[[OOC: Closed. Warning for graphic torture, language, and death.]]

After Punishment, Big Zero had kept to herself. She'd gotten an all clear from one of the doctors- some guy named Howard. She left medbay and holed herself up somewhere in the city. She didn't want to talk to anyone, especially not about what she went through. She spent her days planning how she could hack into Stacy's mainframe. She was actually careful about not getting more violations.

But after a while, the lingering pains in her body faded. She thought more and more about what she could do to get back at everyone who'd ever given her a violation. At the same time, she wanted access to more information and technology. It became obvious who her first victim should be.

Jonas was ideal only if he could be deactivated, which was virtually impossible while he was awake. "Iron Lad" on the other hand, now he had some sophisticated technology, and he was only human. It wasn't that hard to find him. She just walked (O.K., sneaked into) the Special Weapons Lab and there he was, sleeping at one of the desks. She had to give him props as he was still wearing his armor. He wasn't too dumb after all.

It took a while, but she was able gain access to the armor's systems. It was a challenge to do it without waking Nathaniel but she had quick, light fingers and years of practice. Once she had looked through as many systems as she could without risking triggering the next security stage, she set to work rewiring subroutines. When she was done she leaned back.

"Initiating voice system test." The armor spoke in Big Zero's voice.

"What the fuck? Shut up! Shut up!" She whispered.

There was a newcomer on board the meatship. She'd been grabbed by GLaDOS right after she'd popped out of a pod, gotten dressed, and grabbed her belongings. Now that she'd been spat out, she was pissed off. Well, more pissed off than usual.

( Cut for bad language and behavior, warning her userinfo and in the OOC comm and oh guys I am so sorry for this. )

In the aftermath of the hostage situation, there were four funerals to be held. One for Major Charles Kawalsky, Cassandra "Stature" Lang, Private William Hudson, and the pod Stacy identified as Galaxy Blaster. There were only the remains of Charles Kawalsky and Hudson to be dealt with. The corpse of the parasite, Shiva, was given to Luis Sera.

They were gone now. All that was left was to say goodbye.

Kate saw the comm notices, she heard the whispers.

She didn't know what to think. She wanted to strike at something, she wanted to scream. She wanted to curl up in their room, and never come out. She knew Jonas and Nate had to be hurting as well, and she should go check on them. But she was too overwhelmed at the moment.

She had her cello from shore leave with her as she settled into a chair in hydroponics. She started playing a piece, but after several stanzas the bow drops with a clatter to the ground from her hand.

Kate sadly set the instrument besides her before she broke down crying.

Jonas had not moved since he had been brought to the brig. Or had he brought himself there? He could not recall. Funny, one would think that he would remember that. Amazing what guilt and grief could do to a mind, even one encoded into computer chips.

He had murdered someone. Straight up murdered someone. He had not meant for Kawalsky to die as well, but all the "I did not mean to" in the slowly-shrinking multiverse could not bring him back.

And, to add to his sin, he had murdered someone in Cassie's memory. She would not have wanted that, would not have approved, but he had done it anyway. What sort of memorial for a hero was that? For the girl he loved?

No kind of memorial at all.

His lips parted just the tiniest bit, allowing a single accusatory word to slip out.

"[Monster.]"

Billy could see it clearly in his mind's eye:

Billy, Cassie, and Jamie would be wielding the new and improved Slop Immobilizer Gun, wearing their brand new non-stick safety uniforms, and presenting the project with triumphant smiles on their faces. They finally built something that wouldn't stick when it wasn't meant to. With that great weapon, they could trap their opponents non-lethally and be considered heroes for finding a use for the almost universally loathed slop.

It was now a scene that would never come to pass. Oh, Billy was still there, and Jamie was, and the gun was, and of course the slop would never ever go away, much to their dismay, but nothing remained of Cassie Lang but their memories.

Their partner, their friend. Dead. Billy thought back on all he knew of her: her family life, developing as a hero, her friends, her spirit, her contributions. All of that culminating in one of the better people he'd known, never to be seen again. Never to be thanked for all she'd done, and even he saw this. Comparatively he hadn't known her extremely well, but she was one of his own. Like B5 had been.

It was that thought that drove Billy into another version of the attack simulation, wielding the gun from his fantasy once more. He'd thought he was going to call Jamie and Cassie for the victory after the crisis, but he would now be running the test alone. Soon enough, the moving targets were in place and the first shots were fired.

Blam. Blam. This time, it worked exactly as intended, but there was no joy left in Billy's heart to celebrate. Instead, he found himself lowering his gun arm and starting to cry.

"Cassie..."

((Open because he'll be mourning here for a little while, even knowing that everyone knows where he is. Renne's last chronologically for now, but I'll work out some semblance of chronology at the end. I don't wanna leave anyone out.))

[[OOC: Read this before tagging.]]

Shiva was about to scream some more at the council’s representatives when he heart the sound of his devices powering down. The force field flickered and shut down, which meant the power dampener was also inactive. The “god” had suddenly become very much a mortal, very much vulnerable…

And oh so very screwed.

“DO NOT COME ANY CLOSER!” This time when he yelled he was not smug or disdainful. He was terrified. “I WILL KILL THEM! I WILL—”

It wasn’t clear if it was planned. With the way Kawalsky’s body was twitching, with the way the sweat poured down his face, it could have been a mistake. Or it could have been intentional, if misguided. However it happened, it was a profound mistake, one the goa’uld would pay for with his life.

He pressed the trigger for the bombs. He had no way of knowing they had all been deactivated. All but one.

And though he was voiceless, though no one could hear him save for two telepaths, Kawalsky screamed. He had tried to help the crew. Communicating to the engineers any advice that could help them disable the devices. They wouldn’t have been able to deactivate them without him, not for a while. So many months after he had broken, he thought he could stop the goa’uld from killing.

He was wrong.

Cassie was busy helping out in Med Bay. Cleaning, sorting, checking up on several of the experiments. She did whatever needed to be done but wasn't important enough for the higher ups? Which, mostly if not always, was mind numbingly boring.

So she was hoping for a nice distraction when she eventually left the lab. She was pleasantly surprised.

[[OOC: Open for anyone to bump into her at the lab Luis (bendytime!) but closed once she leaves. Just make a note in the subject or something that it's when she's at the Med Bay.]]

The reactor may have been saved, but the Ohm's primary purpose in overloading it had been achieved: the planetary defense network on Zokez II was now deactivated.

It was now the true invasion could begin.

A matter of minutes after the reactor had been saved, a number of vast, Ohm Leviathans appeared in orbit above the planet, some of them devouring those fleeing ships they could get their hands on.

Across all of the islands on the planet below, numerous shimmering lights appeared, and out of them poured hordes of Grunts, Grenadiers, Tanks, and all manner of other Ohm types. They swarmed over the cities, destroying everything in their path, and slaughtering anyone unfortunate enough to be caught in their way.

Wherever they went, destruction followed. Left unopposed, they would raze the entire planet without any effort.

But they are not unopposed.

It was time for the crew to finally do what they were Chosen to do.

[ooc: General Ohm fightyness! Check here before posting.]

Down on the surface of the planet Zokez II, Stacy's erstwhile (and hopefully much more relaxed) crew began receiving messages over their comm rings and omnicoms.

||Shore Leave is now over, please return to the site for pick up. I repeat, Shore Leave is now over, please return to the site for pick up. I hope you have enjoyed your stay on Zokez II, but all good things must come to an end. Please return to the site for pick up. If you do not return, you will be left behind.||

She means it, too. Better get your butts back to the ship.

[OOC: Please thread amongst yourselves!]

Good news, denizens of the good ship Stacy: Zokez II had quite the night life.

There was a club a short distance from the beach that promised "the hoppingingingest night in the city" in multiple languages (the message got across, at least) and once dusk had fallen you could hear the music from blocks away. Venturing inside would show off an interior design that looked like somebody had fallen in love with the neon black light posters of Earth's 1970s, with brightly colored and oddly shaped couches, stools, tables and bars. Even the drink cups looked like they'd taken a spin in a too-hot dishwasher, all varieties of strange and squiggly shapes. Aliens of all shapes and sizes had taken up along the walls and the holographic dance floor and the good times were certainly rolling.

As was the alcohol.

[ooc: OH GOD IT'S A *SPACE NIGHTCLUB*. Have at, party animals.

Here's some terrible mood music.]

The coils shot toward him with speed he hardly expected from a third stringer. Constrictor had never been one of the big leagues villains. Sure, he'd fought the Hulk once, but he'd lost just like everyone else. Rookie mistake, Nate chided himself inwardly. Underestimating one's opponent was the biggest mistake anyone could make. Then again, he had told Stacy that he didn't want her to go easy one him. She wouldn't disable her failsafes of course, but he usually got a pretty good workout anyway. It wasn't too hard to believe that her version of Constrictor would be a tougher opponent.

The armor augmented his movement as he dropped under the onrushing coils, sliding across the ground to aim a kick at the villain's legs. The man leapt over them, throwing his weight down to pin Nate under himself, a split second burst from his boots sent him backwards, and he quickly leveled out, shooting to the side to narrowly avoid a swipe from another electrified tentacle. The next moment however, a second appendage lashed across his back, sending a jolt through his body, forcing him to grit his teeth. Furious, he rounded on the simulation, whose features were curled in a pleased smirk.

The tentacles whistled through the air again, but Nate, furious reached out a gauntleted hand, catching them both as he boosted the shields in that part of the armor to their maximum. A quick adjustment rerouted the power to his free hand in a fraction of a second, and a full power repulsor blast incinerated the would-be villain. For a moment, Iron Lad simply lowered himself to the ground, breathing hard as looked over the charred remains of the simulated person. When had he become capable of something like that? Letting out a long, slow breath he leaned his head back staring at the ceiling.

"Reset and pause simulation please, Stacy."

It was a fine day (simulated though it was) and anyone in the City would be treated to a formerly rare sight. Cassie Lang walked along the cracked and damaged streets and surveyed some of the ruined buildings. She had a feeling she'd be asked to help move the larger chunks of rubble eventually. Best to size them up now.

For the first time in quite a while, Cassie opened the Sensorium door. She stood with her hand rested against the arch.

She really wanted to just step back into the Sensorium again. Anyone could run into her. Jonas, Kate, Billy-

"Just get here soon." She mumbled.

Nate's headaches hadn't been letting up. He'd tried meditating them away, tried working out until his whole body hurt to drown out the pain in his head, but none of it seemed to be working. It was a blessing for the moment, keeping him from sleep, even if he was perpetually exhausted. But the nightmares weren't worth it. He'd fallen asleep by accident a few days before, and after that nightmare with Cassie, he'd woken up with his head pounding worse than when he'd fallen asleep. He hadn't slep since.

So it was that he found himself wandering toward the medbay, bags under his bloodshot eyes as he pressed a hand hard against his temple. It felt like his head was going to explode, or like the mother of all hangovers. Whichever was worse. What made it worse, was his lack of understanding. he didn't understand what was causing these headaches, and when he tried to think about it, he ended up making the pain worse.

He'd been holding off a trip to the medbay. If only because he didn't want to be seen as a hypochondriac. But he simply couldn't take it at this point. He would have shot himself full of elephant tranquilizers if it meant he could get a few hours of uninterrupted, non-nightmare involving sleep. So he stepped into the medbay, taking a look around as he squited his eyes against the sudden pain in his head.

"Uh..Dr. Grey?"

It is that time again, meatship.

Once again, the King of Nightmares has deigned to spread his touch to all of your dreams.

This time, however, he has decided to give them a much more personal touch, sending his very own children to visit each and every one of you, slowly sowing the seeds of madness within all of you.

Such a kind and loving king he is, isn't he?

[ooc: Alright folks, Nightmare King is ramping things up a bit. These nightmares are a good bit more dangerous now, and he's sending in his minions to make things a little more real. The nightmares will be of a much more serious nature this time, designed to start driving the crew slowly insane. Characters are more likely to run into nightmare minions in the guise of someone or something that will tug at the edges of their sanity. Also, this time, the characters can have joint dreams, as these nightmares are of a more mystical nature this time. Once again, tagging in isn't mandatory, but if you want to, go crazy (literally)!]

[Additional Note: Any injuries won't be carrying over to real life at this point in the plot but don't worry, we'll get there eventually!]

Jonas was not usually the most sociable of the crew members to begin with, and he had been lying even lower than usual since his encounter with the Scarlet Witch.

Right now though, he was making use of the Sensoriums to do some training. There were drones and blades and electrified rods, and the floor and ceiling shifted suddenly in strange directions. A few people on board might recognize that Stacy was simply replicating the Avengers' Training Room.

Jonas dove right into the thick of it, punching and phasing and tumbling his way through all of the obstacles in his path. A knowledgeable observer might notice that his cape seemed more than capable of keeping itself out of trouble -- more than normal cloth should be able to.

Having one's cape actually being a part of one's body was very handy, as it turned out.

He catapulted himself through the last of the drones, remaining just solid enough to utterly destroy its inner workings as he passed. He rolled to his feet and dusted off his hands, smirking to himself as the drone toppled to the floor for a delightfully cinematic finish.

Then he finally looked up to meet the eyes of his audience. "[Yes?]"

When he first saw it weeks ago, shortly after the crew had finally caught up him, he thought for certain that he was hallucinating. But there it was, nestled among several other castles. The Luthor Mansion, in all it's glory.

Lex was never a superstitious man, but even he believed that there was more to heaven and earth than what could be proven on paper. The appearance of his home, a reward no other crew member had received (to his knowledge), certainly made him think. He wondered if this was some sort of sign that his decisions so far had indeed been right, or that he was on the right path. Perhaps it was put there as a distraction of sorts, as well, as there were many unpleasant memories that haunted those walls. For the time being, he decided to take it as a reward, however relocating there initially proved to be problematic.

The Mansion wasn't in disarray, but it was clear that no one had walked its halls in quite some time. Not only that, but the last people who had clearly had little regard for the property. There was a layer of dirt and dust everywhere, expensive and priceless paintings had been torn off the walls and trashed, priceless artifacts were just broken pieces of clay or stone, pieces of antique furniture had been smashed, and every vault was empty. Not a single green meteor rock to be found. He counted himself lucky that his pool table, piano, and a handful of family photos managed to survive.

Rather than be dejected, Lex looked at it as project to occupy his time. Since he only worked in Neuropathy whenever he felt like it, and manned the bar in the lounge at his discretion, he did have plenty of time to devote to this project. Which was good, because cleaning up and fixing up a 40 room mansion-- replete with its own library (with real books), well supplied medieval armory and modern armory, pool, wine cellar, gym, and grand ballroom-- took a lot of work.

Work which still hadn't been completed, but he had progressed far enough to not only make it livable, but also presentable. The master bedroom, Lex's office, and most of the common areas had been cleaned up. All the rest was blocked off for the moment, but were in locations that were fairly out of the way.

So, he put out a message on the omnicomms, and invited a few people to check the place out. The ones who weren't already spying on him, at any rate. He laid out a few drinks, and a sampling of some of the fresh fruit and food he picked up while during their last mission to earth. He didn't expect many guests, after all, he had never been the most well liked person, even back when he was a relatively kindhearted kid. Most parties he hosted as an adult, he was usually surrounded by obsequious employees desperate to move up the food chain, business partners who wanted a more favorable deal, business rivals who were trying to find out something about the competition, charity representatives who wanted money, and sycophants who wanted the notoriety of being in the same room as Lex Luthor and access to the connections that alone can bring. Friends were simply a foreign concept, if he ever truly had any to begin with, and he certainly hadn't gone out of his way to make any on the ship. He was curious as to what category his guests, if he had any, would fit in.

((ooc: This is something of a party style post, so feel free to talk to Lex, Lois, or talk to each other while your character looks around.))

Cassie didn't bother greeting her friends when they returned from the mission. She'd read the briefing, she knew they'd be fine. And she didn't want to have to see that witch.

Instead, once she was on her own, she slipped into the Sensorium. Not to see her dad, although she was really tempted, but for some good old fashioned stress relief.

She had Stacy bring up from her memory the scene from her fight with the Growing Man, not too long before she was brought here. There were no civilians to worry about this time. No step-father to nearly paralyze. It was just her and the Growing Man.

"Come on, show me what you've got."

Cassie ducked the Growing Man's fist and struck his chin with the flat of his palm, knocking his head up. The moment she hit him, the holo-android grew but she was expecting that. She wanted that. She wanted to fight someone who could keep pace with her, who would grow as she grew, and she was growing. She was going to grow until she worried about hitting the upper limits of the room. Just this once, she was going to take all the anger pounding through her and use it.

It was a long, drawn out fight and it wasn't easy. She hadn't been able to block all the blows. The sensation from her face had long since gone from stinging to numb. Her head spun and she stumbled. She shook her head, wrenched the telephone pole from the ground, and stabbed the Growing Man's external circuitry, ending the scenario.

She should have felt better. She didn't.

Wiping the sweat and tears from her face, Cassie shrank down to normal size. "Punching bag. I need a punching bag." She was pretty sure her hands were bruised all ready from constantly hitting the Growing Man but she didn't care right now.

The punching bag appeared and almost immediately Cassie hit it.

It was going to be a long, long time before she left the Sensorium.