split the Five. Medusa and Hexagon, our resident six-armed strongman, seemed quite at ease with a Crusader in the room and chatted freely with our ally du jour , while Mind's Eye, the blind Indian psychic, and the normal gregarious Human Tank kept a certain distance. Of course, to top it off, there was the wall that always existed between myself and all of them, Pushed and normal alike.
The multiple discussions stopped almost at once as my entrance was noticed. I felt an involuntary trickle of sweat down the back of my neck. I deliberately cleared my throat.
"So." I paused. "Where are we, folks?"
"Uh, Indy -" Medusa began, but Rachel finished.
"- you should still be resting," she advised. "There is still quite a bit of time before sundown."
"'T would be best if we stormed the miscreant's lair before then, methinks," the Crusader announced. Ex rolled his eyes.
"We don't even know if they are still there," the firefighter argued. "We went over this a thousand times. We don't break down doors and bust heads without reason in this town."
"Take note, Mr. Archer, that even my third eye cannot predict the future in this case," Mind's Eye said in her clear, precise tones. "As Mr. Brooks informed us, these creatures are no longer living. They muddle the threads of destiny around them. It is a fool's errand to barge in with no plan or no information." Hexagon, ever the Southern gentleman, stepped out of the renewed argument and walked up beside me, still standing in the doorway.
"Shoot, Indy, sorry to say this is how it's been all afternoon," he said, patting me on the shoulder with one of his real arms. Hex never asked why he couldn't touch me with his other four arms, but after he realized he couldn't, he avoided doing so with all of his power. "I may be a mighty fine speaker, but it's one thing to keep an accounting conference on track. It's a whole 'nother thing to keep a room of disagreeing Push Heroes on task."
"No, it's okay, Hex." I wiped at my brow. Someone really needed to adjust the AC in here.
"I don't want to seem nit-picky either but ..." He looked embarrassed as he paused.
"Spit it."
"You really don't look so good. Are you sure you don't want to sit this one out?"
As my mother always advised me, I closed my eyes and counted backwards from ten. It usually kept my temper at check, assuming I caught myself in time. I opened them again and nodded.
"I'm sure." I stepped around the table and the argument itself and walked up to the speaker's podium. As the microphone hummed to life, I waited one more moment to see if the discussion would settle itself out. Five minutes passed with little resolution, despite Rachel and Duane trying to get things into some semblance of control. With that fact established, I whistled loudly straight into the mic.
Understandably, that got me the silence I wanted.
"Do I have your undivided attention?" I asked needlessly. Without waiting for a response, I continued, though Tank was already starting to say something. "Let me address the elephants in the room. First, you've all met the Argent Archer, our 'loaner' from Epic's Crusaders." I gestured to the Archer who felt the need to make a flourish.
"He's still here because I decided to let him stay. It doesn't matter what side of the debate he's on right now, Archer's heart is in the right place on this one. Let me say, though, that you all have my personal permission to dog pile him if he goes out of line." I nodded to the Five. "Don't use that as a reason to keep him out of the loop. This is serious business tonight, not just your typical Pushcrook crime spree." To the silver-armored Crusader, I said, "Just think of that as incentive to play by the rules." Laying things out plainly seemed to settle the room's discontent, but I could hardly credit my rhetoric. Just as I could usually resist the Whiteout's influence on my actions, I had some luck with
The multiple discussions stopped almost at once as my entrance was noticed. I felt an involuntary trickle of sweat down the back of my neck. I deliberately cleared my throat.
"So." I paused. "Where are we, folks?"
"Uh, Indy -" Medusa began, but Rachel finished.
"- you should still be resting," she advised. "There is still quite a bit of time before sundown."
"'T would be best if we stormed the miscreant's lair before then, methinks," the Crusader announced. Ex rolled his eyes.
"We don't even know if they are still there," the firefighter argued. "We went over this a thousand times. We don't break down doors and bust heads without reason in this town."
"Take note, Mr. Archer, that even my third eye cannot predict the future in this case," Mind's Eye said in her clear, precise tones. "As Mr. Brooks informed us, these creatures are no longer living. They muddle the threads of destiny around them. It is a fool's errand to barge in with no plan or no information." Hexagon, ever the Southern gentleman, stepped out of the renewed argument and walked up beside me, still standing in the doorway.
"Shoot, Indy, sorry to say this is how it's been all afternoon," he said, patting me on the shoulder with one of his real arms. Hex never asked why he couldn't touch me with his other four arms, but after he realized he couldn't, he avoided doing so with all of his power. "I may be a mighty fine speaker, but it's one thing to keep an accounting conference on track. It's a whole 'nother thing to keep a room of disagreeing Push Heroes on task."
"No, it's okay, Hex." I wiped at my brow. Someone really needed to adjust the AC in here.
"I don't want to seem nit-picky either but ..." He looked embarrassed as he paused.
"Spit it."
"You really don't look so good. Are you sure you don't want to sit this one out?"
As my mother always advised me, I closed my eyes and counted backwards from ten. It usually kept my temper at check, assuming I caught myself in time. I opened them again and nodded.
"I'm sure." I stepped around the table and the argument itself and walked up to the speaker's podium. As the microphone hummed to life, I waited one more moment to see if the discussion would settle itself out. Five minutes passed with little resolution, despite Rachel and Duane trying to get things into some semblance of control. With that fact established, I whistled loudly straight into the mic.
Understandably, that got me the silence I wanted.
"Do I have your undivided attention?" I asked needlessly. Without waiting for a response, I continued, though Tank was already starting to say something. "Let me address the elephants in the room. First, you've all met the Argent Archer, our 'loaner' from Epic's Crusaders." I gestured to the Archer who felt the need to make a flourish.
"He's still here because I decided to let him stay. It doesn't matter what side of the debate he's on right now, Archer's heart is in the right place on this one. Let me say, though, that you all have my personal permission to dog pile him if he goes out of line." I nodded to the Five. "Don't use that as a reason to keep him out of the loop. This is serious business tonight, not just your typical Pushcrook crime spree." To the silver-armored Crusader, I said, "Just think of that as incentive to play by the rules." Laying things out plainly seemed to settle the room's discontent, but I could hardly credit my rhetoric. Just as I could usually resist the Whiteout's influence on my actions, I had some luck with
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