raina hard and knocks both her and Jack unconscious. They are taken to medbay to recover. Unsure if Raina or her cat will be control when she comes to, they restrain Raina to the bed. Jack comes to first and speaks of what happened as Grim completes his healing. The white mage then attempts to heal Raina, but her cat is far to agitated and attempts to attack him. Using extra power from his watch, Jack manages to get through Raina's bloodfury and pull her back to them. Raina wakes calm, but pissed.
They collect Jennifer's blood from Raina's claws for Grim to use to steal away Jennifer's memories of the base location. Raina states that she warned them that Jennifer was a threat. They talk for a while longer before deciding to head to bed. Their room burned, Raina and Jack claim the TV room couch and go to sleep.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Where there's smoke...
"You are not John, Jack." -Raina
The next day finds Raina running errands in Talos, glad for the normalcy of the actions. She is stopped however by Grim's sudden request over the comms for everyone to return to base. There, they find the medical bay and bar baring scorch marks. More worrisome is that the blood sample Brandon took from her the day before was destroyed. Raina readily offered to allow him to draw more. This time, Brandon draws 4 vials, promising to stash them in various places this time.
Questioning Aza, the apparent cause of the scorching, she admits to setting herself on fire to "see what it felt like". The explanation was believable to Raina since the girl had already proved herself to be a bit of a masochist. The 'emergency' taken care of and Aza warned against any further solo experiments, Raina decides to head out to check out a few leads on other things she's working on.
She is summoned back to the base by sensing troubling thoughts in Jack's mind. She arrives to find Jack and the rest in the brig.. and Jennifer is inside the cell. No one looks very happy and Raina waits to find out what happened. She is told that Jennifer was caught setting fire to Grim's room. Raina supports Jack's decision to keep Jennifer in the cell until they determine who was controlling her. Especially when Jennifer refuses to allow them to put defenses in her against it happening again or even to avoid the D where it happened. The others are not as accepting to the idea of detaining her.
Raina cites the danger presented by her and as she explains why, Jack orders Rusty to turn on the dampening fields. Rusty responds, "Yes, John." and then apologizes for the slip. Stunned, Raina can only stare for a moment as Jack leaves. She snaps to the others to go ahead and let her go, but warns against the danger she could cause. Trying to temper her own anger, Raina tries to seek out and console Jack. He asks her to give him space to think and Raina readily agrees (after punching a dent in the bricks of the TV room in anger). Not trusting herself to speak to them, Raina takes her ocelot form before rejoining the others.
She listens as they allow Jenn and Aza to leave and then as Grim, Brandon, and Rusty decide to find the restaurant in the city where Jenn claims to have woken up at. Rusty tries to speak to Raina who gives him a look that would peel paint and refuses to change her form to speak with him. After listening to them wander aimlessly, Raina leaves and easily backtrack's Jenn's scent to a restaurant. The place provides no new clues and the group returns to base. Raina takes out her fury on an unlucky group of hellions. Arriving back at base, Raina goes to join Jack in their room while Rusty and the others decide to investigate the D.
Raina tries to put Jack's fears to rest and the two eventually retreat to bed for a few hours. They emerge to find Brandon helping Kal and Grim move the burned furniture out of their room. They aide with the "remodel" by moving undamaged furniture from a spare room into Grim and Kal's room. However, things seem to collapse again when Grim tries to push the issue about Rusty's slip. Eventually Jack leaves and Raina follows him.
She finds him working out in the training ring and, without hesitating, moves to attack him. They share a fast paced training fight that ends with Jack managing to pin Raina to the floor. They get up and decide to talk again, with Raina working to assure Jack that he will never be John. They are interrupted by Grim, Kalius, and Brandon. Grim starts with telling Jack to grow up and get over it. This immediately puts Raina and Jack on the defensive and effectively destroys everything Raina's done to calm him down.
The verbal fight degenerates to a near shouting match that ends with Jack leaving in anger. Raina attempts to follow him but then recognizes that Jack needs space again. Furious at the callous words of the others and their ignorance, she returns to the base and screams in fury before stalking to the bar for a much needed drink. She mentally contacts Jack, telling him that she wants to be there with him. He responds that he wants her there too but, "You'd better stay with the nimwits.. they need someone with brains there." Resigned to being away from him for a night, she pours herself a glass of whiskey.
Brandon joins her and questions her gently on the group's history and past ties. Raina starts to explain about their past rockiness and then begins to tell him of her and Jack's link. She stops when Grim and Kalius enter but continues at their prompting. Emotionally weary and her fury spent, Raina questions Grim if he knows how badly Jack was hurt by it all. Apologetic, Grim asks her to let Jack know that he wants to apologize. Aware that Jack is too hurt and angry to listen, she responds that it would be better to wait until he was calmer. She tells them that Jack is sleeping in an apartment in Kings Row and will be back the next day.
The group then heads for the respective beds and sleep, hoping the next day will dawn brighter.
The next day finds Raina running errands in Talos, glad for the normalcy of the actions. She is stopped however by Grim's sudden request over the comms for everyone to return to base. There, they find the medical bay and bar baring scorch marks. More worrisome is that the blood sample Brandon took from her the day before was destroyed. Raina readily offered to allow him to draw more. This time, Brandon draws 4 vials, promising to stash them in various places this time.
Questioning Aza, the apparent cause of the scorching, she admits to setting herself on fire to "see what it felt like". The explanation was believable to Raina since the girl had already proved herself to be a bit of a masochist. The 'emergency' taken care of and Aza warned against any further solo experiments, Raina decides to head out to check out a few leads on other things she's working on.
She is summoned back to the base by sensing troubling thoughts in Jack's mind. She arrives to find Jack and the rest in the brig.. and Jennifer is inside the cell. No one looks very happy and Raina waits to find out what happened. She is told that Jennifer was caught setting fire to Grim's room. Raina supports Jack's decision to keep Jennifer in the cell until they determine who was controlling her. Especially when Jennifer refuses to allow them to put defenses in her against it happening again or even to avoid the D where it happened. The others are not as accepting to the idea of detaining her.
Raina cites the danger presented by her and as she explains why, Jack orders Rusty to turn on the dampening fields. Rusty responds, "Yes, John." and then apologizes for the slip. Stunned, Raina can only stare for a moment as Jack leaves. She snaps to the others to go ahead and let her go, but warns against the danger she could cause. Trying to temper her own anger, Raina tries to seek out and console Jack. He asks her to give him space to think and Raina readily agrees (after punching a dent in the bricks of the TV room in anger). Not trusting herself to speak to them, Raina takes her ocelot form before rejoining the others.
She listens as they allow Jenn and Aza to leave and then as Grim, Brandon, and Rusty decide to find the restaurant in the city where Jenn claims to have woken up at. Rusty tries to speak to Raina who gives him a look that would peel paint and refuses to change her form to speak with him. After listening to them wander aimlessly, Raina leaves and easily backtrack's Jenn's scent to a restaurant. The place provides no new clues and the group returns to base. Raina takes out her fury on an unlucky group of hellions. Arriving back at base, Raina goes to join Jack in their room while Rusty and the others decide to investigate the D.
Raina tries to put Jack's fears to rest and the two eventually retreat to bed for a few hours. They emerge to find Brandon helping Kal and Grim move the burned furniture out of their room. They aide with the "remodel" by moving undamaged furniture from a spare room into Grim and Kal's room. However, things seem to collapse again when Grim tries to push the issue about Rusty's slip. Eventually Jack leaves and Raina follows him.
She finds him working out in the training ring and, without hesitating, moves to attack him. They share a fast paced training fight that ends with Jack managing to pin Raina to the floor. They get up and decide to talk again, with Raina working to assure Jack that he will never be John. They are interrupted by Grim, Kalius, and Brandon. Grim starts with telling Jack to grow up and get over it. This immediately puts Raina and Jack on the defensive and effectively destroys everything Raina's done to calm him down.
The verbal fight degenerates to a near shouting match that ends with Jack leaving in anger. Raina attempts to follow him but then recognizes that Jack needs space again. Furious at the callous words of the others and their ignorance, she returns to the base and screams in fury before stalking to the bar for a much needed drink. She mentally contacts Jack, telling him that she wants to be there with him. He responds that he wants her there too but, "You'd better stay with the nimwits.. they need someone with brains there." Resigned to being away from him for a night, she pours herself a glass of whiskey.
Brandon joins her and questions her gently on the group's history and past ties. Raina starts to explain about their past rockiness and then begins to tell him of her and Jack's link. She stops when Grim and Kalius enter but continues at their prompting. Emotionally weary and her fury spent, Raina questions Grim if he knows how badly Jack was hurt by it all. Apologetic, Grim asks her to let Jack know that he wants to apologize. Aware that Jack is too hurt and angry to listen, she responds that it would be better to wait until he was calmer. She tells them that Jack is sleeping in an apartment in Kings Row and will be back the next day.
The group then heads for the respective beds and sleep, hoping the next day will dawn brighter.
Selfish?
"Am I the only one who's curious to see what could make the VoPC run?" - Raina Sylvir in Pocket D
The group heads to the D the next day when Aza contacts that she's found someone in need of a safe place to stay. As this is the main reason for Safe Havens existence, they agree to head to the club to check this person out. They find Aza talking to Jennifer D, but the close proximity of many VoPC and Justice Seekers members make the group uneasy and they seek out somewhere more private to talk. As they talk, Raina hears John over the broadcast of the D ordering his people to retreat. While curious to what could make them run, she manages to control the impulse to see. Parallel arrives and informs them that John started a fight by throwing a girl at a zombie girl and was outnumbered. Stunned and amused, the group brush off the incident and get about interviewed Jennifer, who proves to be DJ Zero's neglected daughter.
Eventually, the group agrees to let Jenn stay with them and Raina gives her a keycard. The group heads back to base but Raina stays a little longer to talk with Parallel. She finds out that the mother-to-be of his children is named Cubbie and is having triplets. She congratulates him on the happy event and shows him her engagement ring. They part after sharing more news on recent events and Raina heads to base to be with Jack and their friends.
Jack isn't there at first and Grim is giving Jennifer a tour of the base. After concluding the tour, Jennifer goes to claim a room for herself and Grim takes Raina aside. He tells her that his "parts" have finally grown back and that the damage John did to him is completely gone now. Raina expresses her joy and the two share a brother/sister moment. Kalius arrives and Grim takes him away to show him the good news. As she waits Jack arrives and he and Raina talk about their plans for their wedding and his father's sickness. Jack tells her of his idea for Grim to only weaken the cancer so that his father's body can fight and overcome it. That way, they can save his father without him realizing that any magic was used on him.
Raina agrees that its a good idea, but still doesn't see why they can't trick his father into accepting an instant healing. She does however respect Jack's wishes and encourages him to ask Grim if its possible. Jack also tells her that he would like to have Grim as his best man. Raina agrees and states that she'll approach Ashley as her maid of honor.. also stating that likely they'll have all their friends in the wedding party.
Grim and Kalius return and Jack proposes both questions to Grim. Grim agrees that he can probably form a spell that will weaken his father's cancer. He also happily agrees to stand as Jack's best man when he and Raina wed. Jack states that he needs to head to Steel for some things and the rest decide that they've had enough "hanging around the base for now"
The group then heads out with some of their new allies to have some fun. They take out several council and Arachnos bases. The 'fun' is cut short when Raina suddenly becomes ill after one mission to steal away an "all purpose virus" from an arachnos base. They help her back to base and get her to the medbay. The source of her illness is determined to be a large gash on her side that isn't healing and shows signs of an infection.
Grim, with Kalius's aide, attempts to heal her, but her cat, defensive against the virus' assault threatens to attack him. Hoping that Raina's natural defenses will overcome the virus, Grim calls Jack to let him know what happened. He and Kalius head off for a shower. Jack comes in and rushes to her side. Raina's growing sicker by the moment with bouts of weakness, nausea, and pain. Jack attempts to shoulder her pain and Raina tries to stop him. She pleads with the returning Grim to make Jack stop. Instead, Grim gives Jack his energy and Kalius supplies Grim. At first, Raina's cat refuses their aide, but then suddenly latches on and starts draining all three.
Her inner magic begins to produce the correct antibodies to fight the virus and her wound heals when she shifts to her ocelot form. She breaks off the magical connection, making all three men collapse. They recover quickly and Grim and Kal head over to the bar to rest. Raina has Jack tell Brandon to draw some of her blood and make a vaccine or anti-virus from it in case this happens again in the future. Brandon draws a vial of blood from her foreleg and puts it in a rack on the desk.
After sharing news and drinks, Jack claims exhaustion and he and Raina head back to their room. There, Jack admits to not being that tired but just wanting time alone with her. Raina responds that there is nothing wrong with being "a little selfish" sometimes.
The group heads to the D the next day when Aza contacts that she's found someone in need of a safe place to stay. As this is the main reason for Safe Havens existence, they agree to head to the club to check this person out. They find Aza talking to Jennifer D, but the close proximity of many VoPC and Justice Seekers members make the group uneasy and they seek out somewhere more private to talk. As they talk, Raina hears John over the broadcast of the D ordering his people to retreat. While curious to what could make them run, she manages to control the impulse to see. Parallel arrives and informs them that John started a fight by throwing a girl at a zombie girl and was outnumbered. Stunned and amused, the group brush off the incident and get about interviewed Jennifer, who proves to be DJ Zero's neglected daughter.
Eventually, the group agrees to let Jenn stay with them and Raina gives her a keycard. The group heads back to base but Raina stays a little longer to talk with Parallel. She finds out that the mother-to-be of his children is named Cubbie and is having triplets. She congratulates him on the happy event and shows him her engagement ring. They part after sharing more news on recent events and Raina heads to base to be with Jack and their friends.
Jack isn't there at first and Grim is giving Jennifer a tour of the base. After concluding the tour, Jennifer goes to claim a room for herself and Grim takes Raina aside. He tells her that his "parts" have finally grown back and that the damage John did to him is completely gone now. Raina expresses her joy and the two share a brother/sister moment. Kalius arrives and Grim takes him away to show him the good news. As she waits Jack arrives and he and Raina talk about their plans for their wedding and his father's sickness. Jack tells her of his idea for Grim to only weaken the cancer so that his father's body can fight and overcome it. That way, they can save his father without him realizing that any magic was used on him.
Raina agrees that its a good idea, but still doesn't see why they can't trick his father into accepting an instant healing. She does however respect Jack's wishes and encourages him to ask Grim if its possible. Jack also tells her that he would like to have Grim as his best man. Raina agrees and states that she'll approach Ashley as her maid of honor.. also stating that likely they'll have all their friends in the wedding party.
Grim and Kalius return and Jack proposes both questions to Grim. Grim agrees that he can probably form a spell that will weaken his father's cancer. He also happily agrees to stand as Jack's best man when he and Raina wed. Jack states that he needs to head to Steel for some things and the rest decide that they've had enough "hanging around the base for now"
The group then heads out with some of their new allies to have some fun. They take out several council and Arachnos bases. The 'fun' is cut short when Raina suddenly becomes ill after one mission to steal away an "all purpose virus" from an arachnos base. They help her back to base and get her to the medbay. The source of her illness is determined to be a large gash on her side that isn't healing and shows signs of an infection.
Grim, with Kalius's aide, attempts to heal her, but her cat, defensive against the virus' assault threatens to attack him. Hoping that Raina's natural defenses will overcome the virus, Grim calls Jack to let him know what happened. He and Kalius head off for a shower. Jack comes in and rushes to her side. Raina's growing sicker by the moment with bouts of weakness, nausea, and pain. Jack attempts to shoulder her pain and Raina tries to stop him. She pleads with the returning Grim to make Jack stop. Instead, Grim gives Jack his energy and Kalius supplies Grim. At first, Raina's cat refuses their aide, but then suddenly latches on and starts draining all three.
Her inner magic begins to produce the correct antibodies to fight the virus and her wound heals when she shifts to her ocelot form. She breaks off the magical connection, making all three men collapse. They recover quickly and Grim and Kal head over to the bar to rest. Raina has Jack tell Brandon to draw some of her blood and make a vaccine or anti-virus from it in case this happens again in the future. Brandon draws a vial of blood from her foreleg and puts it in a rack on the desk.
After sharing news and drinks, Jack claims exhaustion and he and Raina head back to their room. There, Jack admits to not being that tired but just wanting time alone with her. Raina responds that there is nothing wrong with being "a little selfish" sometimes.
Security Nightmare
"Your word means shit, John." - Raina
The next day finds Raina checking on the still comatose Ashley. Her cell gets a call, its John. He begs Raina to let him come see his little sister. Disbelieving and angry, Raina flat refuses, citing that there is no way they will allow John in their base. She tells him flat out that if he sets foot in the base, it'll be a race between all their members to kill him first. John offers to surrender, even offering to come to them alone and unarmed. While tempted by the offer, Raina states that John's word means nothing since he has no honesty. John continues to plead with her.
Eventually, Raina proposes the idea to the others who, at first, are as skeptical as she was. After a few rounds of arguments, it is agreed that the base can be fortified against anything John could try. Grim's latest set of wards will prevent John from entering if he does mean them harm. Preperations are completed just as Ashley starts to wake up. Raina, with Grim and Frost for backup, agrees to meet with John in Kings Row to take him in.. but he never shows.
The group never really thought he would do it and so head back to base. There, they start to talk about what will happen next when a set of magical tomes appear in a flash of white light and fall on Grim's head. The books are from a mage that Grim met in the D and come with a note: "Use them well." It turns out that the books will be able to teach Grim almost anything that he wants to know.
Raina and Jack then go with Frost to Founder's Falls to check on Bladeless. They learn that Bladeless was attacked by a fellow Havens member that they had not met yet. After Raina decides to go harass the doctor's for news, Timetripper arrives. She questions Jack on where "his cat" is and, hearing the babbling of nearby doctors, Jack states that she's "nearby".
Raina comes back in and Timetripper introduces herself. Raina smiles that they've already met and then shifts to her housecat form, jumping up to Jack's shoulders and proving herself to be "the cat" Timetripper had mentioned before. That mystery taken care of, Timetripper uses her gifts to wake Bladeless from his coma. It quickly becomes evident that something is wrong with his mind. Taking a look in, Jack and Raina determine that his memory has been destroyed. The damage seems to be beyond anything they can fix.
Eventually, the group leaves and outside they question Frost and deduce that there was more between him and Nathan than simple friendship. Raina encourages Frost to keep his hopes up and simply be there for Nathan and help him fill in the gaps in his memory. They head back to base for some much needed drinks. Frost proves to be a lightweight by getting drunk off only a glass of scotch.
Grim and the others arrive with several new recruits in tow. Raina and Jack quickly become uneasy with so many new and untested people. Jack checks them all out and determines them to be, at the very least, not loyal to John. Eventually, Raina goes to put the drunk Frost in bed and, remembering Frost and Nathan's relationship, keeps Aza from taking advantage of him. The group then heads out to combat the supernatural invasion.
The battles provide much needed emotional relief. To Raina's amusement, the battlelust of one battle causes Kalius to grab and kiss Grim passionately in front of all of them. They battle until exhaustion starts to take its toll. The group heads back to base to rest up for the next days trials.
The next day finds Raina checking on the still comatose Ashley. Her cell gets a call, its John. He begs Raina to let him come see his little sister. Disbelieving and angry, Raina flat refuses, citing that there is no way they will allow John in their base. She tells him flat out that if he sets foot in the base, it'll be a race between all their members to kill him first. John offers to surrender, even offering to come to them alone and unarmed. While tempted by the offer, Raina states that John's word means nothing since he has no honesty. John continues to plead with her.
Eventually, Raina proposes the idea to the others who, at first, are as skeptical as she was. After a few rounds of arguments, it is agreed that the base can be fortified against anything John could try. Grim's latest set of wards will prevent John from entering if he does mean them harm. Preperations are completed just as Ashley starts to wake up. Raina, with Grim and Frost for backup, agrees to meet with John in Kings Row to take him in.. but he never shows.
The group never really thought he would do it and so head back to base. There, they start to talk about what will happen next when a set of magical tomes appear in a flash of white light and fall on Grim's head. The books are from a mage that Grim met in the D and come with a note: "Use them well." It turns out that the books will be able to teach Grim almost anything that he wants to know.
Raina and Jack then go with Frost to Founder's Falls to check on Bladeless. They learn that Bladeless was attacked by a fellow Havens member that they had not met yet. After Raina decides to go harass the doctor's for news, Timetripper arrives. She questions Jack on where "his cat" is and, hearing the babbling of nearby doctors, Jack states that she's "nearby".
Raina comes back in and Timetripper introduces herself. Raina smiles that they've already met and then shifts to her housecat form, jumping up to Jack's shoulders and proving herself to be "the cat" Timetripper had mentioned before. That mystery taken care of, Timetripper uses her gifts to wake Bladeless from his coma. It quickly becomes evident that something is wrong with his mind. Taking a look in, Jack and Raina determine that his memory has been destroyed. The damage seems to be beyond anything they can fix.
Eventually, the group leaves and outside they question Frost and deduce that there was more between him and Nathan than simple friendship. Raina encourages Frost to keep his hopes up and simply be there for Nathan and help him fill in the gaps in his memory. They head back to base for some much needed drinks. Frost proves to be a lightweight by getting drunk off only a glass of scotch.
Grim and the others arrive with several new recruits in tow. Raina and Jack quickly become uneasy with so many new and untested people. Jack checks them all out and determines them to be, at the very least, not loyal to John. Eventually, Raina goes to put the drunk Frost in bed and, remembering Frost and Nathan's relationship, keeps Aza from taking advantage of him. The group then heads out to combat the supernatural invasion.
The battles provide much needed emotional relief. To Raina's amusement, the battlelust of one battle causes Kalius to grab and kiss Grim passionately in front of all of them. They battle until exhaustion starts to take its toll. The group heads back to base to rest up for the next days trials.
Battle
"Unlike you, John.. I care for my comrades. She'll be fine." -Raina
The group wakes and prepares for the battle they know is coming. Plans are discarded as it turns out that their allies have, for the most part, backed out of the fight. Not to be deterred, the group decides to make a stand anyway. They head out to Galaxy City to get set for the battle. The group waits for John and his to appear. As she scouts, Raina runs across Antoine, one of John's snipers. She questions him on his loyalty and eventually ends up attacking him to send him back to base to keep him out of the fight for that day.
Returning to her comrades, Raina goes inside to warn the people working in the building of the immanent attack. John's forces arrive soon afterwords and the fight begins. As most battles are, it quickly dissolves into chaos. Eventually, the Havens fighters are forced to pull back (OOCly, we'd had enough of the insanity) and retreat to their base. Watching the news shows them that John's attempt to bomb the building was unsuccessful due to the building's strong architecture.
The group begins to recover when Raina discovers over the comm that Ashley remained behind, determined to stop John. Panicking, Raina headed back out after they heard what sounded like an explosion over the comm. She quickly found and retrieved Ashley, who looked like she had been caught up in the explosion of a bomb. She got her back to base and the medbay as John called her frantically over the comm, begging Raina to save his sister. Raina responds that she cares for her comrades and will ensure Ashley's well being.
Leaving Ashley in the care of the medbay things, Raina goes to join Jack. The two share a moment together, ensuring that the other is safe. Jack presents Raina with an unset cut diamond. While delighted in the present, she senses something troubling Jack. Raina questions and presses him on it. Jack admits that he hates having to put off their happiness until John's threat is ended. Unsure what he means, Raina states that while she agrees that having children right now is a bad idea, she sees no reason for them to delay anything else. Jack responds that he does not want to give John another weakness to use against them. "We're already eachother's weakness, Jack.. and eachother's strength. In our lives.. we can't wait for happiness, we have to take it where we find it."
Agreeing, Jack proposes to her and Raina gleefully accepts. The two then go to the training room where Grim, Kalius, Shadow, and Rusty are. They walk in on an experiment taking place in the training ring. As they waited for them to finish, Raina and Jack informed Kal and Grim of their happy news. The newly engaged couple are congratulated but the happy moment is interrupted when Rusty explodes. Panic ensues and the group rushes the ring to recollect Rusty's parts. Confusion takes hold when Grim is only able to find a small part of Rusty's brain. However, it is soon discovered that Rusty himself has turned into energy and is now bound to his armor itself.
A rule is made that there will be no more explosions allowed in the training area. It is also likely that Shadow will never live down "blowing up a teammate". The group disperses to their respective beds and prepares for another day.
The group wakes and prepares for the battle they know is coming. Plans are discarded as it turns out that their allies have, for the most part, backed out of the fight. Not to be deterred, the group decides to make a stand anyway. They head out to Galaxy City to get set for the battle. The group waits for John and his to appear. As she scouts, Raina runs across Antoine, one of John's snipers. She questions him on his loyalty and eventually ends up attacking him to send him back to base to keep him out of the fight for that day.
Returning to her comrades, Raina goes inside to warn the people working in the building of the immanent attack. John's forces arrive soon afterwords and the fight begins. As most battles are, it quickly dissolves into chaos. Eventually, the Havens fighters are forced to pull back (OOCly, we'd had enough of the insanity) and retreat to their base. Watching the news shows them that John's attempt to bomb the building was unsuccessful due to the building's strong architecture.
The group begins to recover when Raina discovers over the comm that Ashley remained behind, determined to stop John. Panicking, Raina headed back out after they heard what sounded like an explosion over the comm. She quickly found and retrieved Ashley, who looked like she had been caught up in the explosion of a bomb. She got her back to base and the medbay as John called her frantically over the comm, begging Raina to save his sister. Raina responds that she cares for her comrades and will ensure Ashley's well being.
Leaving Ashley in the care of the medbay things, Raina goes to join Jack. The two share a moment together, ensuring that the other is safe. Jack presents Raina with an unset cut diamond. While delighted in the present, she senses something troubling Jack. Raina questions and presses him on it. Jack admits that he hates having to put off their happiness until John's threat is ended. Unsure what he means, Raina states that while she agrees that having children right now is a bad idea, she sees no reason for them to delay anything else. Jack responds that he does not want to give John another weakness to use against them. "We're already eachother's weakness, Jack.. and eachother's strength. In our lives.. we can't wait for happiness, we have to take it where we find it."
Agreeing, Jack proposes to her and Raina gleefully accepts. The two then go to the training room where Grim, Kalius, Shadow, and Rusty are. They walk in on an experiment taking place in the training ring. As they waited for them to finish, Raina and Jack informed Kal and Grim of their happy news. The newly engaged couple are congratulated but the happy moment is interrupted when Rusty explodes. Panic ensues and the group rushes the ring to recollect Rusty's parts. Confusion takes hold when Grim is only able to find a small part of Rusty's brain. However, it is soon discovered that Rusty himself has turned into energy and is now bound to his armor itself.
A rule is made that there will be no more explosions allowed in the training area. It is also likely that Shadow will never live down "blowing up a teammate". The group disperses to their respective beds and prepares for another day.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Forgiveness and Plans
"You really need to learn better bed time stories, Jack." - Raina
The next day, Raina's irritation at having been left out of all the latest planning and new information has not lessened. She takes off on her own to do some of her own training. The workout helps calm her nerves and enable her to sort out her emotions and feelings to bring herself back under control. It is enough that when Jack contacts her later about some new developments, she feels somewhat ready to face the others again. She heads back to base and walks into the meeting.
Raina continues to hide her hurt behind cool indifference as she listens to them talk. Sensing that Raina's anger is centered around the fact that she loathes being "behind the times" in information (a true sense of failure for a werecat), Jack brings it to the forefront in stating that they have been leaving Raina out of the loop and should try not to do so in the future. The group apologizes and Grim offers hugs to make up for it.
Talk then turns to developing plans against John's planned attack the next day. Rusty mentions that they should gather other SGs to aide them, an idea that is liked by everyone else. Jack and Raina state that they will go to Galaxy to scout the area and try to figure out how John will most likely attack it. Then another pressing matter is brought up.
Earlier that day, Project White Melody had approached Grim, stating her desire to join them. Given the bad history she has with most of the group, emotions are divided over the idea. Raina herself is aware that they likely need all the help they can get, but she is not willing to forgive Melody over being collared. The matter is put to vote and its a near deadlock, 4 no, 3 yes. Jack regales them with a tale about a woman and a snake, ending with the snake biting and killing the woman, who should have known better than to pick it up. Eventually, it is decided for Jack and Shadow to "interview" her thoroughly and vote again.
That decided, the group splits up to prepare for the next day. Raina and Jack head to Galaxy to scout. They find, disturbingly, that the giant statue of Galaxy Girl could likely be toppled over onto the Freedom Corps' building. However, there is a ray of hope in that the building itself is surrounded by large open areas and steep climbs. They will likely be able to see any attack coming. Ashley voices a concern over the comms about John possibly using the sewers. Jack responds that the traverseable sewers do not extend this far, but Raina says she'll check them tomorrow.
As they finish scouting, Raina overhears a broadcast of a supergroup recruiting "those who would stand against evil". Seizing the opportunity, Raina wastes no time in opening a comm frequency with the man, Master Thorn (memory might be failing me, I'll have to double check this), and strikes up a conversation. She apologizes for the short notice, but tells him of the planned attack on city hall. He responds that while his group is small and busy, they might be able to spare a fighter or two, "My second will most likely take the job." Raina leaves him with her comm frequency as she and Jack decide to head back to base.
On the way back, Jack questions Raina on her childhood, saying that he was curious and had never asked. Raina saddens, but answers, telling Jack about the trials and pains of growing up as a "royal" werecat of her Pride. He is shocked and horrified when she reveals that her own sister, Raisa, killed their youngest siblings when they failed to learn to control their cats. Raina goes on to tell him the werecat "way" of forever seeking perfection and strength. Jack expresses his sorrow that she had to suffer so much as a child, but says he understands now why Raina is so tough.
When asked if those beliefs were still her own, Raina responds with, "I left didn't I?" He then asks her if she wants to have children. Raina affirms that she does desire to have children of her own, but states that they are not a necessity. She goes further to say that she cannot afford to get pregnant with John hunting for them as he does, "I don't think we can afford to lose me as a fighter.. and you know John would use it against us." Jack is saddened, but agrees that they should wait until after these threats are gone. Reaffirming their love, the two head to bed to get ready for the next day's trials.
"So will you sing for our children?"
"I will." -Jack and Raina
The next day, Raina's irritation at having been left out of all the latest planning and new information has not lessened. She takes off on her own to do some of her own training. The workout helps calm her nerves and enable her to sort out her emotions and feelings to bring herself back under control. It is enough that when Jack contacts her later about some new developments, she feels somewhat ready to face the others again. She heads back to base and walks into the meeting.
Raina continues to hide her hurt behind cool indifference as she listens to them talk. Sensing that Raina's anger is centered around the fact that she loathes being "behind the times" in information (a true sense of failure for a werecat), Jack brings it to the forefront in stating that they have been leaving Raina out of the loop and should try not to do so in the future. The group apologizes and Grim offers hugs to make up for it.
Talk then turns to developing plans against John's planned attack the next day. Rusty mentions that they should gather other SGs to aide them, an idea that is liked by everyone else. Jack and Raina state that they will go to Galaxy to scout the area and try to figure out how John will most likely attack it. Then another pressing matter is brought up.
Earlier that day, Project White Melody had approached Grim, stating her desire to join them. Given the bad history she has with most of the group, emotions are divided over the idea. Raina herself is aware that they likely need all the help they can get, but she is not willing to forgive Melody over being collared. The matter is put to vote and its a near deadlock, 4 no, 3 yes. Jack regales them with a tale about a woman and a snake, ending with the snake biting and killing the woman, who should have known better than to pick it up. Eventually, it is decided for Jack and Shadow to "interview" her thoroughly and vote again.
That decided, the group splits up to prepare for the next day. Raina and Jack head to Galaxy to scout. They find, disturbingly, that the giant statue of Galaxy Girl could likely be toppled over onto the Freedom Corps' building. However, there is a ray of hope in that the building itself is surrounded by large open areas and steep climbs. They will likely be able to see any attack coming. Ashley voices a concern over the comms about John possibly using the sewers. Jack responds that the traverseable sewers do not extend this far, but Raina says she'll check them tomorrow.
As they finish scouting, Raina overhears a broadcast of a supergroup recruiting "those who would stand against evil". Seizing the opportunity, Raina wastes no time in opening a comm frequency with the man, Master Thorn (memory might be failing me, I'll have to double check this), and strikes up a conversation. She apologizes for the short notice, but tells him of the planned attack on city hall. He responds that while his group is small and busy, they might be able to spare a fighter or two, "My second will most likely take the job." Raina leaves him with her comm frequency as she and Jack decide to head back to base.
On the way back, Jack questions Raina on her childhood, saying that he was curious and had never asked. Raina saddens, but answers, telling Jack about the trials and pains of growing up as a "royal" werecat of her Pride. He is shocked and horrified when she reveals that her own sister, Raisa, killed their youngest siblings when they failed to learn to control their cats. Raina goes on to tell him the werecat "way" of forever seeking perfection and strength. Jack expresses his sorrow that she had to suffer so much as a child, but says he understands now why Raina is so tough.
When asked if those beliefs were still her own, Raina responds with, "I left didn't I?" He then asks her if she wants to have children. Raina affirms that she does desire to have children of her own, but states that they are not a necessity. She goes further to say that she cannot afford to get pregnant with John hunting for them as he does, "I don't think we can afford to lose me as a fighter.. and you know John would use it against us." Jack is saddened, but agrees that they should wait until after these threats are gone. Reaffirming their love, the two head to bed to get ready for the next day's trials.
"So will you sing for our children?"
"I will." -Jack and Raina
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Forgive and Forget?
"For the second time in a week, I find myself asking your forgiveness." -Jack
The next day finds Raina racing through Steel Canyon. She had scented John there and had noticed that he was once more without any obvious escort. Excited as this opportunity had dropped practically into their laps, Raina called for assistance, but was not answered. She tailed him and watches as he met with some sort of robots. Aware of the foolishness of attempting to take him down by herself, Raina settled for watching from a nearby skyscraper. However more people began to gather around John and she decided that the time for action had passed and left before she was spotted.
She tried a few more times to raise her teammates on the comm and talk to Jack psychically but gradually gave up. She received a coded message from Morris, stating that he was in the D waiting for her. Regretful that Jack would not be able to join her, Raina headed for the D. The two greeted each other warmly and Raina quickly caught Morris up on everything, including John's latest upgrades. As Morris began to offer her new ammo and ordinance, they were interrupted by the arrival of Grim, Rusty and Ashley.
Since Ashley had been a strong supporter of John, Raina and Morris were justifiably hostile and suspicious. However, Raina quickly calmed Morris when Grim explained that Jack had already checked out Ashley. However, upon finding out that the reason that no one had answered her was that they had been training, Raina found herself feeling hurt and left out. Why hadn't she been included in the training? They were a team weren't they? They hadn't even told her that mass training was even planned today. She summoned anger to hide the hurt feelings and, for the most part, tried to ignore them as she talked to Morris.
Morris as always was helpful with suggestions on overcoming John's armor and goons. Even giving them ideas for taking out John's tank when he stormed City Hall later that week, as Ashley warned them he was going to do. Eventually the meeting broke apart with some cryptic words from Xa'phan and the group headed back to base. Still feeling very hurt and angry at having been excluded from training, Raina decided to do a favor for a contact in Independence Port and left.
The contact, a tailor named Lauren, offered her a new outfit in return for convincing the Crey to leave her be. Outside, Raina found plenty of horde monsters to take her anger and hurt out on without any guilt. Jack, realizing how angry Raina was, wisely kept his mouth shut and let Raina do as she liked, but did end up helping her take down the last few Crey that she targeted.
She then headed back to let Lauren know that she shouldn't have any more problems, while Jack headed back to base. In gratitude, Lauren gave Raina a new dress and matching accessories before letting her go. Raina showed up to the base, her anger now a dull simmer. She watched as Grim worked with Ashley until Jack asked to speak to her alone. Agreeing, she followed him up to their room.
There, Jack apologized for leaving her out of the training, stating that it hadn't been intentional and they hadn't realized that she had no way to contact them. Raina cited that her restless cat was making her edgy and temperamental and that she should know better and be able to let go. The two talk and eventually make up and start discussing a new skill, sharing senses. They experiment with first Jack joining with Raina's mind to smell the world as she does. In turn, Raina practices on using Jack's eyes. Eventually, their mutual desires grow to be too much to put off and the two settle to bed in each other's arms.
The next day finds Raina racing through Steel Canyon. She had scented John there and had noticed that he was once more without any obvious escort. Excited as this opportunity had dropped practically into their laps, Raina called for assistance, but was not answered. She tailed him and watches as he met with some sort of robots. Aware of the foolishness of attempting to take him down by herself, Raina settled for watching from a nearby skyscraper. However more people began to gather around John and she decided that the time for action had passed and left before she was spotted.
She tried a few more times to raise her teammates on the comm and talk to Jack psychically but gradually gave up. She received a coded message from Morris, stating that he was in the D waiting for her. Regretful that Jack would not be able to join her, Raina headed for the D. The two greeted each other warmly and Raina quickly caught Morris up on everything, including John's latest upgrades. As Morris began to offer her new ammo and ordinance, they were interrupted by the arrival of Grim, Rusty and Ashley.
Since Ashley had been a strong supporter of John, Raina and Morris were justifiably hostile and suspicious. However, Raina quickly calmed Morris when Grim explained that Jack had already checked out Ashley. However, upon finding out that the reason that no one had answered her was that they had been training, Raina found herself feeling hurt and left out. Why hadn't she been included in the training? They were a team weren't they? They hadn't even told her that mass training was even planned today. She summoned anger to hide the hurt feelings and, for the most part, tried to ignore them as she talked to Morris.
Morris as always was helpful with suggestions on overcoming John's armor and goons. Even giving them ideas for taking out John's tank when he stormed City Hall later that week, as Ashley warned them he was going to do. Eventually the meeting broke apart with some cryptic words from Xa'phan and the group headed back to base. Still feeling very hurt and angry at having been excluded from training, Raina decided to do a favor for a contact in Independence Port and left.
The contact, a tailor named Lauren, offered her a new outfit in return for convincing the Crey to leave her be. Outside, Raina found plenty of horde monsters to take her anger and hurt out on without any guilt. Jack, realizing how angry Raina was, wisely kept his mouth shut and let Raina do as she liked, but did end up helping her take down the last few Crey that she targeted.
She then headed back to let Lauren know that she shouldn't have any more problems, while Jack headed back to base. In gratitude, Lauren gave Raina a new dress and matching accessories before letting her go. Raina showed up to the base, her anger now a dull simmer. She watched as Grim worked with Ashley until Jack asked to speak to her alone. Agreeing, she followed him up to their room.
There, Jack apologized for leaving her out of the training, stating that it hadn't been intentional and they hadn't realized that she had no way to contact them. Raina cited that her restless cat was making her edgy and temperamental and that she should know better and be able to let go. The two talk and eventually make up and start discussing a new skill, sharing senses. They experiment with first Jack joining with Raina's mind to smell the world as she does. In turn, Raina practices on using Jack's eyes. Eventually, their mutual desires grow to be too much to put off and the two settle to bed in each other's arms.
A Child's Name
"Why not? Raina is a beautiful name." - Jack Whitney aka Mindstryker
The next day is relatively quiet. Raina spends the majority of it sleeping to recover and be able to fight the next day. She suffers several nightmares throughout the day, dreaming of blood and death. Eventually waking, Raina wanders down to find her friends. They are happy to see her up and, mostly, painfree. They tell her of the massacre that occurred with the FBSA's investigation, that Jack instigated. Two agents and a reporter were sent to John's base a subsequently killed. However, one of the agents managed to send a distress call before being killed. A strike force was sent to retrieve the fallen agents but was also wiped out. Raina is saddened but says that she expected such news. They state than John has gone underground and Raina says that she feels he's planning something "very bad" due to the constantly restless state of her cat.
She then excuses herself when Parallel contacts her for an update. She tells him of the massacre and laments at the necessity of the wasted lives. Parallel offers what comfort he can and then reminds her of the device he gave her. He then tells her that he found out that he's going to be a father and wishes to name his child, if it's a girl, after her. While touched by the gesture, Raina is angered that he is sill willing to go through with the device plan. She tells him flatly that while she may not like her own family, she will not deny another theirs and will destroy the device as soon as possible. She tells Parallel that she and the others will come up with another plan.
Returning to her friends, Raina finds that they have all left except for Jack. Raina goes to him and takes out the device and crushes it under her boot in front of him, stating that a new plan will be needed. Curious, Jack asks what changed and she tells him the full scope of the plan and the new fact that Parallel is going to be a father. Jack agrees that the reward is not worth the risk of depriving a child of its father. Raina tells him how Parallel intends to name his child, if its a daughter, after her and he likes the idea. Jack then admits to being amused how lewd or dirty thoughts don't bother Raina but compliments make her blush.
Kalius appears and they tell him that their items are done but that he just missed Grim. Kalius isn't bothered and quickly retrieves his bracer from the room they share. Kalius also explains to Raina and Jack the specifics of how the amulets work. After he departs, Raina and Jack talk about an offer Shadow made to Raina. She explains to Jack that Shadow wanted to make a permanent link with her mind, similar to what she had with Jack. The benefits would be that Shadow could communicate with her from anywhere with easy and more easily transfer magic to her. However, Raina was apprehensive about anyone else in her head and wanted to talk to Jack first. She presented the idea to him along with her reservations about it. Jack pointed out that she may not be able to physically handle that many people in her head since she might not be able to process so much information. He also admits to being somewhat possessive and not wanting to share her with anyone else. Touched, Raina agrees to not take Shadow up on his offer. The two then head back to bed to prepare for what the next day holds.
The next day is relatively quiet. Raina spends the majority of it sleeping to recover and be able to fight the next day. She suffers several nightmares throughout the day, dreaming of blood and death. Eventually waking, Raina wanders down to find her friends. They are happy to see her up and, mostly, painfree. They tell her of the massacre that occurred with the FBSA's investigation, that Jack instigated. Two agents and a reporter were sent to John's base a subsequently killed. However, one of the agents managed to send a distress call before being killed. A strike force was sent to retrieve the fallen agents but was also wiped out. Raina is saddened but says that she expected such news. They state than John has gone underground and Raina says that she feels he's planning something "very bad" due to the constantly restless state of her cat.
She then excuses herself when Parallel contacts her for an update. She tells him of the massacre and laments at the necessity of the wasted lives. Parallel offers what comfort he can and then reminds her of the device he gave her. He then tells her that he found out that he's going to be a father and wishes to name his child, if it's a girl, after her. While touched by the gesture, Raina is angered that he is sill willing to go through with the device plan. She tells him flatly that while she may not like her own family, she will not deny another theirs and will destroy the device as soon as possible. She tells Parallel that she and the others will come up with another plan.
Returning to her friends, Raina finds that they have all left except for Jack. Raina goes to him and takes out the device and crushes it under her boot in front of him, stating that a new plan will be needed. Curious, Jack asks what changed and she tells him the full scope of the plan and the new fact that Parallel is going to be a father. Jack agrees that the reward is not worth the risk of depriving a child of its father. Raina tells him how Parallel intends to name his child, if its a daughter, after her and he likes the idea. Jack then admits to being amused how lewd or dirty thoughts don't bother Raina but compliments make her blush.
Kalius appears and they tell him that their items are done but that he just missed Grim. Kalius isn't bothered and quickly retrieves his bracer from the room they share. Kalius also explains to Raina and Jack the specifics of how the amulets work. After he departs, Raina and Jack talk about an offer Shadow made to Raina. She explains to Jack that Shadow wanted to make a permanent link with her mind, similar to what she had with Jack. The benefits would be that Shadow could communicate with her from anywhere with easy and more easily transfer magic to her. However, Raina was apprehensive about anyone else in her head and wanted to talk to Jack first. She presented the idea to him along with her reservations about it. Jack pointed out that she may not be able to physically handle that many people in her head since she might not be able to process so much information. He also admits to being somewhat possessive and not wanting to share her with anyone else. Touched, Raina agrees to not take Shadow up on his offer. The two then head back to bed to prepare for what the next day holds.
Getting Stronger
"We all need to become stronger, Jack." -Raina, before revealing her new armor to Jack
Raina wakes in severe pain, her body still revolting over the last battle. She goes with Jack to the workshop to work on some new ideas he has. Raina also spends time designing and creating armor for herself. The challenge is to make armor that while durable is light so that it will not hinder or slow her movements. In the afternoon, Jack gets an idea and excuses himself, but Raina continues her work.
Eventually, Grim finds her and inquires to what she is doing. Raina shows him the armor and remarks that it is still too heavy and she can't figure out how to make it lighter without sacrificing integrity. Grim picks it up and responds that the armor feels light to him. Grim then exclaims that he finished enchanting their items and leaves to go get hers. Raina puts on a pair of sunglasses that act as a summoning device for it and summons her armor on. Grim remarks that she looks much tougher before offering her the brooch. Raina puts on her brooch and thanks Grim before taking off the armor and resuming her "normal" look.
The two talk and Grim starts to talk about his new relationship with Kalius when Rusty interrupts. Amused, Raina tells Rusty how glad she is to see him all right and Grim goes to fetch Rusty's, now enchanted, mask. They discuss how John is growing more determined to get them all. Grim says that its just because John hates him, but Raina adds that John believes that their rebellion will stop with her death. Grim ends her worries over that by stating, "You won't die, I won't let you."
They decide to go ahead and keep training, but Raina states that her body still hasn't recovered and that she has things to work on in the workshop still. Before long, Jack shows up with his arm bandaged. Raina moves to greet him and tells him that Grim has finished with their items. Jack nods and then says that he needs to talk to her about something. Relaxed, Raina asks what he needs. Jack talks about how he hates being taken down so easily in battle and should be able to protect his friends and especially the woman he cares about better. Raina responds that he's not as weak as he thinks and that they all need to become stronger, showing him her new armor. Jack is impressed by the outfit and states that she looks very attractive in it as well. He then explains that he's developed a new technique. Having discovered in the RWZ that he could turn on all of someone's pain receptors at once, he experimented with and was successful with turning them off on himself as well.
Raina is stunned, instantly able to see all the ways this could go wrong. Parallel happens to contact her right then as well, and she tells him what Jack is doing. Parallel responds that he's attempted it in the past with less than satisfactory results. However, Jack refuses to be dissuaded and shows her his arm, revealing the terrible burns on it gotten from holding it in a fire. Neither he nor her had felt the burning. Raina however, is hurt that Jack hadn't even talked to her about it before going through with it. Jack responds that he knew she wouldn't like the idea and thus hadn't wanted to mention it. Resigned, Raina goes with him to the medbay to start treating the burns.
While they're there, Raina proposes allowing Jack to take some of her blood to increase his healing ability to compensate for the damage he would sustain with his pain turned off. Jack refuses and Raina looses her temper and storms off. Forgetting herself, she heads to the training area, but stops when someone she doesn't recognize comes through the entrance. Pissed off, Raina unsheathes her claws but is subdued when Rusty comes and defuses the situation. In no mood to be hospitable, Raina stalks to the training area and forces her taxed body to go through training in her new armor. This action is quickly regretted when her body gives out, reminding her that her bones were still recovering. The two cool off and Jack comes to tend her as they talk and apologize.
Eventually Grim, Rusty, and a newcomer Keen Frost appear. Grim and Rusty are giving Frost a tour of the base. They find the two lovers in the training area and tease them about being a fixture in the base. Raina threatens to throw something at Grim if she could move. Briefly concerned, Jack explains that Raina just overdid it in training. Rusty then demonstrates that a friend of Grim's has strengthened him so that he won't fall apart after a hit or two. They then move off to continue the tour and Raina insists on getting up to join them. She leans heavily on Jack, but manages to make it to the magic room.
Eventually Frost offers his help in their "war" and Raina warns him that it'll be dangerous since "John plays for keeps." They talk for sometime longer, explaining their convictions on why John must be stopped. Frost then manages to determine that Raina and Jack are mentally linked. Mentioning a weakness to psionics, Jack offers to help him build defenses against them. Raina then suffers a bout of pain and Jack takes her to bed to rest after bidding Frost farewell.
Raina wakes in severe pain, her body still revolting over the last battle. She goes with Jack to the workshop to work on some new ideas he has. Raina also spends time designing and creating armor for herself. The challenge is to make armor that while durable is light so that it will not hinder or slow her movements. In the afternoon, Jack gets an idea and excuses himself, but Raina continues her work.
Eventually, Grim finds her and inquires to what she is doing. Raina shows him the armor and remarks that it is still too heavy and she can't figure out how to make it lighter without sacrificing integrity. Grim picks it up and responds that the armor feels light to him. Grim then exclaims that he finished enchanting their items and leaves to go get hers. Raina puts on a pair of sunglasses that act as a summoning device for it and summons her armor on. Grim remarks that she looks much tougher before offering her the brooch. Raina puts on her brooch and thanks Grim before taking off the armor and resuming her "normal" look.
The two talk and Grim starts to talk about his new relationship with Kalius when Rusty interrupts. Amused, Raina tells Rusty how glad she is to see him all right and Grim goes to fetch Rusty's, now enchanted, mask. They discuss how John is growing more determined to get them all. Grim says that its just because John hates him, but Raina adds that John believes that their rebellion will stop with her death. Grim ends her worries over that by stating, "You won't die, I won't let you."
They decide to go ahead and keep training, but Raina states that her body still hasn't recovered and that she has things to work on in the workshop still. Before long, Jack shows up with his arm bandaged. Raina moves to greet him and tells him that Grim has finished with their items. Jack nods and then says that he needs to talk to her about something. Relaxed, Raina asks what he needs. Jack talks about how he hates being taken down so easily in battle and should be able to protect his friends and especially the woman he cares about better. Raina responds that he's not as weak as he thinks and that they all need to become stronger, showing him her new armor. Jack is impressed by the outfit and states that she looks very attractive in it as well. He then explains that he's developed a new technique. Having discovered in the RWZ that he could turn on all of someone's pain receptors at once, he experimented with and was successful with turning them off on himself as well.
Raina is stunned, instantly able to see all the ways this could go wrong. Parallel happens to contact her right then as well, and she tells him what Jack is doing. Parallel responds that he's attempted it in the past with less than satisfactory results. However, Jack refuses to be dissuaded and shows her his arm, revealing the terrible burns on it gotten from holding it in a fire. Neither he nor her had felt the burning. Raina however, is hurt that Jack hadn't even talked to her about it before going through with it. Jack responds that he knew she wouldn't like the idea and thus hadn't wanted to mention it. Resigned, Raina goes with him to the medbay to start treating the burns.
While they're there, Raina proposes allowing Jack to take some of her blood to increase his healing ability to compensate for the damage he would sustain with his pain turned off. Jack refuses and Raina looses her temper and storms off. Forgetting herself, she heads to the training area, but stops when someone she doesn't recognize comes through the entrance. Pissed off, Raina unsheathes her claws but is subdued when Rusty comes and defuses the situation. In no mood to be hospitable, Raina stalks to the training area and forces her taxed body to go through training in her new armor. This action is quickly regretted when her body gives out, reminding her that her bones were still recovering. The two cool off and Jack comes to tend her as they talk and apologize.
Eventually Grim, Rusty, and a newcomer Keen Frost appear. Grim and Rusty are giving Frost a tour of the base. They find the two lovers in the training area and tease them about being a fixture in the base. Raina threatens to throw something at Grim if she could move. Briefly concerned, Jack explains that Raina just overdid it in training. Rusty then demonstrates that a friend of Grim's has strengthened him so that he won't fall apart after a hit or two. They then move off to continue the tour and Raina insists on getting up to join them. She leans heavily on Jack, but manages to make it to the magic room.
Eventually Frost offers his help in their "war" and Raina warns him that it'll be dangerous since "John plays for keeps." They talk for sometime longer, explaining their convictions on why John must be stopped. Frost then manages to determine that Raina and Jack are mentally linked. Mentioning a weakness to psionics, Jack offers to help him build defenses against them. Raina then suffers a bout of pain and Jack takes her to bed to rest after bidding Frost farewell.
Weaker Apart
"The problem is you, Raina. When you die, this rebellion ends." - John to Raina over the comm
Today finds the heroes working together to run missions and help the people of the city, wanting to forget John for the moment. This involves dealing with the supernatural invasion and defeating a base of sky raiders. As they're heading to their next lead, Grim suddenly has an idea and flies off. The group decides to take care of some errands in hopes of Grim rejoining them before the next mission. However a burst of static startles them and Raina immediately demands a roll call.
"Count off.. Raina!"
"Rusty"
"Jack"
They quickly determine that the burst of static was Grim who now cannot be raised on the comm. Remember that he mentioned that he was heading to the midnighter club, the 3 head there. A fast search fails to turn up Grim. At the same time, they realize that Grim may not have ever made it to the place. They head back out and split up to search the city for him. Raina eventually picks up his scent but can't place it. Jack and Rusty are quick to join her.
As they try to determine where Grim is, John comes out of no where and lands on Jack, severely injuring him. Recovering fast and furious, Raina leaps to tackle John off Jack, but is forced to avoid Griff's blade swipe and gets cut in the process. The ensuing fight is messy and painful. Raina deals out some blows to John but is forced to break off to go take out the sniper who is focusing on Jack.
Raina is forced to shift her form almost every minute to continually heal new wounds. In the end Raina let Final Slash and the sniper Antoine go, but fought nearly to the death with Griff. She manages to knock out the swordsman through almost pure luck and slashes his leg muscles to incapacitate him before leaping out the window of the store they had gone through to check on her friends.
Adrenaline was blocking much of the pain she should be feeling. She finds that Jack is gone, but determines that he was mediported out. She can find no sign of Rusty but does find Grim naked, wounded, and unconscious on the nearby stairs. His body is covered in some sort of black tar. Weary and not really caring what is on him, she activates his mediport to send him back to the base.
She also finds a healing Bladeless nearby and teleports back to the base with him. Exhausted, Raina asks Bladeless to help her get to medbay to see to Jack and Grim. Her adrenaline is rapidly wearing off and her body is starting to hand her the bill for the last fight. She hears Kalius sign in and immediately orders him to come to the base immediately. Forcing herself to keep going, Raina goes out to the hallway to meet him. She tells him that Grim was hurt again and about the fight. Kalius immediately goes to check on Grim himself while Raina leans against the wall, trying not to collapse as her pain grows.
Bladeless offers to help her back to the medbay and leaves soon afterwards. Raina ignores Grim and Kalius for the most part, focused on getting to the chair next to Jack's bed and collapsing into it. She quickly falls asleep and eventually slips to the floor, curling up there. While she sleeps, Grim recovers through a combination of his own magic and the gift she gave him the day before. He and Kalius talk before Grim gets dressed and works to heal the near mortal wounds on Jack.
Paul Wolfe shows up and tells them about a news story being circulated labeling them as villains, but assures them that it will be retracted within the hour by his military contacts. Kalius goes to move Raina onto a bed, but she shrieks in pain when he shifts her and he leaves her where she is. However, the movements have woken her up, Jack has also stirred.
Raina, still prone, manages a weak greeting to Wolfe who then leaves, saying he's going to go pay John a visit. Grim and Kalius try to talk him out of it, but Raina tells them that Wolfe is only risking his own life by choice. Raina manages to stand through sheer will and eventually Grim and Kalius leave as well to go find Rusty.
Raina and Jack manage a short conversation as Raina eases herself onto the bed and they both fall into a healing sleep. Sometime later, they wake and decide to move to check out the newly redone living areas. Raina's bones, overworked through the multiple shifts during the last fight, make moving extremely painful for her. They talk for a short time about further plans and come up with the idea for Grim to create links for himself to them so he can send them power without needing to be physically touching him. Raina is quick to offer her brooch as her item for the ritual, but warns that the brooch is already magicked.
Unable to take the pain anymore, Raina retires to a newly made bedroom with Jack and falls asleep with her equally weary love.
Today finds the heroes working together to run missions and help the people of the city, wanting to forget John for the moment. This involves dealing with the supernatural invasion and defeating a base of sky raiders. As they're heading to their next lead, Grim suddenly has an idea and flies off. The group decides to take care of some errands in hopes of Grim rejoining them before the next mission. However a burst of static startles them and Raina immediately demands a roll call.
"Count off.. Raina!"
"Rusty"
"Jack"
They quickly determine that the burst of static was Grim who now cannot be raised on the comm. Remember that he mentioned that he was heading to the midnighter club, the 3 head there. A fast search fails to turn up Grim. At the same time, they realize that Grim may not have ever made it to the place. They head back out and split up to search the city for him. Raina eventually picks up his scent but can't place it. Jack and Rusty are quick to join her.
As they try to determine where Grim is, John comes out of no where and lands on Jack, severely injuring him. Recovering fast and furious, Raina leaps to tackle John off Jack, but is forced to avoid Griff's blade swipe and gets cut in the process. The ensuing fight is messy and painful. Raina deals out some blows to John but is forced to break off to go take out the sniper who is focusing on Jack.
Raina is forced to shift her form almost every minute to continually heal new wounds. In the end Raina let Final Slash and the sniper Antoine go, but fought nearly to the death with Griff. She manages to knock out the swordsman through almost pure luck and slashes his leg muscles to incapacitate him before leaping out the window of the store they had gone through to check on her friends.
Adrenaline was blocking much of the pain she should be feeling. She finds that Jack is gone, but determines that he was mediported out. She can find no sign of Rusty but does find Grim naked, wounded, and unconscious on the nearby stairs. His body is covered in some sort of black tar. Weary and not really caring what is on him, she activates his mediport to send him back to the base.
She also finds a healing Bladeless nearby and teleports back to the base with him. Exhausted, Raina asks Bladeless to help her get to medbay to see to Jack and Grim. Her adrenaline is rapidly wearing off and her body is starting to hand her the bill for the last fight. She hears Kalius sign in and immediately orders him to come to the base immediately. Forcing herself to keep going, Raina goes out to the hallway to meet him. She tells him that Grim was hurt again and about the fight. Kalius immediately goes to check on Grim himself while Raina leans against the wall, trying not to collapse as her pain grows.
Bladeless offers to help her back to the medbay and leaves soon afterwards. Raina ignores Grim and Kalius for the most part, focused on getting to the chair next to Jack's bed and collapsing into it. She quickly falls asleep and eventually slips to the floor, curling up there. While she sleeps, Grim recovers through a combination of his own magic and the gift she gave him the day before. He and Kalius talk before Grim gets dressed and works to heal the near mortal wounds on Jack.
Paul Wolfe shows up and tells them about a news story being circulated labeling them as villains, but assures them that it will be retracted within the hour by his military contacts. Kalius goes to move Raina onto a bed, but she shrieks in pain when he shifts her and he leaves her where she is. However, the movements have woken her up, Jack has also stirred.
Raina, still prone, manages a weak greeting to Wolfe who then leaves, saying he's going to go pay John a visit. Grim and Kalius try to talk him out of it, but Raina tells them that Wolfe is only risking his own life by choice. Raina manages to stand through sheer will and eventually Grim and Kalius leave as well to go find Rusty.
Raina and Jack manage a short conversation as Raina eases herself onto the bed and they both fall into a healing sleep. Sometime later, they wake and decide to move to check out the newly redone living areas. Raina's bones, overworked through the multiple shifts during the last fight, make moving extremely painful for her. They talk for a short time about further plans and come up with the idea for Grim to create links for himself to them so he can send them power without needing to be physically touching him. Raina is quick to offer her brooch as her item for the ritual, but warns that the brooch is already magicked.
Unable to take the pain anymore, Raina retires to a newly made bedroom with Jack and falls asleep with her equally weary love.
Testing Friendship
"What was that place?"
"Hell, Hades, Tartarus..."
~Raina after being sent 'elsewhere' by Grim
Raina wakes before Jack and decides to head out on her own and train. She decides to use the local invasion of supernatural creatures to refine her techniques. While fighting she is joined by a helpful demon. She scents him and agrees to join forces for the time being. As they fight the demon drops compliments on her grace and skill, to which Raina replies in kind. The demon introduces himself as Dysio and gradually begins to grow more bold with touching her, and eventually, a bit confused, Raina claims that she needs to leave and does.
Later Raina is approached by Dysio again in the D, who starts coming on to her again, trying to overwhelm her with his influence as an incubus. Raina is at first oblivious and confused to why she scent's Jack when her love is not present. Apparently, Dysio's body is supposed to be producing scents that attract Raina, but all she smells is Jack. Dysio tries to push harder, stating that she smells Jack because fate is pushing her towards him and that he can show her pure pleasure. Repulsed and offended, Raina hashly rejects the incubus, stating that she's already found "bliss" with Jack and does not need an incubus. She even berates him for not knowing that he cannot lure someone who's already in love with another.
As Raina leaves to head back to base, Parallel contacts her. Remembering how Jack told her that Parallel has sided with John, Raina violently rebukes him and orders him to stay out of her head or face her cat. Confused but apologetic, Parallel agrees and breaks contact. She arrives and finds Jack gone and is curious when she is unable to contact him. However, a short time later she hears a frantic cry for help over the comm.. its Grim. Not wasting time with questions, she asks Grim where he is. The white mage is able to respond, "Raina, help! John's base!" before his communicator is destroyed. Panicking and unable to contact any of her allies, Raina finds that she's the only one available to rescue him. Knowing that attempting to storm the villain base would be foolhardy and suicidal she searches for another solution and finds it in the mediport system. Quickly jerry-rigging the mediport interface and doing one of her sloppiest hack jobs ever, she manages to trigger Grim's mediport beacon and brings him to the base.
Running to the base entrance, she finds Grim's body, half mutilated and unconscious. Horrified and worried for her friend, Raina scoops him up and gets him to medbay. She wakes him up and Grim immediately starts trying to heal himself. Raina sees what John has done to Grim's private parts and knows that the damage is likely to extensive for the white mage to ever heal right. She offers him a way to fully heal himself, the same way she healed Morris and Valos. Grim accepts and agrees to tell no one.
Her method heals the main damage but it remains to be seen whether it will be able to fully undo what John did. Her concern passed, fury takes its place and Raina gets out her PDA to hack into the VoPC comm signal where she lets John have it. However, midway through another voice, also apparently against John speaks up. Raina offers to meet with that voice, citing their mutual dislike for the power-hungry megalomaniac. The voice, Paul Wolfe, agrees and states that he will contact her later.
Partially recovered, Grim recounts how he was captured and expresses his need to vent. Raina offers to continue his hand to hand combat training. They go to the newly completed training area, courtesy of Rusty, and after some protective wards from Shadow, begin their mock combat. Raina wins at first, but Grim resorts to magic for the second one and casts his HOLD!spell on her, making the unprepared Raina vanish.
She reappears, badly shaken, a few moments later. Grim states that he sent her to a place that the closest description for was the underworld. Shaken up, Raina ends the training as Rusty and Jack show up. They inform their allies of what has transpired and Jack immediately vows vengeance. Their chance comes sooner than expected with a call to Raina from Paul Wolfe. Wolfe offers to meet with them in Steel Canyon. Excited to meet this new ally, Raina immediately insists that they go to meet him.
It doesn't take long for the group to come together and they start to talk when John appears, "So this is where the cool kids hang out." Realizing that he is alone, the group spreads out, wanting to take this chance to take him down. Wolfe attempts, to Raina's protests, to offer to dual John one-on-one. However, John attempts to attack Raina and the fight is on. Well outnumbered, the group badly injures and mauls the maniac. However, his armor teleports him away right as Raina tries to deliver the finishing blow. Frustrated at being denied a kill, Raina rants for a few moments and then calms as Rusty hypothesizes that this may have only been a test of their skills.
While they talk, Grim gathers up as much of John's spilled blood as he can get. Wolfe agrees to work with them to eliminate John. As they ready to split ways for the time being, they find Project White Melody recruiting a child to serve in the "Phalanx of Paragon". Angry, the group confronts her about the lies she's feeding the child and is surprised to find that Melody still believes John to be dead. Grim proves her wrong by showing her the bloody shirt, which she scans and reveals to be John's DNA. She leaves to report the find to Hero Corps.
Rusty then tells them that he doesn't believe it necessary to kill John. Grim's torture and the video John had sent her several weeks ago are fresh memories for Raina. She snaps and yells at Rusty, showing him the videos and demanding that if he thinks any prison could hold that. Sensing her close to the edge of her control, Jack attempts to calm the werecat, but she's in no mood for it. Parallel then approaches and asks to speak with Raina alone.
Mistrustful, pissed off, but aware that she needs a break before she loses it completely, Raina heads to the top of a nearby statue to talk with Parallel. The conversation does not start well:
"Raina, I'm on your side, I want to help you."
"Bullshit." -Parallel. and Raina
However, through the ensuing conversation, Parallel reveals that he is only trying to get John to trust him. He then offers Raina a small device that, once activated, will send anyone within a 12 foot radius to a far away dimension. However, the backlash will also send Parallel to that dimension as well. Somewhat hopeful, Raina asks how will Parallel get back, "I may not trust you.. but I don't want you dead either." Parallel responds that she simply needs to leave that beacon on. Raina agrees and thanks him before heading back down to rejoin her friends. As she waits for them to finish their discussion she finds a tracking device left in the object and disables it. The group has had enough for now and decide to head back to base.
Kalius arrives and is told what happened. Meanwhile Jack and Raina go to spend sometime together in order to help Raina calm down and lose her building anger. As Jack helps Raina vent and relax, they get a quiet call on the comm from Grim, "We have trouble in the D." They quickly go to find and backup their friends but are stopped midway by Dysio.
Angry, Raina warns Jack of Dysio's abilities and they eventually walk away, deciding that the demon was nothing to worry about. They find that Grim and Kalius are trying to persuade a hero from joining John's group. At his request for proof, Grim offers to drop his pants and Raina offers her PDA. Through the ensuing argument, and after John's departure, the person they were trying to dissuade is actually just putting on a front and intends to try to take him down from the inside.
Knowing that they've all already been that route and failed, they wish him luck and offer sanctuary if he ever needs it before leaving themselves. Arriving back at the base, Raina, Jack, and Grim run into Bladeless. After a short verbal spat, Grim declares that Bladeless raped him in the past and storms off. Stunned for a moment, Raina wavers and Jack encourages her to go after Grim while he deals with Bladeless.
Raina follows after Grim and finds him in the library. She gently explains that Bladeless had arrived yesterday and had not known they were there. She also says that she and Jack had checked him out mentally, adding on that they "were not gentle". Grim snaps that he will never work with Bladeless as Jack arrives to join them. They respond that they can accept that and reaffirm that they are his friends and that they will make Bladeless suffer if he even threatens Grim.
The group, joined by Kalius, heads out to do some missions and remind themselves why they're heroes. However, Raina, weary from the events of the day, quickly tires and is sent back with Jack to rest. The two end up cuddling on the couch and discussing the days events and whether or not John deserves death. Jack says that his father told him that they are on a slippery slope, Raina responds that she'll make sure that Jack does not fall.
"Hell, Hades, Tartarus..."
~Raina after being sent 'elsewhere' by Grim
Raina wakes before Jack and decides to head out on her own and train. She decides to use the local invasion of supernatural creatures to refine her techniques. While fighting she is joined by a helpful demon. She scents him and agrees to join forces for the time being. As they fight the demon drops compliments on her grace and skill, to which Raina replies in kind. The demon introduces himself as Dysio and gradually begins to grow more bold with touching her, and eventually, a bit confused, Raina claims that she needs to leave and does.
Later Raina is approached by Dysio again in the D, who starts coming on to her again, trying to overwhelm her with his influence as an incubus. Raina is at first oblivious and confused to why she scent's Jack when her love is not present. Apparently, Dysio's body is supposed to be producing scents that attract Raina, but all she smells is Jack. Dysio tries to push harder, stating that she smells Jack because fate is pushing her towards him and that he can show her pure pleasure. Repulsed and offended, Raina hashly rejects the incubus, stating that she's already found "bliss" with Jack and does not need an incubus. She even berates him for not knowing that he cannot lure someone who's already in love with another.
As Raina leaves to head back to base, Parallel contacts her. Remembering how Jack told her that Parallel has sided with John, Raina violently rebukes him and orders him to stay out of her head or face her cat. Confused but apologetic, Parallel agrees and breaks contact. She arrives and finds Jack gone and is curious when she is unable to contact him. However, a short time later she hears a frantic cry for help over the comm.. its Grim. Not wasting time with questions, she asks Grim where he is. The white mage is able to respond, "Raina, help! John's base!" before his communicator is destroyed. Panicking and unable to contact any of her allies, Raina finds that she's the only one available to rescue him. Knowing that attempting to storm the villain base would be foolhardy and suicidal she searches for another solution and finds it in the mediport system. Quickly jerry-rigging the mediport interface and doing one of her sloppiest hack jobs ever, she manages to trigger Grim's mediport beacon and brings him to the base.
Running to the base entrance, she finds Grim's body, half mutilated and unconscious. Horrified and worried for her friend, Raina scoops him up and gets him to medbay. She wakes him up and Grim immediately starts trying to heal himself. Raina sees what John has done to Grim's private parts and knows that the damage is likely to extensive for the white mage to ever heal right. She offers him a way to fully heal himself, the same way she healed Morris and Valos. Grim accepts and agrees to tell no one.
Her method heals the main damage but it remains to be seen whether it will be able to fully undo what John did. Her concern passed, fury takes its place and Raina gets out her PDA to hack into the VoPC comm signal where she lets John have it. However, midway through another voice, also apparently against John speaks up. Raina offers to meet with that voice, citing their mutual dislike for the power-hungry megalomaniac. The voice, Paul Wolfe, agrees and states that he will contact her later.
Partially recovered, Grim recounts how he was captured and expresses his need to vent. Raina offers to continue his hand to hand combat training. They go to the newly completed training area, courtesy of Rusty, and after some protective wards from Shadow, begin their mock combat. Raina wins at first, but Grim resorts to magic for the second one and casts his HOLD!spell on her, making the unprepared Raina vanish.
She reappears, badly shaken, a few moments later. Grim states that he sent her to a place that the closest description for was the underworld. Shaken up, Raina ends the training as Rusty and Jack show up. They inform their allies of what has transpired and Jack immediately vows vengeance. Their chance comes sooner than expected with a call to Raina from Paul Wolfe. Wolfe offers to meet with them in Steel Canyon. Excited to meet this new ally, Raina immediately insists that they go to meet him.
It doesn't take long for the group to come together and they start to talk when John appears, "So this is where the cool kids hang out." Realizing that he is alone, the group spreads out, wanting to take this chance to take him down. Wolfe attempts, to Raina's protests, to offer to dual John one-on-one. However, John attempts to attack Raina and the fight is on. Well outnumbered, the group badly injures and mauls the maniac. However, his armor teleports him away right as Raina tries to deliver the finishing blow. Frustrated at being denied a kill, Raina rants for a few moments and then calms as Rusty hypothesizes that this may have only been a test of their skills.
While they talk, Grim gathers up as much of John's spilled blood as he can get. Wolfe agrees to work with them to eliminate John. As they ready to split ways for the time being, they find Project White Melody recruiting a child to serve in the "Phalanx of Paragon". Angry, the group confronts her about the lies she's feeding the child and is surprised to find that Melody still believes John to be dead. Grim proves her wrong by showing her the bloody shirt, which she scans and reveals to be John's DNA. She leaves to report the find to Hero Corps.
Rusty then tells them that he doesn't believe it necessary to kill John. Grim's torture and the video John had sent her several weeks ago are fresh memories for Raina. She snaps and yells at Rusty, showing him the videos and demanding that if he thinks any prison could hold that. Sensing her close to the edge of her control, Jack attempts to calm the werecat, but she's in no mood for it. Parallel then approaches and asks to speak with Raina alone.
Mistrustful, pissed off, but aware that she needs a break before she loses it completely, Raina heads to the top of a nearby statue to talk with Parallel. The conversation does not start well:
"Raina, I'm on your side, I want to help you."
"Bullshit." -Parallel. and Raina
However, through the ensuing conversation, Parallel reveals that he is only trying to get John to trust him. He then offers Raina a small device that, once activated, will send anyone within a 12 foot radius to a far away dimension. However, the backlash will also send Parallel to that dimension as well. Somewhat hopeful, Raina asks how will Parallel get back, "I may not trust you.. but I don't want you dead either." Parallel responds that she simply needs to leave that beacon on. Raina agrees and thanks him before heading back down to rejoin her friends. As she waits for them to finish their discussion she finds a tracking device left in the object and disables it. The group has had enough for now and decide to head back to base.
Kalius arrives and is told what happened. Meanwhile Jack and Raina go to spend sometime together in order to help Raina calm down and lose her building anger. As Jack helps Raina vent and relax, they get a quiet call on the comm from Grim, "We have trouble in the D." They quickly go to find and backup their friends but are stopped midway by Dysio.
Angry, Raina warns Jack of Dysio's abilities and they eventually walk away, deciding that the demon was nothing to worry about. They find that Grim and Kalius are trying to persuade a hero from joining John's group. At his request for proof, Grim offers to drop his pants and Raina offers her PDA. Through the ensuing argument, and after John's departure, the person they were trying to dissuade is actually just putting on a front and intends to try to take him down from the inside.
Knowing that they've all already been that route and failed, they wish him luck and offer sanctuary if he ever needs it before leaving themselves. Arriving back at the base, Raina, Jack, and Grim run into Bladeless. After a short verbal spat, Grim declares that Bladeless raped him in the past and storms off. Stunned for a moment, Raina wavers and Jack encourages her to go after Grim while he deals with Bladeless.
Raina follows after Grim and finds him in the library. She gently explains that Bladeless had arrived yesterday and had not known they were there. She also says that she and Jack had checked him out mentally, adding on that they "were not gentle". Grim snaps that he will never work with Bladeless as Jack arrives to join them. They respond that they can accept that and reaffirm that they are his friends and that they will make Bladeless suffer if he even threatens Grim.
The group, joined by Kalius, heads out to do some missions and remind themselves why they're heroes. However, Raina, weary from the events of the day, quickly tires and is sent back with Jack to rest. The two end up cuddling on the couch and discussing the days events and whether or not John deserves death. Jack says that his father told him that they are on a slippery slope, Raina responds that she'll make sure that Jack does not fall.
Training Day
"Talk with you in private, away from my friends? I'm not that stupid, John." -Raina Sylvir
Raina comes in to find that Jack is giving lessons in hand to hand combat to Grimaulkin in the base. Amused and pretending to be miffed at being left out, Raina settles back to watch and offer advice. She ends up taking a more active role in guiding Grim's movements so that he can learn the basics correctly. The lesson proves to be a success due to Grim being a quick study and he is soon practicing punching basics. In turn, Grim teaches them about conjuring a protective circle. Raina states that it is unlikely she can conjure anything since her magic is bound in her blood. However, she encourages Jack to go ahead and try.
Jack successfully conjures a protective circle and goes into a trance. Raina appears to do the same, but in truth is being contacted telepathically by Shadow and her old friend Parallel. Parallel, whom she knew as Amorphic, tells her that he thinks he can banish John to another realm but in doing so, will be banished himself. Not wanting to risk her friend, Raina at first refuses the idea, but then considers it when she asks if there's anyway to improve Parallel's chances of returning. The dimension shifting hero responds that if she can find and activate a dimensional beacon, he should be able to find and return to it.
Coming back to the event at hand, right as Jack banishes his circle, Raina presents the idea and states that they need to find a dimensional beacon asap. However, the frenzy of telepathic communication with her psychic friends has taken its toll on Raina's non-psionic mind.. she has a bad headache now. She decides to go take a nap in hopes of recovering. Jack and Grim bid her to rest well and state that they are all going to the D.
A decent nap lessens Raina's headache and she decides to catch up to the rest of her friends. She finds them in the D, talking to an ADD Griff. Somewhat disgusted, Raina tells the rest to forget Griff and head to the monkey fight club for drinks. There, Raina pores drinks for everyone and she and Jack debate the merits of scotch vs whiskey. Unfortunately, their good time is interrupted by the appearance of John and several of his minions. John "requests" to speak to Raina in private. Ever wary, Raina flat refuses at first, declaring the idea to be suicidal and stupid. She also states, with a smile at Grim, that their team has no secrets, so anything John wants to say to her, can be said to them all.
Parallel appears and encourages Raina to go with John. Raina is stunned that Parallel thinks she'll be safe with John, who wants her dead. John reveals that he wishes to speak to Raina about his wife. The group is stunned once more.. wife? Griff questions the wife's intelligence in choosing someone like John and is shot in the foot for it. Raina lunges and pins John to a pillar, who doesn't resist or try to break free. However, more of John's minions show up, including Harris. After several tense moments, and against her own and her team's better judgment, Raina agrees to go upstairs with only the "neutral" Parallel to keep them safe from each other.
John then, uncharacteristically, thanks Raina for reviving his wife. Confused and never one to lie, Raina states that she has no idea who or what he's talking about. Citing that she never knew he had a wife. John states that his wife said she was revived by a "cat with white hair". Raina replies that, unlike John, she does not make a habit of lying. She then tries to wrangle another cease-fire from him so that they can leave in peace. John does not promise anything as they head back down.
Raina once more presses for the two groups to part ways for now without violence. John responds by ordering his men to open fire at the group (Nevermind the power/weapon suppression in the D.. oh well). However, the stormtrooper effect seems to be in play as they are unable to hit any of the Safe Havens members. The group splits and meet back up at the base, with Raina arriving last.
As the group talks about this revelation about the existence of John's wife, Kalius arrives and is informed as to what happened. Grim mentions how he used to use essences. Jack notes that the bullet John shot into Grim's foot could be used for such. Kalius, Grim, and Shadow head to medbay to extract the bullet and Jack and Raina head to the TV room to wait.
As they cuddle together on the couch, Jack asks that Raina not agree to meet with an enemy without backup again. Jack informs her that Parallel seems to be siding with John, a statement that leaves Raina furious and her trust in the other hero shaken. As they continue to cuddle and enjoy the sensations their link allows them to share, Raina starts to think about the possibility of being captured and tortured like Grim. Ever concerned for the safety of her comrades, Raina asks Mind if temporarily removing her memories, if it happens, is possible.
Mind states that he could make a device that would do it, but they would permanently loose their memory of the last 2 months.. which includes their memories of each other. Raina rejects the idea, stating that she refuses to put him through the pain of thinking she had forgotten him that she experienced when he was under John's mind control. They agree to think of other options. Grim and Kalius come through to show them the retrieved bullet and Grim states that he is going home to try to extract John's essence from it. Raina warns him to be careful, even suggesting that Grim stay at the base. Grim refuses, stating that his magic tools were all at his apartment. Bidding them farewell, Raina and Jack turn their attention back to each other. As their actions begin to grow more intimate, Raina suddenly smells a familiar, but hostile scent... Bladeless.
She remembered seeing him standing with John earlier at the D, he had been one of the ones to fire at them. Why was he here in their base? Had John sent him? Filling with fury, Raina went straight into attack mode, yelling "Intruder!" into the comm. She makes a beeline to attack Bladeless, who barely dodges the first attack. Lunging again, Raina successfully swipes her claws across his face as Jack mind-blasts' him. Rusty also shows up to offer his help. Raina pins Bladeless and assists Jack in penetrating his mind to find out his intentions. Neither she nor Jack are gentle in their mental assault, causing Bladeless extreme pain as they ferret out his intentions.
However, Jack determines that Bladeless has indeed defected and that he had no idea the group was there. Relaxing, they release him and take him to medbay to patch him up. Through the subsequent discussion Bladeless states that he "knows" Grim and that he "hurt him" in the past, but does not elaborate. Not really thinking anything of it, Raina and Jack decide to seek our their own bed for the night.
Raina comes in to find that Jack is giving lessons in hand to hand combat to Grimaulkin in the base. Amused and pretending to be miffed at being left out, Raina settles back to watch and offer advice. She ends up taking a more active role in guiding Grim's movements so that he can learn the basics correctly. The lesson proves to be a success due to Grim being a quick study and he is soon practicing punching basics. In turn, Grim teaches them about conjuring a protective circle. Raina states that it is unlikely she can conjure anything since her magic is bound in her blood. However, she encourages Jack to go ahead and try.
Jack successfully conjures a protective circle and goes into a trance. Raina appears to do the same, but in truth is being contacted telepathically by Shadow and her old friend Parallel. Parallel, whom she knew as Amorphic, tells her that he thinks he can banish John to another realm but in doing so, will be banished himself. Not wanting to risk her friend, Raina at first refuses the idea, but then considers it when she asks if there's anyway to improve Parallel's chances of returning. The dimension shifting hero responds that if she can find and activate a dimensional beacon, he should be able to find and return to it.
Coming back to the event at hand, right as Jack banishes his circle, Raina presents the idea and states that they need to find a dimensional beacon asap. However, the frenzy of telepathic communication with her psychic friends has taken its toll on Raina's non-psionic mind.. she has a bad headache now. She decides to go take a nap in hopes of recovering. Jack and Grim bid her to rest well and state that they are all going to the D.
A decent nap lessens Raina's headache and she decides to catch up to the rest of her friends. She finds them in the D, talking to an ADD Griff. Somewhat disgusted, Raina tells the rest to forget Griff and head to the monkey fight club for drinks. There, Raina pores drinks for everyone and she and Jack debate the merits of scotch vs whiskey. Unfortunately, their good time is interrupted by the appearance of John and several of his minions. John "requests" to speak to Raina in private. Ever wary, Raina flat refuses at first, declaring the idea to be suicidal and stupid. She also states, with a smile at Grim, that their team has no secrets, so anything John wants to say to her, can be said to them all.
Parallel appears and encourages Raina to go with John. Raina is stunned that Parallel thinks she'll be safe with John, who wants her dead. John reveals that he wishes to speak to Raina about his wife. The group is stunned once more.. wife? Griff questions the wife's intelligence in choosing someone like John and is shot in the foot for it. Raina lunges and pins John to a pillar, who doesn't resist or try to break free. However, more of John's minions show up, including Harris. After several tense moments, and against her own and her team's better judgment, Raina agrees to go upstairs with only the "neutral" Parallel to keep them safe from each other.
John then, uncharacteristically, thanks Raina for reviving his wife. Confused and never one to lie, Raina states that she has no idea who or what he's talking about. Citing that she never knew he had a wife. John states that his wife said she was revived by a "cat with white hair". Raina replies that, unlike John, she does not make a habit of lying. She then tries to wrangle another cease-fire from him so that they can leave in peace. John does not promise anything as they head back down.
Raina once more presses for the two groups to part ways for now without violence. John responds by ordering his men to open fire at the group (Nevermind the power/weapon suppression in the D.. oh well). However, the stormtrooper effect seems to be in play as they are unable to hit any of the Safe Havens members. The group splits and meet back up at the base, with Raina arriving last.
As the group talks about this revelation about the existence of John's wife, Kalius arrives and is informed as to what happened. Grim mentions how he used to use essences. Jack notes that the bullet John shot into Grim's foot could be used for such. Kalius, Grim, and Shadow head to medbay to extract the bullet and Jack and Raina head to the TV room to wait.
As they cuddle together on the couch, Jack asks that Raina not agree to meet with an enemy without backup again. Jack informs her that Parallel seems to be siding with John, a statement that leaves Raina furious and her trust in the other hero shaken. As they continue to cuddle and enjoy the sensations their link allows them to share, Raina starts to think about the possibility of being captured and tortured like Grim. Ever concerned for the safety of her comrades, Raina asks Mind if temporarily removing her memories, if it happens, is possible.
Mind states that he could make a device that would do it, but they would permanently loose their memory of the last 2 months.. which includes their memories of each other. Raina rejects the idea, stating that she refuses to put him through the pain of thinking she had forgotten him that she experienced when he was under John's mind control. They agree to think of other options. Grim and Kalius come through to show them the retrieved bullet and Grim states that he is going home to try to extract John's essence from it. Raina warns him to be careful, even suggesting that Grim stay at the base. Grim refuses, stating that his magic tools were all at his apartment. Bidding them farewell, Raina and Jack turn their attention back to each other. As their actions begin to grow more intimate, Raina suddenly smells a familiar, but hostile scent... Bladeless.
She remembered seeing him standing with John earlier at the D, he had been one of the ones to fire at them. Why was he here in their base? Had John sent him? Filling with fury, Raina went straight into attack mode, yelling "Intruder!" into the comm. She makes a beeline to attack Bladeless, who barely dodges the first attack. Lunging again, Raina successfully swipes her claws across his face as Jack mind-blasts' him. Rusty also shows up to offer his help. Raina pins Bladeless and assists Jack in penetrating his mind to find out his intentions. Neither she nor Jack are gentle in their mental assault, causing Bladeless extreme pain as they ferret out his intentions.
However, Jack determines that Bladeless has indeed defected and that he had no idea the group was there. Relaxing, they release him and take him to medbay to patch him up. Through the subsequent discussion Bladeless states that he "knows" Grim and that he "hurt him" in the past, but does not elaborate. Not really thinking anything of it, Raina and Jack decide to seek our their own bed for the night.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Enemies... or friends?
"How do we stop it!?" -Raina
Rusty's animated form proves to be far more resilient than anything the group has encountered thus far. Grimaulkin arrives, but even with his aide, they seem to be able to do little more than slow the suit's progress and pull off a few of the collected pieces of metal. The fight seems to be going no where when Harris and Griff Spader arrive. The group is at first worried about trying to hold Rusty's animated form and fight off Harris and Griff. However, Harris and Griff do not attack immediately and instead seem to assess the situation.
Harris offers his and Griff's assistance, but the group is reasonably wary and mistrustful of these enemies and unlikely allies. Grim and Mind tell them to get lost, but Raina sees that this battle is going no where and they are going to tire without stopping Rusty's form. Raina demands Harris's word that the two groups will part ways after this and meet again to battle another day. Harris agrees and he and Griff join the fight.
At first they continue to make little progress before a grenade from Griff blows the rusted machine apart. The machine starts to reform slowly and they focus on keeping it apart until they can find a solution. Griff and Harris start to pull out pieces of Rusty's original armor while Grim gets an idea and heads back to the base to fetch Rusty's brain. Raina and Mindstryker focus on keeping the gathered parts from reforming.
Grim returns with Rusty's brain and it is dropped back into its housing. Rusty gets control of himself once more and comes to, with seemingly no recollection of the event. After a long awkward moment, Harris proves true to his word and lets Raina and the rest go.. for now. They retreat to their safe house to regroup and recover.
The group talk and Rusty explains that his armor went rouge when he lost consciousness when Shadow tried to send him some of his power. Raina encourages them to keep trying and experimenting, but with more caution. She and Mind then state that they are going to head back to Kings Row and finish their "business" there. Rusty and Grim both question what is so important in Kings Row, and Raina tries to deflect the question with stating "business". This angers Grim who starts to storm off, stating that he didn't expect the secret keeping to continue here. Mind tells Raina that its "ok" and that "they have a right to know."
Raina calls to Grim to wait and they explain that they are going to see Jack's father who is terminally ill with cancer. This tempers Grim's anger and the three agree that there shouldn't be secrets anymore between them. Grim then heads off to join Rusty and Shadow in the medical bay while Jack and Raina head off to Kings Row.
In the Gish, they return to his father's apartment to finish the conversation that had been cut short the night before. His father gets right to the point in questioning Raina on her past and motives. However, Raina once more gives her usual evasive answers and such, but the questioning grinds to a halt when his father realizes that they're telepathically linked. Something that Mind had apparently sworn to never do again after Morgan had betrayed him. Raina bristles at the insinuation that she would turn on Mind like Morgan did. She accidentally lets slip about Mind's brainwashing, which upsets his father. As Mind explains what happened, Raina responds to Kalius on the comm to inform him about Rusty.
Through the rest of the meeting, Jack's father comes to see what Mind and Raina feel for each other and says that he's happy they have each other to look out for. He gives them his blessing and asks that Raina look after Jack. She smiles, "I will.. I'm sure he'll look out for me as well." Too which Jack readily affirms. As they leave, Raina questions Jack on his reasons for linking with her, since his father had made it clear that Jack had never intended to link with another person. Jack responds that he was likely falling for her even back then. Touched, they share a moment before heading back to the base.
Once there, they meet with Shadow who shows them his newest level of power.. a shadow hunter. This form apparently gives him far more power than before, but is limited in duration. They decide that the form will be only used as a last resort. They then part ways and Mind and Raina head to bed for a night's rest after a trying day.
Rusty's animated form proves to be far more resilient than anything the group has encountered thus far. Grimaulkin arrives, but even with his aide, they seem to be able to do little more than slow the suit's progress and pull off a few of the collected pieces of metal. The fight seems to be going no where when Harris and Griff Spader arrive. The group is at first worried about trying to hold Rusty's animated form and fight off Harris and Griff. However, Harris and Griff do not attack immediately and instead seem to assess the situation.
Harris offers his and Griff's assistance, but the group is reasonably wary and mistrustful of these enemies and unlikely allies. Grim and Mind tell them to get lost, but Raina sees that this battle is going no where and they are going to tire without stopping Rusty's form. Raina demands Harris's word that the two groups will part ways after this and meet again to battle another day. Harris agrees and he and Griff join the fight.
At first they continue to make little progress before a grenade from Griff blows the rusted machine apart. The machine starts to reform slowly and they focus on keeping it apart until they can find a solution. Griff and Harris start to pull out pieces of Rusty's original armor while Grim gets an idea and heads back to the base to fetch Rusty's brain. Raina and Mindstryker focus on keeping the gathered parts from reforming.
Grim returns with Rusty's brain and it is dropped back into its housing. Rusty gets control of himself once more and comes to, with seemingly no recollection of the event. After a long awkward moment, Harris proves true to his word and lets Raina and the rest go.. for now. They retreat to their safe house to regroup and recover.
The group talk and Rusty explains that his armor went rouge when he lost consciousness when Shadow tried to send him some of his power. Raina encourages them to keep trying and experimenting, but with more caution. She and Mind then state that they are going to head back to Kings Row and finish their "business" there. Rusty and Grim both question what is so important in Kings Row, and Raina tries to deflect the question with stating "business". This angers Grim who starts to storm off, stating that he didn't expect the secret keeping to continue here. Mind tells Raina that its "ok" and that "they have a right to know."
Raina calls to Grim to wait and they explain that they are going to see Jack's father who is terminally ill with cancer. This tempers Grim's anger and the three agree that there shouldn't be secrets anymore between them. Grim then heads off to join Rusty and Shadow in the medical bay while Jack and Raina head off to Kings Row.
In the Gish, they return to his father's apartment to finish the conversation that had been cut short the night before. His father gets right to the point in questioning Raina on her past and motives. However, Raina once more gives her usual evasive answers and such, but the questioning grinds to a halt when his father realizes that they're telepathically linked. Something that Mind had apparently sworn to never do again after Morgan had betrayed him. Raina bristles at the insinuation that she would turn on Mind like Morgan did. She accidentally lets slip about Mind's brainwashing, which upsets his father. As Mind explains what happened, Raina responds to Kalius on the comm to inform him about Rusty.
Through the rest of the meeting, Jack's father comes to see what Mind and Raina feel for each other and says that he's happy they have each other to look out for. He gives them his blessing and asks that Raina look after Jack. She smiles, "I will.. I'm sure he'll look out for me as well." Too which Jack readily affirms. As they leave, Raina questions Jack on his reasons for linking with her, since his father had made it clear that Jack had never intended to link with another person. Jack responds that he was likely falling for her even back then. Touched, they share a moment before heading back to the base.
Once there, they meet with Shadow who shows them his newest level of power.. a shadow hunter. This form apparently gives him far more power than before, but is limited in duration. They decide that the form will be only used as a last resort. They then part ways and Mind and Raina head to bed for a night's rest after a trying day.
When the dead walk..
"We have a situation. Rusty's armor went for a walk... without him." -Raina
Raina, Grim, and Rusty decide to head out to get started on their training, taking advantage of the invasion happening in the city right now. Grim asks Raina where Mind is, since the focus yesterday had been on Grim and him learning to combine their powers. Raina knows that Jack went to visit his father, but simply states, "He had business to take care of in Kings Row." Rusty and Grim find that they can support each other's techniques in that what one can't hold, the other can. Mindstryker then shows up, telling Raina telepathically that his father is all right for now.
They are joined by some of the other local heroes as they combat the supernatural invasion. Grim finds that his power can increase Mindstryker's abilities, who in turn, can send some of the energy to Raina as well. However, they find that the raw power combined with battlelust quickly starts pushing her cat into a frenzy. When Grim feeds his power into Rusty, nothing happens at first. Theorizing that since Rusty's power is his brain, she suggests to feed the power directly into his head, which causes him to blackout.
They determine that more controlled experiments are necessary and that they will try it again later. The group easily cuts through the supernatural hordes (no thanks to the lag!) and talk eventually turns back towards Harris. Especially when Grim finds that he can pull off clothing with his shadow tentacles. Raina cautions that armor is not as flimsy as fabric, thus more practice will be needed. The group also finds itself somewhat split on whether killing Harris is necessary.
Eventually the group returns to base to analyze what they had learned from the training. Raina theorizes that while Rusty may not be able to accept Grim's magic, perhaps Shadow's magic would work. The two leave to experiment and Kalius shows up. Kalius and Grim then leave to work on seeing if Grim can boost Kalius's abilities as well. Raina suggests that they use the time that the others don't need them to go see Jack's father. Saddened by the thought of his terminally ill father, Jack agrees and the two head to Kings Row.
As they travel to his father's apartment, Jack thanks Raina for coming with him. Interested in meeting his father, she responds that no thanks is necessary. His father answers the door and immediately, to Raina's slight irritation, asks if she lost clothes on the way there. Jack responds and leads the way in and the three settle down to talk. Raina finds Jack's father to be very intuitive in determining that she was not human with Jack having told him nothing about her origins. However, before they can get much further, Shadow contacts her mentally and informs her that there is trouble at the base.
While sketchy on the details, Raina finds out that Rusty's armor has taken a life of its own and taken off into the city. Shadow also tells them that Rusty's brain is safe in medbay, but that the armor must be stopped. Calling Kalius, she, Mind, and Shadow head out to find and stop the metal behemoth. They find the now hostile armor in Atlas Park.. and its gotten bigger.
Raina, Grim, and Rusty decide to head out to get started on their training, taking advantage of the invasion happening in the city right now. Grim asks Raina where Mind is, since the focus yesterday had been on Grim and him learning to combine their powers. Raina knows that Jack went to visit his father, but simply states, "He had business to take care of in Kings Row." Rusty and Grim find that they can support each other's techniques in that what one can't hold, the other can. Mindstryker then shows up, telling Raina telepathically that his father is all right for now.
They are joined by some of the other local heroes as they combat the supernatural invasion. Grim finds that his power can increase Mindstryker's abilities, who in turn, can send some of the energy to Raina as well. However, they find that the raw power combined with battlelust quickly starts pushing her cat into a frenzy. When Grim feeds his power into Rusty, nothing happens at first. Theorizing that since Rusty's power is his brain, she suggests to feed the power directly into his head, which causes him to blackout.
They determine that more controlled experiments are necessary and that they will try it again later. The group easily cuts through the supernatural hordes (no thanks to the lag!) and talk eventually turns back towards Harris. Especially when Grim finds that he can pull off clothing with his shadow tentacles. Raina cautions that armor is not as flimsy as fabric, thus more practice will be needed. The group also finds itself somewhat split on whether killing Harris is necessary.
Eventually the group returns to base to analyze what they had learned from the training. Raina theorizes that while Rusty may not be able to accept Grim's magic, perhaps Shadow's magic would work. The two leave to experiment and Kalius shows up. Kalius and Grim then leave to work on seeing if Grim can boost Kalius's abilities as well. Raina suggests that they use the time that the others don't need them to go see Jack's father. Saddened by the thought of his terminally ill father, Jack agrees and the two head to Kings Row.
As they travel to his father's apartment, Jack thanks Raina for coming with him. Interested in meeting his father, she responds that no thanks is necessary. His father answers the door and immediately, to Raina's slight irritation, asks if she lost clothes on the way there. Jack responds and leads the way in and the three settle down to talk. Raina finds Jack's father to be very intuitive in determining that she was not human with Jack having told him nothing about her origins. However, before they can get much further, Shadow contacts her mentally and informs her that there is trouble at the base.
While sketchy on the details, Raina finds out that Rusty's armor has taken a life of its own and taken off into the city. Shadow also tells them that Rusty's brain is safe in medbay, but that the armor must be stopped. Calling Kalius, she, Mind, and Shadow head out to find and stop the metal behemoth. They find the now hostile armor in Atlas Park.. and its gotten bigger.
Safe Havens
"We should no longer consider ourselves a part of the Phalanx of Paragon." -Raina as she takes off her Phalanx insignia.
The reunited rebel group returns to the safe house kept by Jasson Striker to plan out their next move. Taking down John and his minions is labeled their collective main goal. Raina also states that, given recent events, they should all disavow themselves from the lie that the Phalanx of Paragon is. In a collective move, they all remove their insignias and throw them away.
Raina explains the plan to bring down the VOPC base and shows them the ordinance that Morris gave her. Jasson mentions that his home, while a good safe house, is not equipped to support a full scale war like the one they're planning. Agreeing that he is correct and that it is unfair to ask Jasson to continue risking himself and his home for them, Raina states that they will start looking for other lodgings as soon as possible. Grim gets an idea and leaves to make a call, returning a few minutes later to say that he got in contact with an old friend who is willing to offer them a larger place to stay. He gives Raina and Mindstryker the location of where to meet her before mentioning that he's heading home for the night.
Immediately suspicious, given Grim's track record, Raina and Mind both demand to know where he's going, "No offense, Grim.. but I remember what happened the last time you ran off like this." Acknowledging their suspicion, Grim offers to be escorted and watched by Kalius. This sates their suspicion and the werecat and psychic leave to meet with his associate. Thinking that they may need to element of surprise in case things went south, Raina took the form of a housecat and rode on Mind's shoulders.
They meet Timetripper, leader of the Safe Havens group. They are shown to her base and are impressed by it. While noting that it is somewhat neglected, Mind assures Timetripper that Rusty will be able to fix things up nicely. They are given a keycard, with Mind requesting a second for 'the cat', and told where they can get more. They tell her about the enemies that are after them, thinking it unfair to stay here without making her aware of the danger. Timetripper assures them that she understands before leaving them to their own devices.
The next day finds Raina studying holding spells in the library. Grim finds her there and Raina tells him of her idea to hold John in place long enough to detonate several M15 grenades around him. In response, Grim shows her how his powers have changed, being no longer dark, but good. Raina finds their radiance to be calming, giving her a respite from the normally aggressive nature of her cat. He also mentions that he doesn't know what he can do with his abilities anymore, to which Raina responds, "Practice and find out."
Kalius shows up and after a short talk, the three get antsy for some actions and decide to hit the streets and stir up trouble. Raina finds that she's missed simply fighting the good fight and doing good in the city, having become too caught up with worrying about John and his plans. Mindstryker also arrives and the 4 become nearly unstoppable against their enemies. However, still unused to his powers, Grim left to rest for the night. Shadow and Rusty showed up not too long later and they brought in several more groups of Arachnos to justice.
The next day, Raina seeks out her comrades and finds that she arrives after they have just received a severe beating at the hands of Harris. She is not very surprised to hear them state that Harris seems to be beyond saving, "I kinda figured that out when he mangled my shoulder and leg." The group worries that Harris might be a bigger threat than John since his new armor seems to make him resistant to grenades as well as mental attacks. Then they were hit with a new problem.. zombies.
They fought off the seemingly endless hordes and eventually called a retreat when they seemed to be overpowering. Raina blames John for the zombie mess, but is mostly talking out of hurt pride in having been wounded by them. They talk about the true cause of the zombies and the need for all of them to train and get more powerful. Preliminary plans are also discussed on defeating Harris, mostly centered on enabling Grim to be able to work a spell on him.
As they talk, Raina senses something distracting Mindstryker and questions him silently. Jack responds and tells her that he visited his father today and discovered the devastating news that he has terminal lung cancer. He also tells her that he told his father about her and would like her to meet him. Raina readily agrees, but the hour has gotten to late and Jack doesn't want to wake his father with a midnight visit. They instead head to Jasson's house for a warm meal, pressed to do so by Raina's stomach and the dangers of being caught alone in the city by John or his lackeys.
The reunited rebel group returns to the safe house kept by Jasson Striker to plan out their next move. Taking down John and his minions is labeled their collective main goal. Raina also states that, given recent events, they should all disavow themselves from the lie that the Phalanx of Paragon is. In a collective move, they all remove their insignias and throw them away.
Raina explains the plan to bring down the VOPC base and shows them the ordinance that Morris gave her. Jasson mentions that his home, while a good safe house, is not equipped to support a full scale war like the one they're planning. Agreeing that he is correct and that it is unfair to ask Jasson to continue risking himself and his home for them, Raina states that they will start looking for other lodgings as soon as possible. Grim gets an idea and leaves to make a call, returning a few minutes later to say that he got in contact with an old friend who is willing to offer them a larger place to stay. He gives Raina and Mindstryker the location of where to meet her before mentioning that he's heading home for the night.
Immediately suspicious, given Grim's track record, Raina and Mind both demand to know where he's going, "No offense, Grim.. but I remember what happened the last time you ran off like this." Acknowledging their suspicion, Grim offers to be escorted and watched by Kalius. This sates their suspicion and the werecat and psychic leave to meet with his associate. Thinking that they may need to element of surprise in case things went south, Raina took the form of a housecat and rode on Mind's shoulders.
They meet Timetripper, leader of the Safe Havens group. They are shown to her base and are impressed by it. While noting that it is somewhat neglected, Mind assures Timetripper that Rusty will be able to fix things up nicely. They are given a keycard, with Mind requesting a second for 'the cat', and told where they can get more. They tell her about the enemies that are after them, thinking it unfair to stay here without making her aware of the danger. Timetripper assures them that she understands before leaving them to their own devices.
The next day finds Raina studying holding spells in the library. Grim finds her there and Raina tells him of her idea to hold John in place long enough to detonate several M15 grenades around him. In response, Grim shows her how his powers have changed, being no longer dark, but good. Raina finds their radiance to be calming, giving her a respite from the normally aggressive nature of her cat. He also mentions that he doesn't know what he can do with his abilities anymore, to which Raina responds, "Practice and find out."
Kalius shows up and after a short talk, the three get antsy for some actions and decide to hit the streets and stir up trouble. Raina finds that she's missed simply fighting the good fight and doing good in the city, having become too caught up with worrying about John and his plans. Mindstryker also arrives and the 4 become nearly unstoppable against their enemies. However, still unused to his powers, Grim left to rest for the night. Shadow and Rusty showed up not too long later and they brought in several more groups of Arachnos to justice.
The next day, Raina seeks out her comrades and finds that she arrives after they have just received a severe beating at the hands of Harris. She is not very surprised to hear them state that Harris seems to be beyond saving, "I kinda figured that out when he mangled my shoulder and leg." The group worries that Harris might be a bigger threat than John since his new armor seems to make him resistant to grenades as well as mental attacks. Then they were hit with a new problem.. zombies.
They fought off the seemingly endless hordes and eventually called a retreat when they seemed to be overpowering. Raina blames John for the zombie mess, but is mostly talking out of hurt pride in having been wounded by them. They talk about the true cause of the zombies and the need for all of them to train and get more powerful. Preliminary plans are also discussed on defeating Harris, mostly centered on enabling Grim to be able to work a spell on him.
As they talk, Raina senses something distracting Mindstryker and questions him silently. Jack responds and tells her that he visited his father today and discovered the devastating news that he has terminal lung cancer. He also tells her that he told his father about her and would like her to meet him. Raina readily agrees, but the hour has gotten to late and Jack doesn't want to wake his father with a midnight visit. They instead head to Jasson's house for a warm meal, pressed to do so by Raina's stomach and the dangers of being caught alone in the city by John or his lackeys.
Redemption
"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't rip your throat out right here." -Raina Sylvir
Raina wakes up deep in the sewers, badly injured and distraught over Jack's fate. Matthew tells her that he saved her but could not save Jack. He also states his resentment for the things his father has done. On a hope, Raina asks Matthew if he can go to the base and get Jack out, and that she could likely heal whatever injuries he sustained. However, when Matthew arrives, he is too late as Jack has already been taken into surgery. Raina calls Kalius, distraught, and informs him of what has transpired.
She sinks into a depression for the rest of the night and the next morning, wakes up determined to get her love back. She moves forward with their plan to reconfigure the psi-shields and take down the base. She works tirelessly without sleep or food and is only startled out of it by the arrival of Matthew, Kalius, Shadow, and surprisingly Grim. They inform her that Jack has been mentally wiped and tricked into loyalty to John. Nearly losing herself with rage, Raina demands to know why she should not kill Grim on sight for what he has caused.
Kalius explains that Grim broke them all out after Shadow "did something" to him. Raina relaxes once Shadow assures her that Grim is no longer a traitor to them. She then turns her focus to a more pressing and heartrending matter.. Jack. With Grim's magical aide, Raina reaches out through their link and calls out to Mind. She pleads with him to break John's control, calling forth memories of their friendship and their new-found love. In the end, Jack is able to snap John's control and they bring him back to the safehouse.
Found.
"Mind.. why do you keep asking me to abandon you when things get bad?"
"I don't want you to suffer because of me.." -Raina and Mindstyker
Fleeing back to the safe house, Raina quickly collapses once they make it through the doorway. Her shoulder and right leg are a mess from Harris's bullets and Raina is in too much pain to shift. Mind helps calm and focus her mind enough for her to shift and heal the terrible wounds. However, the new revelations about the VoPC's real plan has left Raina disillusioned, depressed, and scared. Mind comforts her, helping her see that things are not as hopeless as they appear. He explains his plan to reconfigure vanguard psi-shields into amplifiers and bring down the VoPC headquarters. Encouraged, Raina shows him the ammunition that Morris gave her before questioning Mind on why he often demands that she escape and leave him when a battle goes wrong. She explains that she does not abandon friends and certainly not one she is linked with.
Mind explains that he does not want to see her suffer on his account. Raina cites her own resiliency and says that she cares for him too much to abandon him to their enemies. The two then realize that their feelings have grown beyond mere partnership and friendship and accept the change. They seek the solace of each others arms and, just for a few hours, forget about the rest of the world.
Never one to go down without a fight, Raina races forward and attacks Grim, dealing out several blows while trying to stall for time. Outnumbered and overpowered, Raina simply focuses on trying to kill Grim for his betrayal. However, Mind arrives and attempts to attack John directly and the pain he suffers, combined with her own, is weakening them both. At the end, John demands that Raina look at him and Grim forces her head to turn in his direction. True to her defiant spirit, Raina turns and plunges her claws into Grim's side and is thrown to the floor. John then cracks Mind's back, knocking him out and possibly killing him. The pain causes Raina to shriek in response before going unconscious herself. John order's Raina killed and her body destroyed, but before the order can be carried out his son, Matthew Starkweather, appears and whisks her away.
Past and Future Collide
"Look out for yourself, kiddo." -MGST Morris to Raina
The next day finds Raina in Pocket D again where she finds Grim completely plastered off drinking everclear. She calmly tells him that she will never trust him again and that he's as bad as John to her. Then she is happily surprised when MGST Morris appears for drinks. She quickly tells him what has happened and, quietly, requests his aide in procuring the necessary ammo for taking on John. Morris is happy to help her and requests that she meet him privately so he can give her what she needs. Meeting with him in a backroom of the D, Morris presents her with a veritable arsenal: 38 HEDPs, 38 Willy Petes, 38 star clusters, and 24 M15 white phosphorus grenades. She thanks him and promises to do her best to put John back in the ground. Morris finds amusement in the moment and states that he never imagined that he would be doing backroom arms deals, but that its for a good cause. He warns her to be careful and gives her a parting kiss on the forehead before sending her off with her "toys". She drops the ammunition off at their safe house before heading out again.
She finds a secluded spot in Talos and settles down to indulge in a meal while she mulls over everything that's happened. Bladeless finds her there and questions on who is truly in charge of the Phalanx of Paragon. Raina tells him the truth of John's duplicity and Bladeless expresses his desire to join them. Wary after Grimaulkin's betrayal, she states that he will have to be "checked" by Jack before he'll be allowed to the safe house. She then tells him that until that happens, he needs to lay low and wait.. and be careful not to be seen with her. They part ways with Raina leaving to seek out more food since she has not eaten properly in days.
Procuring more food, Raina settles in a hidden spot beneath stairs next to a lake. As she eats, her sense for danger causes her to roll out of the way of a sniper shot that tears her boot. The shot was from Harris, who knows that Raina found out the truth about the VoPC. Raina hides out of sight and takes her housecat form, hoping her attacker won't recognize her in it. Harris teleports from his sniper post and looks for her. Identifying her attacker, Raina shifts back out of sight and questions Harris on why he is there. After a short fight that is watched by a few members of the VoPC and Mystic's Shadow (who Raina refuses to let help), Harris teleports her and himself to a nearby rooftop and offers her a chance to rejoin them or be killed. Raina steadfastly refuses and manages to stall for enough time for Mind to arrive. They talk a short time more before before it becomes obvious that the only thing Harris wants are their lives. The two make a fast retreat but are intercepted by Grimaulkin. Filling with fury, Raina demands that Mindstryker rip his mind apart. Grimaulkin dares Mind to enter his head again and Mind obliges with Raina sending her energy to Mind to aide him in the deed.
However, it is a trap and Grimaulkin attempts to capture Mind's soul. In doing so, the telepathically linked Raina is also threatened. Grim realizes this with delight at being able to take two souls at once, shouting, "Two! Two for the price of one!". He nearly succeeds when Raina growls, "Not today!" and her inner cat spirit charges through the link and attacks Grim's soul in retaliation, rending and tearing holes in his mind and soul while labeling him as prey. Grim breaks off his attack in pain and shock right as Harris catches up and shoots Raina through the shoulder. In pain and acutely aware of the danger, Raina hauls the still recovering Mind to his feet and takes off running, Harris's gunfire nipping at their heels and hitting her leg. For some reason, Harris breaks off his attack and allows them to escape.
Unbreakable Bonds
"I don't even know why I did it.. I guess it was because Morris trusted him. And I trust Morris." -Raina on why she revived Valos
Raina leaves and seeks out a place to think and fume. She finds her ally and friend Mindstryker brooding on a high rooftop, having abandoned his drinks with Kalius and Melody. He apologizes for what happened, promising that he would get the designs for the collar and find a way to remove it. They also start planning on how to take down Melody, hopefully through legal means. Raina reveals, to Mindstryker's fury, that she revived Valos, although she doesn't understand why herself.
Unknown to them, Melody has sent Owl Lass to spy on Mind. While Raina cannot identify or even place what she senses, she simply feels through her cat that they are being watched and warns Mind. However, he cannot detect anyone either, but to be safe, they fall back on using telepathy which cannot be overheard. They do however, keep talking about mundane things aloud. Talking and planning, they agree that Mindstryker should remain close to Melody in the position of trust he has gained. She then takes things a step further and asks if there is anyway to make the link they share permanent, as it doesn't work over long distances.
Mindstryker is extremely reluctant, citing that he has only established such a link with one person. Raina quickly deduces that that person is Morgan, the cop who betrayed and framed him and cost him his police force job. Understanding his hesitation, Raina offers to wait until he trusts her more. However, he disagrees and says that he already does trust her and is willing to make the link. He explains that while they will have easy access to each other's minds, it is still possible to keep secrets. Raina assures him that she has no secrets to keep from him anymore and that she just wants to know she has someone who she can trust implicitly. With some effort, Mind establishes a permanent tie between their minds, allowing thoughts and emotions to pass freely between them.
They, and other available members, are summoned by Melody to Atlas to hunt down someone that Melody says is a criminal. However, everything is thrown for a loop when their target reveals the truth about the "Phalanx of Paragon", to the present members' horror. Appalled, Raina and Mindstryker retreat through Ouroboros and then to Talos to figure out what to do since their current plan had been to revive John and remove the need to have Melody as a leader. The revelations about John and the true purpose of the Phalanx prove to be too much for Melody who snaps and goes insane.
They then seek out Grim to see if he can undo the magical lock on the collar. Raina assures them that she can handle the last 2, but her magic is tied into her blood and can only effect her physical form, not the collar. After a short explanation, Grim agrees to preform a spell that should undo the magical lock, as it seems to be of Midnighter make and the necromancer is versed in their spells. However, the only location that has the power he'll need to draw on is Dark Astoria, a place Raina swore to never visit again after a disastrous first visit. They both explain to Mind that their last visit ended when Raina attempted to attack Grim. Her cat, for some reason, is driven to near insanity by the magic that flows in Dark Astoria. Somewhat reassured by their link, Mind is confident that he can help hold the cat back long enough for Grim to preform the spell. The spell is preformed and the magical lock is broken. Needing to 'let off steam', Raina rushes off to slaughter zombies while Mind tells Grim about their mental link. Grim responds to the news with, "I hope you atleast got a smoke afterwards."
They then contact Kalius and go to a safehouse belonging to a friend of theirs to plan their next move and settle on a main plan. The decide that it is important to keep John dead and remove Melody from power. For now, they want to find more allies and get things in place before making their move. They are summoned by Melody to Atlas again, where she apologizes to Raina and removes the collar, saying that it had been out of line. She then leaves to go to the base, but Raina and the others have decided to go through with their plan to legally remove her from leadership. Then Grim suddenly seems to remember something in leave. Suspicious, Mindstryker follows him. All their plans screech to a halt when John, aka Arbiter Death, signs onto the SG comm. Horrified, Raina demands of Mind to know what happened, and is informed that not only has Grimaulkin revived John, but is telling him about their conspiracy.
Frightened that Mind is going to be trapped and killed by John, she, Kalius, and the helpful spirit Mystic's Shadow storm the base to rescue him and, if they can, kill John and Grim. The ill-considered battle goes very badly and Raina is forced to pull both Kalius and Mind out, attacking John and knocking out Grim in the process, and escapes back to their safe house. The lot are furious that Grim has betrayed them and immediately tell Jasson Striker to ensure that Grim cannot enter the safe house. Mind and Kalius are taken to Jasson's medical ward to treat their wounds. Overstressed from the recent events and worrying for her friend's health, Raina spends some time in the bar talking to Jasson before deciding to follow Kalius to Pocket D. There, she is somewhat surprised to find a remorseful Grim talking to Kalius. He doesn't speak to her, but Raina does catch up with an old friend, Amorphic, now known as Parallel.
On the run and out of time..
"Just give me their scent and I can avoid them." -Raina to Mindstryker on avoiding her pursuers.
Raina vanishes into the city for a day or so to get her thoughts together and figure out what should happen next. She doesn't know however, that Valos returned to the base to attack as soon as he was recovered and was killed while Grim and Rusty were taken back. The next morning finds her on a rooftop, smelling the wind as she tries to identify the bad feelings her cat is warning her of. Mindstryker finds her and warns her that Melody has issued a warrant for her arrest and that a task force of two new recruits have been dispatched to find her with him as its leader. He has apparently calmed down from his fury of their last meeting and is thinking rationally.
Mindstryker also informs her that Rusty and Grim were taken back while Valos was killed. She is amused to find out that Grim was promoted and Rusty was given a token punishment, but knows that she will not fair as lucky. Mindstryker admits that he believes that she's right about Melody's growing instability and surprises Raina by telling her that he doesn't intend to bring her in until Melody is gone. Raina, who had been ready to surrender, states that he can do a lot of good by maintaining Melody's trust in him. Raina offers her support in that she will elude her pursuers and wait until the time is right to remove Melody. Mind offers her his glove that he used to shake Blue-Ballista's hand, which might still hold his scent. As she takes the scent, she states her need for a communicator since the telepathic connection they use is only available when they're close to one another, he offers her a vanguard communicator that is hardwired to only contact his own with heavy encryption. He also cautions her to destroy it if it appears she's going to be captured. Raina agrees and adds that they should keep their meetings and communications to an absolute minimum or risk discovery. They part ways, warning each other to be careful.
Melody soon tires of Raina eluding them and seeks a faster way to find the resourceful werecat. She uses samples of Raina's blood from when the medtechs had worked on the injured werecat and utilizes her nanites to track her down. Mind contacts Raina on the comm and warns her that her time being free is running out and that Melody is coming for her. Raina responds that she'll be careful and will destroy the comm to be safe and eliminate the risk of Mind being exposed. Hoping for a miracle, Raina goes to Independence Port, hoping to elude Melody in the industrial district. As she travels through, she spots a form in the water and cannot help but investigate. She is shocked to find Valos's mangled body. While hating him for threatening her, she also remembered that Morris had trusted him. Acutely aware of the danger of being out in the open, especially with Valos's body, Raina sought cover in a warehouse.Unsure to this day why, Raina took a chance and used her magical blood with its powerful healing agents on Valos, dripping a fair amount directly into his terrible wounds and his mouth. As she waited a few minutes and started to give it up as a lost cause, smashing the comm under her heel as she waited, Raina started to leave. Valos spoke right as she reached the door, making her turn back. Different emotions warred within her as Valos thanked her for saving him and then tried to tell her that he was her only ally against Melody. Raina informed him that he was behind the times and that she had other allies. She also warned him, "Valos, point a gun at me again and you'd better pull the damn trigger." as well as telling him that Melody was nearby before leaving without a backwards glance.
Taking off through Independence Port again, Raina is eventually cornered by Melody and her task force, including Mind. They talk briefly, with Raina stating her beliefs and refusal to surrender. Right as she attempts to attack Melody, Mind grabs her telekinetically, halting her attack while apologizing telepathically at being unable to help her. After a short talk further, Melody walks forward with a gift that she snaps around Raina's neck.. an electric collar engraved with "Property of the US Government - Handle with Care". The insult of it is nearly unbearable for Raina, making her state coldly, "She dies. A pity that honor is no longer mine." Noting that she feels that Valos has more of a right to kill the Hero Corp's pet than she does.Melody then addresses her troops, declaring Raina to no longer be a threat and that the collar would keep her in line. Seizing the opportunity at Melody's inattention, Raina lashes out with a double booted kick into her side and nearly sends the other girl off the roof. The resulting shock is painful but gratifying for Raina since she did score the hit. Melody then sends everyone but Raina away and, once they're gone, shocks Raina with a blast 3 times more powerful than the last, warning her to never embarrass her like that again. Recovering quickly due to her constitution and will, Raina snaps that she lost any respect she had for Melody and thus will treat her as she believes she deserves to be treated. Raina endures another shock before being released with orders to report immediately if she was called.
The Trials of Friendships
"I could have saved her.. but I did nothing." -Raina on her on guilt over Darkress
As she ran, commotion inside the apartment building she had landed on attracted her attention. Raina investigated and was shocked to find Darkress being attacked by Matthew Starkweather, John's nephew. However, the werecat knew that she could not help Darkress without hurting Matthew and likely being hauled in herself for helping a traitor. As she watched Matthew beat up Darkress, Valos found her on the ledge and started to shout when he saw Darkress but Raina silenced him.
He demanded to know why they were doing nothing, but Raina stated that there was nothing they could do when Darkress had been declared a traitor. The warring feelings between aiding her friend and sacrificing everything else kept Raina from remembering that Valos had also been declared a traitor and was currently being hunted. Matthew ended up snapping Darkress's neck and leaving. Guilt-striken, Raina did not realize that Melody had also arrived on the scene. Melody announced herself and quickly attacked Valos who was equally as quick to defend himself. Watching the fight for a few minutes, Raina shouted for Melody to stop, that she was wrong about Valos. Melody refused and, unwilling to watch another friend die while doing nothing, Raina lunged in and attacked Melody, trying to subdue her.
The fight was even until Melody managed to wound Raina. Valos offered to surrender to prevent Raina from being hurt further, but only if Raina was absolved of being involved. Melody refused, stating that Raina had attacked her, thus she would be arrested for aiding a 'known' villain. Valos continued to maintain his own innocence and threw a smoke bomb and escaped. Raina, however, was too injured to follow him as was taken into custody and thrown into the brig to await her trial. Several of her friends came to visit her and here her side of the story of what had happened. Believing her to be innocent, they worked to keep her spirits up and make her comfortable in the confines of the cell (another thing her cat was not going to tolerate long).
The next day, however, she woke up to Rusty bringing down the dampeners around the cell. Questioning him, she found out that he and Grimaulkin had become convinced that she was never going to get a fair trial and that they had joined Valos. They also told her that Valos was currently in the base and that they were going to break her out. Distraught that they were ruining their lives for her, something she had never intended or wanted, Raina felt she had no choice but to go with them. The four made their way out of the base but were confronted by Mindstryker, who had been assigned to guard Raina.
Having become friends with Mindstryker and fully against betraying him, Raina tried to reason with the ex-PPD cop. She explained that Melody was slipping down the path of paranoia and insanity and would eventually have them all locked up for made up crimes. Mindstryker started to believe her when Valos escalated the situation by firing warning shots. Despite attempts to defuse the situation, Mindstryker eventually psychic blasted Valos and was in turn shot by the base turrets that had been reprogrammed by Valos. Out of time to escape, Raina ordered Rusty to take Valos somewhere safe and picked up Mindstryker herself, not wanting him to die of the sustained wounds. They dropped him off at the hospital in Atlas and Raina stayed nearby to make sure he was all right while Rusty and Grim took Valos to the Rikti War Zone, a place where he wouldn't be looked for.
Mindstryker, reasonably furious at this turn of events, discharged himself from the hospital and quickly started hunting down Raina. She stayed nearby, allowing her inner-cat to shield her mind and make her appear to be no more than a housecat to psychic scans. Using a telepathic path that he had used to talk to her before, Raina apologized for what had happened but insisted that it was for the best. The two talked for sometime, but Mindstryker was too angry to think logically and Raina was forced to flee when he finally spotted her.
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