2014.03.03 - Unearthly Omens

The moon was full tonight, which always bore its strange toll on Mantis' mind, as her precognitive visions bounced about. Sensing outward, however... beyond the psychological component (you'd be surprised how many people out there convince themselves that the moon's reputed loon-making gaze channelled their fates), there was an almost energetic shift in the air. Like a butterfly effect, many dismissed how subtle yet significant even a shade difference in light, or ocean levels, triggered a larger dispersion. Tempted to howl playfully, Mantis perched next to a gorgeous, 150-year-old gargoyle on the roof of St. Michael's Church, nestled in a rich but quiet neighbourhood in Metropolis. While Mantis loved the location, being here tonight wasn't her call. The lovely, historic church was the designated meeting place where she'd run into Phyla again, and Adam Warlock, to discuss current events. Threats to Earth, and the meeting of minds.

It's hard to hide in the night sky. That damnable glow from the Quantum Bands is akin to a bullseye on Phyla's back. Being stealthy while flying? Yeah, that's not going to happen. There's also the soft tzzzm noise from the active bracers, but that's negligible. She leads Adam Warlock onwards to a church indicated as the meeting point. She's not particularly fond of the place, but she wasn't the one to choose it. There could be worse places, too.

On an ordinary day Adam would avoid holy places out of certain personal issues with people of faith. Heavily armed zealots are not frequent in New York, but weirder things have happened in this city. For instance, there is a green skinned woman waiting for him on the roof of the church.

Adam didn't really know there would be a church here; he gave Phyla the coordinates because he felt a critical alignment of celestial energies. Those are usually trouble spots. Instead there is a green lady. "Greetings," he hails Mantis evenly. "Where you waiting for us?"

Mantis' expression perks up: her detection of the arrival wasn't limited to sight or sound, even: she could feel the presence of Phyla's mind arriving. And, while Phyla possibly hadn't realized it, their last meeting had become very important in Mantis' mind. While she'd run into a lot of action in her treks across Asia, none of her heroics had resulted in any true, 'powered' allies. That, coupled with a sense of fatalistic intuition, Mantis somehow knew that any steps to assist Adam Warlock at this time was her calling... at least for the dangers she felt looming in the near future.

She watched the two arrive in quick succession from alternate directions, and soon stepped down from her ledge to greet the two.

"Synchronic shifts echo the concrete valley," she says, glancing off to the side before turning again to face them. "And this prequel sets an anchor for the defence our torrid times are about to unfold." The words are ominous, but she ends them with a sweet little smile. "I'm Mantis, sir."

It is that balancing of contrasts, the ominous and the smile, that has in the past made it so Phyla didn't seek out communication with Mantis. The two know each other only very casually. And yet when she encountered the green-skinned woman she found herself sticking around and talking with her. She left a little confused, and she has no doubt she will continue that tradition tonight. Still, the smile is reassuring. "Is it truly that bad?"

"Yes," replies Adam, looking at Phyla with his usual seriousness. He already told her it was /that/ bad when they met a few days ago. However, "you two already know each other, I find myself in disadvantage," he observes. It is not something that happens to him often, so he takes note. He nods to Mantis, acknowledging her introduction, at least. "I am Adam Warlock. Please, elaborate."

"The wicked outlines the blessing... like flowers in swamps," Mantis responds cryptically to Phyla, presumably in reference to it being 'that bad'. She looks at the two for a few seconds, completely silent. "It is quiet, sometimes. The stirring. I can never tell if it's slyness or just resting. The movement. Forces from outside the atmosphere: eyes on our spirits, bodies; hungry vultures, we seem like harvest time. The panic of suffocating Supermen; the fears of the dimensional cracks." It didn't look like straight answers were Mantis' thing... and somehow it still appeared as if she were trying to be clear.

"Nobody is invincible," Phyla insists firmly. "Not even this Superman. You attack only, you meet your end." She's pacing in the air at this point, seemingly refusing the church's roof as a place to stand or sit. "That is why a bladeclaw hunts in a pack, not by itself." Some space animal. Drawing on what she knows. "He should have approached his opponent with others. Pool their strengths, shield each others' weaknesses."

Adam lands on the roof, stepping forward so he is harder to see from the ground. Phyla is glowing too much for his tastes, and he rather avoid the attention of the general population. "I am aware of the dark one activities, of course. Those Boom tubes are not subtle. But he is playing a game he will lose, even if he kills the Kryptonian. The humans' minds and hearts will not behave like he expects."

"A jigsaw shield? That must be a truly collaborative affair," Mantis says in response to Phyla, while tracking her aerial movements with her eyes. "But our orbit, our gravity, it doesn't enclose the mighty sphere's activity. Consciousness itself... heard the dark knock, and the cruel and desperate always want more. Plunderers, a cancer to fruit. More hear the knock, and more will be coming." Her voice suddenly turns very sad. "I've no idea how to prepare."

"He needs to be shown that this planet doesn't need Superman." Phyla's not a plotter, but she could work out what is needed or necessary easily enough. "But we'd need to challenge everything he can do in order to stop him."

"Darkseid is just the first of many," agrees Adam. "And he has drawn so much attention he will face a veritable army of demi-gods every step of his already flawed plan. The subtler ones will be more dangerous. You can see it coming, can't you?" He looks at Mantis, brows furrowing. "Are you a seer?"

Mantis stares at Phyla thoughtfully. "The trigonometry of chess," she finally says, "sometimes forgets war's greatest weapon: the force of... surprise," she said, the littlest hint of a smirk showing on her expression. She pivots slightly to face them both equally for the first time. "This Dark-seid is but spelunkers of sadism; an immortal, ever caving-in," she says with a hint of dismissiveness.

Then Mantis imitates Adam's facial furrow, comically matching perfectly. "A misnomer," responds, "My heart time-travels. Vanishment, thoughts."

Well, that explains a lot. "Exactly," she says with a nod, gesturing at Mantis. "He's not expecting surprise. He's expecting predictability. People that will give up and kneel because one man in a cape is gone." Her pacing becomes more feverish, back and forth as she starts thinking. She makes note of Adam moving away, and does not pace near him. The bracers' glow is irritating. She found it so at first. Phyla turns. "Your heart time-travels. Then it sees things?"

"Mantis knew we would be here," confirms Adam, "not many can see my comings and goings, as I stand outside Order and Chaos." He looks at Mantis intensely. "I believe, we would be wise to accept your offer, and your foresight."

Mantis nods to Adam with a elated rush. This seemed right; these two were noble. "There's more," she said, touching her forehead, "Warrior outsiders, allies, bugs, branches, fur." She looked up and stared at the moon, almost as if she were an antenna receiving its light. "A sequence most poorly edited, I am," she says next, a hint of worry in her voice. She closed her eyes, and her voice was heard from behind Phyla. Floating just behind Phyla was a now translucent, ghost-like version of Mantis: like a spirit avatar. The avatar said: "Sub-divided, a diver, netting unsunken treasures from the psyche of humanity."

Phyla-Vell's eyebrows lift. "Bugs, branches, and fur?" She frowns, turning in her pace... and jerks backwards. Spirit Mantis! "...warn me next time," she mutters. She did not know Mantis could do that. She thinks on this when she manages to calm down. No one immediately comes to mind, but then there might be casual acquaintances she's not considered. "I've spoken to the woman called Star Sapphire about such a thing. And someone inspired by my father to act."

"Yes, in our future," translates Adam. "Possible future," it remains to be seen how accurate this Mantis woman is. "I have also talked with some likely allies. Being of great power that have chosen to protect this world and also have links to extra-planetary forces. They... might be valuable allies." He will have to go over his list with Phyla and Mantis soon, but not right now. "Star Sapphire, is she the current bearer of the purple light? That name has a legacy of its own, Phyla. I'd like to meet her."

"There are two liquids most precious to the human mind... water, and blood. No matter what we do, there will always be red. Red sees, red seas; the dearly departed, parted. But saving some souls is better than saving none. So, we shall plan. We shall mark our chess pieces. And I am at your service," Mantis' astral avatar says with a courteous little bow.

"I'll arrange a meeting," Phyla said. One hand taps her bands. "I guess for the moment I'm our communications method." She's found the bands allow her to communicate directly to Sapphire's ring. "I'll make sure to bring her to both of you at once. So you can... place the pieces.

Adam nods at Phyla, "you can reach me through the comm unit. Mantis will need one, so might others, I will procure a few more." It will involve some travelling, good thing his quantum magic has made inter-stellar distances fairly irrelevant. "We should meet again, soon."