8438/Rebel Rescue

Rebel Rescue
Date of Scene:	26 October 2021
Location:	Belle Reve Penitentiary, Louisianna
Synopsis:	Five Gemworld rebels are rescued from a secret level below Belle Reve prison. Amanda Waller has a new crystal grotto. And there are Gnolls in Space! Don't ask. It's all classified.
Cast of Characters:	Amy Winston, Cassandra Cain, Daniel Ketch, Terry O'Neil, Bart Allen, Meggan Puceanu, Victor Stone

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Amy Winston has posed:
Magical otherworldly adventures await! But there's a catch, a last errand that Amaya, the Princess of House Amethyst wants to take care of first.

When she arrived on Earth this time, while retreating from Dark Opal's forces, there were five other members of Nilaa's beleaguered rebellion with her. All five of them were apprehended by US authorities and turned over to the DEO in order to figure out what was going on. The DEO in turn transferred them to a convenient Black Site, after all there is no reason to afford civil rights to aliens.

Amaya wants them back and she's willing to assault a prison to do it.

Scrying has revealed the target to be none other than Belle Reve, a beyond super max prison in Louisiana designed to hold even powerful metahumans. Even more frustrating, aside from detecting their presence in the area, Amaya's sorcery was unable to pinpoint where within the sprawling complex surrounded by miles and miles of swamps and fortifications they might be.

Standing knee deep in the swamp muck after teleporting into the area with her allies, just beyond the outermost perimeter of the prison zone, Amaya turns to them. "So.. a frontal assault is probably bad." She says glancing in the direction of the prison. "But we definitely need to get in there." The magical princess from another world is definitely brave, but she's also still a teenager and may not have completely thought through how to assault the most fortified and well defended prison in North America. Still like as is normal for prisons, the design remains more about keeping inmates than outsiders out.

Cassandra Cain has posed:
Cassandra is already missing, the group having arrived and without a word or a thought, she moved away from them. She's begun to access the site, scouting for an entry point. Does not play well with others is often a trait atrributed to her normal team. Seems it's warranted.

She has no powers, merely a very indepth understanding of security protocols. She'll be inside when she's needed. She tags a guard, copies their ID card into her portable reader, then lets them go about their rounds. A moment later she's through an access point and surveying camera angles.

Honestly she should have waited, but assumes that the others will find a way inside of their own. Her way is rather specialized. And -someone- needs to disable the alarm systems.

It's very likely that someone saw her go, but how she did it is beyond belief. This is what she does.

Daniel Ketch has posed:
Amaya might have been surprised as when she contacted the flaming skeleton of vengeance, a rather normal guy responded instead. Hello, I am Daniel. Bust into a super-max prison full of metahuman criminals? Sure. Maybe.

Actually, he didn't have much of a choice, the 'other guy' was irate at knowing five innocents were kept there, and his natural response was going to be to find out the government officer that made the decision and punish him. Spirits of Vengeance. Always so practical.

As a compromise, he agreed helping to get said innocents out of Belle Reve. It is weird when he manages a reasonable agreement with the Rider. If attacking a DEO-run high-tech fortress can be called reasonable.

There was not much time for introductions, although he might have recognized one or two of the people showing up. He is pretty sure they are superheroes. So, maybe it will be okay. (Yeah, right). "Let me guess, asking President Luthor very politely to let your people go didn't work," he mutters.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
Belle Reve, of all things. Let it not be said that life as the Cheshire Cat was boring. Let it also not be said that he was a stranger to trouble. The repercussions of members of the Titans being spotted in this jaunt could be very serious. Which is why the glamour is spun around him to make him look like a completely different person- a young man with blue skin and bright, blue hair, with a black bodysuit with the stylized rendition of a portal across his chest in red.

"I can Rabbit Hole us inside. Without knowing the specific layout, though, we could be ending up anywhere in there, so we'd have to be prepared for just about anything. Unless Vic can hack into something and pull us up a mini-man."

He had offered to extend a glamour over to Vic, as well. Titans Together, and everything. Whether the cyber-genius had taken him up on that, and what guise he would appear in, well... that was up to Victor.

Bart Allen has posed:
Bart Allen had shown up as I,pulse, but seeing where they were going he was off and back wearing a ninja suit, with black tennis shoes. He has ran around the place, getting a look from all side, and letting everyone know roughly what he has seen "We need to make sure, the only people who get out are your friends, while we are in there." He tells Amy.

Meggan Puceanu has posed:
Floating has many benefits: clean feet, no footprints, unsoiled boots, not setting off tripwires or pressure plates. Hovering in place, Meggan tucks her knees to her chest to keep at eye-level with the rest of the Rebellion. No point in breaking cover by being several feet above the horizon where sophisticated technology might detect her. Cassandra's exemplary stealth gives a couple good lessons.

The silver-blonde girl presents about as unscary an appearance as someone can have. Then again, the same girl tore the head off a Sentinel in front of Congress. "Did we try the President? Is any of this under his control? Those American laws are never very clear on the telly." Dubious about extralegislative reach, she gives a bit of a shrug and then beams a smile at the Cheshire Cat. "Oh! Grand idea. I can tell you who's where and what, give or take. Put that together with Vic's map, we might not even /have/ fog-of-war."

Giving a bright smile, she rakes her fingers over her hair. "Last thing I want to do is impersonate any of the officials here, but as a last ditch options, that's on the table. Making sure we keep people in or out as appopriate, maybe."

Victor Stone has posed:
    Cyborg was at the initial meeting Amaya conducted, and he's /very/ much recognizable as one of the Titans. It's hard for him to hide, after all. Except for that glamour Terry's put over him, making him look like... well, like a tall man with green skin, wearing an outfit that matches Terry's. Nothing like himself, is the point.

    "I doubt prisons have wi-fi to hack," Vic comments as he scans the place with his cybernetic senses. "There's a bunch of maps and they all contradict each other. Get me to a hardline and I can get into their internal security systems and get us a layout, though. Since, yeah, like Bart said--don't want to just blow out a wall." He eyes his arm. "I mean... that'd /work/. But it's a bad idea."

Amy Winston has posed:
Amaya looks around for a moment when she notices that Cassandra has already vanished, that's rogues for ya. She takes a breath considering. "I can't transport us anywhere I haven't seen before. He can," She gestures to Vorpal. "But it would be blind. She," Amaya looks to Meggan now. "Can sense things. That seems like a good idea, try to eliminate the fog of war and then jump. Even if the maps contradict each other there's probably at least some overlap or maybe some feature, he," She gestures at Bart, unsure of what to call people since they don't really want to use codenames. "Saw from the outside. Jump into a place without people and find him," Now it is Victor's turn to be pointed at. "Something to jack into and find where my people are being held."

Taking a cue from the others Princess Amaya invokes the powers of Topaz to change her appearance into a ninja-like form fitting leather bodysuit that would make Black Widow proud. "Let's go."

Cassandra Cain has posed:
Indeed.

Cassandra is past two camera stations now, and approaching the intake points. She walks past a guard, her demeanor exactly what he's expecting to see, and the man completely fails to react. Then she's inside, having copied his code cards remotely in passing. Simple tech, available to any thief. If you can get close enough.

Twenty seconds later she's checking a side door entry and trying to remember the layout. She's pretty certain that she can access the hallway to the alarm room, and then the team will have a man inside. If they can keep from being stupid for another thirty seconds..

It's a race. She knows heroes. They'll be planning a fast entry, and...she's trying, she moves down the hall, trying to get to the buttons to keep things from going sideways. Just a bit longer.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
Vorpal nods and reaches over to Meggan.

Normally, Vorpal would /never/ offer to link minds with anyone. The Wonderland mind is a hallucinogenic rollercoaster that would leave most telepaths absolutely knackered and tripping balls for hours, if not days.

But Meggan was of The Folk. Among those here assembled, hers was probably the only mind that could not only withstand the sheer amount of bizarrerie but probably match it. However, Meggan is not a telepath, so the way that the information is conveyed is through the language of glamour, images of where it is that there are no people around. One is chosen, and the Cheshire nods.

"Alright. Remember, unless our sneaky sneaky friend has managed to disarm the security systems, we may be spotted by the cameras. I can turn us invisible upon coming through the Rabbit Hole... but that will only fool visual sensors. If they have infrared, they'll detect us. So... let's be prepared for that. Try to stay close to me, it makes it easier to keep everybody invisible."

The Rabbit Hole opens, and he is the first one through, vanishing from sight immediately upon reaching the other side as the shroud of invisibility is summoned. This will be the same for every member of the party who steps through.

Daniel Ketch has posed:
And Daniel doesn't have ninja skills, hacking abilities or clairvoyance. This far he can't even say if the prison is mystically warded or not. But it doesn't matter much, after all he came here because he is the Ghost Rider 'stealth mode'.

Oh, and there is a lot of guilty, very bad people here. That alone makes the Rider quite angry, and he needs to concentrate to keep him quiet. "Lets hope security is not too bad where the Nilaans are kept, after all they are just foreigners, not criminals," he comments.

Bart Allen has posed:
Bart Allen will bring up his com, and asks "You got us clear to get in Orphan?" He will watch the area letting the others go in first. He knows he can get in there as soon as he wants, and is keeping an eye out for patrols and such here for now.

Meggan Puceanu has posed:
The disordered brilliance fomented inside Meggan's head meets its like in Terry, and she almost leaps to the proverbial knock. Stretching out, she gives a bright smile his way and opens the gates of perception in absolutely peculiar ways. Green earth unrolls through a sense of knowing where hollows lie inside the drowned marshland, the solid path switchbacking through muddy, sucking patches or the occasional patch wired to explode when someone steps on it. Finite details come sparkling through as she refines her understanding while they pass through a gauntlet of hidden, horrible surprises for anyone besieging the prison, because Amanda Waller thinks up punishments that would delight Stalin and make Pol Pot positively blush with shame he hadn't done it first.

"I hope you're right," she says quietly to Daniel in an aside. "More fights, more casualties. They probably have enough on their plate without worrying about that."

Once she steps through that Rabbit Hole, silence awaits on the other side and her shape utterly changes. Gone, the blonde, replaced by a totally unassuming figure with utterly average, forgettable features. Her malleable flesh is bound to change again at some point soon.

Victor Stone has posed:
    Vic nods to Amaya, taking all the maps and sort of overlaying them within his internal computer and HUD, trying to line up similarities. Once that's done he'll send it to anyone else he's networked with, so they'll hopefully be sharing the same information.

    Then he steps on through the Rabbit Hole, trusting Terry to cloak them, though he'll light up infrared like the fourth of July and he knows it.

Amy Winston has posed:
Last through the rabbit hole is Amaya. She takes one last look around unable to shake the feeling that something is amiss before stepping into the portal and ...darkness?

The other end of the portal is pitch black darkness and with several people crammed into what seems to be an exceedingly small space, it is quite cozy. Someone may wind up getting very friendly with what feels like a mop, or a broom handle poking into their ribs, while in another corner of the small space what is probably a dustpan and some bottles of what sound like some bottles of cleaning fluids clatter to the floor. Welcome to the Belle Reve broom closet, but at least they're inside and apparently undetected for the moment.

Cassandra Cain has posed:
Alarms? The alarms are silent, which could mean that they're silent alarms, or that someone on the other end has handled them. Or that you're just that good! You probably are that good. Really. It's not wrong to believe in yourself.

Cassandra however pants, out of breath and slightly cut up. A throwing knife sticks out of a panel which moments before was in danger of being slapped by a very alert guard, who now sleeps on the ground. The room itself is full of gas, and Cass breathes through her portable oxy unit.

There are four others in the room, in varying states of disrepair. She's keeping them away from their comlinks, and doing the job of taking over Alarms and Cameras. But she takes an instant to tap her earpiece, signaling Bart that yes. They're free to enter NOW.

Not earlier. Because she's pretty sure there's passive alarms if they were silly enough to go in before she'd deactivated the room.

O.O

Daniel Ketch has posed:
Well, it is darker than he thought. Daniel pulls a flashlight and aims down, neatly illuminating a cabinet full of colourful plastic bottles with different labels. "Could be worse, at least it is not the trash compactor," he comments quietly. Death Star jokes seem suitable for Belle Reve.

"Someone reminds me where were we aiming to go?" He adds, checking the door out, which is probably locked. "To the janitor's office, then?"

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"You know..." Vorpal whispers, "This is the second broom closet I have randomly Rabbit Holed into in the last four months- ouch, watch the tail!" he reaches over and grabs his tail, lest it be stepped on in close quarters. He reaches over for the doorknob, but there are too many bodies in the world.

"Meg, Vic, can you take care of the lock if it's locked? I would zap it with magic but I can't reach it just... quite, and I don't want to enchant anyone here by mistake."

Bart Allen has posed:
Bart Allen will let the others know "Orphan seems to have the alarms off." He will look at the others and starts to vibrate through the door, and once on the other side looks around as he comes solid to unlock the door for the others, and then he kicks up to speed, and starts searching the place, trying to keep fast enough others will not see him.

Meggan Puceanu has posed:
No risk of Meggan grabbing anyone's tail, though the sudden transfer into tight quarters forces her uncomfortably up against the wall to squeeze out of trouble. As defying gravity is her natural state, she floats up carefully almost to the ceiling and stays quite safely out of reach. Darkness proves little issue as her eyes augment against the dim conditions to let her see. Floating over the ceiling, she reaches the door over their heads and examines the lock somewhat upside down.

If it's a standard metal lock, then her method of unlocking it is simply convincing the metal to move in her direction, the elemental fae shifting her fingers in careful movements to encourage it. Something fancier and digital is left to Vic as the expert.

Victor Stone has posed:
    "If you had a nickel for every time you'd have two nickels, right, Terry?" Vic murmurs. He turns on a light on the headpiece of his chassis. "There's a network cable in the wall here but I'm gonna have to--"

    Look, sometimes you just gotta punch through a wall to get at a hardline cable. Which Vic does, caving in a portion of the back wall of the closet and then grabbing the targeted cable. He's got the sheathing off with a swift snick of one of his numerous tools, and then he presses a metal finger to it so he can hack into the flow of information running through the prison's network.

Amy Winston has posed:
Fortunately for our intrepid heroes, once the combined efforts of Bart and Meggan get the broom closet door open and they flow out into the corridor there doesn't seem to be anyone else around. No patrols passing through and just Cassandra watching them through the cameras.

The hallway seems to be a minimum security cellblock where relatively harmless inmates are held. Looking in through any of the windows of the other doors that line the corridor, they all still look completely human in appearance, though they are all also still wearing high tech power supressing collars all the same.

"We're aiming to go where the Nilaa rebels are being held." Amaya answers Daniel. "We just ..don't know where that is yet. But they're definitely not in that closet." Was that an attempt at humor? She looks back to Cyborg when he starts punching a hole in the wall. "But hopefully he can find them."

Accessing the Prison Network or at least the layer of the prison network that this line connects to is illuminating to say the least. The likely reason they find themselves alone is that there is another security alert going off. Indeed, one of the consoles in the security hub where Cass is has also been flashing a strange alert, though not for any known part of the prison, which makes it seem like a malfunction. Context clues however point to the existence of at least one secret sub-level and with the network no listing Amethyst's friends in any other part of the prison, thay may very well be where they are. Though it also seems those holding them may be having other problems at the moment.

Cassandra Cain has posed:
The cameras do nothing. They say nothing. It's like looking at a photo of Cassandra in living colour, except that they're not her and the simile is ridiculous. OVerall though things don't seem to be going to hell yet.

Cassandra however is finally finishing off the last of her enemies. They were good. She was good. They were armed. She was armed. They still lost.

Daniel Ketch has posed:
Daniel did notice Vic punched the wall. It must be some kind of cybernetic thing, he decides. They could probably find a computer terminal somewhere, he figures. "We might need to ask someone, the prison is very large," and no one told Daniel whatever Bart is doing. He is not used to invisible speedsters. Although everyone is invisible right now, yes? Because he didn't bring a mask or helmet and there are many cameras.

Victor Stone has posed:
    Cyborg flicks through nodes of the prison's network, taking idle note of things that don't really matter for this and focusing on what does: "There's a security alert somewhere else in the prison. Nothing I can see on the maps, so must be a secret even from the main grid sub-level. And there's nothing on the Princess' friends on the main levels so I'm gonna guess they'll be in the secret sub-level."

    He steps away from the cable and out into the hallway, turns to orient himself now that he has a better idea of where to go. "It's this way," he says, sharing the information with Impulse as well so the speedster can maybe get down there before them.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"You are always enchanting," Vorpal says to Meggan as she magics the door. Victor tapping into The Know, the party now has a purpose and a direction. "Speedy Guy," he says, not wanting to use Impulse's codename for obvious reasons, "See if you can scout ahead of us. You are much faster than any one of us..."

Stepping out of the broom closet, he says, "Remember, the invisibility bubble doesn't extend far from us. Stay close to me as we make our way down. We're off to see the wizard, the wonderful wizard of..."

Bart Allen has posed:
Bart Allen nods, and says "Will do Puddy." He replies to Terry, and upon finding nothing here and the info Cyborg gives him, he heads towards the directions they gave them. He does keep phased as he runs so he can look into this or that door, and also not to kick up a breeze in the halls with his speed. Once where Vic has told him, he starts looking for secret doors.

Meggan Puceanu has posed:
"I'll watch for any sign of them," whispers Meggan. They have their stealth on, what with Amy in her catsuit and Bart being zippy as can be. She sticks close to Terry and Vic, the latter helpful in being a formidable block against problems and the latter as the source of invisibility. While they negotiate directions through the prison, she carefully aims her empathy in the narrowest beam she can to avoid picking up on unsettled emotions, but only so much she can do.

"How far down, do you think?" Focus on something else, really.

Amy Winston has posed:
When Cyborg mentions a sublevel, Amaya glances pointedly at the floor like she has half a mind to go right through it but seems to think better of it for the moment.

Bart's search finds the security checkpoint that connects this cellblock to a sort of nexus area where the entrances to various blocks on this level converge. The good news is there is definitely some sort of high tech secure elevator beyond the checkpoints in that nexus area. The bad news, even with the disturbance, the security checkpoints have still been left with a skeleton crew. Can't risk anyone getting any ideas while whatever is happening below is contained after all.

As they invisibly draw near, Amaya holds up a hand to stop. "Let me handle this." In her other appears a piece of rose quartz, which seems to collapse in on itself into glittering dust. Holding it before her lips, Amaya blows the gem dust into a sparkling pink cloud which begins filling the room up ahead. The sparkling pink cloud catches the security personnel offguard as they begin to yawn and their eyes begin to droop. Though in a seeming feat of pure will one guard reaches for a button even as his consciousness fades trying to sound an alert.

The minds in the minimum security area were mercifully mostly sane if on the cunning calculating and vicious side. The closer they draw to the intersection with the other cell blocks the more empathic senses will begin to feel the edges of some of the truly unhinged minds in other more secure areas..

Daniel Ketch has posed:
Going through the floor might have been quicker, really. Daniel was about to suggest it when Impulse returns. "We better hurry, I think it is just a question of minutes they find us," and yes, just then one minute later one of the guards almost manages to push the red button. Daniel kicks him away with a second to spare.

Also, they are going to the center of the prison. "Can't we get a shortcut through the floor? Because..." he gestures ahead, frowning, "we are going through the most predictable route."

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"I could open a Rabbit Hole through the floor. I can get us through to the other side without much problem. Problem is... we don't know what's there. Are we up for that?" the Cheshire asks the team-mates. "Because the button's been pressed and now we have an invisible countdown."

Bart Allen has posed:
Bart Allen will look at the things and sense seems they have it controlled here, he will head down, running down beside the elevator, not through it just in case there are odd sensors there. Once he makes it down to the level below he will give a description of what he sees there to the others.

Meggan Puceanu has posed:
Meggan scrunches her nose up, a frown settling in for just a moment. "I could rip it open. It'll be loud and quick, or slow but quiet. I don't know we can afford the time." A worried look crosses her face and then she actively ghosts after the Cheshire Cat, guarding their back. "Some truly horrible minds around here, the less time we spend the better. As a side benefit, anyway."

Victor Stone has posed:
    "I vote we just go in," Cyborg says, reconfiguring his arm into a sonic cannon. "Rabbit Hole means the bad guys can't get out, and most of us can stun people if we need to. We find the rebels, and then we all get the hell out."

Amy Winston has posed:
To rabbit hole through the floor takes a bit of trial and error because the floor as it turns out is really thick, less a basement and more of a bunker.

Dropping into the secure sub-level is a scene of horrors. A florescent light sparks above before falling from the ceiling. The overall illumination is spotty with darkness and shadows far more prevalent than light. The bodies of guards are scattered about, many quite dead, a few clinging to life, some even looking partially eaten like whatever killed them wanted a snack. The integrity of the super max containment cells down here, however, still seems to be holding, for now.

Ahead in the gloom is a figure familiar to some, a tall man with a mustache and goatee dressed like he spends most of his time in the desert in striated armor of oranges, browns, and dark reds: The Lord Sardonyx himself. He is surrounded by a group of hyena-like beastmen, one of which is still eating a nearby guard. Not far away two creatures that can only be described as Ogres are tearing open one of the cell chambers. Reinforced steel screams in protest as the creatures pry back the doors revealing the five captive rebels pressing themselves against the walls within. It would seem, someone Dark Opal's right hand man has gotten here first to claim the Rebel prize for himself.

"Ah Princess Amethyst, so nice of you to save me the trouble of tracking you down." He looks towards the Hyena-men and gestures towards the heros, "What are you waiting for? Get them!"

Daniel Ketch has posed:
Daniel jumps into the rabbit hole just behind Victor, but what emerges at the other side is not human. The flaming skeleton clad in black leather is even taller than Cyborg, and the invisibility glamour disintegrates as the Hellfire burst from his form. "You. Sorcerer!" He calls in a deep bass, striding towards Sardonyx. "You have split innocent blood. I claim Vengeance!"

More hellfire burst from the skeleton's mouth, a burst of fire wide enough to engulf the wizard and the nearby guards. And the chain around his torso slides like a snake towards his wrists, the links glowing hot red, forming dire weapons over the spiked gauntlets.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"Oh dear god. He has a moustache. /And/ a goatee. I think I am insulted. In fact, I /know/ I am insulted. I refuse-" the Cheshire Cat says, pointing at Sardonux, "I outright /refuse/ to acknowledge this Basic Bitch-Flavor Villain!"

It says something of Terry that one of their team-mates turning into a flaming skeleton-man doesn't faze him one bit. Sure, he has /heard/ rumors among the mystics, but this is the first time he's been in the presence of the castigator of the guilty. "Oh god, yes, skully, burn the ever loving /eff/ out of that /ridiculous/ moustache. Only Vincent Price /ever/ looked good in that getup, and he is /dead/."

But there is more to the cat than firing sassy liners. Two glowing constructs appear between index and thumb, glowing earplugs, and he plops them into his ears.

Why?

Fun Fact, Terry is best friends with Harley Quinn. And Harley Quinn knows a /lot/ about Hyenas.

"Ya knows," she once said to him while they were training, "The hyena can pick up noises coming from predators killing prey or feeding over a distance of up to six miles?"

Granted, he was /hiding/ from Bud and Lou, Harley's hyenas, at the time, because he was depowered and she was teaching him how to survive without powers. Because Harley was the best of friends, but she also tended to have rather frightening methods at time.

He summons his powers of illusion to create a cone of sound aimed towards the hyenas. A piercing, /painful/ sound to target that very very sensitive sense of hearing. And considering Vic was capable of also creating sonic strikes, the Cheshire is hoping that they can do A Teamwork of this while Agent Skully and Meggan take care of Mister Magic over there.

Bart Allen has posed:
Bart Allen will h ead towards the Ogres, people say they are dumb, and Bart plans on using that. He will tap one on the shoulder, moving towards the other, whispering Hey Dummy in it's ear, trying to make the ogres think they are being insulted and poked by the other one, trying to get them fighting amongst themselves.

Victor Stone has posed:
    "I'm with him," Vic says, engaging his sonic cannon. "Your outfit /sucks/, man. And hyenas are /way/ too cool for you to use them as henchbeasts. Uncool, dude. Uncool."

    And then he, too, lays down a cone of sound. Teamwork! Plus, look, he knows Gar Logan, and Gar Logan knows animals, and Hyenas were 'H' in the Beast Boy Alphabetical Animal of the Day--or were they an honorable mention? It doesn't matter. He knows what Terry's thinking, and he's turn off his own cybersenses long enough to not be stunned by the feedback.

Meggan Puceanu has posed:
"Vincent Price earned the right to the moustache." The statement, given with a total lack of irony, is backed up by a fae edict. Cheshire Cat and Tuath de Danaan are in total accord on Sardonyx's unsuitability for his villainous role. "I am going to protest if he twists it. We don't even have a railroad!"

Absent a railroad, or at least a proper set of ties, things go very poorly indeed for some poseur hurting the friends of the nice young woman with a pegasus. Being pulled down into the cesspit of Belle Rive, stewing in the hateful mire of dark emotions and total negativity, is a step too far. At least she can latch onto the spirit of vengeance's pure emotion to burn away the hunger and stewed hate. That's safer. Isn't it?

The mousy, forgettable girl has to fight not to spontaneously burst into fire herself. Instead, the tag-teaming takes something of a very direct approach to Sardonyx's bad behaviour when she sends an arc wave of force blasting invisibly towards him and storms on the opposite path in flight to give another target to deal with.

Amy Winston has posed:
Sardonyx notes the arrival of the flaming skulled individual with interest. A wave of his hand bringing up a wall of animate sand in front of him to block the oncoming blaze, becoming a wall of glass in the process. That is to say blocks it from Sardonyx, as with the last battle he seems far less concerned with the lives of his beastment subordinates and those on either side of him are roasted by the flames which seem to burn away at their very souls. "And you would chide Dark Opal for trafficing with fell beings from other worlds," Sardonyx laughs from behind the wall. "Princess Amethyst it would seem you have acquired a taste for demonic allies yourself."

He stops laughing though when Meggan's storm of force shatters his now glassed wall of sand. This is followed by a pronounced wince as he is caught in the savagery of the combined oncoming sonic attacks. He straightens himself up again about to say something quippy and evil when he realizes that all of his hyena beast-men are on the ground twitching. Apparently Sardonyx didn't catch Gar or Harley's lectures on Hyenas. "Clever clever." He scowls looking towards the ogres.

The ogres however are turning in circles and getting quite dizzy as they try to capture Bart. "Annoying fly man hold still!" "No not fly man, mosquito man! Why you no catch?" "Me? It youse job catch him!" And instigated and egged on by Impulse at every turn the two huge bulky creatures descend into fighting each other.

Sardonyx facepalms at the sight, hard enough that his long nails are literally digging into the sides of his face. "Incompetant baffoons!" Things were going so well until they suddenly very much weren't.

Conjuring a large chunk of sandstone in one hand, he slams it into the ground and a billowing sandstorm begins to spread through the entire sub-level, killing visibility with vicious winds full of tiny sharp abrasive particles lashing out at everything and everyone.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
The Cheshire cat barks, "Vic. Fridge Magnet Maneuver!"

Wait, what does that mean? "Everybody grab on to Vic and /don't let go!/" he shouts.

And a Rabbit Hole opens. Where to? Nothing can be seen past it. "Princess, keep an eye out for your friends!"

Because that is the blackness of space. And the reason everybody needs to hold on to Victor is because suddenly- well, you can imagine. Air is being sucked out, including the sandstorm. The Cheshire drops to the ground and wraps his arms around one of Vic's legs, to give the rest of the team more accessible parts to hold on to. He doesn't need to hold the Rabbit Hole open for long- just enough to disperse that storm.

Daniel Ketch has posed:
"I am the Spirit of Vengeance!" Is the Ghost Rider's reply to the accusation he is a demon. Which is -technically- incorrect. He was about to punch the wall of glass, but Megan destroys it faster. Now nothing can protect Sardonyx from getting a face full of flaming chain.

Except an instant sandstorm, apparently. The Rider whips with the chain towards the place the wizard was a second ago. Hit or miss, he stops. The sandstorm can't harm him, but he can barely see a few feet ahead. "Show yourself, coward!" He shouts. But does demanding that kind of thing ever work?

Victor Stone has posed:
    Vic knows /exactly/ what that means. He magnetizes his boots to the floor, shouting, "Terry this is an /awful/ idea!!" If anyone floats past him he'll grab at them, including not-dead guards. He's not gonna let people die if he can help it, here.

Amy Winston has posed:
The chains of vengeances swing through the blustering sands as Sardonyx disappears within the raging storm. Things finally seem to be turning around again, Sardonyx thinks to himself as the storm rages all around. Of course they are turning around, like this rabble could ever stand against the mighty lord of House Sardonyx. Dark Opal is sure to be pleased.

He was just making his way through the storm to where the rebels were still taking refuge in the cell when a very unexpected event occured. Nowhere in his calculations had a portal into the cold depths of the void of space ever factored into things and suddenly not only his sandstorm, but remaining servant creatures are all being sucked into some distant void. He does take some perverse joy at the idea the rebels and guards look like they are about to be sucked into the blackness too.

"I will remember this!" Sardonyx screeches. "Next time I will be ready for you!" Smashing another gemstone at his feet, the sorceror with the terrible moustache and goatee vanishes in a burst of orange light rather than be sucked into space.

What Sardonyx doesn't stick around long enough to see however is Amethyst holding the crystal of her House aloft, a finely cut amethyst gem as big as a fist and summoning all the power she can manage at the moment. Massive crystals of amethyst begin erupting from the ground and walls, the door to the chamber where the rebels are is blocked off, saving them from a jaunt into the void. At the same time other huge crystals emerge at various angles over the bodies of wounded and dead guards anchoring them to the ground. In an instant the first sub-level of Belle Reve has been transformed into a veritable crystal grotto in order to keep everyone safe. Well except for the hyena beast-men and ogres that is who can be seen hurtling off into the depths of space before the rabbit hole closes.

Amethyst for her part is left utterly exhausted, with just enough strength to remove the shards blocking in the rebels.

"Princess!" The five captives rush out to help her up.

"Well this is ironic, I was here to help you." She smiles weakly. "But I don't think I have enough juice left to get us out of here. Glad to see you weren't mistreated too badly."

"Juice?" One of the rebels asks.

"Nevermind." Amy waves it off looking to her Earthborn companions. "Let's get out of here while we can."