text: [Themes: Superhero, science fiction]
  
  > Look around
  A low, teeth-rattling vibration and a deafening hum fill this room, so loud you feel like you've got knitting needles jammed in your ears. The sonic barrage makes it difficult to concentrate on anything else, but the huge apparatus dominating the north half of the room demands your notice. It's a giant, threaded cone, pointed at the wall and lying on its side, thanks to the action of your super-strength and violent tendencies. Apparently, it used to be a drill, but it seems unlikely that it'll be doing any drilling in the near future. The results of its handiwork are still evident in the immense pit that it dug. On the opposite wall, a pile of polished crystals reaches up towards the high ceiling. Between these two monoliths, dozens of small, squarish robots buzz around you constantly, frenetically working at various tasks. A wide archway leads west, and a hole in the distant ceiling provides access to the upper level of the fortress.
  
  Emily is nearby, waiting for you to do something interesting.
  
  > look in the pit
  Darkness.
  
  > say the echo
  (to Emily)
  There is no reply.
  
  > get the crystal
  It would be easy enough to haul around one of these big hunks of crystal. It would be difficult to find a reason to do so.
  
  > take the drill
  That's hardly portable.
  
  > take the robot
  They're hardly portable.
  
  > Punch crystals
  You aim a devastatingly powerful blow at one of the crystals, which shatters dramatically into fragments.
  
  > Blast crystals
  You extend your hand, and a sizzling bolt of bright blue electricity arcs between you and the crystals. With a thundering KER-POW, one of the crystals disintegrates, leaving only a smoking scorch mark.
  
  > go west
  Austin follows you.
  
  You are at the bottom of a tall, narrow, north-south niche in the earth, like a slice taken out of the warehouse-like drill room. The slice gets narrower towards the top, though, where thick pipes run along the length of the ceiling. To the east, a wide archway emits loud, droning noise.
  
  SLAM! says the archway, and suddenly an implacable black barrier fills it, blocking your way back to the drill room.
  
  "Oh dear," says Austin.
  
  There is a WHOOSHing sound at both ends of the corridor, and bright colors overpower the hall's neutral tones. At the north end, it's a petite Asian woman hovering just above the floor in a bodysuit of fiery orange and yellow, intricate flame patterns curling across it that mirror the fire dancing around her hands. Opposite her, at the corridor's south end, stands a tall, fair-skinned man, also in a bodysuit, this one a swirling grey latticed with thin streaks of bright purple.
  
  At this point, three realizations hit you. One, these bodysuits are just like yours, right down to the cowls and masks. Two, if you and your brother represent air and earth, these two must represent fire and water. And three, these are your parents. You've found your parents at last. Alive. But your joy turns to dread as you see the malice in their eyes.
  
  "Humans!" shouts your mother imperiously, "You have invaded the facilities of Science Master Esrrua! Prepare to suffer the consequences! You will meet your death at the hands of FIRE AND RAIN!
  
  Please select a reply:
  
  1) "Mom! It's us! It's Austin and Emily! We're here to rescue you!"
  2) "Snap out of it, you guys! You're Claire and Scott Colborn! We're your kids!"
  3) "Wait. What?"
  4) "You named your super-team after a James Taylor song? That is so Baby Boomer!"
  
  > 4
  Select an option or 0 to say nothing >> 4
  
  A burst of flame from your mother's hands is her only answer, and you dodge just in time.
  
  > get the oedipal
  [Please press a key to continue]
  
  Deep Corridor (facing north)
  You are at the bottom of a tall, narrow, north-south niche in the earth, like a slice taken out of the warehouse-like drill room. The slice gets narrower towards the top, though, where thick pipes run along the length of the ceiling. To the east, a reflective black barrier seals the archway.
  
  Your father is behind you, facing Austin.
  
  Your mother is in front of you, her firelit eyes glaring at you with naked hatred.
  
  You and Austin are standing back-to-back, each of you facing off against one parent.
  
  "Those who dare to disturb the work of Science Master Esrrua must feel the heat of his displeasure!" snarls your mother, as the flames from her hands spread to encompass the rest of her body.
  
  "You have infected the outer layers of Science Master Esrrua's Mind Outpost, but its core must remain inviolate!" declaims your father from behind you.
  
  > kill the fire
  (Mom)
  That action doesn't fit your code of ethics.
  
  Mom floats a little higher into the air, and throws her hands above her head.
  
  "You have awakened the Hounds Of Esrrua," Dad intones from behind you, "and now you will face the consequences!"
  
  > Blast fire
  (Mom)
  A blast of lightning from you would stop her, alright. It would probably kill her. The thought sickens you; even though she's out of her mind, she's still your mother. You have to find another solution.
  
  FSSSH! Mom aims an open hand at you, and a gout of flame shoots outward from it. You manage to avoid the brunt of the blast, but some of the flames still touch your shoulder! The skysuit seems to be holding up pretty well so far, but the sooner you can get out of this, the better.
  
  "You shall feel the power of Science Master Esrrua rain down upon you!" shouts Dad from behind you. Apparently Mom and Dad have spent the last month enrolled in a crash course at the School Of Supervillain Clich?s.
  
  > Fog mom
  You concentrate, but even as the mist forms around your mother, the waves of heat that pulsate from her burn it off immediately.
  
  "Those who dare to disturb the work of Science Master Esrrua must feel the heat of his displeasure!" snarls your mother, as the flames from her hands spread to encompass the rest of her body.
  
  From behind you comes the sound of water swirling and crashing, like a waterfall in a fast river.
  
  > Blast pipes
  Your lightning powers don't normally work on objects that far away. You know now that if you hold a charge for a very long time, you can sometimes go further, but in this instance it hardly seems worth it.
  
  Mom floats a little higher into the air, and throws her hands above her head.
  
  SPLORSH! You can hear one of Dad's water jets behind you, and there's a WHOOSH as Austin leaps upward to avoid it. Unfortunately, that means that the water jet hits you squarely in the back, sending you sprawling towards Mom! You manage to recover in the air and float backwards again, but your bones are still aching from the impact. The skysuit seems to be holding up pretty well so far, but the sooner you can get out of this, the better. A moment later, Austin returns to his former location.
  
  > go up
  You launch yourself upward, and at the zenith of your leap, you grab one of the pipes that runs along the ceiling.
  
  Smooth black pipes the diameter of SUV tires hang suspended from the ceiling in this cramped space, running parallel down its length, north and south. You, in turn, hang suspended from the pipes. The earthsuit lets you grip them tirelessly, but you still need both arms to do it.
  
  FSSSH! You can hear one of Mom's flame jets behind you, and there's a WHOOSH as Emily flies upward to avoid it. A moment later, Emily returns to her former location.
  
  "You have infected the outer layers of Science Master Esrrua's Mind Outpost, but its core must remain inviolate!" declaims your father from below you, and while he speaks, moisture coalesces seemingly from nowhere to form an aura around his body, covering everything except his head in a watery shell. As it collects, the water spins with incredible speed, effectively becoming kinetic armor.
  
  "And I thought they repeated themselves a lot before they turned into supervillains!" shouts Emily.
  
  > Blast pipes
  Your lightning powers don't normally work on objects that far away. You know now that if you hold a charge for a very long time, you can sometimes go further, but in this instance it hardly seems worth it.
  
  Mom floats a little higher into the air, and throws her hands above her head.
  
  "You shall feel the power of Science Master Esrrua rain down upon you!" shouts Dad from behind you.
  
  > talk to em
  It's true that lots of the great superheroes talk to themselves, but you don't have any exposition you need to do at the moment.
  
  FSSSH! Mom aims an open hand at you, and a gout of flame comes too fast to avoid, nailing you square in the chest! Cracks are beginning to show in the skysuit's outer covering as its insulation wears away under the strain of the attacks.
  
  From behind you comes the sound of water swirling and crashing, like a waterfall in a fast river.
  
  > talk to Austin
  He is too far away.
  
  "Those who dare to disturb the work of Science Master Esrrua must feel the heat of his displeasure!" snarls your mother, as the flames from her hands spread to encompass the rest of her body.
  
  SPLORSH! You can hear one of Dad's water jets behind you, and there's a WHOOSH as Austin drops downward to avoid it. A moment later, Austin returns to his former location.
  
  > fly
  Easily, you soar upwards.
  
  Smooth black pipes the diameter of SUV tires hang suspended from the ceiling in this cramped space, running parallel down its length, north and south. You're floating just beneath them.
  
  Austin is next to you, hanging onto one of the pipes that runs along the ceiling.
  
  Mom floats a little further to the north, and throws her hands above her head.
  
  "You have infected the outer layers of Science Master Esrrua's Mind Outpost, but its core must remain inviolate!" declaims your father from behind and below you.
  
  > Blast pipes
  KER-POW! Lightning arcs from your fingers to the pipes, but they are unaffected.
  
  FSSSH! Mom aims an open hand at you and fire jets upward. There's no room to maneuver up here, and the fire hits you directly in the legs! Cracks are beginning to show in the skysuit's outer covering as its insulation wears away under the strain of the attacks.
  
  "You have awakened the Hounds Of Esrrua," Dad intones from behind and beneath you, "and now you will face the consequences!"
  
  > talk to Austin
  "Austin!" you cry, "I don't know what to do!"
  
  "I know!" he shouts in an anguished voice. "They're obviously being controlled somehow! We can't use our powers against them! We have to find a way to snap them out of this state!"
  
  "Those who dare to disturb the work of Science Master Esrrua must feel the heat of his displeasure!" snarls your mother from below you, as the flames from her hands spread to encompass the rest of her body.
  
  "You shall feel the power of Science Master Esrrua rain down upon you!" shouts Dad from the ground behind you.
  
  > talk to Austin
  "What did you have in mind?" you yell over the din.
  
  "Try talking to them!"
  
  Mom floats a little further to the north, and throws her hands above her head.
  
  Underneath you and to the south comes the sound of water swirling and crashing, like a waterfall in a fast river.
  
  > talk to Mom
  She is too far away.
  
  FSSSH! Mom aims an open hand at you and fire jets upward. There's no room to maneuver up here, and the fire hits you directly in the legs! A few pieces of the skysuit's insulation have started to flake off altogether, revealing a freaky mesh of organics and circuitry beneath.
  
  SPLORSH! You can hear one of Dad's water jets behind you, and there's a WHOOSH as Austin drops downward to avoid it. Unfortunately, that means that the water jet hits you squarely in the back, sending you sprawling towards Mom! You manage to recover in the air and float backwards again, but your bones are still aching from the impact. A few pieces of the skysuit's insulation have started to flake off altogether, revealing a freaky mesh of organics and circuitry beneath. A moment later, Austin returns to his former location.