Doug says,

"My stomache is full, I'm ready right now."

Doug gives a quick kiss to KB, then assuming Raider lets himself be grabbed, Doug will pick him up, do a quick scout of the current area to make sure no one is about, then assuming no problems, zoom off to look for a better site.

Seven took in the view and breathed in through her nose deeply, letting the scents filter through. Her nose she'd noticed had somehow become more sensitive to different odors and smells. Maybe this could help them.

The cold and snow was different than that back in Newborough. It did not have the biting sting..in fact, it didn't even seem cold. Gregory looked around for familiar landmarks, as he stripped down to his birthday suit. He handed his clothes to Raider. For Gregory, being naked was as natural as being clothed. Now that his body was not bothered by snow and heat, he saw no need to ever put on clothes again.

He looked at the white snow with the dark brown of the trees and small bushes poking up through it. His skin changed to match the minimal color scheme around him.

As soon as he gets his bearings, he signals for the others to follow his tracks in the snow. To keep his tracks, and the group following as invisible as possible, he will try to stay among the trees. He will stop once he gets to the city wall.

Raider calls out to Gregory, "Hey wait a second there. We're not planning to 'sneak' into the city. I was going to scout out a safe place as a ghost with the help of Courier and then have Adam open another warp for us so that we don't have to run any risks of getting caught or possibly lead anyone to our new hideout. Once we're inside the new hideout we can do all the scouting missions we want. Then you are welcome to get out in the city and cause some trouble if you want. Might even do some sabotage missions at that point. In the mean time everyone should sit tight and keep a low profile. Courier and I will be back as soon as we find something, and he can keep everyone informed of our progress."

Raider places Gregory's clothes on top of one of the bundles of supplies then looks around to make sure everyone understands the plan. If no one objects he will walk over to Courier and put a hand on his shoulder and phase them both out.

Gregory was very animated and looked at the Raider with astonishment. "I know the city already. I have been inside and walked through it. Seen underground places. I know where hiding places are already." Gregory felt it was time to tell the others of his excursion. An abridged version.

"If you want to take someone, take me. Or you spend all day looking for underground train tracks. I already know where we need to go. That is why I take lead."

Gregory gave them an angry look. "Unless you think I not good enough to know what I am doing."

Raider pauses before shifting himself and Courier and gives Gregory a considering look. "I wasn't aware that you have been here before. How about explaining that?" He steps back over to the bundles and pulls out a large map of the city that he had sketched after his last visit. Anyone who looks at the map will notice it does not have a great deal of detail on it. "Once you've explained how you know so much about the place, please point out some of the places you are referring to on this map. I could have used your help making this if I'd known."

"Oh, and I don't think you aren't good enough, I just didn't know you knew anything about this place."

Gregory's face changes from a scowl to an embarassed pout. He had thought he mentioned it in passing. Maybe they misunderstood him. Either way, he needed to tell them what happened.

He panicked when he saw the drawing/map. He was not sure he could tell him what each item represented. Until Gregory met Raider, Courier, Buzz and the rest, he had never used a drawing to describe anything. The few times he had tried, the work ended up being crude and inaccurate.

"You know I'm not good with map stuff." Gregory looke almost ashamed. "But I will decribe what I saw and where I went." Gregory proceeds to tell them what has happened in detaiil.

He relates his journey through the city from One of the Few. http://www.nprime.net/ubbthreads.php/ubb/showflat/Number/91947#Post91947

Calypso doesn't add anything right away...she leans against a tree and enjoys the man show though. Albeit perhaps a bit disappointed when he shifts to a blending color scheme.

Finally she calls, "Just let him scout! Who cares how he knows the area! If you trust him, let him scout!"

When Gregory began stripping, Seven had stared at him blankly for a long moment, then with her face burning red had turned away.

Hearing the commotion and Calypso's shout, she risked a peek and nodded. If he knew this place, then send him, definitely. Hopefully nobody had found his hiding places.

As everybody dropped through the portal the first thing they noticed was that it was warmer. Not significantly so, if fact it was still quite cold, but it was not the kind of numbing biting cold that accompanies a strong winter storm like they just came out of. Above them the portal winked out of existance leaving only a dark-blue sky dotted with stars and swathed with the milky way, barren branched, and evergreen needles in thier view. Below the snow crunched, it was hard, having fallen some time ago and frozen into a single mass. occasionally a twig, some leaves or a bit of shrubbery would pierce the snow but otherwise it was like a pure white blanket between the tree-trunks.

Without a compass it was impossible to tell which direction but sure enough through the trees the ruined tops of some pre-burn buildings could be seen in the distance. In the midsts of the broken spires and girder skeletons rose a single intact, or perhaps restored, structure. It gleamed with the moon and star light and stood testament to ... something.

Courier listened carefully and even (assuming he allowed) switched the link to Gregory to get as much information as possible.

There was a long pause while he digested the information and watched Raider doing the same. Finally Doug suggested tentatively,

"The old tunnels? Some of them are being repaired and powered, but I didn't get the feeling that all of them were, or even a majority."

"We could find a section where no one goes, say beyond a cave in maybe. Then we set up shop there, and wait for the storm to come in and level the city. Below the ground we'd be pretty shielded from it."

"I was thinking of finding an abandoned sky scrapper. We've got several fliers after all, but so do they and when the storm comes that's going to be exposed."

"OK, we ready, I show you where we can hide" Gregory had a spring in his step, his breath giving him away.

As he was picked up by Courier, Gregory says to the others. "When we find safe place, we call."

He shows Courier the places that have few people, and where it is safe to surface for air.

Courier allows Gregory to hop onto his back “piggyback” style and they two soon soar into the air. Gregory’s natural camouflage and Courier’s Eufiber shift to match the evening sky and within moments the two are all but invisible. An initial circuit over the city reveals that many of the streets have been further cleared from what Gregory and Courier can recall. The ruined cars and debris from fallen buildings has been piled into the city’s wall which forms a ring around the entire city that is at least twenty feet high and in some places towers over fifty feet and incorporates entire buildings which have been fortified to act as watchtowers.

Within the city the streets are largely empty, covered in snow and ice. Main throughways appear to be well traveled and the snow has been mashed into a grey slurry. As they fly into the heart of the city Courier stays high enough to avoid the limited air traffic flying within the canyons formed by the larger buildings. Soon they approach the center of the city and are able to see that the gleaming spire has been topped with antennas and other equipment which is difficult to make out in the darkness.

The tower itself appears to be dimly lit inside, proving that electrical power is being provided to the building if not the rest of the city. A short distance away they see the domed structure still stands. It is well lit externally with a great many lamps on poles in surrounding areas providing a dim light.

*****

Meanwhile Raider, Calypso, Seven and KB soon find themselves alone in the dark forest. Although not as cold as the biting wind in Newborough the weather is inhospitable enough that a camp and fire become quick priorities.

Seven shivered, hugging herself. She hoped Gregory and Doug would be back soon. Squatting down, she began compacting blocks of snow and forming a small wall.

Calypso echoes Seven's worry when she says, "I hope nothing happens to them out there...the rest of us are lost without them."

Then with a slight smile, she says to Seven, "Let me help with that."

She makes a swirling motion with her hand, and the snow starts to thin under their feet. It pulls away, much as if it had been on a spinning disc about fifteen feet across, forming an embankment around the edge. The grass and earth thus revealed are surprisingly dry, though still quite cold.

"There," Calypso notes with satisfaction. "Now we can have a proper fire."

(I'm assuming that 'water' can include 'ice and snow.' :))

Seven reared her head back, blinking, then looked up at Calypso with a fierce grin. She guestured with her arms, trying to suggest a dome.

Gregory points out where it would be best to enter. He shows him the same routes he took into the tunnels. Once in the dome, Gregory takes point to make sure the way is clear. If it looks like there are too many guards for them to pass, he will suggest that they head back out and get 'Raidar'. That way they can move through the walls and around patrols.

Doug nerviously fingers the throwing spear head he has out and hopes he won't have to use it, or at least not at close range. Unlike the typical city investigation this time he knows there are powerful abbies around... and he's still investigating. The whole point of having flight is using it to stay away from people, this whole thing cuts against the grain.

Mostly Doug leaves the link on Gregory to enable voiceless communication, and only occassionally gives Raider and the others an update. He follows Gregories directions for where, and how, to go without question and tries VERY hard to stay alert for people or people like things.

Seven grins and scoops some snow from the bank Calypso created and quickly forms it into a snowball, which she puts on the edge, then starts working on a second.

Calypso forms the walls of the enclosure high enough to block the wind but stops shy of trying to make an actual dome. On seeing what Seven is doing, she raises an eyebrow and grins.

A drift of snow next to her shudders...and resolves into a ready made stack of perfect, fist-sized snowballs.

As Calypso and Seven begin an arms race Raider takes stock of the area. Looking about he marvels at the calm serenity of the night sky here as opposed to the tortured fury above Newborough. As he looks up into the twinkling Milky Way he notices an oddly bright object, clearly not a star it mystifies because, by its placement in the sky, it cannot be a planet.

*****

Elsewhere Gregory and Courier cruise above the city. Although they have spotted some of its citizens the late hour and cold weather have clearly drawn most of the slaves and aberrants indoors for the night. Gregory has Courier circle the city center as he tries to identify where it was that he went into the old subway system. Navigating from several hundred feet above is much harder than it was a street level. Add to that the changes that the city has undergone in the past few months and Gregory was finding it difficult to get his bearings. Luckily the area around the city center was better lit with light poles scattered unevenly about throwing pools of brightness onto the snow.

Finally he is able to trace an above ground line down into a cleared out opening. Gregory points downward and Courier begins to descend into the forest of buildings towards the subway entrance. Within a few minutes they are down within the tunnels. As before they find that the tunnels are supplied with power and lit, Courier keeps to the ceiling and moves down into the tunnel network. After perhaps ten minutes they round a curve and see well lit area ahead, a station, possibly the same that Gregory found months back. Approaching the station they observe a pair of guards standing beside the only unblocked entrance.

Sssssssth Gregory hissed under his breath at seing the guards. He didn't think he could sneak by them this time, and even if he did, what would Courier do. Maybe they needed to leave and get Raider; that way they could go around them. Once past the entrance, they could bring everyone else in with Adam. Of course, he could sneak by and tell Adam himself. He didn''t lke the idea of leaving Courier behind.

He signals to Courier to move back from where the guards can see them.

"What do we want to do?" he asks in a low voice. "I think we get Raider to help us get in. I can try to sneak by, but what about you?"

Doug sends back,

*I'm not really the sneaking type. I think I/we should go back for Raider. That really leaves two options. One, I take both of us back then come back with all three of us. Two, you stay here and try to sneak past on your own while I go get Raider.*

Seven grinned as she formed another snowball, quietly envying Calypso's talent. Hopefully if anyone found them and saw the snowballs, they might think children were playing here.

Raider eyed the snowballs doubtfully when he looked up from the map. Finally he rolled up the map and put it away and took a seat. He yawned but waited and held himself ready should Seven or Calapyso take it in mind to start a snowball fight. If one came flying toward him it would sail right through if he reacted fast enough.

"You get Raider. It faster if you go alone. I will wait here." Gregory proceeded to move towards a darker area to wait their return.

Doug mentally nods, then leaves back where they came. He keeps the link on Gregory for a while to see how he's doing, then he shifts the link back to Raider and explains the situation.

Raider receives the message and looks to the others, "Courier is returning to get me. They need my help to stealth past some guards. Shouldn't be much longer and you'll be someplace warm and at least a little more comfortable."

Once Courier returns Raider will shift them both out of phase and allow Courier to pull them along through the air to where Gregory is waiting.

Courier sets Gregory down and before he can turn to head back out of the tunnel the young man has become dark as ink and blended into the darkness of the tunnel. Courier spins and rockets out of the tunnel and back to where he left the others. When he arrives he finds a small shelter of compacted snow with a very small fire within. Snowballs are stacked like so many chilled ICBMs at either end of the structure with Seven and Calypso eying each other over the fire. Fox is pacing about looking up into the sky and promptly spots Courier.

Courier lands and allows Raider to clamber into a piggy-back riding position before rocketing off once more leaving the girls behind snowballs at the ready and peace talks failing.

Within fifteen minutes of leaving Courier is slowing cruising back down into the tunnel toward where he left Gregory. Risking a look he and Raider confirm that there are still two aberrants on guard at the lone doorway. Across the lit section of tracks the tunnel continues on, a maw of darkness leading further underground.

Raider thinks to Courier, *Take us through the ground and come up in the tunnel on the other side a ways in so there won't be any chance of detection. Then contact Gregory and find out if he got inside or needs me to bring him in?* Raider will scan the tunnel inside as throughly as possible before releasing Courier and allowing him to take solid form again. In particular he is looking for motion detectors, cameras and other unmaned detections devices. If they are guarding the tunnels there must be something to protect down here.

Doug sends back,

*Agreed.*

Doug eyes the tunnel to get a feel for it's direction, then he takes a deep gulp of air and attempts to drop down 15 feet then move what he thinks is a hundred meters forward before he moves up and searches for the tunnel.

If successfull and if there is no one there he will attempt to contact Gregory.

Courier grabs Raider and they quickly slide into the earth below the tracks. Courier moves forward and after about a hundred or so feet rises again and they slip out of the crush of rock and soil. Meanwhile Gregory begins to crawl along the inside edge of the tracks, his camoflage and the poor lighting and angle of viewing allow him to move quickly and maintain his concentration on keeping silent on the gravel of the tunnel floor. A few minutes later in the near pitch darkness of the tunnel he approaches Courier and Raider.

*****

Calypso and Seven sit in the snow, a little dejected that the men-folk have, apperantly, no need of their talents at the moment. With little warning a tall good-looking man steps into the circle of firelight, moving around the snow wall. "Excuse me do you have enough fire to share?"

It was so dark Gregory had to resort to sending out small ultra-sonic pulses of sound. As they came back to him, he was able to know where he was going, and what the area 'looked' like. He hoped that they didn't have abberants who could detect him. Eventually, he came to an open area.

When he heard the returning echo from two familiar shapes, he figured it was Courier and Raider. Just for fun, he decided to sneak up on the two and scare them.

"Boo!"

(OOC: Hyperenhanced Hearing- Sonar)

Doug hated doing this "fly through rocks underground" thing. He was all too aware of the risks. It was dark and without any points of reference at all. His directional and distance senses were really good, and this was a short hop. But if he ever got confused he could find himself flying down or sideways when he thought he was going up. He'd run out of juice in a few hours, but he could only hold his breath for perhaps a minute or two.

Floating slightly above the floor, Courier pivots smoothly and the spearhead in his right hand takes off like a missile towards Gregory.

Raider jumped and nearly lost his grip on Doug. By the time the bolt had been released he understood what was going on and was happy it was very dark in the tunnel so that no one could see his face going red. Muttering quiet but intense swear words, "Gregory, you..." He stopped reminding himself that in many ways Gregory was like a child or was a child, he never had figured the other fellow out. "Please don't do that again, we may have been discovered thanks to that. Hide yourself and make your way down the tunnel a safe distance and hopefully no one has been alerted."

"Doug, take us down again and bring us up a ways farther down the tunnel."

Gregory gave a chuckle and then continued. "There is nobody near us. Not that I can see." He didn't see with his eyes in this darkness, but it had the same result. "I hope you guys can see in the dark."

He headed down the tunnel, using his sonar to scan for objects and people in the area. After 50 meters, he paused to wait for the other two.

Doug takes a deep breath and puts off yelling at Gregory. Then he takes another. He pulls out another spearhead and sends,

*No I can't see in the dark. If you can then following you will be much more stealthy than pulling out flashlights.*

Doug uses flight to drift slowly after Gregory, thanks to Raider's power the two of them go through any obstructions or the like.

Seven scowled, trying to sniff the air to catch his smell. How did this man get so close without them hearing him? And what was he doing out here? She fought the urge to bare claws, glancing towards Calypso.

Courier, Raider and Gregory continue to delve into the old subway lines. Though the lighting is dim their eyes do eventually adapt to the sparse lighting. As they continue they notice that the tracks appear to still be in use, the metal at the top of the rails is pollished and clean where it would be rusty otherwise. After a half a mile they come to a junction area where this track diverts into three tunnels. One appears to slope upward possibly towar the surface of another station, the second continues and the third, appearing disused, heads sharply away and slopes downward.

Startled, Calypso rises to her feet, gathering her fur lined coat more closely to herself. She notices Seven's reaction without really understanding the nuance, but gets the basic idea.

"That depends," she replies. "Who are you and where are you from?"

One nice thing about snow, she decided, was that water was everywhere, all the time. This man stood in the palm of her hand.