You are (Not) the Heroes IC

Sunset acknowledges Zapp’s acceptance with a tip of her hat.

”If ya ain’t got a battle plan,” she says, ”If this thing wants you so bad, it's gonna come after you, maybe try 'n' chase ya tryin' to get its hooks into ya. Maybe you can take advantage o’ that; fly ‘round this here radio tower, get ‘em all clustered around it, then hit the tower with a lightnin’ bolt 'n' fry the whole swarm. We can do what we can to slow it down ‘n’ weaken it in the meantime, give you a better shot.”

"I appreciate the cooperation," Gaia says, narrowing her eyes as she mulls over Zapp's words. "But... what do you mean, 'agreement between us'? Didn't we just meet?"

Crimson offered Sunset a respectful nod of the head, happy to see that the situation between Zapp and their group (Which they needed to come up with a name for now that he thought about it) was going rather swimmingly so far. However as the conversation started to sway away from the matter at hoof he cleared his throat before saying "Ladies and Gentlecolts, we're on the clock right now." before turning to look at Zapp, his voice rather respectful of the mare and everything that she had done as he asked "Some research from Madame Mask reveled that the swarm is made up of Tempests, a normally non-aggressive species of bug unless corrupted by powerful magic; If you've faced off against this thing before, do you know if this is just a mutated strain of the bugs or is there some third party running around controlling the bugs to be used as a cats paw for their own ends?"

Daff's gaze ping-pongs between the various individuals. He looks pleasantly surprised when Zapp already agrees to let them help. "Good job!" he (loudly) whispers to Sunset.

As he gently help Rousseau onto his usual perch, the squirrel chitters angrily at Zapp, shaking one tiny fist up in the air.

"Rousseau! Language!" Daff chides.

"Thou callest them 'Tempests'," Zapp says, her tone growing slightly more ponderous. "Prithee, Madame Mask, from whose mouth didst thou hear this from? By thine account of these creatures, there is little doubt these Tempests art one and the same as mine foes from long ago. Yet I have heard not such a name for them, by the lore of mine homeland they are hríd'veidr - hunters of storms. They are no mere mortal insects - rather they are storm sprites, elements incarnate. Natural spirits of harmless, if chaotic, disposition. Nay, no physical deformation can change their course."

"The last I heard of these docile creatures becoming angry and fitful, the mightiest sorcerer in all the Highlands cast a truly insidious corruption upon the swarms." Zapp narrows her eyes, lightning flickering visibly. "A corruption I saw to purging personally, and the sorcerer is securely locked far away from mine homeland. There is little chance for a like spell to be case."

While Rousseau continues to make rude gestures at Zapp, Daff looks blankly up at her as she talks. When she finishes, he scratches his chin with a forehoof.

"Uh... Maybe you missed a few?" he suggests.

Sunset raises an eyebrow.

”I don’t suppose this sorceror had a name?”

Zapp glares at Sunset, though she gets the distinct feeling that Zapp isn't so much angry at Sunset, just what Sunset asked. "He didst."

"Tempests... they are migratory creatures. Perhaps another name, by another people." She shakes her head before glancing at Daff. "It means little to my hunt now. And... perhaps that is a possibility, but the likelihood of that is quite low indeed."

"To quote an old Griffon warlord, it is easy to kill a lot of something but very difficult to wipe out all of them; The survivors tend to be strong survivors and really pissed off." Crimson quoted, added his own two bits to the conversation. "So we're sticking with Plan A then? Half the team stays up here to deal with the swarm that pops up while the other half tries to track down the source and deal with the problem at the roots?"

Senshuken wrote:"To quote an old Griffon warlord, it is easy to kill a lot of something but very difficult to wipe out all of them; The survivors tend to be strong survivors and really pissed off." Crimson quoted, added his own two bits to the conversation. "So we're sticking with Plan A then? Half the team stays up here to deal with the swarm that pops up while the other half tries to track down the source and deal with the problem at the roots?"

”’It is said'" Sunset counter-quotes, "'that if ya know your enemies ‘n’ know yourelf, you will not be imperiled in a hundred battles; if ya do not know your enemies but do know yourself, you will win one and lose one; if ya do not know your enemies nor yourself, you will be imperiled in every single battle.’”

She pauses to close her eyes and clear her mind, then opens them and continues.

“We’ve only been in contact with the one swarm. We don’t know how many more there are in Maretropolis, where they’re comin’ from, or what kind of advantage they have. ” She looks up at Zapp. ”That’s why I’m concerned about this sorcerer. We’ve come to suspect there’s some entity controllin’ the swarms by the name o’ Locust. That ain’t him, is it?”

"His name is of little relevance." Zapp scowls, lightning flashing in her eyes and through her mane. "He is Highborn and his crimes are a highborn matter. If it so settles thy concerns then know that he wears names like the clothes on his back, forging new titles and discarding old ones as he pleases. His name matters not."

(Prompt for general knowledge roll. Madame Mask does not need to roll.)

Moved Knowledge roll to my next post.

"Oh good." Gaia grunts. "Because we needed a numberless foe that may or may not be controlled by a nameless, faceless sorcerer from across the continent."

Stuff:

Sunset’s eyebrow stays raised.

”His name matters not, perhaps,” she responds, emulating Zapp’s dialect flavored with her own thick country accent, ”but what o' the lives his crimes put in danger? If this sorcerer ya speak of and the Locust that drives them beasts to such acts are surely one and the same, then don’t the duty of protectin’ the innocent from him not fall to all with the will to do so?”

She casually crosses her forelegs and says in her urban voice, ”Polkien phase. Been holdin’ that in since I was a filly. No offense meant, yegua.”

Rolls:

Dove Colt's expression is quite confused, much of the conversation going over his head. Leaning over to Daff, he asks, "So... what's going on?"

General Knowledge: 9 + 9 = 18

Crimson sighed a little as he turned to look at Dove and Daff, deciding to explain what was going on to those in the group that weren't quite as up to speed as the others were. "At the moment we seem to be debating if our weather eating buggy 'friends' are the leftover survivors of crazed magic user whom banded together to build a new swarm or if there is some crazed magical pony lurking on the sidelines that we should be keeping an eye out for. Considering that there is no evidence to support either claim over the other it is kind of a pointless conversation and we should thus prepare for both possible situations like any good defending team should do." This last little part might have been said loudly enough for all gathered to hear it, just to try and add a new point of view to the conversation and try to make some headway now to working together instead of arguing over logistics.

Turning to look at Zapp, he respectfully asked "I don't doubt for a moment that the pony you encountered who created these swarms the first time around was imprisoned and I know that you would have no doubt checked to make sure he was still there before coming out here, but in the event that we have someone running around who either copied his research or somehow came up with this idea on their own how would we best be able to detect their presence and track them down? If for no other reason then to rule out a sorcerer in the shadows and allowing us to focus our efforts on finding the swarm."

According to stories Sunset's been told during her childhood and in various books, both story and academic, in times of crises, ponies with extraordinary abilities who call themselves Highborn have come from beyond the frigid Drakkenridge to restore order to the world. Practically gods amongst normal ponies, the exploits of Highborn in the distant past have become legends and folklore - until Zapp's arrival, announcing herself a guardian of the city and inadvertently confirming the existence of beings that come straight out of myth and legend.

She also determines that Zapp might not be letting on the whole truth, though much of what she says seems truthful for the most part.

”Not just findin’ the swarm,” says Sunset. ”We’re gonna need to get more allies, too. Between us ‘n’ you Power Ponies, there’s only a dozen or so known heroes active in Maretropolis, plus our two critters. That’s fourteen total bodies standin’ between millions o’ innocents and what? Billions o’ tempests tryin’ to kill ‘em all?”

Daff's brows furrow deeper and deeper as he tries to keep up. He bites his bottom lip, looking just a little helpless at Dove. "Well, you see... I think they're saying knowing your enemey... to know your not enemy... means knowing them so you don't lose yourself, but you might lose your your not enemy... Uh...." He sits down, using a hoof to rub the side of his head.

The look he gives Crimson when the pony comes to his rescue is of overwhelming gratitude.

Zapp shakes her head. "I am a warrior. Matters of magic and sorcery are not my forte. If there were such a way to track them then I know not of it."

"As for allies - well, I see that someone has already begun that task." Zapp snorts. "Although my team hath faced such odds before - and this city still stands."

"Besides, if there were someone unknown who were powerful enough to do such a thing in this city, Matterhorn wouldst have found them long ago."

A rumble passes through the sky, and Zapp pauses to look up to the sky warily before continuing. "There is only one pony with the capacity for such magic in the city, and they are kept under constant guard in the best confinement this city can offer. It cannot- it must not be him."

Another rumble sounds overhead, and Zapp glances strangely at the clouds above. Moments later her eyes widen, and she raises her talisman to banish the clouds above only to be interrupted by a sudden explosion of light and thunder some distance away from the location of the group, in another district of the city. The Chef, Sunset, and Madame Mask can tell that the cacophony comes from the exact location of the Supermax.

A moment of silence passes before a silky smooth voice, low and seductive but with a cold, dangerous edge, speaks up. "Your lack of faith wounds me, Zapp."

Following Zapp's shocked gaze, the group is suddenly aware of a tall, slender unicorn stallion with a golden coat and wavy raven mane hovering a short distance away, his curved horn crackling with energy. Black and purple energy flows around him, energy that the group recognizes to be the same electricity from the Locust swarm, and sparks occasionally coalesce back into physical insects before melting back into the stream of power. Chef, Sunset and Mask recognize this as an A-List villain known as Zapp's nemesis - or more commonly... "Low Key." Zapp growls, barely restrained rage in her voice. "Thou hast escaped."

The stallion smiles thinly, the Locust swarms materializing around him to form an angry, shifting wall of hissing electrical insects. "Is that all the welcome you offer, sister? No hello, no warm embrace? Not even an introduction to your friends?"

"You've got such an interesting group, here." Low Key's gaze sweeps through the group, lingering on Madame Mask for a moment longer than most. "Threw quite the wrench in my plans."

Seeing a new pony arive on the scene, Zell bridens his Telepathic broadcat to include Low Key and changes from his conitnued rant at Zapp to tell everypony: SeE tHiS eNtRaNcE dIdN´t TaKe AnYbOdY oUt Of CoMmIsSiOn, ThAt Is HoW oNe ShOuLd Do SuCh A tHiNg. MaY tHe PaCk AsK yOu, WhAt YoUr GoAl Is?
Inu meanwhile looks up at the Unicorn and asks: ~Are you going to ignore me ölike your featherbrain of a Sister?~

"My motivations are my own," Low Key says, "but for now, I'm here for her."

"She has something rightfully mine," He gestures at Zapp, who bristles at the claim. ~Anyway, I do apologize for her, dear - my sister does not understand Wildspeak as we do~

Sunset rolls her eyes as her shotgun leaves its holster on her back and hovers ready next to her.

Oh, the curse of being right, even when you don’t want to be.