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War Witch     Time for another trip to another dimension, courtesy of Portal Corporation. The big humming portal-generating machine, one among many extremely energy-intensive devices in their laboratories, is synched to the right dimension. Those assembled have been briefed on the nature of the mission, and that they can come back through at any time by approaching the portal from the other side.

    Once they venture through, they find themselves inside... Another laboratory? A long metal corridor, relatively futuristic in as much as the rest of the science facilities in Paragon City are futuristic. An alternate version of this world, but the arrival point is not necessarily an exact geographic match. They said this world was detected as having abnormally high readings of super-powered activity. Given how many super-powered being are in Paragon City in the universe they came here from, there must be a LOT of super-beings on this side...

    A torn and faded poster on the wall touts the virtues of Crey Conglomerate.
Dorian Pavus     Dorian's gone dark for this mission. He tends to do that whenever he needs to try to either be stealthy or not be recognized as himself. Which is not as easy as it seems, because he dosn't even have a codename yet, much less a mask. Unless you count that whole 'Revenant King' business in Geralt's world. But that was clearly Dorian playing the part of a villain, so that doesn't count.

    That doesn't mean he hasn't taken some cues from that darker ensemble though. He's in his black leather armor and black cloak, and he's added a hood to the outfit. Reluctantly, mind. Because that's going to really do a number on his poor coiffure! He's also carrying the skull-headed staff, and overall looks more the part of a dark magus.

    When he reaches the other side of the portal, he pauses to take stock of the area. The posture tooting the Crey horn in particular gets his attention. "...Well THAT isn't right," he decides immediately. He resists the urge to torch the poster though. Let's wait until we figure out what's going on to start setting things on fire, hm?
X X, too, has decided that it might be better to cover up - so he's wearing a hooded cloak that covers everything but the bottom bits of his feet. With the hood up, it's hard to see the robotic bits too!

    But since nobody's here to greet them, he lowers the hood and looks around... spots the poster...

    "Isn't that odd? There's a lot of activity here, and this is indoors, but look at how old that poster must be!" Crey, huh. He does know Crey has a mixed reputation in Paragon. Constantly suspected of being involved in some mess, but never any legal proof...
Velya     The dark elf named Velya showed up to help with... not much to say! She'd read the briefing, but she was in a pretty distinctive outfit that was typical of dark elf sorceresses. That is, flowing robes that somehow still showed too much skin. Sigh. It's pretty easy to pick her out of the crowd!
    Or it was anyway! After stepping through the portal, it's a little different. She's now a lightly-tanned young woman wearing the most generic pair of t-shirt and jeans possible. She still has her staff, but she leans on it like a walking staff, as if she's been out on a hike. "Are there any things you think we should look for, then?" The others know more about this world than she does!
War Witch     The lights are on, power is running... There are doors directly behind them leading out of the lab, but on the other side is the same portal they came in through, so going back out that way isn't viable right now. The portal formed literally right on the other side of the hydraulic-powered security doors. Though opening them and looking through just reveals a darkened tunnel on the other side of the faded, swirling blur dimensional distortion. Compared to the brightly-lit laboratory, the spooky underground passage is probably better left alone even if they could get around their own exit out of here.

    Thus far, there's no sign of anyone else in the area, though those with the means to search or scan for life signs may turn up that there are, indeed, other living beings in the area. Quite a number of them, even if scattered all over the place. Other than that, there's no immediate sign of either danger or a welcoming party.

    Though, distantly, the sound of boot falls at a casual pace on the plated floor might dimly be made out.
Dorian Pavus     Dorian doesn't really have a way to scan for lifeforce or lifeforms, only magical anomalies. Which he will do as soon as he's sure it's safe to drop his guard long enough. For the moment though, he turns his head so that he can hear properly. He does barely hear those footsteps, but his hearing isn't good enough to precisely pinpoint them.

    He turns his attention to X's comment first. "This is one of those... what do you call them? Parallel worlds? That means it could be very close to the Paragon we came from. But not exactly, so be ready for anything. Sod's law, after all." He smirks then, and adds with false lightness, "Five royals says this is a reverse world and we fight evil versions of one or more Paragon heroes."

    To Velya he says, "Different worlds may follow different rules. There's really no way to tell. That it was safe for us to exist in physical space is about all we can count on. Well, since we're here, doing exactly that. Again, we should be ready for anything."

    THAT is when he scans for magical energy in the general area. His eyes close, and the eye sockets of the skull on his staff begin to glow. And as he raises his free hand, it too begins to glow, all of it in a neon green color.
Velya     Hmm! Velya decides not to try to explore the dark corridor, as she might fall through the map or something. That isn't the actual reason, she really just presumes that exploring the world should happen where it's populated. "I'm trying to blend in. I hope this is close enough." She's already stepping forward to poke around the lab. She doesn't have life sense, but a quick swap to infrared might pick up some, but not all, of the inhabitants.

    Curiously, Velya doesn't give off much of a magical signature at all, aside from whatever a normal person with perhaps some talent for it might give off. Certainly not an anomalous amount. "Should we just tell the truth, you think? If this is a military installation we may have some difficult questions."
X "Nothing to do but take a look around! We'll head back to the portal if it looks like anything's going badly. We can't risk being cut off or leading any trouble back! Exploring's secondary to everyone's safety." X declares. He HOPES this is the case, really. But for now, he moves towards the boot noises through the hallways, peeking around corners...
War Witch     The sound of voices drifts down the hall as the trio begin exploring. They may also catch sight of some figures in the distinctive blue and cold outfits worn by Crey's 'Paragon Protectors'. A private super hero force that performs 'sanctioned heroic law enforcement action', but whose loyalty ultimately lies with Crey. Who the masked men and women are exactly has remained pretty unknown, and no one outside the Corporation can really be certain whether they're corporate cronies or actual heroes who have been misled or who may even be in a bad situation and taking orders against their will or... Or what! There's a lot of mystery surrounding them and their diverse power sets.

    But there's a hallway with three or four of them just around the corner. No sign of magic beyond what one would expect from basic background mana, etc. But the explorers clearly aren't alone.

    "I think that..." one of the Paragon Protectors begin to say.

    "...a stranger has arrived." another one says without any delay, completing the first one's sentence as though they already knew what was going to be said in advance.
Dorian Pavus     Once Dorian's confirmed there's no magic in the area, he opens his eyes again, letting that hand go to his side. Then he looks to Velya. "Possibly. If it comes to that, but for now we should just try not to get caught," he suggests. "Mind you, stealth is not exactly my forte... but I'm willing to try anything once." He smirks.

    X gets a nod. "Exactly my thoughts. Let's go then." A wry look to X. "I hope you don't mind if I let you go first." That's right, put the dude made of metal in front of the dude made of flesh! Dorian is trying to stay out of sight as much as he can as they begin exploring around. And the completing each other's sentences? That's creepy. Dorian frowns.

    Looking between Velya and X, he asks very quietly, "...Any plans? I have the feeling that 'we come in peace' isn't going to work here."
X "Not at all! Why wouldn't it, isn't it the truth?" X answers Dorian, heading out... and encountering some very strange individuals indeed. He's just readying to speak, mouth opening... when he notices just how EERILY IN SYNC the two are. As if they were... one mind, almost.

    It makes no sense how they'd both react in lock-step like that otherwise... but that's impossible, right? He's looking at two humans, plain and simple.

    "Uh. Not a stranger for long. My name's X and I'm on a peaceful cross-dimensional exploration mission." But he's not saying from who or where. It's the truth though, isn't it?

    His eyes flick back and forth across the two individuals. He tries to avoid showing it, but he's sizing them up for any weapons, even hidden ones. They're creeping him out a bit - he's got a bad feeling...

    But he remains hopeful!
Velya     Velya actually agrees with X, but she's going to let the android go first. She's a squishy mage. To Dorian she explains, "If we're here for recon, we should probably at least try to avoid a fight. It's first contact, right? Let's try not to kill anyone our first visit here, even if we think they deserve it. Maybe we showed up on 'sacrifice the heathen Saturday' or something. We have to remain culturally sensitive!"

    She's going to brace herself though! Silently, she increases some power to her personal shield, so she's ready for any trouble. Nothing offensive yet. She's going to want to go through her less lethal "spells" first. "We don't know where we are," she offers. "Could you direct us outside?"
War Witch     Out of the three Paragon Protectors in the hall, it is not either of the first two who speak when X and Velay attempt greeting them. It is the third. "You are not one of me!" the masked woman declares in a mix of outrage and fear as she flies up into the air and then towards the heroes, as bone spikes tear their way out of her skin and costume like a mass of toxin-dripping thorns at the same time that some kind of glowing energy aura surrounds her. The other two Paragon Protectors follow suit at the same time, though using different powers.

    One of the two men runs towards his targets, claws growing out of the backs of his hands, while the other hangs back and begins shooting streams of high-energy particle beams from his fists.

    Seems they aren't interested in diplomacy with those are 'not one of them' or 'me'. Odd syntax, but perhaps their diction is less relevant than the danger they presently pose.
Dorian Pavus     Dorian nods to Velya's statement. Though he smirks, and just HAS to say something in response. "Ah yes, 'sacrifice Saturdays'. Nearly made an actual holiday in Qarinus once, if I recall. But the motion was defeated quite soundly when the blood mages protested being limited to ONE day a week," he quips.

    Contrary to X's open, almost friendly greeting, Dorian is... staying out of sight totally. He'll crouch behind whatever cover he can manage, though hiding a mage staff might be a little difficult. X is the people person here. And maybe -- just MAYBE -- X's optimism and Velya's relative openness with the guards will be rewarded. But just in case it isn't? His hand is glowing blue-white, ready to fire off a Barrier around his two allies at the first sign that the Protectors are about to unload something nasty.

    And no, it seems, these people aren't going to reward diplomacy. So Dorian releases his half-cast Barrier at X And Velya, standing up from his hiding place. "Surprise," he says in the direction of the Protectors, the word said as a veritable hiss. He's within range of the Barrier as well, so this should dampen some of the impact of the attacking Protectors.

    But since they're going melee? So is Dorian. The first one of these blue-clad menaces that gets too close just might get his or her bell rung pretty hard by a swat upside the head with that staff. And it's likely to hurt a LOT if it makes contact. Or if they're barrier'd too, they'll still be aware it was a very hard strike.

    Which might be confusing for a Paragon-esque person. That's just a skull on the end of that staff, isn't it? Shouldn't bone shatter upon impact? It doesn't. And... the black-garbed, hooded man is clearly a mage... he shouldn't be able to hit that hard, should he? But he does!
X Not one of HER?!

    X boggles, but his reactions are split-second after that. The cloak comes off and he engages all his combat systems... though he isn't charging up a shot or taking aim! Instead he dives for the melee-ist and attempts to duck under the claws, beat the swings away with some blocks of his own, and BIND the man from moving using his robotic strength!

    "Why is everyone always hostile?! Calm down, we're not here for a fight!"

    Yeah. Hive mind, from the look of it. He was right. Except... HOW IS THAT EVEN A THING?!

    NO time to worry about it right now. "More could be coming! We should retreat!"
Velya     Even Velya can see the signs of a hive mind. She's interrupted mid-laugh by the shout, forcing her attention from Dorian's joke to the immediate threat. A barrier is a good thing to have, and her personal field is not all the way up... she would need to focus on that. This way, maybe she can do something. "I agree, we should fall back and report that it's hostile here. I don't want to push through unless we know what we're facing beyond." She doesn't consider this a team to just smash through everything.

    This doesn't prevent her from doing something to contribute! Trying to keep it from being fatal, she blurts out some nonsense words to send a crackle of electicity toward one of them... hopefully to stun them, before they can like, tear into her. She isn't fast enough to stop one of the particle beams from zapping her! Dorian's barrier is nice, because hers proves not up to the task completely, making her fall back when a beam blasts her in the stomach! The flicker of her own shield might explain why it doesn't kill her.
War Witch     The first one to get close is the flying bone-spike lady whom Dorian hits with his staff with magically-potent strength... And finds that she seems to absorb some of the impact. Or that glowing aura around her does. Invulnerability perhaps? Not TRULY invulnerable, of course, but few things are. She still drifts to the side from the staggering blow before slashing at Dorian with her bone spikes, all of which seem to be dripping some viscuous green substance. If he's exposed to it, it is clearly poisonous by its painful effects.

    She lands afterwards and a secondary aura forms around her, as she seems to start trailing after-images from enhanced speed. Ugh. So hax. Invulnerability AND super reflexes!?

    X grapples with the claw-bearing Protector. A wave of power radiates outwards from him, like a low-level shockwave as he struggles against robotic strength, and suddenly he seems to be slipping out of the hold bit by bit, until he attempts to break away and go into a whirling spin attack, slashing all around him with his claws and creating a veritable tornado of cuts and slices.

    Thankfully, as has been demonstrated by Velya enduring the blasts from the ranged attacker, the combination of Elite capabilities and Dorian's barriers is keeping them from suffering massive harm... But the combination of super powers in each of them is abnormal, even for a world as abnormal as one that has super powers in the first place. It's like... Someone cobbled them together or something. Or maybe they were augmented somehow.

    The ranged Protector is prevented from shooting anymore thanks to Velya's electric paralysis, buying the explorers some time and breathing room by not having to deal with that as well. Probably for the best to not find out what else that one can do in addition to particle beams, given the nasty assortment of powers the other two have demonstrated so far.
Dorian Pavus     "I believe you both have the right of it," Dorian agrees, as both X and Velya suggest retreat. Someone can bring a bigger group in at some future point to deal with these guys. He was, unfortunately, expecting the woman to be more rattled than that by the strike. So he's utterly unprepared for her to counter. And leather is no barrier to poisonous bone spikes. He emits a choked, "Ghn!" and reels in the opposite direction as the side those spikes struck him on. "''Venhedis!''" he hisses.

    He looks between X and Velya. "Go on back through. I have an idea," he tells them both. He's not exactly front-line material, but hopefully he won't have to be. To aid them along, he charges up a yellow-green aura, and then throw a hand into the air, palm up. A dome of 'slow' seems to spread outwards from him, in about the same range as his Barrier. While in that dome, his allies will move normally, seemingly unaffected by the slowdown.

    This is good because, as soon as his allies have gotten into the room, he runs back in as well. And then he tries to buy MORE time. By casting a freezing spell into the doorway. It's just big enough to block the door. Though that probably won't hold the Crey Protectors too terribly long...
X There is NOTHING natural about what's going on here! Shock flares up on X's face as he's being physically overpowered. Such strength, from a human?! And not an epic, unique singular hero, but someone randomly patrolling a lab?!

    Eventually his grip's broken and X throws up his arms. The awful sound of claws on metal follows, the strikes digging into the shielding arms a good inch. He's blown back by all the whirling and goes skidding across the ground. "What kind of manuever...?!" He's never seen a technique like that!

    Still though, he hasn't called upon his X-Buster. He's not willing to actually shoot these people!

    He hesitates only for a brief moment after Dorian directs him to retreat without him... then starts making decisive leaps backwards so he can keep an eye on what's going on. BACK TO THE PORTAL!

    "They'll definitely want to see this footage..."
Velya     "If you're sure," Velya says, with a strained voice of concern. The young woman is wobbling to her feet, her stomach smoking but not fatally hit from the partical beam. Actually it just looks like a bad burn, which is much less than it would normally be. She'll have to thank the barrier for that. She doesn't retreat right away though... she has her own trick to do! An outstretched hand and a murmur send three duplicate Velyas rushing toward the trio. They're illusions, of course, but they do seem to act, at least long enough for her to turn around and dash toward the portal as well.

    With any luck, her duplicates will keep them distracted long enough for Dorian to have an easier getaway.