Nightmare becomes reality....

_{[roster: Leader - Angie / The Engineer, Irma, Jaime Reyes, Rose Wilson / Ravager, Wendy Watson]}

Joey's never had the easiest time of sleeping in strange places, but this nightmare business going on since his arrival has been rotten on top of it.

As usual when he's sleeping badly though music steps in to soothe his soul. He found his guitar a long with a few choice other items in the storage lockers so he's found himself a comfortable spot in the media library to strum away. Stacy has a library of sheet music like he's never seen in his life, but he's just working on songs he knows for now.

Journey's 'Only Solutions' is just rolling off the strings today.

As usual, Static really hadn't thought this whole thing through. They were going to meet, here, after training. That was basic; it made sense. They'd given each other some time to head back, clean up after the horrific spectacle that was Super-powered Rugby... who won and who lost was obviously not an issue, since no one was really sure what happened (obviously, the rules of the sport should have been explained beforehand). It was going to be casual, that much they'd set up. He had his disc charged and ready to take them on a nice fly around the city, maybe through some other areas of the ship.

That was really as far as he planned.

It was now occurring to him, five minutes before they'd agreed to meet, that he should have though about her weapon situation; she had swords and a fear of heights. This could end very, very badly. Not that bad endings were unusual to Static, but still, that didn't make them something he enjoyed.

He adjusted the nice shirt he'd dug out of storage (whoever it'd belonged to before, it fit him well enough), and checked his breath one more time.

"Well, here goes nothing..." Virgil said to himself with a sigh. It was do or die time.

After getting off the comms with Bart Rose rushed to pull on her suit, skimpy as it was at least she wasn't naked. Bart might not be a kid exactly but he was till one of those actually honest to god nice guys. She counted him as a friend and didn't want to shock him...

well not that much....

well not yet anyway.

So it would be that she found herself tying on the last string side on her hip when she felt the breeze of lil fleet feet's arival.

Slobo stood back with Superbike and surveyed his work. On a street in the city, he had rigged a PA system with speakers from Outsider's Plaza. Static would probably be unhappy with that, but it's worth it. On either end of the street a red line is drawn in spray-paint. Everything was set, now he made the call and waited.

 Between nearly killing himself trying to help people and his talk with Nathan, Peter was exhausted. Even with his upbeat demeanor, it was hard to not say he felt stressed. His flight-breaks no longer helping, he decided he needed to take a few hours. He found himself at the sensoriums, a place he had heard talked about like the holodeck from Star Trek. As he walked in, it was a blank room. He closed his eyes and thought to himself. 

I just need a way to relax.

He suddenly heard music, and opened his eyes to what appeared to be a high class nightclub, but filled with the strangest creatures he had ever seen, even since arriving on the ship. Behind the bar, a green-skinned redhead with horns, more conspicuous for his paisley shirt and purple ascot, was trying to get his attention.  

"Hey, kiddo, didn't you hear them call your name?" The demon said, smiling. "You're up, bubbulah. Don't worry, I picked a good song for you." Peter eyed him warily. Wherever this place had come from, it was not his head. But decided not to question it, and went to stand in front of a karaoke machine on stage. He picked up the mike and saw the song, and smiled. He loved this song. EVERYONE loved this song. Luckily, a few years in boy's choir had given him a sense of tune, and puberty had left him with a decent tenor. So, he began to sing. 

o/` I can't fight this feeling any longer,
      And yet I'm still afraid to let it flow... o/` 

That was all it took. As if suddenly injected with 100 ccs of pure rock ballad awesome, Peter closed his eyes and began letting the music take him, eventually rocking out. He had forgotten what it was like, honestly. Forgotten the fun of just letting go and having fun. And as he finished up the REO Speedwagon classic, breathing heavily and feeling alive, he wished he hadn't. 

But then he opened his eyes to notice more than just his holographic audience had filtered into the "club". 

"Uh... Next?" He said as he hastily replaced the mike and went to get a holo-beer. 

That was embarrassing.  He could only hope someone would follow him up and make it slightly less so.

[ooc: Start a subthread with your character approaching the stage and singing a song. Characters can react to other's performances even if they aren't singing themselves. And any song you'd like, Lorne has the entire mutliverse on karaoke. I'm not asking, and neither should you.]

 Slobo had been puttering around the ship for an hour, thinking and looking. He quickly found that if you looked hard enough, between W&P and the City itself, you could find anything. In the end, he was standing outside a Courtyard by Marriott hotel about a click outside of "Escherville" with spraypaint and a very large block of stone. At first he had thought about the Vatican, but it was too wrecked from the zombie fight. Plus, this place had an indoor pool. He spraypainted a large message on the wall next to the door, red with black outline.

The conversation between the bridge crew, Stacy, and the Admiral is broadcasted where the rest of the crew is in the MedBay, and gathered right outside. Even in the bridge itself, the sound echoes over the monitors so that anyone resistant to psionics can hear Elfangor's side of the conversation.

They have now been told why they were brought to the ship.

Their worlds are gone, destroyed by the Ohm. They are refugees in an unforgiving Omniverse.

Transmigration 9 is an ark.

While Stacy is partially restored, including her core personality (which is far more personable), she is still severely damaged, and running on automatic somewhat. Until the ship can be repaired, podpops will keep occuring and they will be forced to go on missions to undo the damage the Ohm have wrought to the Omniverse. The threat of the being in Escherville is still a threat, one with no immediate solutions.

But they have allies out there, they have an AI watching over them, they have the smallest glinting traces of hope. Their loved ones are (hopefully) on board, and even beyond that, there is may be a chance, however small, of restoring their home universes.

Stacy broadcasts to the entire ship when it's all over, when all has been revealed.

||The bodies of the individuals that died today are being prepared for funeral services. A list of their names will be made available, though I can assure you that none are individuals any of you know. The funeral will be on Obs Deck in several days, and will be announced.||

||Those that wish to have their memories of their rescues restored, as proof their worlds are gone, will have a chance to request this after the services, but without grief counselors on board, I strongly recommend against it.||

||In the meantime, all of us must heal and recover from our ordeal. New areas of the ship have been made available, such as the Crew Lounge, and I have opened up the Crew Quarters for use, and cleared out the belongings of--||

Here she falters, sadness creeping into her voice.

||--of my original crew, so that all of you may sleep more comfortably. These quarters fit two people to a room, and have actual beds and sonic showers. Dining will still be provided in the Mess Hall, with periodic days of real food in the Lounge--they must be spaced out until my food stores are replenished with fresh food products.||

After a moment of thought she says: ||And because I think you've suffered enough, fornicative activities are now allowed--however, both parties must stop by the Medbay for a Contraceptive shot or this will not be allowed. These shots will provide protection for six months and do not protect against venereal disease, but all of you, barring several individuals with certain conditions--|| Like those, say, infected with zombie viruses, Steve ||--are currently disease-free.||

||The ship is now open, and the bridge team can relocate back to the Living Areas. The doors will remain open after they leave the bridge. I must now engage in heavy repairs. My AI will not be quite as available as usual. Please, take time to grieve, rest, and have your wounds treated. We will discuss more when everyone has recovered from this ordeal.||

[ooc: Newbie Helpers List | Instructions: First, read *HERE*. Then, once you've read the overall plan, post your character into the main thread establishing them as being podpopped, and reacting to the oncoming zombie horde (since there is no Stacy replies to comment to, it will all be one thread, instead of individual threads). This can include fighting and/or fleeing if you want. Eventually, volunteers from Team Left Behind will rush in and save the day. Obviously, since there's no time for it while fighting for your lives against zombies, this podpop won't get the whole ||You have been Chosen|| speech from Stacy, so they'll have to get their answers (and pants) later.]


||Pod Release Protocols Initating|| Stacy's familiar voice sounds out to all the podmates through the ship.

In the Pod Caverns, there are the sounds of: Pop. Pop pop pop. Poppuhpoppoppop. KASCHUNKhiiiiiiiissssss.

There is condensation and mist spraying out from cracks in the pods, as the people inside slide out onto the floors, covered in slime.

--
( And this was the moment everything went to hell )

[Instructions: Here.]

The fighting begins in earnest, as bystanders get dragged in, have to duck out of the way, or join in to help out, but with more people entering the fray, there's even more chaos.

Buildings have been cracked, a nearby fountain has been smashed, causing water to pour over the ground and make things even more of a mess.

Can anyone, Security or the Conspirators, keep the situation under control?

Down in the room that the conspirators had chosen to hide Sam after busting him out of detention, the group had gathered for one last time. On a table lay John Winchester's journal, which--with the help of the conspirators--now had a map of the area surrounding the precinct and all the possible routes to the hub, which then led to the rest of the ship. There weren't many of them. And most of those that were there were normal humans. The other side--the side that had chosen to protect the Yeerk--had them both out-numbered and out-gunned. That meant that the plan had to adjust for that.

Hitting them in transit, while they were transporting the Yeerk back to the medbay, had been decided was the best option. It meant they wouldn't be taking on the entire security team but, instead, a much smaller detail. People would be positioned in various locations, meaning the detail would have to face a fight on several flanks if it came down to force. And, finally, while waiting for the security detail to arrive at a narrow street or a bottle-neck was the most effective battle strategy, it was likely the most deadly. Therefore, they'd opted for a wide-open area for two reasons.

First, because of the huge spectacle that had been made with the trial, there was bound to be a crowd. Since crowds can more easily form in wide-open areas with lots of space, that meant most of the security personnel would be tied down trying to keep them under control. Which meant less chance of reinforcements. And having a large crowd nearby had one other benefit: it would put a damper on the super-powered ones, they were less likely to use their full powers with a bunch of innocent bystanders around that might possibly get hurt because of it. Not after the battle with the cockroaches.

Second, it gave more room for bystanders to flee once--and if--the fighting started. People would be less likely to get trampled trying to run to safety if there was room for everyone to run.

The plan was set and agreed upon. And there was even a surprise or two in store for the security detail escorting Schmuz to safety.

"Ok," Sam said, looking up from the map to the group around him. "So, we're all 'go' with this, right? If anyone wants to back out, now's the time to do it. All I ask is that you let the rest of us do what needs to be done and wait here until we're gone."

Despite having grown up in Cambodia, Gauron's never actually been to Angkor Wat before - and the one he's prowling around in now isn't even the real one, though it had been a completely unexpected find. He'd recently begun lengthening his exploration trips into the city to what would've been two-day excursions in his world, though they were more like weeklong trips on the city's timetable; maintaining the pace, it wouldn't be too long before he'd covered all of the streets and major landmarks. Today's trip had taken him out to the city wall, then north along it another few kilometers. When he'd climbed one of the taller buildings to check his bearings, he'd caught sight of the temple's towers.

The holographic sun had been beginning to dip low in the sky as he made his way across the bridge over the dry moat, and he'd decided this was as good a place to finish up his explorations for this trip as any.

There's something a little creepy about seeing the temple complex completely devoid of the vegetation that's supposed to be blanketing it; in the bare dirt, the last traces of the city that stood within its walls centuries ago are clearly visible. He makes his way through them for a little while, mapping out the ancient streets, but as the sun sets he finally heads up to the temple proper, to get a look at the bas-reliefs covering the walls while there's still some light.

Another day, another podpop. The crew and command crew has gathered on Obs Deck to greet the newbs, but right now the atmosphere is tense. People are taking turns on rotations to alternately hunt for Sam--who'd been kept in prison during the trial to present his assassinating the Yeerk-- and guard said parasite so it can have a fair trial. The Jury is in recess, for the moment, but will be deciding the Yeerk's fate very soon. A bunch of new people thrown into the mix is tremendous complication.

Meanwhile, the newbies are waking up to a strange, new world, one unlike anything they may have ever seen before. In the Obs Deck, the light of stars--and parallel universes--streaks past in a sleek, transcendent sheet of multi-colored lights in the large, eye-like windows. (They're inside the eyes, looking out, it seems). The statue in the center of the room, going up the domed ceiling is intimidating--and seems to be looking at them.

The tension is palpable, though a few individuals are trying to cut through it with friendliness for the benefit of the scared and bewildered new people now waking up from their gooey slumber.

Fitz prowled through the darkened building, gun held high, suit perfect, and bombshell blonde at his side.

"No sign of the head Mafioso, over." He muttered, holding one hand to his earpeice connecting him to the headquarters of his Secret Super Spy agency.

He executed a forward roll to...well...mostly for the hell of it. It made him look pretty cool.

The girl-- built on completely unrealistic proportions-- hurried after him, fawning on him and not even shivering in her short skirt and tube top.

He considered feeling guilty for dragging some randomly generated bird along, but dropped it pretty fast. After all, it was his pretendy-funtimes and James Bond always had a Bond Girl.

His hand went back to his ear. "Bond to HQ, yes, I'm approaching the main office now, stay on the line."

It really would be cruel for someone to interrupt his fantasy land.

Eddie was waiting in a hall for Rose. She said she was going to show him around the ship, but only after she got a snack. Eddie leaned against the wall and tapped his foot impatiently. He had gotten a little more used to the place, but he still didn't feel comfortable without a friend around to ensure him that the floor wasn't going to open up and eat him.

After having her injuries--as superficial as they were--treated in the medbay, Lyta had gone immediately to get some much needed sleep. Her encounter with the inquisitor in the sensorium had been grueling, nerve-wracking and painful. She'd suffered a multitude of bruises, several lacerations and one of her ribs had been cracked. However, she had thankfully survived. She had gone through what the Vorlons liked to call "the crucible" and she had come out the other side. She had, like all that had before her, come out changed. She had more doubts, more questions, more uncertainties than she had when she had gone in. But instead of doubts concerning her safety, questions of the superheroes humility, and uncertainty over whether she could trust them, all the new ones were about her.

This was why, when she finally woke back up from her rest, Lyta made her way down to the city and headed directly for one of the few places she had discovered that was peaceful here: the Garibah Tree. The tree under which she had first met Ax, the one that reflected a person's feelings back to them. And that was just what Lyta needed, for her emotions to be shown to her in the hope that, perhaps, she may gain some sort of perspective.

Part of the crew might be gone, but life on the ship goes on. In fact, new people have woken up and, eventually, they've been spat out into the mess hall.

Maybe it's better to introduce them to some of the worst aspects of ship life first, right?

Anyway, the word is out that there's new people, and someone should probably go say hello. Before the n00bs mistake the glop for crew.


[ooc: read before tagging, plz]

"What the HELL!!? What the hell are all of us then? Loose trash?"

Rose doesn't appreciate being manhandled by the tentacles EVER, but she appreciates being dismissed from the new and exciting stuff and stuck in this sentient prison thing while everybody else gets to go and DO something even MORE!

They sent the guy with the freaking STICK but not HER?!

She gives the wall a good punch in frustration and anger and a little pinging voice promptly informs her that she's just racked up a violation. So she kicks the wall and racks up a second.

( Yeah well... )

It's big meeting time! Word of mouth gets everyone gathered in the Obs Deck--everyone. New, old, the entire crew is there and that makes it clear that there's close to a hundred of them, if not more.

When they've all arrived, a blue bubble pops up around them, courtesy of Blue Beetle, to block them all from Stacy's sensors. Most of the new people were given the basic rundown by Cybil or Chief when they were first released. Some of them have already joined a discussion with a the Commanding Officers and department heads. Some have had a chance to explore a bit. Some were only just recently released.

[ooc: READ THIS BEFORE TAGGING.]

She's wandered through a few others' creations by now so at this point Rose is ready to try something of her own in the Sensoriums. She goes for the familiar, albeit with a few tweaks. She'd always thought the Titan's Tower would have been better without that pesky roof over the top-floor pool.

It's nighttime because that's what makes the most sense. The idea of her former teammates wandering the place as AI's is creepy, but the Tower dead-quiet in daytime is even creepier and makes her feel twice as alone.

There's a bottle of rum (take that Tim!) and her pack of cigs on the pool edge, the San Francisco skyline lit up across the bay, just enough breeze, and a clear dark sky with a smattering of stars that seem close enough to touch.

She's also naked, because what's a pool all to yourself if you have to be dressed?

Rose dives down and just lays still at the bottom for a few moments, looking up at the starry sky distorted through the water for as long as she can before she needs to surface for air. She's missed swimming more than she thought.