The Awesome Finale to a Boston Trilogy

SOMEWHERE IN DOWNTOWN BOSTON

SAGE

The Wasps had made Sage build a tunnel at a fairly bearable slope, zigzagging back and forth like a staircase. Which was all well and good, given they had a couple dozen rescued Bostonians from a grisly and inhumane fate. They emerged onto some tunnels, the Boston Tunnels, which had been transformed into a torch lit medieval underground passage, with rough brick work, the smell of human waste, and dead rats.

The station meanwhile had become a sort of dwarf stone work, but thankfully the exit was not far away. They emerged at last into the transformed Boston cityscape, near the boundary of where the realities met.

Sage looked at the captives they’d freed, pointing them down the street. “Go and get help from the authorities.”

“Thank you, thank you so much little magician girl.”
“I’m not gonna go home until this all blows over.”
“This world is going nuts.”

The Bostonians gave thanks to the heroes.

Now that that whole underground ordeal was over, Sage let out a sigh of relief. Only once did she see the Bostonians safe did she truly let herself feel exhaustion. They found a café that had been transformed into a… old time coffee house, though it was abandoned as it bore signs of battle. The windows had been broken, there were dead knights and men-at-arms in cream white uniforms and heraldry on the street, as well as Ghost dwarfs and Hybrid elves. As Quisellius said, Vespania brought her biggest and strongest warriors to the surface, and there was a trend of each Hybrid being surrounded by four or five warriors, even a dead cavalier nearby, dozens of knife sized stingers perforating horse and rider. The hybrid had been cut multiple times, and run through with spears.

Sage entered the ruined café, and finally dropped her tough act and was just a normal tired girl, who’d been transported to an alternate, timeless dimension where her mind aged but she did not really grow up. She takes off her resplendent outer robe and plopped it on a table, though the table violently and audibly crashed, as clothes woven with a hundred pounds of metal was very, very heavy. She went to the bar in her sleeveless under shirt and found herself some beans and a bottle of water.

She finds a pot and starts putting on a fire, boiling the water. Meanwhile she creates a mortar and pestle from some pieces of metal lying around, a fallen knight’s pauldron, and starts crushing some beans.

= = = =

DABBLER

The raiding team that took Dabbler and company flew for half an hour and came over a ruined town, minutes after Sage and presumably Alexis entered the cafe. They were a 10 strong team, taking captives off the street, and headed towards the hive. However, being brought to the Hive might not have been in everyone's best interest, and not everyone affected by the venom equally. The raiding party actually landed on a nearby roof to rest their wings, feeling the dead town a safe place.

The wasp people seemed to consume some manner of cured meat ration and some sweet smelling bug jelly. They also taunted their paralyzed captives, laughing and sharing what fate awaited them at the hive.

"...You will be placed into a honeycomb, and bound with a numbing cocoon. You will be fattened up like cattle, until your body swells with nutrients... and then... we shall have our young slowly devour you, starting from your belly, and she works her way into your innards, feasting at leisure. You will be awake for the entire ordeal, and feel everything, see everything! HAHAHAH!" These wasps weren't just evil they were just malicious and downright nasty.

Inside the ruined structure, Alexis Ada Lovelace, sometimes known as Adjunct, considered the mystical nature of coffee.  Coffee culture was practically synonymous with corporate culture.  There was a reason that it was one of the few beverage offices would routinely provide, after all.  Dry roast, mocha, even pumpkin spice for the holidays.  Alexis had been an intern for more than half her professional life.  At this point in her life, it was more unusual to be paid for her labor than not.  She still hadn't reached her first paycheck with Steelheart.

But, coffee.  Alexis had spent many long hours whiling away her productive time standing around in coffee shops chanting mystic incantations.  Verde, Latte, Mocha, Grande.  The right combination of words would yield some strange potion capable of waking the dead.  Alexis knew the power of coffee.  And she knew the power of rituals as well.

What the Sage was doing right now as a ritual; her way of coping.  Maybe it was the headache that came from full withdrawal of that damned fungus, but Alexis found that she needed a cup as well.  So while she may have had coffee in storage, she did not grudge the Sage the grinding of bean and the percolation of brew.  

Dabbler was not too far away now; she could feel her with their bond.  Of the three 'executives' at Steelheart, Dabbler was the one she felt she needed to bond with the most.  The Sage she thought she understood to a degree, and Sophia was the one she felt the most attraction to, but her first choice was one born of necessity.  

Dabbler, the Mad Witch of Invention, would probably destroy the world one day.  Oh, not deliberately, Alexis was pretty sure.  She suspected Dabs would do it after a particular disastrous Pokemon Go outing caused her to fracture the Making at the Heart of the World and release the forces of Mount Duum to destroy Middle Earth, or something.

Which was oddly not far off from their present predicament.  Maybe someone had whipped out a high level Togedemaru with a Rocky Helm/Iron Barbs combo.  That would have probably lead her to kicking a hole in the dimensional fabric that both swallowed the offending gym and Boston both.  

The fact that scenario did not seem unlikely made Alexis break out in a cold sweat.

Strangely, Alex found she missed Puntland.  She missed Steven and his passable coffee and the shitty little office she was shacking up in.  Her mind kept returning to Sophia, wondering how she was getting on, and why this strange power she had manifested pulled her here.  

Over her bond with Dabbler, the sensation she was feeling could only be described as 'interesting'.  It was a full body tingle, a strange sort of numbness.  The sensation made it hard for Alexis to breathe.  It was not something she particularly cared for  She glanced over at the Sage.  

"I'm getting some odd sensations from Dabbler.  She's about two kilometers in that direction." Adjunct pointed with a black gloved hand.  She did not want to rush Niao, but Alexis was getting a bit worried.  So, she decided to try something.  Stretching out with her senses, Alexis closed her eyes and broadcast into Dabbler's head.

Where the party at?  No, this isn't Satan.  Wait, have you met Satan?  I bet he's cool.
He's cool, isn't he?

Some beavers wherein for quite the surprise a wild Jeannie appears. Yeah, an odd little girl washing up in their dam probably wasn't something they could plan on happening.

Sensing she was in trouble the furry builders rush to help her out of the river. they are relieved when after coughing up some water she seemed ok. they look curiously at her.

Jeannie looked around trying to figure out where she was. well, that might not have been my best idea but I'm away from the bad old bugs. Ouch, my head hurts most hit a rock or something was kinda hard to see down there.

She sees the beavers and smiles Thank you furry friends you got me out of quite the pickle. She pets them on the head then looks around. I don't suppose you have seen a bear about? He is my friend and I would love to find him.  He'd stick out from other bears cause he has some humans with him.

The beavers gather around talking to themselves before one she guessed was the boss beaver turns to her. Oh, you know some bears that live nearby?  Must be that bear union Teddy is always talking about.

As she listens to the bever, she tries to wring water out of her hair.  Could you show me where their cave is? I'd like to see if my friend is there.

The bever boss nods his head, It mumbles something Jeannie guessed was bever for get back to work as they returned to the dam.  It then motions for her to follow and wanders into the woods.

After walking a while, the bever takes her to a large cave. They are greeted by a large black bear.  Hello, mister bear might you be a friend of Teddy?

The bear scratches his head thinking then nods and points to the cave. Jeannie smiles oh he is here good, well thank you for all your help mister bever, you can go back to your friends now.

The bever waves goodbye to her then head back to the river. Meanwhile, Jeannie chats with the guard bear as it leads her into the cave. Lucky for Jeannie she can see in the dark.

Huh, this is a nice cave you got could use some lights through
the bear grumbles. yes, I am the silly ranger Teddy talks about.

They reach a large open chamber in the cave. Jeannie gets excited when she sees Teddy and a bunch of other bears of all sizes and colors.

The big brown bear comes over and gives her a big bear hug.
Boss your alive! the bear's eyes sparkle as he is overjoyed to see his master. why are you all wet?

He leads her to where the surprisingly smart bears had built a fire and Terri's parents were resting.  Jeannie smiled happily, He had done a good job keeping them safe.

She sits by the fire to dry her clothes and explains what happened to Teddy. Huh never liked bugs, and how they tricked us is another reason not to.  So they have the witch what about the monk.

Jeannie shakes her head disappointed. not sure she didn't pop up before I got away maybe she had good luck avoiding them too. We gotta do something to save the town, think the bear union can help? also any snacks? I'm hungry.

One of the bears brings over a picnic basket. Jeannie is pleasantly surprised she noticed the large pile of baskets stacked up at one end of the cave.

Oh, you guys really do like picnic baskets?  I thought that was only cartoon bears. Well, thank you.
The bear smiles not what she meant but happy to help.  She, teddy, and the bears enjoy their dinner while planning their next move.

Terri's body remained limp, and her eyes stared forward. She couldn't move, not a limb, not a finger, not even the position of her eyes. Only her short breaths and quickened heart beats showed that she was still alive, and likely very much aware.

Had she been calmer, should she be able to spare the thought, she may think of some sort of quip like "at least buy me dinner first" or something to that effect. But instead, she was only terrified. She didn't even care that her mask loosened and dropped somewhere on the flight. She didn't pay attention to where, not that it mattered. They were going to die anyways, rather horrifically.

Yea, all her optimism shattered when she lost control of her body. Now it was being made worse with what she was being told. A horrific death, that would in turn bring more horrific death with whatever army would come out of it. It said she would feel all of it and be aware, but didn't it just say she'd be in a numbing cocoon? Why was that a detail that stuck in her mind?

Why did she still bother trying to question everything? Five years, she was in a juvenile prison, transferred to a normal prison, for what she did in high school and continued to end up doing behind those walls. She was what she called Hell, but she was beginning to see what real Hell looked like. Then she recognized that, that was still just an expression. Real Hell was a thing, probably more terrifying, and for all she knew that's where she was going to end up in due time.

Tears welled up and dripped past her freckled face. She was getting hopeless. This would be something of a trauma for her, if she did survive this predicament.

...Shit. She didn't even greet or say anything to her parents that was meaningful. Did they even make it out of this stupid LARP session?

That's all this really was, wasn't it? Some guy rolling dice, deciding what terror to put people through, just for giggles and amusement? This, what was his name? Eugene? This asshole, who decided he could just do this? To normal people?

Well, she and those beside her weren't exactly normal, but still. Her parents were normal. Most of the villagers were probably normal. The people hung from the gallows were normal.

Normal people taken from their normal lives to be thrown into this, completely out of their free will in more ways than one.

It pissed her off. Rage bloomed within her. She wanted to punch Eugene, she wanted to punch the wasps, she wanted to punch the silver knights, she wanted to punch Queen Vespania, she wanted to punch the Silver Lady.

Energy welled as she laid still, which only grew as the wasps ate and monologued. Potential energy, reaching further than what a normal person should be able to hold.

1. 2. 3.

She used this energy to unleash bursts of kinetic energy, either in a punch that rang through a person's body, or through a leap that sent herself flying. This was originally a weakness, she thought. When it charged, the only way to get rid of it was to release it how normal energy would be released.

4.

It could only be released when she moved, either through the punch or the extension of her legs. However...

It didn't necessarily have to be her moving herself. And to someone who doesn't expect it, moves her the wrong way... Then it probably wouldn't look pretty for whoever tries to grab her next.

SAGE

“Oh, the witch is here? Very well. After coffee.” Sage sounded snippy, like it wasn’t an urgent matter, but her slow purposeful sipping of her brew was replaced by an urgent gulping down of the whole thing. The mistress of metal grabbed her robe and went outside, looking what she could work with. She made a long solid stone platform for them.

“Alright. Hang on then.” With some rising and falling gestures of her hands, the earth softened, and rose, and became a wave which Sage and Alexis surfed most righteously.

DABBLER

Physically there wasn’t much Dabbler could do at the moment. The wasps even set her down face down, making breathing difficult. However, in her head she was frantically sending her familiars out for help. When addressed mentally by a female voice, Dabbler’s inner dialogue shifted significantly in tone. She dropped the clowning around and spoke nothing but reverence.

O, Menalis Umbra, Shadow Queen, terrible as dawn and dusk! All love you, and all shall despair…. Wait a minute, you’re not Menalis! You’re an Alexis! Come get me, Ayy-junk! the wasps roofied us and now are gonna screw us over like it's prom night!

Concentrating on her familiar, Dabbler’s Raven homed in on Alexis based on their bond. What she saw was Sage creating earth waves to surf most righteously, and they were already heading in the general direction. “Oh, good you brought the other Dragon Girl! She’s gonna mess em up good! Now hurry, they’re about to end their smoke break!”

A turn down an intersection and Sage would bring herself and Alexis to the small raiding party that had captured Dabbler and Terri.  They saw them coming down the street well enough, and readied their insectoid glaives, which shot those paralytic stinger needles. They didn't do squat against a good, old-fashioned earth shield Sage raised reflexively, as they fanned out to surround them.

JEANNIE

Another of those weird demon birds had followed Jeannie since she was able to escape. It rested on a tree just outside the cave, awaiting Jeannie. With glowing yellow and red eyes like Dabbler it wasn’t difficult to spot. The bird caw’d three times, calling out to Jeannie.

Alexis shook her head at the ridiculousness of the entire situation as she boarded the Earthboard and caught some gnarly rock waves.  Alex pulled her mask up, shielding herself from incidental debris as they traveled.  Her cloak fluttered behind her quite heroically, and for a moment Adjunct felt like what those supers must.  

However, Alexis was not a super, and running headlong into danger like this was suicide.  For her, anyway.  She was pretty sure that Niao could run headlong into a 747 and not even be phased by the experience.  No, it was time to indulge in some dishonorable misbehavior.  

The link to Dabbler was a relatively new thing, and the power it had formed in her mind was tenuous at best.  It seemed to require the intervention of an extradimensional entity, one that did not quite approve of this unexpected subcontractor they had picked up.  It had so many quirks and bylaws and strange things surrounding it that, frankly, Alexis doubted its utility.

Until something large and old and terrible brushed the connection, and suddenly Alexis' continuity ended.  And began elsewhere.  Alexis stood behind the attackers, not a dozen feet away. This was far less a safe position than with the indominable Sage of Steel.

"Hey guys, gals, and other pals," Alexis said, finding Dabbler's cavalier eccentricity transmitted through the bond.  "Do you have a moment to discuss our lord and savior, Dakka Dakka Dakka?"  Might as well quip while the quipping was good. Who wanted to live forever?  An assault rifle manifested in her arms, and Alexis did not hesitate.  She flicked the rifle over to fully automatic and held down the trigger, pointing the muzzle toward the cluster of enemies.

Back in the bear cave.  Jeannie and the bears were planning how to stop the bugs.  Right there is like a bunch of bugs and or friends are caught.  So we'll have to create a big diversion so they can get free.

Huh well there us bears, we could send messages to the other animals for reinforcements.

Good plan teddy, hey think the bevers can make this?

She makes a doodle of a catapult
yeah, they are pretty crafty, so what do we do with them?
teddy points to Terri's parents

Huh well, maybe we should leave them here to be safe, they mommy bears can keep an eye on them and they can play with the cubs.

Teddy gathers the soldier bears and they march out of the cave.  Jeannie sees an odd bird waiting for them. Oh, your one of dabbler's Voodoo chickens.

She holds out her arm and the strange bird flutters down and rests on it.  It begins talking to her. You can take us to where the bad bugs have our friends so we can save them.   That's great mister bird.

We need to make a few stops first for reinforcements then we'll save the day!   Jeannie and the bears now led by the voodoo chicken make their way to the others the fur army growing as they went.

As they approached where the bird led Jeannie could hear battle sounds. Huh, guess the other funky birds brought more help. ok, guys remember only eat the bugs ok.

The Mötley Crüe of bears, wolves, badgers, wolverines, foxes, and mountain lions roar and growl acknowledging her orders.

She then turns to the bevers you guys be careful with those ok? try not to hit us. the head bever nods its head.


Some of the bears were helping position some catapults they built. Jeannie returns to teddy and hops on his back.  Ready the catapults!

the busy bevers go about working on their wooden contraptions. The head bever gives Jeannie a thumbs up. Right everyone else charges after the bevers begin to bombard the enemy, oh and watch your heads.

She holds up her sword then points toward where the wasp forces were. Fire! the bevers make it rain stones on the battlefield.

The fur legion with teddy and Jeannie leading the way charge the wasp army.  Jeannie sees quite an odd sight as they close in.

An earth bender? neat hey no fair how come she gets a gun I'm stuck with a bow and arrows.  Rather by luck or clever planning by dabblers birds when calling in the calvary it worked out.

The rock wizard and gun lady had their attention as her forces approached from the rear.  the bugs were surprised as the wave of fangs and claws descended upon them.

As the battle raged on Jeannie looked around to see if she could find Terri and dabbler she'd hate for them to get accidentally smushed by a bever's or earth bender lady's rocks since they'd still be unable to get out of the way cause of the bug juice. dabbler, black belt come out where ever you are, we came to save you.

The ambush hopefully did not happen too far after Terri's trap triggered, otherwise she would be in a very unfortunate situation.

With how her ability worked, in her paralysis, she essentially transformed herself into a directional, close ranged, landmine. It depended entirely on how she was interacted with, and if she wasn't interacted with at all then she'd be in an even more unfortunate situation, with her energy charging up with no way of releasing it. Among the better scenarios, hopefully what transpired: The wasp had attempted to pick her up, when getting ready to transport through the streets, and her trap launched.

The wasp's grip on her and movement resulted in her energy launching Terri upwards into the air. With the energy acquired, the wasp's limbs would at least be damaged to the point where it would not be able to wield any weapons or try to grab her again. And that is if it even survived, as well.

As the attack continued, Terri was airborne. She had no resistance to the venom, though this may have resulted in a bit of good luck, as because she wasn't moving at all, the wasps had no reason to inject her further to complicate matters. The monk's body hit the ground while her energy resistance was fading, but still apparent. Hurt like hell, but nothing broken. Just a bit of a daze, but it wasn't like she needed to coordinate at all for the moment.

"Gh..."

Was that a sound, she managed? Hopefully that meant the venom would subside soon enough, so that she could- what, fight? Escape? What was the right answer for this situation?

What was stopping the wasps from just hitting her again, no less? Even if she tried to block the stinger projectiles, they would likely still pierce her no matter how much energy she accumulated and freeze her all over again. She could dodge, but that would be cutting things close, given how her ability worked...

...Well, she didn't exactly have to wait for a full second to pass, before she released an enhanced leap. Any amount of pause could aid her in the end. Still, risky. It was probably just best to run next chance she got.

Black Belt would remain on the ground, incapable of any other action till further notice. Though it did catch her attention- were those other people? The cavalry? A couple of... hopefully people who knew what they were doing, as well as- was that Jeannie, yelling for them? That was also a lot of growling and smashing noises, around her. She didn't have the best angle to perceive on the ground.

SAGE AND ALEXIS

Alexis firing on the larger warrior strains proved less effective compared to the drones from the underground. Their thick carapace stopped bullets, while their erratic movement made some rounds simply miss. But Sage exploited their momentary pauses when taking a round’s kinetic energy.
Sage deployed her own personal Jian blade, and sends it flying, leaping out at an ellipse, then coming up and taking the thing’s fragile wings like a spinning buzz saw. Like a boomerang it arcs over and takes a second wasp, sending both wingless to the ground in a painful thud.
The broken things attempt to stand back up, but discarded weapons and armor pin them to the ground, and the sadistic monsters only laugh as they faced down their foes. Sage pays them no further heed, knowing Alexis was hungry for personal payback. She raises the earth beneath her, to bring herself up to the roof to find…

DABBLER, JEANNIE AND TERRI

The remaining warriors saw their situation and it was dire. “We are surrounded! We must flee!” The ‘warriors’ were panicking, seeing their victims fighting back. Especially since one commanded the earth as her own personal shield.

“The Hive must be warned. Go!” The other warrior told his companion to go, and leveled his bio-organic stinger shooter at Sage, who had a discarded shield to protect herself, and retaliating with flying weapons – swords, axes and spears. With steel coming at them from multiple sides, Sage eviscerated the last of the resistance here.
The other warrior nodded and took flight with their captive. She had picked up Terri and would pay for it, not long after being blasted away by her energy ability. She lands on the ground with a hard thud, her arms broken.

Sage looked at Dabbler and one other woman who fell some distance away, immobile and presumably someone the witch had allied with. She starts by creating a concoction using the wasps’ own stinger salts and sulfur as a base, then uses that to create a powerful decoction used as a smell-based cure. Like a potent smelling salt. Sage let Dabbler inhale a few whiffs. The smell overwhelmed her enough to get rid of her paralysis, gradually.

“WOO! That … that’s some strong stuff!” The witch said, cough and choking on the awful smell. She managed to get to her feet and borrowed the antidote.

Dabbler poofed down and looked for Terri, and waved at Jeannie.“Oh wow a Narnian army! Cool!”

The witch then poofed again over to her with the foul-smelling antidote. “Inhale!” She said gleefully.

Sage overlooked the animal army that had gathered and found it quite odd. She wondered if Dabbler had met some manner of beast master.

Alexis used to have a coworker, Daniel, who was pretty much a turd. He was opinionated, talked far too much, and was an ass to people that disagreed with him. The only problem was that more often than not, Daniel had a good point. It's what made him so frustrating to deal with.

One point Daniel had made some cool October evening was this: 'Only dumb asses want revenge for it's own sake'. And oh was Daniel so ever right. While Alexis had known intellectually that there was a definitive caste system at play amongst the augmented deep elves, she still labored under the misconception that bullets were effective in her world. She had seen so many videos of metahumans simply walking through a hailstorm of bullets like it was a brisk rain.

When you live in a world where God had decided to hold a genetic lottery and you only got five out of the six numbers, you walked a fine line. Alexis was exceptional, but not physically so. And were it not for a lifetime spent dealing with the likes of beings far stronger and more potent than her, she would have probably died right then.

So, instead of gawking and exclaiming how 'this was impossible!' or 'how are you still standing', Alex had decided to immediately run while they were stunned. No hesitation, no deliberation, and certainly no revenge. She didn't even throw her gun at them.

Daniel would be proud.

Nope, it was off the roof with her. Feeling the comforting pressure of the Ring of Spider Climbing on her finger, Alexis decided that it was time to put what limited parkour skills she had to use. She dove off the edge of the building, arms flailing, and impacted the wall like a mosquito smacking into a windshield. A shooting pain went straight through Lex. Luckily, she had turned her nose to the side as she hit, to avoid breaking it. It gave her a great view of the window next to her.

Not taking the time to recover, held her hand up and swung it down. As her hand descended, a baby sledge manifested in her grip and she smashed it inward. The window shattered. The hammer disappeared in a swirl of blue smoke and Alexis scrambled inside like a rat.

Revenge was stupid. Pride more so.

Yay Jeannie's plan worked the icky bigs were no match for her furry forces. What was left of the creepy crawlers where retreating.   The animal army howled victory cries and gathered around their leader.

Jeannie smiles proud of her troops. Yay, we did it the buggys got squished! Well done everyone. She was relieved to see Dabbler waving to her. She waves back and watched as the witch was reviving Terri.

She goes over to join them with her animal pals following along.
Hopping off teddys back she goes over and hugs them. Yay, we were in time to save you guys!  I was worried those bugs were going to put you in a cocoon or something. Oh, right I got presents!

Teddy kneels down by her so she can reach into the pack he was carrying.  Goodies maybe by my friends the bevers.

She pulls out a wand and hands it to dabbler. It's made from a branch of the oldest tree in the forest so it is really good at making magic better. something about absorbing the energy of the land and lay lines running through the forest.  I just understood the make magic stronger part. Right and for Terri so she can stop hurting herself when fighting, the bevers got quite a laugh when I told them you hurt yourself trying to punch armor.

She pulls out a bo staff and hands it to Terri. They say it's made of something called ironwood that's very strong so you shouldn't have to worry about breaking it when wacking stuff and using your power-up thing you do.  plus no more self-infected boo boo! I got a new toy too.

She holds up a bow different than the one she had before. I kinda lost my first bow when I fell in the river.  These ones oddly enough kind the opposite of Terri's. It's a super springy rubber tree they used. It's supposed to make the arrows go further.  Cause you can pull back more on it or something, Plus  It's got this cutie ribbon thingy I can tie to my belt with like my sword so I don't lose it.

So is the avatar lady a friend of yours dabbler? She and her companion were quite helpful we should see if they want to join our party! We brought snacks too. if you were hungry
She pulls a big cookie out of the pack and sits down by them and eats the cookie. Teddy gets one and the other animals gather around for victory treats.

Terri was focusing effort into her breaths. It wasn't like she could do much else, in her state. It felt like her lungs were constricted by her own chest, incapable of intaking the same amount of air as it should. Exhaling was also equally rough, raspy. It occurred to the monk that she was thirsty, amongst everything else.

In her struggles, it was thankfully easy to intake whatever-the-hell Dabbler put to her nose. She was initially terrified, sitting forward as her eyes go wide. Coughing, she swore.

"What the hell- was- gh..."

...After a moment, did she realize she was moving. She put a hand to her rib cage, taking some breaths as she began to gather her thoughts. Her eyes went to her sides, where the wasp had initially grabbed her, and saw only whatever the things bled. Terri blinked.

She's alive and- well, assuming whatever the smell was had only cured her, she was alive and well.

"...Holy shit- We're alive!??"

With an exasperated smile on her face, Terri stood up from the ground. Now, as there were newcomers, and now that her mask had fallen at some point beforehand: Everyone was met with a tall 5'11 woman wearing some sort of brown cloth outfit styled after maybe a gi, or some sort of asian aesthetic. She also wore leather pants and boots, and wraps around her hand supposedly meant to protect her fists. She had auburn colored hair tied in a ponytail, that reached above her shoulders.

Her face was round and covered in freckles, and her brown eyes were a bit more noticeable. Frankly, very unremarkable given the mystery she gave by putting on the mask in the first place. Traces of her hair dangled on her forehead and somewhat in front of her eyes, but she didn't seem to care or notice.

Looking at everyone around her, the wasps now seemingly gone, she reached a hand to touch her cheek. Crap.

"Crap- my mask-"

Her arm fully went up to cover the side of her face as she turned away from everyone. She peered towards Jeannie with her available eye, leaning her way only somewhat.

"Um- thanks. That's... thoughtful."

She grabbed the bo-staff with her available arm. She was still startled by her sudden face reveal to the other empowered, and so she couldn't sound as thankful as she actually would be. She was indeed, very much so thankful for the weapon.

It was swung a bit with her one hand, to test it's weight. It... Well, she never wielded a bo-staff before, but it seemed pretty intuitive. It was light enough and it seemed like it could work well for it's purpose. Terri felt a twinge as her made-up codename, 'Black Belt', may actually end up concrete if she went more into the martial arts style.

Dabbler watched as Terri finally came to and gripe about her lost mask and revealed identity. “Well. Yeah, you’re alive! The wasps want you alive so they can have their way with you. You know, I know a totally rad metal master who can make you a rad mask.” She uses her illusion powers to create popular hero masks from media.

Dabbler’s portals made reunions much faster, bringing Alexis and Sage over to meet her companions. Jeannie had brought everyone gifts, and Dabbler looks at the wand she gave him. “ooooh thanks aplenty! But I should study this for awhile before using it.” Dabbler was being sensible for a moment, before testing it away from her friends, shooting out a stream of red lightning through the wand, before letting her hat eat and store it.

Sage had a malicious thought in her mind, and brought her test subjects to the portal. The earth itself obeyed, carrying them to her. She saw it brought them to the clearing where the beastly army had gathered, as well as Terri and Jeannie. She waves over to Alexis, ensuring she would keep up. Sage sends them in first, then walks through and joins them, having the earth slowly coil up and hold the three surviving wasps.

It was good to slow down and catch up with the goings-on. As they talked and made introductions, Sage created a small earthen desk, and a few spheres of glass. She talked as she worked, wanting to be efficient. “Greetings, I am Sage. I see you are all acquainted with the witch Dabbler… and survived it.” She said, assessing them both as adventurers.

“Guys, this is my uh… friend from work, Sage. She’s cool. She tells dirt, rocks and metal what to do and they listen! And that’s Alexis, aka… Ayyy-Junk!” Dabbler introduced them in the most, Dabbler way. “…Ayyy-Junk does… some kind of stuff I guess. Where have you guys been by the way?” She didn’t have as much an eloquent explanation for Alexis’s abilities yet.

Niao was not in the mood to talk about their prison experience. She did not answer. She filled up the spheres with various substances, and her transmutation power served to create some reddish brown substance in them.

“Yeah. Anyway, this is Jeannie, she tells Animals what to do and they listen. And this is Black Belt. Her fists tell people to go to sleep. HAHA!” Dabbler introduces them all to each other, letting them get acquainted first before they got down to business to defeat the wasp scum.
Dabbler went over to Sage’s table. “So uh… what are you doing, Parsley Sage?” She said, always quick with silly nicknames, trying to reach at one of the glass spheres. Sage promptly slapped her on the wrist with her metal fan.

“Please do not touch that. If that poison is exposed to air, everyone here will be killed in seconds.” Sage said rather calmly, the thought alarming even Dabbler. “Wait. What???” Now that made even the witch take a step back. Sage was brewing death.

"Oh... right. While I appreciate the army of animals you have brought, my assessment of the wasp mutants means there will be enormous casualties on our side if we attempt pitched battle. Does anyone object to using poison against them?" Sage asked everyone gathered.

Despite the fact that pride was a liability, Alexis still had it. She felt sheepish when the issue that had caused her scurry away like a suddenly uncovered roach was dealt with so quickly. It was more evidence to Alex that this was not her jam. She was a creature of boardrooms and offices, a problem solver and a paper pusher. All this 'adventure' nonsense was not here style. Sighing, Alexis walked through the portal

Alexis manifested an e-cig and began to steam away like an old time paddleboat. The scent of blueberries cutting the acrid scent of gunpowder. Her nerves were absolutely shot. She desperately wanted a bubble bath and about three gallons of Hagan Daas, but she doubted she'd find any here just now.

Adjunct regarded the two new people as she blew berry scented smoke out of her nostrils. She smiled over at Dabbler affectionately, dimples on full display. Alexis seemed immune to the other woman's mockery. Then her attention turned to the other two.

First, Alexis assessed Jeannie. She noted the animals about her and the bow. And, to be honest, the cookie. Alex had muffins in storage but had pigged out on her supply of cookies shortly after making the move to Somalia. She'd picked up more in China when she was there on the Sage's errand, but... they just didn't taste the same. The noodles were fantastic, though.

As if spurred by some unspoken carb competition, Alexis conjured a bowl of warm, wonderful smelling noodles. It was seasoned with ginger and garlic with little strips of pork. Instead of tucking in, Adjunct held out the bowl to the other woman.

Dabbler was great, but she was rubbish at making introductions.

"Hi, my name is Alexis. Adjunct." The other woman seemed kind. It was something in the eyes, the stance. The way she brought gifts with a generous, open heart. Lex found her power twisting in her mind as she felt something. She immediately repressed it. "I work with Dabs."

The other woman gave Alexis pause. Terri looked like she hurt people for a living. She had the hard, chiseled physique of someone who spent an awful lot of time learning how to hurt people. Of course, Alexis was used to networking with people that could turn her into a bloody smear, so she handled her reservation with only a minimum of side-eye.

Another bowl appeared in Alexis' hand. "Like I said, I'm Alexis," she offered Terri the bowl. "I don't know about either of you, but I'm famished. Do you want to take a lunch break and swap stories about our experiences? I know we are under something of a deadline, but we don't all of us possess Dabbler's stamina."

The Queen of Public Relations was at it again. She gave them both a dazzling smile, her teeth very white against the black of her hood. A few comfortable looking lawn chairs manifested.

"Oh, and Dabs? Bad news bears. My score just crested 100 million in Angry Birds." Alexis waggled her well-kept eyebrows at the witch. "I was locked in a prison for a while and had nothing by my computer and time."

Several lawn chairs and a card table manifested. With a magician's flourish, Alexis conjured a table cloth and covered the bare table. Once this was done, she gestured and a larger bowl of noodles, a plate of brownies, and several bottles of cola appeared.

Of course, Alex had several reasons to do what she did. One was to make a good impression on new friends. Another was to discretely vanish the orbs while people's eyes were fixed on her trick with the table cloth. She had the sneaking suspicion that Jeannie Kindheart and Terri Badass might object to the sheer extent of the Sage's revenge.

Out of sight, out of mind, as the saying went.

Jennie's eyes get big with excitement when she sees Alexis's trick. Her mouth starts to water when her doggy power sense of smell notices the food.  

She wastes no time getting over to the table and helping herself to the snacks. Yummy it's so good your food magic is the best Alexis!. Huh, no fair how come she couldn't have met the girl whose power seems to be being a walking refrigerator first.

It was the perfect power for her sidekick to have as she always gets hungry on adventures. Jeannie needs a plan to get refrigerator girl as her sidekick.

She was also happy that Alexis seemed more relaxed and less scary than the others. well, Terri wasn't peculiarly scary she was just very quiet and secretive.  

Jeannie eats the snacks she was excited about the brownies cause she had a sweet tooth. Oh right before I forget your parents are safe black belt.  there with some friends of teddys in a cave.

Given her tendency to overreact to strange stuff Jeannie decides it best to ensure her they were fine.  Don't worry there with mommy bears. Bears are some of the best for animals when taking care of their young.  

So I told them to pretend they were just old wrinkly cubs. so there in good hands or paws tell we get back to them.

Jeannie found the noodles yummy and pleasantly familiar.  oh, you like this kinda food to Lexi?  When we get back to real-world I know a lovey dumpling shop in the Himalayas you might like.

The owner owes me one well the whole town does, I fixed their bigfoot problem.  So he lets me eat for free. huh, wonder how them sciences guys that adopted the bigfoot are.

They wanted to learn about it.  Maybe they figured out more neat bigfoot things. I wrote a best-selling book about it if you were curious how one goes about discovering and catching a bigfoot.

Jeannie smiles, she was happy Alexis was interested in storytime she had tons to tell. Yeah, I'm kinda a magnet for weird stuff like ghosts, one time I had this particular amusing encounter with one in an art museum in France.

It was haunting the place cause his paintings were going missing. So we teamed up to catch the thief and after the paints were back he floated off to rest in peace.

Then there was the time I was on a ghost ship and had to fight zombie pirates.   She playfully swings a chopstick from her noodles around like a sword.  Then there was that time I got abducted by aliens turned out to be a double whammy causes I just got done helping a friend with a vampire problem before it happened.  those two things happening in one day what are the odd right?

Overjoyed with yummy snacks and a welling audience Jeannie in-between bits of noodles and brownies continues to entertain Alexis and whoever else was listening with tales of her  Bizarre Adventures.