Issue 1 Downtime

The portal exited above a man made lake in London.

Daniel, thankfully, had the good sense to grab a tighter hold on Melody when his flight kicked in, so at least the two of them weren't falling into the lake.

Rob fell briefly before he twisted his flight ring and came to a gentle hover just above the surface of the lake.

Bobby, of course, sank like a stone. but he did it with a big smile on his face.

"Holy sh--" Melody was cut off by Daniel grabbing her and keeping her from falling into the water.

She laughed, though it hurt her head. "Saved by my travel buddy again. I owe you a drink, hottie,"

Will splashed down, too tired to shift.

Gideon went into the lake with a splash, but like Bobby had a smile on his face.

Good to be home

"Well," Steph said, spitting water out of her mouth as she shifted. "I guess you excel at water landings, Mr. Renko," she chuckled.

"Well, that was fun," Rob says, "Anyone else hit up the gift shop? I got some great t-shirts!"

"That was an abandoned department store and what you did is technically looting."

Stephanie Kaltiera wrote:"Well," Steph said, spitting water out of her mouth as she shifted. "I guess you excel at water landings, Mr. Renko," she chuckled.

There was a slight problem. Renko wasn't there.

"David?" Steph said, her smile instantly fading, "David?!"

Rob offered Steph a hand, "Temporal fluctuation, probably. He'll be fine. We'll look into at the University."

"Don't worry about it, Freckles," Daniel said, shifting to hold onto her a bit more easily.

"Thanks. Did you enjoy the excuse to cop a feel?" she giggled. And then she felt bad, as she realied that they were missing one of their number.

Captain Britain tumbled through a flock of ravens, and managed to right herself before getting wet. She looked worriedly to Rob.

"But... how do you know?"

Daniel frowned, catching on to what was going on. "So... they said six hours give or take, right? So does that mean he either's been here for six hours or he'll pop up in the next six hours?"

"Renko, if you've been hiding in the bushes for hours, I'm going to deck you!" She called out.

"Are...are you sure?" Steph asked, taking Rob's offered hand.

"God, I hope so..." Melody said quietly.

"You scared the shit out of me back there, jerk," she said after a long pause.

"Who, me?" Daniel asked. "Sorry. Got... a little tied up, I guess."

"Yeah. You," she said softly. "You've gotta stay alive and kicking. You're one of the few things that keeps me sane on these missions. I wonder if I'm even cut out for this shit."

Melody shivered, "I just finally was getting past the nightmares I had from that awful hospital the first time around...and then...that...awful, awful place we went. The things....made out of... Not will...That...thing that...looked like Bear....."

She swallowed, "....and fighting myself."

"Hey," Daniel whispered, giving her a little squeeze as they floated there. "We're home. It's over. Just focus on that."

Melody shuddered slightly, and tried to press herself closer to Daniel. "I don't know what I want more, a shower, booze, or sleep."

"Go for the first one and the last one, I think. ANd some company."

Captain Britain frowned behind her mask, and began patrolling around the lake shore to look for their missing teammate.

"That an offer?" she said, a weak smile on her face.

Daniel smirked. "Don't tempt me. THat's what you've got a boyfriend for," he teased.

"Oh. You said first and las...whoops," she said, her face red. "I meant the drink. Honestly."

Daniel smirked. "I mean, if you're quits with him, you can have a word with my girlfriend, maybe you guys can come to an agreement, but, y'know, I'm not masochistic enough to suggest anything myself," he joked, ignoring her excuse.

Bobby had moved to the edge of the lake, crawling up and sitting by the edge.

Bear soon followed, sitting a few feet down, and looking out to the sky.

Melody laughed, her face bright red, "I'd like to remain not a vegetable, please."

Id also like to ha--oh god shut up you have a great boyfriend lalalala

Daniel chuckled. "Just relax. We'll have you home soon. You're delirious."

Stephanie Kaltiera wrote:"Are...are you sure?" Steph asked, taking Rob's offered hand.

Rob pulls her out of the water, whatever field the ring was generating apparently could be extended to cover more then one person.

"Please. Who do you think you're talking to?" Rob says, giving his best comforting smile.

After waving a few goodbyes, Bear took towards home.

"Fair enough," Steph smiled tentatively, impressed at the gesture. "And thanks. No one likes a wet dog."

"No problem," Rob says, "Come on. Let's get to shore."

"are you strong enough to fly us there?" she asked. "This...is really cool, being up here in he air..."

...With you

Stephanie followed Rob's lead to shore.

"Handy gadget," she said.

"When it works."

Rob laughs as they reach solid ground, "There are benefits to the whole mad genius gig."

"You kidding me? You barely weigh anything. Don't sweat it."