Guccicorn

I want some arena wins.

didn't even get credit for the death ... OR falling into the snake pit >,<

Rise of the New Heroes

Paige

---

(OMG I keep typing rosalia instead of rosaria, I'm so sorry >,<)

Paige was still deciding whether walking back into the fight was basically suicide when Rosaria addressed her from nearby. While the strange tone of her shadow-form voice was cause for only slight alarm, turning to see her skeletal visage peering out from the shadows was enough to put the little speedster's guard up.

Of course Paige felt immediate regret for a few reasons. First was the pain the move caused in her side, which earned another, immediate wince and a groan. The second was her sudden recollection of having caught a glimpse of Rosaria when they both made a run at Thundercloud.

A lot had been going on, and it would probably take a few days for her to really process everything she'd seen and been through tonight.

Paige offered a little nod in response to the first question, taking the opportunity to size the shadowy figure up.

"Y-yeah I uh ... I think I broke a rib." Something about seeing her keeping her guard up was comforting, like knowing spiders are also scared of you. Swallowing hard, she peered back toward the decimated building when the other heroine spoke again.

Paige clenched a fist at her side and dropped her stare to the ground. Thundercloud. He wasn't even worried about their pathetic little attempts to stop him.

"I was. I-I keep hitting him and he doesn't even notice, I-I think it's those stupid grey fuzzballs he's wearing. I saw you get behind him ..." Paige tried to sound like she knew what she was talking about, but the fear was apparent in the tremble she was trying to keep out of her voice. They had both tried and failed to make a mark on the man.

"We need to get the others out of there." her mind turned back to the heroes left inside, "W-we need to regroup, and get some kind of plan going ..." She offered, hoping the other heroine would be onboard. To be honest, she wasn't sure if she was brave enough to run back in and try to get the others out if she didn't have a little help, superpowers or not.

Another surge of light from inside lent a sudden urgency to their plans, rainbow from one side, and the white blue of lightning from the other. "I-I think I can distract him if ... if you can get people out of there."

Mystery of the Key - a Collaborative Writing Story

Doctor Smith, now finished scolding Clark, turned to take stock of a shelf full of little stoppered bottles and beakers. This might have been his way of showing that the conversation was drawing to a close. He looked like he was about to give another sassy answer when Arthur noticed a small tag dangling from a string around the mouth of the jar.

Clark turned to look, having heard Arthur's thoughts of Hmm, I wonder if this tag has any information on it. Turning the tag over in his fingers, Arthur noticed that the tag had a name and an address;

"Delia Toujours, 813 Charity Lane" said Clark aloud, reading Arthur's mind as Arthur read the tag.

"Yes, yes! Be on your way, it's KIND OF important you know." The doctor offered curtly with little more than a glance over his round shoulders. The unlikely duo sighed in unison and left, pausing outside to regroup.

Clark was the first to speak "So ... I guess we ARE going there." Arthur just offered a quiet nod, thinking for a moment before adding "Are people really that mean to you?" It was still a little weird knowing that Clark could sometimes tell the shallow thoughts floating through his head. I mean I can't remember where I came from or what it was like but I feel like meeting a giant talking telepathic cricket wasn't an everyday thing, and he's been nice.

Clark sounded happy "Thank you Arthur, you're pretty decent yourself. Yeah, people call me names, or just think them really loudly, and you would be shocked what people will think you've done or are up to just by looking at you!"

Arthur just offered an awkward smile. He was used to having a little privacy throughout his entire skull, but it did sound like telepathy wasn't always entirely pleasant for Clark either.

"I guess we should get moving before it gets too late." said the man, gesturing to the path ahead of them, though not in any particular direction.

Mystery of the Key - a Collaborative Writing Story

The cricket just stared in silence. He must have been thinking. To be fair, it was hard to tell if he was staring, or even if crickets, with their all-over eyes, could even be said to squint, or if the only thing they could actually do was stare off into space, in fact a large amount of space at the same time.

It was also hard to tell how the large cricket was feeling, given his lack of squishy bits to emote with. For all intents and purposes his face was always locked into a look somewhere between pleasant disinterest and having to catch a train somewhere not-nearby.

Finally Clark spoke, this time his tone full of pep and vim and zaz. "I'm having a nice day out at the beach, a nice day to sit and nibble and read and relax and find waterlogged amnesiacs."

It was strange, to be quite honest, to hear such a bubbly and enthusiastic voice coming from a creature unable to make the simplest of facial expressions. Collecting himself, the man's brow furrowed and he glanced around. A beach day? That actually sounded rather nice, and would explain why he'd brought drinking water with him.

It would also explain the picnic basket.

Realizing he was terribly hungry, now that his thirst was dealt with, he was about to ask if he could share in the food when Clark once again preempted his need to ask. Stuffing a hand under the flap of the basket, he pulled out a fistful of leaves and stuffed them into the man's hands.

"PLEASE, eat as much as you like! I brought extra just in case, you never know who's gonna wash up." Clark was probably smiling, based on his joyful tone, not that his face showed it.

The man just looked down at the leaves in his hands, picking one up and chewing absently on it as to avoid being rude. It tasted leafy.

"You need a name." The large insect said, suddenly and without provocation, his tone deeply frustrated, seething almost. "I keep thinking 'hey Clark, what if you need to call after this mystery man in the presence of ANOTHER mystery man. How are they going to know which one of them you mean?' ... and the answer is obvious, you need a new name until you remember your real one."

The man offered a nod, it sounded reasonable enough, but what to name himself.

"You should probably go with something easy to remember like ... AAAAAH! or Terry." Clark was back to sounding excited.

Mystery of the Key - a Collaborative Writing Story

cause for either hope, or concern. In the distance, past the encroaching treeline and the large rocky outcroppings, was a thin spiral of black smoke. Smoke meant fire. Fire meant ... well, something. He stood staring for long moments, comforted only slightly by the sound of the waves rolling up the shore, and gulls in the distance.

He felt paralyzed by the surreal quality of the situation. It was hard to decide what to do without any memories to act as foundation stones, without experience to call on. It was hard to decide what he thought about the smoke other than that ... it was. He sighed and stared out to the sea for a moment. Fire ... whether or not it indicated something, it would certainly be useful to have. That alone was a good reason.

The man started walking, keeping to the beach as he went. As he came over a small rise in the sand he saw what was making the wispy spiral of smoke, it was ...

Nonsense (A Silly Place) [Jump in]

Madeline had dozed off from the exertion of being so completely overwhelmed by her own failure. WHY wasn't anyone here? Was it her location? She knew the building was nice but was it counter-productive locating herself on the shell of a gargantuan murder turtle? With the staggering headcount, it just seemed like there must have been a great many people wandering through the area.

Hopping down from her stool again, she stormed outside as fiercely as her little frame could storm. Peering up at the sign, she puzzled and puzzled. Was it the lack of vegan-friendly signage? As far as she knew, wood was vegan, making all of her signage vegan-friendly. Was it the lighting? No ... the lighting was fire. Well, no, it was actually magic, but what I mean to say is that it was lit. Like ... obviously, of course it was lit, but like it looked really nice.

ANYWAY it was probably the location. Turning, she peered down across the massive shell to where the creature's gargantuan head was resting on the ground, fast asleep. Strewn about the area were the remains of hundreds of heroes, big and small, old and new, some in piles even. OBVIOUSLY people were coming to the area, she had been correct, and her business hours were clearly printed as 'wherever the turtle is asleep' ... so maybe people just didn't want to give a witch a chance.

Rise of the New Heroes

Paige

---

Paige cocked an eyebrow at Kane as he asked about touching the lightning rods. It didn't seem like the best idea to her. She didn't understand that he intended to throw the shimmering thing, a little slow for a speedster. It wasn't until Kestrel said as much that she realized what the plan was, her brow peaking in surprise and uncertainty. Isn't is a ... a bit pointy? she felt her stomach turn and knot at the thought of it piercing Thundercloud, even killing him. For all the enthusiasm she'd had getting here, she hadn't thought much about what she was going to do to Thundercloud to make him stop.

Hadn't thought about the fact that heroes were actually pretty violent.

She tried to swallow the dry feeling in her throat. Thundercloud hadn't had a second thought in any of his attempts to kill them. He didn't seem like a second thought kind of guy, and to be honest it was questionable whether he bothered having FIRST thoughts. Did that mean they would have to kill him to stop him? That's probably one of those big hero-y questions that I'm fully qualified even to be asking ...

Paige tensed as a sudden flash of light from Thundercloud's direction drew her attention. A crackling wave of lightning tore through the lobby toward the various would-be heroes. She still wasn't sure if it was a good idea, watching in increasingly slow motion, as Kane took the spear from Kestrel, her barriers already shimmering into being around them.

Across the lobby, Olivia looked pretty exposed without barriers or bodies to protect her. [i]Wait is that ... the actual shadow of death?![i] She wondered as she caught momentary sight of Rosaria disappearing into a shadow. The tire would probably be fine, and Robin ... well, she still wasn't sure what was happening there.

Paige couldn't actually help anyone as she was. Pushing someone out of the way could easily break their neck. She had to worry about herself for now. Turning to flee, she could see the exit blocked by the lightning from outside, her jaw clenching as she realized she had nowhere to run. She would have to figure out something else.

Problem was, she couldn't get any momentum as fast as she was moving. She was stuck, while the lightning inched toward her. Jaw clenched, she had one last idea. Pushing off from the ground, she floated upward and out of the path of the converging walls of lightning. She didn't go very high, and began to fall back toward the ground while the lightning was still underneath her.

She watched, unable to do anything, as her feet drew closer and closer to the electricity. Clamping her eyes shut, she risked one last stupid idea and returned to normal time.

Paige touched the lightning, albeit the back side of the wave. Her suit was rubberized, protecting her from the most serious burns, but it sent her shooting out the front doors, smoking lightly as she rolled to a stop on the wet pavement and took a moment to stare up into the rain wondering if she was actually still alive.

The rainbow dance party of light that erupted from inside just moments later had her convinced she was dead. Sitting up, the pain in her body quickly changed her mind, and with a groan she climbed to her feet. All around, storm troopers lay prone, some smoking, some openly flaming. The police, thankfully, had been relatively far from the source, and while their vehicles were damaged, their bodies weren't strewn about the place.

Squinting into the strangely lit lobby, Paige was surprised to see Kane glowing up.

... What?!

Taking a few steps forward, a sharp pain in her side made her hesitate, another pinch following the surprised gasp she issued. She must have broken a rib in the fall, she'd felt this kind of thing before. Lips tight in a frown, she wondered if she was just being stupid at this point ...

Mystery of the Key - a Collaborative Writing Story

@Guccicorn glad to have you here! You could've saved some time though, as you only really needed to copy paste one of your posts from the hero RP :P

@Zapdos

... application? *goes back and read* ... erm ... yes ... that's ... what i was doing ...

Mystery of the Key - a Collaborative Writing Story

Skylar woke quite suddenly and sat bolt upright, her hair twisted and warped into a frizzy halo around her head as she struggled to understand what was happening. Her surroundings were unfamiliar, and vague, some kind of small town. The sound of the waves and the smell of dead kelp brought it all back, she was in Ravensnose, her hometown. Pushing to her feet, she brushed the fine layer of amethyst dust from her cult-issued coverall and offered a wave to Evil Joe, who was taking a mourning stroll, walking his small cloud of malaria mosquitoes, each one pulled along at the end of a tiny, yet elegant, little collar and leash. Evil Joe waved pleasantly with his stump, and lifted the cracked, dirty baby-face mask high enough to offer a polite smile with his pointy teeth. Since his lips went missing, he always seemed to be smiling the widest of smiles, and there was no one nicer than Evil Joe. Mind the drool though.

... what were we talking about?

Oh yeah, I'm in prolly!

Nonsense (A Silly Place) [Jump in]

... Okay, update ... the murder turtle DID just ... eat Kevin, who was interviewing to be our part time cook ... but I mean bears murder people all the time and we don't call them murder bears! He's just a turtle with a startling capacity for murder, it doesn't DEFINE him!

BREAKING EDIT: We've just discovered that Kevin, in hopes of landing the job, was wearing Mes Erables from Dior's 'Wild Breakfast' line of men's colognes. At this point, can you even blame the murder turtle ...

As just a kind of side note, I only recently realized that I edited out all the parts about the cafe/inn being placed onto the back of a Gargantuan Snapping Tortoise which Madeline had misidentified as a Murder Turtle, which is the size of a normal turtle but much more nefarious in nature, and is completely different from a tortoise.