groovygamers.com

Plans have been made, and the group eventually decides when and how to go to Bachelor's Grove Cemetary to deal with the witches.

Megan had swung by her house to get her Velocity costume (and marbles that she carried with it, figuring she might well need small objects to throw as superspeed) and quickly ran down some of what happened with her mom and that her and the people she knew with powers had to stop this group of witches.  After promising to be careful, she was off again towards were the group had agreed to meet.  As Sylvia had said, her and John could be some ways off and still arrive quickly enough, so Megan was with him as they moved to set up their observation point. 

As they arrived at a good place, Megan was glad that if the night got cold while they waited, just being near John was a sure way to warm up.  Looking up at him in the fading light, she thought about all the crazy events of the day as well as the time they had spent together the last two weeks.  Looking back over at the cemetery, Megan quietly asked, “John, can I ask you something?  The day after we met and you told me about your powers, you said it was because you liked me.  What was it that you saw that had you asking me for coffee the moment we met and feeling that way the next day?”

"You seemed so happy.  There was just something in your eyes that I wanted to know about.  I'm not sure you've noticed, but I'm a pretty somber person.  Just the way you seemed to vibrate happiness drew me." 

John had swapped out his normal jeans and t-shirt for a pair of black pants that looked like the kind cyclists wore, except heavier and with a more rubberized feel to them.  His sneakers had been left at home and he wore a pair of black boots with soft soles.  The top of the book came up to just below his knee and they were held on with bickles down the outside, somewhat like ski boots.  He wore a shirt made fron the same material as his pants, with long sleeves, but it was a dark red.  Over that he wore a leather jacket that had obviously seen better days.  He had his hair slicked back and a pair of goggles with amber lenes.  It was hard to recognize him unless you knew him.

Megan nodded and grinned.  “Well, I hope learning more about me has not tarnished that view too much.  But as for you being so somber, I think it has a bit to do with your sense of responsibility that comes with your powers and probably feeling alone in that in many ways.  It’s been difficult at times adjusting for me, and its only been a couple of months, you have had to deal with it all your life.”

Glancing back down at his outfit, she added.  “Like the look by the way.”  She looked back at his eyes (as well as she could through the lenses of the goggles).  “This some of that material you were talking about?”

"Yeah.  This is my third costume in as many years.  I manage to keep the jacket, but the costumes end up getting trashed."  He was silent for a moment, "Maybe you're right.  Maybe it's been the fact that I've had this secret, and I've felt that it's my responsibility to do good.  But, like you and the others, I'm not really alone in that anymore."

Megan smiled as John mentioned not being alone anymore, “I believe I have mentioned that a few times.”  She then added, “and there’s nothing wrong with the responsibility you feel, in fact, its one of the things that I find so appealing about you and something I feel we share similar views on.  You have a family legacy that I am sure you feel a lot of pressure to live up too, and that can never be easy.  I guess I sorta have one as well, though not one that is nearly as daunting, and I didn’t even know about till last week.  But I guess I was trying to live up to it in a way without even knowing it just because of how much my mom’s values have shaped me.”

She focused back on the darkening cemetery, leaning her head against his shoulder.  “But regardless of what we our obligation is in regards to what we can do, we owe it to ourselves to allow for what we need and find happiness at times.  With that in mind, it appears we suddenly have a long weekend ahead, any ideas on what to do with some of that time?”

John makes a few suggestions about ways to fill the time.  There are some sites he wants to see in Chicago, and a few places he'd like to eat.

OOC:  It amounts to basically a walking tour of sorts through the city.

Megan smiles at John’s suggestions.  “Okay, that sounds like fun.  Guess depending on how things shakeout tonight we can see about doing it tomorrow or maybe Thursday or Friday.  Hope you haven’t forgotten about Thursday night.”

Kel gets there as the sun is falling below the sky, he's in his typical black clothing though he's now lost the ski mask in favor of a simple mask over his eyes, and a tight black cap containing his hair and making his form sleeker.  He settles himself into the overgrown vegetation of and broken up tombstones of the cemetary.  As he huddles down behind one of the mausoleums he thinks to himself Cape or no cape.  Cape might be handy for hiding myself and throwing people off but I feel like it'd cause trouble in this scenario.  I hope I'm not standing on anyone's grave...  He looks down momentarily before returning his attention to the rest of the area, his eyes flaoting over entrances and the other graves.  He turns his nose to the wind, hoping to catch a scent as he crouches.

((Stealth roll: http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=966005 ))

Kel looked around the cemetary trying to spot where everyone else was.  Had they all just waited in the car, he wondered.  His eyes wandered up to the sky, certainly he should see a giant dragon by now.  His eyes circle about, nose sniffing the air, are they also hiding already.  Kel sighs as he starts getting pumped up and jittery, we need walkie talkes...

Everyone has found a place to hide out, and is observing various areas of the cemetary grounds.  Everything seems quiet as the night moves forward.  It's pitch black out, the night sky slightly overcast and the deserted cemetery has no lights.

It's getting close to about 10PM when a car arrives.  It turns it's lights off and parks.  Several people get out and begin to gather things from the trunk.  Two of them carry boxes out into the cemetary and the other four carry what looks like a rolled up carpet from the trunk out to where the others have taken the boxes.

They put the carpet bundle on the ground and then they begin to put candles out around where they are and with a red lens flashlight they appear to be following some instructions from a book, placing candles in a certain pattern, pouring some kind of liquid around in a large cirlce.

OOC: Donnie, I assume your spell to find your notebooks is in place?  If so then you definitely detect them with the girls, probably in one of the boxes.

Sylvia provides what camouflage she can from Althea's back, but the purpose she best serves, from this vantage, is in surveillance.  She watches and waits for an opportunity to transmit information to the ground troops.

As it had gotten later in the night, and colder, Megan had moved to stand behind John and put on a ski undershell she wore last year in Aspen under her Velocity costume.  The change had only take a few seconds, even though she had to completely take off her costume, (and she used John’s conveniently located shoulder to hang her costume for the second it took to put on the undershell) and then she was back beside John.  But even with that on, it was still cold, so by the time the car pulled up, she had been huddled up against John for warmth.

With the pitch black of the cemetery, it had been easy to see the car headlights when it arrived.  But once it stopped, she could not see a thing.  Almost completely under her breath, she asked, “can you see them?”

"Sort of.  Six girls and."  He squints in the direction of the group.  "There's a person wrapped up in that bundle, a girl from the looks of it."

“They have someone wrapped up in a bundle?”  Megan asked in a worried tone, keeping her voice low.  She looked in the direction of where the girls were, though there was no chance she could see anything right now.  “Hopefully they will light some candles or something, be nice to have a little light to see by, and hopefully I can get from here to there without breaking my neck.  Guess we just wait for the others to signal their ready.”

Megan stood up from leaning in on John, getting ready to go when the time came.

John sends a text message to everyone --Bundle has a girl in it, be careful--

Sarah sits behind a neat hedgerow next to Colin and looks at her phone.  "They have a girl wrapped up over there.  That can't be good."  She looks at Colin and says quietly, "I don't want you to..."  She doesn't know how to say what she worries about.  "I want you to be able to walk away from here tonight with a clear conscience.  I don't want any of that karma you and Donnie talk about coming back on you okay?  If it gets messy leave it to Kel and me.  I know you can fight.  I still grin every time I think of that lightning bolt.  My abilities have nothing to do with Karma.  As far as I can tell I breathed in the wrong fumes or landed in the wrong puddle at the lab."

She just looks at him for a minute.  "Just be careful or I'll thump you."

Colin finds somewhere a little smile for her.

"Got it."

He reaches for her hand and squeezes it for a moment, than turns back to look the witches with his ghost sight.

Blackbird, any piece of advice would be welcome now.

Expect things to work out.  Eventually.

Donnie peers down from the back of Althea, bundled in the heavy leather flight jacket and helmet he wore qat the Hallowen party, The blue scarf has been replaced with a black one, and he digs out his phone as Althea banks over to catch a thermal and keep her airborne. Sylvia holds on tight behind him, dresed in Donnie's mom's ski jacket, hat, scarf and ray-ban goggles from three years ago when his dad took them on a disaterous ski-trip vacation. The jacket still had the price tag on it when Donnnie dufg it out of the storage bin in the basement.

"Crap. John says that bundle they pulled out of the trunk was a girl wrapped up. That's totally not good. Everyone seems to be waiting for the other to make the first move. I thought John and Megan were, but they are hesitating. Should we do something bold and possibly stupid?"  Donnie says loudly over his shoulder to Sylvia.

Adrenaline prickles through his veins and he feels Dylan hidden somewhere in a tree down near the site. His predatory eagerness was seeping into Donnie.

She tells Colin, "I think the gangs all here.  I don't suppose you could clear the sky?"

Sarah types a quick message back to John.

You get girl free.  Then Meg can nuke them.  We'll pick up the pieces.  Wish we had a big light.

Megan looked over at John.  “You think you could pick me up and get us into the middle of them with a leap?”  She asked.  “If so, that might be a good first strike, jump in and cause some confusion,” she held up one of her marbles with a smile as she continued, “then grab whomever they have bundled up and be gone.  By then the others should be closing in as well.”

John glances at his phone while Megan was suggesting an alpha strike.  He holds it up for Megan to see, "Sarah was thinking along the same lines.  Let's drop in, then give me a second to take off witht he girl in the bundle.  Then maybe you can try that somic boom trick again, just don't over do it this time."  He says the last part with a smile, putting the phone back in his jacket.

OOC: As a side note, John's phone display is in low light high-contrast settings so it can be read in the dark and doesn't mess with your night vision.

[Sammy]

Sammy feels the warmth of her bed, and realizes slowly that she's not in her bed.  She's bundled up tightly, and there are voices and movement around her.  She can feel a slight breeze, and she realizes she's outside somewhere.  The fact that she has a headache and a dry mouth worries her, like she's been drugged.

With no idea of her surroundings she thinks that patience might be in order.

Sammy has no idea of where she might be, or who might have her.  Not knowing what she's up against, she tries to listen to the noises around her and make some sense out of them.  She has a killer headache from all of the chemical abuse her body has taken today, and decides that its better to try to regain some strength and gain some situational awareness before trying to fight.

OOC: I'm going to need Initiative rolls from everyone, including Sammy even though I know she's just lasying there.

OOC:  initiative (1d20=19) (http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=971212) +1=20   for Sammy

Initiative (1d20+2=12) (http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=971219)

Damned Ray-Bans.

Megan glances at the message, and smiles back.  “Yeah, hopefully I won’t.  I can do that I suppose, just afraid of causing damage to any headstones and the like, but guess they are sturdier than car windows.  But I can still cover you when we first land in, and set that off when we’re leaving.” 

(ooc how very average, got a 30 for initiative.  http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=971247; Just to put it in now, Megan will hold action for John to take them into the midst of the witches)

OOC:
Sarah leaps into the fray as soon as there is a fray. 

Initiative (1d20+6=26) (http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=971272)

"I can try. It won't be easy, but I can try."

It won't be easy, because anger usually causes the sky to darken, and Colin is quite angry at the witches. He closes his eyes and sighs deeply, and tries to calm down, and send a softer emotion skyward. He tries to think of his parents, of that night on the boat with his dad, and of that beautiful sunset with Sarah. He's not sure about the moon, but he hopes some stars will appear.

He keeps looking around, though. He thought a cemetery would have been a place where  lots of spirits hang out. Where do they go on Halloween night?

Initiative check (1d20+1=13) (http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=971297)

Donnie's Init roll (1d20 +1=3) (http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=971446)

Donnie is feeling around magically, feeling his link to Dylan, to Pip on Dylan's shoulder, to Althea, and the tenuous strand that links him to Uther, who waits impatiently on the other aide of the Dragon Reaches for his summons.

http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=971586 6!!!!

Kel waits, watching as everything comes in, he's the closest but also one of the last people who's supposed to jump into the fray.  He waits for everything to go to hell.

"Ready?"  John says, reaching over to pick Megan up and cradle her in his arms.  "Someday I need to figure out how to fly."  He says quaietly.  With a hop they cross the yards to the spot the girls have been setting up, and they land in the midst.  John sets Megan down, more a release then actually putting her on her feet.  She's been "dropped" a million times as a cheer leader and easily lands on her feet.

[Begin Round 1]

[Initiative 23]

John picks up the bundle and leaps away with it, back over towards the spot where the girls parked the car.

OOC: Megan and Sarah held their actions, so it's Megan's turn if she wants to act now.  I'll let both of you assume your regular initiative on the next round, so technically it's still 23.

“That’s something to look forward too.”  Megan replied quietly with a smile as John mentioned needing to figure out how to fly.  Then they were leaping through the air and John released her.  It was just like in cheerleading, something she had done so many times.  Landing nimbly on her feet, she looked around at the gathered witches with a smile.  “Sorry, but didn’t you hear?  Human sacrifice is a big no-no.”

John grabbed the bundled person and leapt away, towards the car that had brought the girls.  Megan’s right hand became a blur of motion as she launched a number of marbles at the nearest witch at high speed.  She was then off at top speed, in the direction John had leapt.  She could vaguely make him out in the air and came to a halt near where he landed with the bundle.  “First shots away.”  She said, turning back towards the witches to see if the others would be in things soon and what the witches would do in reaction.

(ooc raipd fire attack, rolled a 17 to hit.  +4 damage attack, +1 damage for every time she beat the target’s defense by 2: http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=971907)

So many witches, so little time.  Rushing in Sarah picks a witch... maybe it will be Jane!  and gives a fast swing... only to trip over a stone at the last moment.

OOC: Attack (1d20+4=8) (http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=972001) 

In the dark making out details is almost impossible, but Megan manages to hit the target and knock it down before bolting off towards where John landed with the bundle.

Sarah moved into the group and took a swing, but was suprised with the speed at which the girl dodged the attack.  She was even more suprised when one of the other girls came at her with speed like that John and Megan have, showering her with a rain of punches.

Another of the girls started off towards where Megan and John had run to with the bundle.  She takes a swing at Megan, a flurry of fists, which even at the speed they're moving Megan is easily able to dodge.

Another girl makes a move towards John, attacking in the same manner.  She too is unsuccessful.

It was obvious that the girls were enhanced somehow, they were fast in a super speed sort of way.

[Initiative 13]

Colin's Turn

OOC: Sarah I need a Toughness check DC 17

Megan need an Int check which can be modified by anything you have that would relate to her memory.  DC is 14

(OOC sad Int check, rolled a 5 http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=972164)

OOC:  Success!

Toughness Save (1d20+4=21) (http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=973101)

Colin squints as he looks at the witches. Did they use magic to make themselves quicker, or they were so dumb to take some superman? He tries to perceive their auras, because in the first case, he hopes to strip them of any magic protection or enhancement. In the latter case... well they're not fighting fair, so he drives his energy to protect and sustain Sarah.

Colin sees nothing magical in the auras of the girls.  Whatever is giving them the speed is not magical in nature.

He then lets out his breath, and his primal words, in a tune made of friendship and love. He imagines it wrapping around  Sarah like an armor, shielding her and making her stronger. He willingly lends her his strength.

[Initiative 12]

Sylvia's turn

Sylvia has her arms locked around Donnie's waist, and she's scanning the battlefield, trying to discern targets in the dark.  How can she help?  Maybe if she were down on the ground, she could guard Sarah's flank.  But who is she kidding?  Sylvia can't land a punch on a band geek.  Only in her wildest dreams would she be any good down . . . but wait.  An idea.

Sylvia (but not Sylvia) comes striding out of the nearest cluster of trees with all the bad-ass glamour of a Kill Bill valkyrie--like, say, the animated Lucy Liu in that cherry-red outfit with the big gun.  No, wait.  Subtract the gun, add the gleaming katana.  And maybe a couple of grenades, dangling off a bandolier?  No.  Ginny would say that was over-accessorizing.  Just the big sword, then, and a cold stare that would make any hopped-up wee-yotch think twice before crossing her.  She covers Sarah's left flank.

[Emo control, gut-squnching fear?]

The girl that attacked Sarah looks determined to launch another assault, until she catches sight of Sylvia coming out of the woods, Katana in hand and a determined stride and gaze that unsettles the girl in a way she's not ready for.

Another girl from the pack moves to intercept Sylvia and throws a volley of punches.  The Holo-Sylvia executes a bluring series of dodges ala the Matrix and remains unphased.

[Initiative 6]

Kel's turn.

Kel leaps out from the shadows bringing his fist down on the closest girl as he comes to land behind her.

(( http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=975528 not the best but better than nothing))

The attack by Kel certainly knocked the girl off her game, and seems to have stunned her for a moment.

OOC: Kel, need a Notice Check DC 12

[Initiative 3]

Donnie's turn

Donnie grins fiercely and let's Althea give her horrendously loud hunting cry as she dove into the center of things, slamming into the ground with earthshking force. The dragon growled, her blue eyes whirling in color as she visually swept the clearing as Donnie took the moment to Summon Uther in the treeline near where KillBillSylvia had sauntered out from.

[End Round 1]

[Begin Round 2]

[Initiative 30]

Megan's turn.

Megan gave the girl that tried to hit her an overly exaggerated look of disgust.  “Ugh, you suck!”   She quipped, emphasis on ‘suck.’  Then her right fist shot out at blinding speed towards the girl.  “Why is everyone always trying to copy my powers?”

(OOC Megan’s attack roll is 22, +4 damage.  http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=975792)

Megan's attack connects, stunning the girl for a moment.

[Initiative 29]

One of the girls moves to attack Kel.  She has enhanced speed, like the others and tries to strike him with a flurry of blows but the attacks miss his agile form.

[Initiative 26]

Sarah's turn

Sarah counter attacks the girl that attacked her, but is not able to land a blow with her staff.

OOC: I know you said to roll in the high teens, but I screwed it up, sorry.

[Initiative 23]

John drops the bundle as gently as possible, and then pushes his hand, palm out, towards the girl that attacked him.  She easily dodges the move.

[Initiative 21]

#5 attacks Sarah again, but Sarah is able to deflect the blows with her staff.

[Initiative 20]

Sammy's turn  OOC: I assume you're still holding at this point.

# 3 recovers from being stunned.

[Initiative 18]

#1, after dodging John's attack throws another volley of punches at him, which he is able to ignore.

[Initiative 13]

Colin's turn.

Kel breathes in deep, opens his eyes wide as they dart about, his ears twitch about like a predatory cats, and his tongue darts out like a snakes.  Kel feels like a hawk, wolf, and tiger combined as he looks about.

((Of course now a natural 20- http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=976085 ))

Kel realizes that the girl he attacked, and the one that came to attack him are not any of the girls they know to be in the coven.

Kel's eyes bug out and he shouts, "Who the hell are all of you?!  These aren't the witches!"

Colin tries to get near the boxes hoping to notice Donnie's spellbooks before these girls, whoever they are, notice him too.

OOC:  sure.

Colin can easily move that distance with no major problems.  He digs through the boxes and finds the notebooks without a major problem.

[Initiative 12]

Sylvia's turn.

[Could Sylvia have heard Kel?  If so, "Baldrick, I have a cunning plan."  She'll project Oak Park High's coven's second-in-command coming out of the shadows to whack Fake Sylvia over the back of the head with a stick.  Fake Sylvia goes down.  Fake witch says to real witch (Fake Sylvia's opponent) something along the lines of "There's a problem.  Get to the others as fast as you can."  Emo control, credulity?]

The 'witch' looks at the illusionary witch and says something, the shrug of her shoulders and tilt of her head suggests she's confused.

[Initiative 11]

#2, the one that was fighting Holo-Sylvia, recovers from being stunned.

[Initiative 6]

Kel's turn

OOC: Kel was figting #2 and stunned her last round.  #6 has also moved up to battle Kel, and since the Holo-Sylvia 'went down' both girls appear to be focusing on Kel.  #2 said to the Holo-Witch "Where are they at?  I thought you wanted us here to delay these idiots?"

Sammy hears voices  -- girl's voices?  Maybe a guy too?  It sounds like one of the girls is trying to tell somebody to do something, and they aren't quite getting it yet.  She doesn't know who the voices belong to.  There are other noises too, but she doesn't know what those might be.

Powers.  Can I use my powers?  Have they been turned off somehow?  She tries to hover. She's trying to make it as little as possible just in case anybody is watching, but it has to be enough that she can tell the difference between laying on... the  floor?  the ground? and being in the air.

Sammy can feel her powers working.

One less thing to worry about!

Sammy waits and listens, listens and waits, and is ready to fight or just try to run like hell as soon as she can see what is going on around her.

Kel stares at the witches and punches at them, his fist sailing past her head and then he said, "Who is making you do this and where are they?!"  He snarls as he stares at her.

(( attack roll http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=978311  and an equally poor intimidate roll: http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=978314 ))

Definitely a male voice.  Sammy strains to hear what he is saying.

Kel's attack missed, and she just smiles, "You'll need to try harder to figure that out sweetie."  She says.

[Initiative 3]

Donnie's turn.

ooc: Awww, a huge blue dragon roaring as it lands in the middle of the clearing doesn't freak out any of the girls? These rules suck.  ;) Does Donni have a chance to hear the exchange between kel and the notwitch?

OOC: I see no reason why not.  They're probably talking in raised voices anyway.

Donnie curses to himself and shouts to his friends. "Colin! Dylan! These are decoys! We need to find the real witches."  He mentally has Pip say the same to Dylan (if the dragon-made-flesh can understand the little dragon) and has Althea take to the air again. He reaches out with both hands and tries to extend outwards, searching for any building magical force that may indicate the true location of the coven.

ooc: Dunno, I think I can do all that in a round.  :)

[End Round 2]

[Begin Round 3]

[Initiative 30]

Megan's turn.

Megan takes another swing at the girl that had just recovered from her last punch, hoping to put her down this time.

(OOC rolled a 23 to hit.  +4 damage.  http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=980566)

Megan shifts position and throws a punch that makes a sound like thunder when it connects with the girl's chin.  The fake witches feet leave the ground and she is tossed several feet to the ground, unconscious.

[Initiative 29]

# 6 tries again to hit Kel, but despite her speed she can't seem to land a punch on him

[Initiative 26]

Sarah's turn.

Sarah takes a swing at the speedy girl in her face.

 Did I just here the guys right?  Not the witches.. so where the heck are they?  They got these girls some new and improved superman and told them to keep us busy for a while or something?  I'm really really starting to not like them.

OOC:

Attack (1d20+4=16) (http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=982350)

Good. Now to find what they did with them, and, hopefully, a clue on where they might been.

Colin closes his eyes, opens the books and runs his hand on their pages, trying to get an impression out of them that is not of Donnie.

Sarah clocks the girl with her staff, the buzzing sound of it making contact with her flesh staggers the girl back stunning her momentarily.

[Initiative 23]

John steps over the bundle in a protective manner and extends his hand again, palm out.  This time he makes contact with his attacker's chest.  It doesn't look like he pushes her that hard, but a second later the girl is several yards away, crashing into the ground unconscious.

John kneels down and begins to unwrap the bundle.

[Initiative 21]

#5 recovers from being stunned.

[Initiative 20]

Sammy's turn

(This is where things get interesting)

[Initiative 13]

Colin lets his senses explore the notebooks.  He sees the boys that attacked Donnie, the one who's job it was to steal the notebooks.  He takes them to a nearby store and photo copies the pages.  Then he gives the copies and the originals to one of the witches.  She gives the originals to another girl, probably one of the girls here.  The girls then come here, and while they're setting things up, they each use a needle and shoot up with some kind of drug.

[Initiative 12]

Sylvia's turn.

OOC:  *Sammy's action will be posted in the sub-thread*

Sylvia tries to bring this combat to a quick end so they can find their real targets.  She creates the illusion that Althea rises up onto her hind legs and spits an arc of fire, indiscriminately taking out the whoever's in radius.  With luck more than one witch will stop, drop, and roll or run screaming for the quarry pond.

The two girls near Kel scream and begin to run about madly, eventually jumping into the pond to extinguish the flames that have engulfed them. 

There is only the one girl left near Sarah that might be a threat, and she's got a look of terror at seeing her companions lit on fire.

The sound of sirens can be heard coming up the access road towards the cemetery, and their lights can be made out through the trees.

[Initiative 6]

Kel's turn

Kel lets his fist slam into the terrified girl's face and he says, "Lets try to figure out where the real witches are.  John who was in that bundle?"  He begins to look about for exits, and begins considering hopping into the car they brought.

(( http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=983031 ))

"Darnit Kel get your own!" quips Sarah before grinning and rushing over to Colin.  "Whats the story?"

"Trouble. We've got Donnie's notebooks, but they photocopied them. And I've got no clue where they are."

He tries to touch the boxes, or the rest of the stuff, hoping to get something that could lead them to where the witches really are.

Sylvia puts her chin on Donnie's shoulder to be heard above the approaching sirens and the distant screams of girls splashing in the quarry pond.  "Are the real witches somewhere in the cemetery?"

"I don't recognize her, but she's unconscious and probably needs to get to the hospital."

Kel can easily find a number of ways to disappear.  The access road offers limited coverage so it would be easy to get away on foot.  The cemetery is out of the way, but you could get to a street without too much trouble.

Megan had winced slightly as Kel called out John’s name.  She would have figured Kel would be one to not use their real names too much, but guess John didn’t really have some other name he preferred to go by in costume.  Heck this is the first time any of us have seen his costume.  She thought as she zips over behind John to see if she recognized the girl.

“Do you all want to clear out and start trying to find the real witches?  I can stay and talk to the cops and catch up.”  She said.

"Well, that would be great, Velocity."

Colin hands the notebooks to Sarah and goes to check on the unconscious girl. He takes her hand softly, Hoping he can help her, and that she could help them understand what's happening. He puts a hand on her forehead and blows delicately on her face.

Kel nods to Megan as he walked towards the girl, he checks to make sure he doesn't know her before doing anything.

ooc: Colin: Donnie is up in the air atop Althea atm. :)

OOC: Oops. Fixed.

"I don't hear any ambulances."  John says flatly.  "They're either behind or they have no idea what's going on here.  I don't think we should wait to get her to the hospital."  John goes over to the girl, kneeling down.  "Colin, she's pretty out of it.  I'd feel better if she were in a hospital."

Megan nods at John’s assessment of what the girl needs.  “Okay, well, give me a call so I can tell the police where she is, I’m sure they will want to talk to her as she seems to have been kidnapped, a pretty serious charge against these girls.”   She pointed to the unconscious fake witches.  “I’ll go intercept the cops and start talking to them.  That will give the rest of you time to clear out before I lead them back here.”   If John and the others agree, Megan zips off in the direction the police are coming from, stopping half way between and flagging down the lead patrol car.

Sarah holds the book.  Yep.  Holding that book.  *whistles a few random note*  Still holding a book.  At least I didn't have to wait in the car.

Blackbird, is she one of those I can't help because her destiny is different? Isn't there anyone around here that could help me? (and by 'anyone' he actually means some spirit, like at the Halloween party).

She sleeps, it is not injury that causes this, but the medicine of man helping to heal her.

"She's not hurt, she's under sedation. But it was done to help her. Like if she was taken from a hospital..."

His eyes go wide with the realization of danger.

"Sammy!"

"Not that I doubt the powers you seem to be in touch with, but she should be under a doctors care then."  John picks her up.  "I'll text you as soon as I'm there and she's taken care of."  He turns and looks at Megan, "I'm not sure my folks would be okay with me coming out to the police just yet.  If they need to talk to me though, I can come back."

OOC: He departs after any reply Megan might have.

John is gone in a blur and the lights from the patrol cars finally sweep across the group.  Several State Police cars and some from the local municipality as well as the county sheriff's department form a sort of half circle.  The initial reaction seems like they came here expecting something completely different then what they've found.

After a moment one of the older men comes over, from the State Police.  "We were told there was a major gang shootout down here.  What's going on?"

“I don’t think they will need to talk to you.”  Megan said to John before he left with the girl.

She looked over at the State police officer when the police cars arrived, moving forward.  “Good evening officer.”   She said with a friendly smile.  “I’m Velocity.  There was no shootout, least, not with any guns.  We were looking for a group of paranormal troublemakers and encountered these girls here.  They are using a drug like one that some girls were using in Chicago to impersonate me several weeks ago.  If you call Inspector Kevin Kiernan of the Chicago PCD, he can verify about those other girls and vouch for me.”

Kel is out in the trees away from the scene when the police arrive, trying to think of other places the girls might be.

Sarah looks at Colin with concern.  "What is it?  Do you think Sammy is in trouble?  Tell one of the police and they can get the hospital to check on her for us.  But why would she be in danger?"  She considers what she just said.  "Okay that's a stupid question.  A better question; Where is the next likely place for the witches to be?"

"I have no idea who she is, where they took her from and why, but she had been sedated by someone wanting to heal her. So most likely in a hospital. If they could take her, though, maybe Sammy really is in danger too.
As to where they could be, I'm afraid I have no idea. Maybe we should ask Mitzi. I'm getting tired of maybes, though."

He takes his phone and tries to call Sammy, then remembers Megan told them she lost her phone. So he calls Dave instead, hoping he's got Elrod's number and could ask him about their friend.

Dave gives Colin Elrod's number.  When Colin reaches him he quickly learns that Sammy is missing from her room at the hospital and they're looking for her.

Colin puts the phone away and closes his eyes for a moment. From the sky above a distant rumble can be heard.

"Sammy is not at the hospital anymore. How do we find her?"

He takes the phone again, and call Donnie, to ask him the same question. Then he looks around until he finds the blackbird.

You said everything would be fine, eventually. I'm trying to have faith in that. Is she in danger?

The blackbird looks at Colin for a moment, and then flies away.

Colin starts to run, looking above at the bird.

"Follow me." he shouts behind.

Sarah takes off after Colin.   I hope that bird isn't just looking for roadkill

The police make a few calls to verify credentials and then take the faux-witches into custody.  They get a statement from Velocity and then start to collect the assorted evidence at the scene.

Donnie begins to feel a compass-like pull from the city.  Some strong magic is at work there.

Colin and Sarah follow the blackbird to a nearby intersection, where it lands on a post box.  A few seconds later a black mercedes pulls up, Elrod rolls down the window.  "Dave said you'd be out here, they just called and she's okay.  They're taking her back to the hospital now."

After giving her statement, Megan will remain on the scene until she gets a call or message from John as to where he took the unconscious girl so she can relay the information to the police so they can send someone to check on her and try to figure out who she is.

It's about nten minutes before John contacts Megan.  He's back at Gottlieb Memorial and they've finally gotten the girl taken care of.  The message goes on to say that she was taken from here earlier in the evening, about 8Pm.

Megan relays the information to the police on the scene, and when tells them they can get in touch with her through Kevin and takes off.  Speeding away some, she stops a couple miles away and gives John a call.

The phone rings a couple of times before John answers, "Hey.  How are things there?"

“I passed on the info to the cops and gave my statement, so I have left.  I’m just a couple miles away right now.  Everyone else cleared out right before the police arrived, have you heard anything from them?  You still at the hospital?”  Megan asked as she leaned up against a tree, watching a few cars pass by on the nearby road.

Donnie grins viciously. Got your trail bwitches..
He shouts over his shoulder to Sylvia. "I've got a trace of them! Gonna follow it!"
He dismisses Uther, apologizing to the grumbling dragon for the lack of action, and directs Althea in the directing with a mental command. Pip wings after them all as fast as his little wings could go. Donnie hoped Dylan was following as well.

"On the roof.  Are we done or do we still need to find them?"

“I don’t know.”  Megan replied, feeling a bit down that the witches seemed to have been able to avoid them completely.  “Why don’t you try to reach some of the others, see if they know anymore, I’ll start back towards the city.  If I don’t hear from you before I get there, I’ll head up to the roof of the hospital, otherwise, I’ll head wherever the others tell you to meet up.”

"Ok.  Be carfeful, this day is already crazy."  John hangs up and tries to call Donnie.

"How is she? Can you bring us there too? Do you know where she was found? Who found her? Who was with her?"

Colin takes a deep breath.

"Sorry, Elrod, I'm just nervous. The first question is the most important. How is she?"

“Yeah, it has.”  Megan replies just before John hangs up.  Then, she is off at full speed, racing past the sparse traffic on the road as she heads back towards downtown Chicago.

"She's good I guess.  Hop in, I'm headed that way."

Colin turns to Sarah.

"I guess I should go check on her. I have this strange feeling something happened. Are you coming?"

Something in his eyes clearly tells her he would feel better if she went with them.

Sylvia suppresses terror at the pitching and yawing of Althea's change of direction and locks her arms around Donnie like she's trying to hang onto his ribs for a sure grip.  When she replies, it's in his head, in a voice that carries better than the scream she'd have to issue from her throat.  At what point would it be okay for your dragons just to eat them?  It really sucks to be the good guys.

OOC:  Well of course it would.  Elrod's only got a 2-seater :)  http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h273/raventongue/SLK280_main.jpg  - isn't this what SO described?

IC:

Sarah nods, "Yes I want to come.  I want to see for myself that she is okay.  Sammy can fill us in hopefully.  Unless this is just another distraction to keep us running around while the bwitches  run off and try something else."  She climbs with Colin and grins at Elroadster.  "Easy on the brakes okay?" 

Donnie laughs loudly, the wind knifing across his face. "If only I could!" he shouts.

After a few moments of hard flying, Althea tips her wings up and their momentum slows. Donnie digs out his cell phone and cups his hands around it. "Hello?"

[Donnie]

"Donnie, it's John.  I'm at the hospital and I'm trying to get an idea of what our next move is."

[Colin & Sarah]

Elrod leaves the curb and begins to head for the hospital, they're in the car when he gets the car from Sammy.  He explains that was her after the call and then calls Dave, trying to get a hold of Donnie.

It's only a few minutes later they're at the hospital and Elrod tells them the room she was in and that he'll be there in a minute.

OOC: For the conversation with Sammy go ahead and move over to the other thread.

[Megan]

It's not hard for Megan to make it to the hospital and the roof in only a few minutes.  assume she arrives immediately after John's call to Donnie.

Kel watches as the police arrive and then the heroes themselves disperse.  He begins moving out across the forested area and begins making his way for a road back to the El, figuring he'll have someone call him when more information is obtained.

OOC: I could say that the thought didn't even cross my mind, but who would believe me?  :angel:

"Hey John! I'm on the hunt. I got a magical whiff of them and am heading their direction. You can stay on the phone with me or I can call you back when I get near the spot."

(after John gets off the phone/or decides to wait on the line with Donnie)

Megan runs towards the hospital at top speed, a blur that left a wind in its wake.  Rushing up the wall, she was soon on the roof and skidding to a halt next to John.

“Hey tall, dark and superpowered.  What’s up?”  She asked with a grin.

"Call me the second you have anything."  John says, "Don't go off half-cocked."  He hangs up and turns to Megan, leaning over to give her a quick kiss.  "Donnie thinks he's on the trail."

[Donnie]

The trail Donnie feels leads to the roof of an older building in the city.  It is an imposing tower with sleek falcon heads for rain gutters at various floor.  The Blackstone Building is mentioend in some of the magical texts he's read, it's a place that's got a reputation as being haunted and magically potent.  The trail ends on the roof, and their is certainly evidence of a ritual.  The markings and candles indicate something took place here, and the fading glow of magic tells Donnie it was something big.

“hmmm”  Megan returned the kiss, though it was a quick one, for her that was more than enough.  She nodded as John replied that Donnie felt he was on the trail of the witches.  “That’s good, but also means more waiting.”   She says with a slight frown.  It was windy up on the roof, but the thermal under layer she had on had her fairly warm, unfortunately. 

"Waiting is a big part of this.  It doesn't get any easier either."  John says, moving to sit on the edge.  "You just learn to live with it I guess.  Or you do something rash and make a mess of things."

“Yeah, I know.”  Megan says with a slight sigh, dropping the Velocity voice as she suddenly appears beside John, sitting on the edge as well.  “Just seems the others, Colin, Donnie, Sylvia.  They have powers that are good for a lot of things.  Mine seem to just be about acting.”

Althea lands lightly on the rooftop, wings open and flapping for balance. When she is settled, Donnie slips off her back and helps Sylvia down. Althea shudders and wiggles, nosing Sylvia lightly, which of course makes her stumble forward. "I like pink" she says looking at the ski-jacket Sylvia is wearing. "I wish I had purple hair too. Dragons don't have hair though. Except for forest drakes, but not manes of hair like humans. Nope Nope Nope. They have spiky hairs that get all pointy when they are mad.."  
"Althea, hush pretty one." says Donnie, eyes on the ground. Althea stops before beginning another discussion of her love of purple and pink. And wishes of hair.

Donnie is walking slowly in a semicircle, hand raise slightly off the ground as he goes. Sylvia can see a very faint golden glitter as he passes. "Major mojo rising here."

He pauses and looks at Sylvia. "Whatever happened here, we missed it. They were one step ahead of us. The Blackstone Building. Very clever.."  the last bit sounded more like Donnie talking to himself.

Donnie looks up, then digs his phone out of his pocket again. "Hello? Dragonboy Pizza, one virgin in every pizza-pie. Hey Colin. What happened after I left?""

Sylvia's flummoxed by dragon babble.  "You could, uh, get a wig."  With any luck Donnie will have squelched that conversation before Althea can think too hard about that.


She groans, eyes rolling upward, but swallows down whatever miserable complaint she might have made.  "What's the deal with this building?  Is it privately owned?  How'd they get in?  Is this somebody's house?"  She looks around the roof for an entrance into the building or a ladder down the side.  "Could they still be here?"

The Blackstone Building is about forty stories tall, sitting with an unobstructed view in every direction becasue it's not nin the high rise district.  It's certainly old, built back in the thirties.

Seething with aggravation, Sylvia hunts for the way the witches got onto the roof.  Are they flying pains-in-the-asses now?

It's not long before she finds the roof access door.  It's not locked, and a little searching reveals it's not hard to take an elevator from the lobby to the roof with no trouble.  It's certainly within the scope of their powers to get past the front door without a problem.

She grimaces at Donnie.  "Trail's cold?  No finding them tonight?"  Her eyebrows vee together.  "They have to go home sometime, don't they?  Maybe we can catch one or two of them at home."

ooc: Donnie figures out what they were doing? Arcane Lore (1d20+12=29) (http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=997450)  

Ceremony to summon the Spirit of Meno, like they've done before.  Calling the spirit into someone.  It's got to be a willing participant and they have to actually say the calling incantation.

"It takes some adjustment.  Some of us are suited to every part of this work.  Some of us are just good at the end."  John puts his arm around Megan.  "Logic suggests that everyone performs according to their gifts.  Sometimes you just can't put a square peg in a round hole."

“So I’m just a leg breaker then?”  Megan asks with a joking smile as she slides closer.  “I know it’s just the way things work out.  Just isn’t made any easier when one minute feels almost like half an hour.”

"You're focusing too much on it."  John says.  "You have to find a way to find your rythum."  He points to a tree on the sidewalk across the street.  It's branches shifting in the slight breeze.  "Watch how they move, gently back and forth.  Try to let go of your focus and let the natural rythum wash over you.  Time is a man made construct, everything vibrates at the same frequency when at rest."  John's voice has turned soft and soothing as he explains the exercise.

"We have no idea who the girl that has been kidnapped by the false witches is yet, but she was taken from an hospital, so we thought of Sammy. She had been taken too, apparently because the witches needed a witness. She was brought on the top of the Blackstone Building, and there they performed a ritual to summon Meno, a spirit of the old world, into Rob. Apparently Rob got this spirit's powers, as long as he's worth of them. Sammy didn't recognize him at them moment, but warned him about the witches and what they have done. The witches obviously said that all those were just lies you were spreading around, but it looks like Rob believed Sammy more, and told her that if they really did what she claimed, they would have paid. Then the police arrived, the witches ran away, a Rob disappeared in a spiral of light. Those this make any sense to you? Where are you now?"

"Standing atop the Blackstone building. The cops must have cleaned up quick, because no one is here. I followed a magical trace until it led here."

Donnie sighs. "I should have seen this coming. Rob was quite pissed off that he had lost his charm, even though the witches were feeding off of him. Dammit, they must be doing it again. This stuff is getting over my head here. The name Meno sounds familiar, but I'd have to reference it when I get home. I hope Rob doesn't become a hell-bent supervillain or anything with these new powers he suddenly has."

"Rob?" Sylvia almost screeches, standing nearby.  "That geekboy jerk needs some serious krav-ing.  Where's Kel?  Tell Kel:  weapon is hot.  He is authorized to contuse!"

Megan sighed slightly as she rested her head on John’s shoulder.  “I think I had sort of hit a rhythm, but its been thrown off.  I don’t know how, but when I came out to the parking lot and saw you being ganged up on, something kicked in as I ran in to help, and it wasn’t just setting of that sonic boom.  I run faster now, and other things seem different as well.”

She tries to focus on the tree branches as she listened to his voice.  “Hopefully it won’t take too long to get it all worked out.”

"Well, he has helped Sammy and made a good impression on her. Still, I guess we should find him. Any idea how we should do that? Can you follow that trace some more?"

When Sylvia gets over her indignation (otherwise known as a hissy-fit), she collects her dignity (otherwise known as the squelched urge to curse) and asks Donnie (otherwise known as unlucky enough to be there), "Do you know where Rob lives?  I think it's pretty unlikely he's gone home, but it's the only place I know to look."

Donnie looks askance at Sylvia after her outburst. "Rob might be a victim here, Syl. Even if he's willing, he may not understand that they were feeding off of his enhanced abilities. They are the source of the problem, not Rob. He just complicates things."

Her look is stern but not murderous.  Rob's getting on her nerves, but she's not ready to shoot on sight just yet.  "If he's trying to do the right thing, more power to him, but it'd probably help to find him, regardless."

"Donnie, Sammy says that the witches told him that they took her because they needed a "witness". She wonders if there could be a magical mark on her or anything that could tie her to him. She also said that he called the police with his phone, and maybe they can track him with that. I'm gonna try to see if they can help us. call me if you find out anything."


After that he calls Megan.

"Hey Velocity." He explains her what happened at the Blackstone Building, then goes on.
"Rob called 911 with his phone. Maybe they could find him, or at least have an idea where to look for him. Can you ask a favor like this to your friends?"

Megan listens as Colin explained everything.  “And Sammy’s okay?”  She asked.  Once she heard that she was, Megan nodded (a wasted gesture for someone you were on the phone with).  “Okay, I’ll call Kevin and see if he can help get us a trace.”

She looked over at John and explained all that Colin had told her about what had happened at the Blackstone Building while they had been wasting their time with the fakes at the cemetery.  “So they needed Sammy as a ‘witness’ or something.  She’s fine and downstairs again with Colin, Sarah, El and her family and getting ready to go home.  I’m going to call the PCD and see if they can’t trace this Rob’s cellphone.  Right now he seems the best lead we have on the witches.”

She dials Kevin’s number and waits.

"Kiernan."  is his answer, Megan can hear the sounds of people moving around in the background.

“Hey Kevin, it’s me again.”  Megan says in her Velocity voice.  “Busy night.  My friends and I need a bit of a favor, trying to track down those witches you have likely been hearing about all day.  Seems they kidnapped someone and took her to the top of the Blackstone Building and performed some ritual there.  A boy that was part of the ritual called the police with his cell phone to come get the girl that had been taken from the hospital and then vanished.  Right now he is our best lead on the witches, do you think 911 would be able to track his cell phone?”

"Sure, I can do that.  We also have a shot from one of the rear security cameras at the hopital.  I've got a license plate from the car that was used to take the Jameson girl and we're running that down now.  Give me twenty minutes and ring me back, I should have a hit on the phone by then if I'm going to get one."

“Well, hopefully the car isn’t stolen or something.”  Megan says with a smile.  “I’ll try to patiently wait.  Thanks.”   She hangs up and looks over at John.  “They will try to run down Rob’s cell.  Kevin also said they got a picture of the car they took Sammy in on the security camera and got the license plate number from that.”

(ooc SO, I believe Megan gave Kevin the number for the cellphone she is using awhile ago, it’s the one Greg gave her the night we rescued Katie, again)

A few minutes later Velocity's phone rings.  It's Kevin.  "Ran down the 911 call.  Traced the number, and according to the carrier it's located at the listed home address.  You think I need to send a prowl car over there or let it be on my end for now?"

“For now it might be best to keep it in your group.  I’ll talk with the others and see if they have an idea on what to do now.  We are not fully sure how he’s involved, so we might want to try to talk to him and learn more.  I’ll call you back in a few about the what we’re thinking for the next step.”  Megan replies before hanging up.  She looks over at John as she says.  “The trace says he’s at home, or at least his cellphone is.”

She then dials Colin’s number.  When he picks up she says, “the 911 trace says he’s at home.  What do we want to do now.  Kevin is ready to send a squad car over if we want.  Do we think he might be dangerous?”

Donnie paces around the top of the Blackstone Building, deep in thought. Pip finally arrives, chest heaving from the long flight, and alights upon Donnie's shoulder. The young man idly scratches the jawline of the teal and cream dragon and stares sightlessly out into the night.

He turns back to Sylvia. "I may be wrong, but I have the feeling the bwitches might not be done yet. It is still before the appointed time of the beginning of Beltaine, and their purpose in investing Rob with power again might be to once again feed off of the energy he produces. I think we might have to go back to the cemetary to watch and be sure. They may have pulled a ruse to distract us from there, but they may have oplanned to actually go back and perform some more witchcraft now that they have a power font again."

"Okay."  Sylvia pulls those ski goggles down over her face again and stands near Althea, waiting for a hand up.  "This is getting really stupid," she grouses, leaning up against the big blue dragon for comfort.  "When is karma going to kick in?  When are the witches going to get their triple scoop of beat-down?"

"I don't know what to think. I guess he could be dangerous, but... he hasn't done anything yet. Sarah and Sammy are calling him. I'll let you know what happens."

A few minutes later, Colin calls back.

"It looks like he's going to bed. I think we should talk with him tomorrow, if anything to ask him what happened, and if he knew what the witches have been up to. What about we call it a night and go over all this stuff tomorrow?"