Superheroes of the Fused World [IC]

[Deme]

[OOC (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=14184989#post14184989)]

The City of Argent. A rainy, foggy city most days, from the forested mountains to the east trapping the rain on this side. On a clear day (they happen more often than a local might joke), the air is crisp and cool, and the smell of the sea is near omni-present. A port city, it lends itself well to extremes of human nature: the wealth comes from the docks, but so do the roughest citizens, the criminal elements.

Of course, right now... The City of Argent, and perhaps the world, is in a state of mass panic. Nothing makes sense anymore -- monsters and wizards roam the streets -- sometimes, the monsters and wizards are you! It happened a few hours ago, interrupting an otherwise calm clear morning: the sudden transfiguration of the world. Power was disrupted for much, if not all, of the city. Resources are strained, trying to control the panicked mob, trying to move those who need assistance to sections of town with power, trying to fight fires and monsters and looters. the public services, the police department, firefighters, and hospital workers of the city are trying their hardest to fight back against a threat that is as inexplicable as it is omnipresent. Whether they will win and restore order, or lose and lose their city -- your city -- to madness...Has yet to be determined.

...And, on an otherwise forgettable street near the cherry-tree lined border of Sakuratown, a few strangers, given rise to or transformed by the circumstances of the day, are wandering. On the corner of the street is a burning 4-story apartment building, with a small crowd around it, and two firemen trying to manage the hose between them. Is it under control? It's hard to say.

[Trobby]

Partially hidden by his transparency, on the other side of the street, a ghost stood and watched as the firemen tried to put out the roaring fires that threatened to burn down the apartment complex.

He hadn't woken up a ghost that day. Well...technically yes, he had woken up a ghost that day, but not at first. This morning, he had woken up as Specter Phenton, a normal human kid who went to school, did his homework, stole his english teacher's dentures to replace them with a rubber spider, and generally just an all-around average teenage kid.

----------------------------------------------------------------

He'd fallen asleep in study hall. He had stayed up late to study for an early morning test, and needed to catch up on his nap.

He woke up when the PA system announced that they were evacuating the school. He heard screams around him, but it had taken him a few seconds to get himself up from his nap. It also didn't help that when he tried to pull himself up against the table, his arms and the rest of his body all went through it at once. It was only by natural reflexes that he hadn't gone plummeting through the floor into the basement too.

Not that he was the center of attention for breaking the laws of physics. No, the whole school seemed to be in a panic, and he could tell right away by looking around why that was. Some of the kids who were still in the library had changed. One of them had green skin and pointed ears, and seemed to be huddling in a corner away from everyone else. Another had transformed into some kind of dog-man being, and was stalking around the reference section.

Specter hadn't stuck around for long. Even if he wasn't inclined to listen to the principal, he recognized a bad situation when he saw one.

The buses, what ones they had managed to gather, were all overfull, so many of the students were told to walk home under the escort of a teacher. Naturally, as a responsible young teenager, Specter had opted to walk home on his own. He had to figure out what was going on with himself, and he couldn't be bothering with teachers right now.

He'd had a lot of time to think, about what he was now. It seemed obvious to him. Some kind of ghost...did that mean he was dead? Or was he some other kind of spirit? How had this happened? What did it mean for him? Would his parents freak out?

He was freaking out himself. Everywhere he went things seemed to be going completely insane. He'd seen an overturned bus or two, some with drivers who had shrunk into the size of a gnome, others which had passengers the size of a house. Several streets had been blocked off, and from the sound beyond the barriers, he didn't want to risk heading in that direction.

---------------------------------------------------------------

So he'd taken the long way home, and ended up here.

He didn't know why, but something had compelled him to stay here. Of all the things he'd seen today, this was the first building he'd seen that was on fire, and while it was horrifying, it was at least a normal sort of horrifying.

He floated himself over to the firemen, hoping to find out more about what had been going on.

[Atreli]

Nazura's clawed feet slapped the pavement a few times before she launched herself into the air by her wings. All the chaos had spiked her natural mental road to immeadiately worry and fix everything. Just a few hours ago she had been a protector of her family and the nation itself in a whole other world then this one. A world solely run by her people: dragons. Whatever had happened to this city had transported her from all the love and unity until she could find a way home or if she could find a place here she would continue her duty of protector.

Flying gracefully toward a tall skyscraper she landed on the top and wrapped her gigantic body around it. She had to get a look at from the sky at the horrors, at all the people screaming and running. If she was to help them she would have to go into a more human like form, the way she was now would only scare them more.

Now alone and a bit distant from the city below a strange feeling washed over her. Like she wasn't alone. Inside her heart she felt someone else, like she was just the mask for another being entirely who was the real person behind the mask. " It's frightening you isn't it?" She mumbled softly. " Don't worry you have me now and i'll do what I can to help you now that we're the same you and I...You are the reason I know all about this new world right..." She paused. " Jesse?"

A helicopter whirred overheard breaking up her discovery of just what this chaos had done to her. Whoever was up there immeadiately shined a spotlight on her, she hissed softly at them. " Leave me be. I am no threat to you" Whether they had just been scared away, called away to more important things or really had gotten the message the helicopter was just gone moments later. Looking down she caught sight of a burning building a bit of a ways away from her, in the back of her mind she felt Jesse flinch.
No time to shift into a more human form, Nazura dived off the skyscraper she flew straight toward the building below. These people needed help and although they may have wanted humans for their saviors they would just have to understand and get over any draconic prejudices they may carry inside their hearts.

[Deme]

The fireman nearer to the exit, the taller one (in any duo of servicemen, one will be tall and the other will be short. It's a fact of nature, unless they happen to also occupy some other opposite states), turned his head to see Nazura land behind him. You could see him trying, his brown eyes bugging out, to decide if this was going to make his day dramatically worse or not.

"Please stay back, sir or madam! We are trained proffessionals, and have the situation under control!"

His colleague, the short, stocky one, turned his head. He had a look that suggested he wasn't sure.

[Trobby]

Specter immediately jumped away from the dragon as it landed. He was about to run...until he realized that it wasn't actually doing anything dangerous.

Then it started to click in his mind. The strange creatures in school, where there had once been students...maybe some people, like himself, were changing into...other things? It made a bit of sense to him, at least.

In the back of his head, he heard the firemen mention they had the situation under control...but judging by the amount of fire, Specter seriously doubted this.

And then something else occurred to him.

He floated over, next to the dragon, doing his absolute best not to piss himself in terror, and addressed the firemen.

"How many people are still inside?" He was a little surprised at his own voice, which carried a faint ghostly echo to it. It was almost enough for him to forget about the dragon.

...No, no it was not nearly enough for him to forget about the dragon.

[Atreli]

Nazura tilted her head slightly at the firemen. When she spoke it was a smooth slightly deep voice but feminine nonetheless. " Do you really?" She asked softly. " It doesn't look like it to me."

[Lycan 01]

Clang clang

Clang clang

Clang Clang!

CLANG CLANG!!

A hulking metal robot (http://wiki.teamfortress.com/w/images/1/1e/Heavybot_blu.png) comes jogging up, small crackles of blue psychic energy spiderwebbing across its chassis as it skids to a halt in front of the firemen.

The robot strikes a heroic pose, and points a bulky metallic arm up at the giant building. "ARE DER CHEELDREN IN DER?!" the robot's voice thunders in a heavy Russian accent. "ARE DER INNOCENT LIVES IN NEED OF SAVINGZ?!"

The firemen (and others nearby) may notice that there's a small glass window in the center of the robot's chest. And behind that small porthole, there's a McDonald's Big Mac sitting on a platter within the robot's upper torso.

That robot's not a robot. It's a burger in a suit of armor!

Wait... what?

[Benson]

"My lady...we lost Mister Isshiki's trail I'm afraid." Ren said catching his breath as they found themselves at the mouth of an alleyway in Sakuratown. "Are you sure you saw him become a demon before your eyes?"


"Oh, I am dead sure." Rang out the cold voice of a certain young woman. She stepped out towards the shadows dressed in a skirt and button down long sleeved blouse. In her left hand she carried a rather ornate naginata in its sheath, clutching it tightly.

"As sure as this is my family sword." She said standing next to him and pulled back a strand of her black hair from her face. The young woman looked like a normal human, but upon closer look and inspection one would sense something off about her.

Sometime earlier the young woman had arranged a breakfast meeting with a known snitch in the mafia world for some information about her father's killer, some breakfast joint called Uhop. Anyways, as the waitress was taking their order, the fidgety beady eyed rat of a man kept glancing at the door. That was then that odd Happening happened as before her very eyes that man was transformed into a monstrous rat humanoid. Screams everywhere while the young black haired woman looked on with her mouth slightly agaped with a brow wrinkled in wtfery.

The monster ratman quickly darted out of the breakfast joint taking advantage at the panic that was not only limited to his appearance, but some odd transformations to other folk and even the stove which suddenly grew a pair of eyes and sported an angry toothy oven maw.

Naturally the young woman broke into a pursuit finding herself with odd spring in her step she didn't make much of then. While indeed there things here to investigate, her focus was that ratman.

Anyways, Benson will post more of that stuff in their next series of post, alternating between the right now and a few hours ago.

Twas then off in the close distance Ren caught sight of the burning building with the crowd gathering around and firemen trying to do their job. Something stirred in him as the 'pajama' wearing trenchcoat clad hulk of a man took one glance at the young woman and then darted off down the street.

"Ren!" The young woman shouted angrily as she growled a little and ran after him.

[Hawkflight]

There is a certain threshold in the human mind. A point at which amazement turns into silent, almost serene wonder. A point at which tragedy and comedy and all those other things just sort of stop, leaving in its place a sense that can only be described by a single word: "Huh."

Perhaps it's because there's only so much the mind can take before just shutting down. It's a well-known trope in movies and other forms of storytelling, if to a somewhat exaggerated degree. After a certain point, the conscious mind becomes a burden, and the subconscious just takes over, processing everything before spewing it back out again. If you don't believe me, just observe any extreme phenomena, such as the breathtaking beauty of the sun rising over the mountains, the morning mist giving the world that almost otherworldly glow. Or the tragedy of a man dying in a tragic barbeque pit accident.

So it should come as no surprise that, on that Tuesday morning, I found myself in just such a state of "huh". I looked down at my forepaw, which mere moments earlier had been a perfectly functioning human hand. Why? I had no idea. At some point my brain just decided to accept that I was suddenly a kitten, and a giant kitten at that. Had I been the only one so transformed, I might have even been embarrassed at the stares that would have likely followed.

Fortunately, or unfortunately as it were, I was not. In fact, as I stared out over the city from the roof of the college science building, it seemed as if half the city had been transformed in some form or another. The city hall had turned into a castle, the bus I took to school was now a catbus (which would later puzzle me, as I thought they were made up by Miyazaki), and several blocks away a building was on fire with no sign of rescuers. Or the rescuers were inside and I just couldn't see them.

I didn't want to get in the way, but I had to know if there really weren't any rescuers nearby. Hopping off the roof (a move I would have considered suicidal mere moments ago), I darted over to the site of the burning building, sticking to the bushes. As I approached, I saw the dragon land and heard the fireman tell it to stay back, earning several awesome points in my book. But he was right, and the transformed beings already gathering would likely just get in the way. I stepped forward, trying to catch their attention.

"Hey, guys! Back off, we're just getting in the way!" I said ... or at least, that's what I wanted to say. What actually came out was something along the lines of, "Mrow! Mrooooow!"

....Well, crap.

[Deme]

Well, at least all these oddballs were concerned, and not, like, murderous. The firemen both did a double-take at the armored sandwhich...thing. But you know what? It was a weird day for everyone, and they didn't have time to really ponder the "wait, what the hell?" of this.

"We have a man in there to rescue people; he's in there right now, while we keep the fire from spreading to the rest of town."

This was when a man, with a kid in his arms and some largely unidentifiable stick-type thing with a tip coated in melted metal, comes raggedly running out of the window. Something's removed his helmet, revealing dark, tousled hair drenched in sweat with a pair of small horns poking out the top. His face is singed and scratched. The child in his arms is concious, and eagerly jumps down and into the arms of his be-tailed mother, who weeps with relief.

The man's fireman's coat is torn, revealing a long bite-mark across his midsection. The wound looks freshly cauterized all over, turning it into half bite, half burn.
His stare is the stare of a man trying desperately not collapse.

"Mike!"
"Chief!"

The two firemen rush over. The man -- Mike -- tries to pass the object to them. They stare at it. The tall one eventually makes an effort

"...Is that..."
"It's...What's left...of...the axe..."
His voice is strained with the effort of remaining upright at this point. He drops it and it sizzles on the ground.
"...Need another...People in there... Need...Somethin....To fight...The Lizards...with."
"Lizards?"
Mike nods, woozily.
"F...Fire-Breathing...Lizard-things. Pro'lly started it. Wandering...building...Big...Not nice."


The two take a moment to digest this.
"Mike, you are *not* going back in there." The short one insists, though it looks like he's not happy with the decision that leaves them with.
"One of us could --"
"But then we probably couldn't control --"
The tall and the short firemen argue, while Mike tries to stagger over to the firetruck to look for replacement supplies.

[Lycan 01]

The sandwich-bot slams its massive fists together with a loud, resounding clang. "DA LEEZARDS WANT TO HURT DA CHEELDRIN? NOT ON VIKTOR'S WATCH!!"

And with that, "Viktor" the giant sandwich-bot storms towards the burning building to rescue the innocent and kick pyro-lizard ass.

[Trobby]

...

Okay, that was several of the coolest things Specter had ever seen, in a row. And this day had already seen a dragon AND a fireman standing up to a dragon.

A little light sparked in Specter's eyes. A strange spark, that he wasn't quite sure what it was. He felt energized, alarmed, and strangely enough, given his situation...

He felt alive.

"I'dbettergointoo." Specter says, and flies right through the three arguing firemen and the wall of the building, giving them no time to argue against it.

[Deme]

The first floor of the building is burning, but probably not as much as the stuff on the floors above. The sofas in the lounge that they're are a bit torn up, black and smoking -- the exposed stuffing is pretty much melted plastic pseudo-cotton goo at this point. The fire is much more isolated, and there's little smoke, so it's still easy to see...Not that either of the characters involved need to worry much about smoke inhalation, I suppose.

There looks to be a hallway to the left, and a staircase to the right, as well as a door going straight ahead of them. It probably will occur to them they know nothing about the location of anyone or anything.


Map:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v98/Pictures_of_unicorns/TruthandJustice/Building1_zpsdbf4b615.png

[Trobby]

Specter surveys the situation. Initially, he's not sure about where to begin, looking around the first floor, trying to figure out the best way to find anyone in danger as fast as possible.

It was then that the words of wisdom from Doctor Emmet Brown rang true in his ears.

"Marty!" They said to him. "You're just not thinking fourth-dimensionally!"

Which was true! Well...in this case it was third-dimensionally, but he'd thank the doc nonetheless.

"Hey, uh...heavy metal." Specter says to the robot. "You sweep the bottom floor, and I'll go up top and meet you on the way down. Got it?"

He wasn't exactly sure, but judging by how little his feet seemed to actually touch the ground, he felt like he could probably...well, he hoped so anyway...

...Because it would be awesome if true.

[Lycan 01]

The hulking suit of armor gives a nod. "GOOD IDEA. STAIRCASE MAY NOT BE SUPPORTINGIVE OF MY HEAVY-NESS. GO GHOSTY MAN GO!! GO HELP DA UPSTAIRS PERSONS!!"

And with that, Viktor goes trundling off to the left, towards the hallway. "HELLOOOO!! PERSONS IN DANGER!! CAN YOU HERE ME?! SCREAM AND I SAVE YOU!!" he bellows aloud. His voice is so loud and thunderous that it probably rattles the surrounding rooms. One must wonder how the small burger can make so much noise.

[Hawkflight]

So apparently I couldn't talk. Unfortunate as this was, there were bigger problems right now. I let out a hiss of frustration as the other two dashed in recklessly. I dashed up to the ice dragon, prodding it with a paw to get its attention.

I pantomimed to the dragon that it should use its icy powers to extinguish the fire and make the building safe to enter. I then leaped up all the way to the second floor window (hot damn, I could get used to this body), smashing through and looking around for the people I heard inside.

[Atreli]

Nazura smiled to herself at the kitten's efforts of pantomiming. The little creature was right though she could use her ice breath to freeze the entire building.

But what if she froze everyone inside as well?

That was just gonna have to be a risk she had to take. Hoping for the best, she took the sky, flying over the heads of the firemen and over to the building. Hovering the air above the firey heap, she opened her mouth and let her ice filled breath do it's work.

Moving silently around the building she worked her way to get the fire completely under control.

[Benson]

Those oddballs may not have looked murderous, though one particular fellow with an eyepatch did. The hulk of the man who stood taller over most, with the face of a criminal dashed over, missing the sight of a phantom, humanoid cat, and a robo suit wearing hamburger. He barely caught the sight of a dragon and took a glance upward for a second and simply cocked a brow.

He turned to one of the firemen. "How many are still in there?" His tone left no room to protest him going in as well.
--

Ran waited outside the UHOP with a rigid posture, standing so still, some had thought he was some sort of mannequin. In his right hand he held unto to his lady's naginata, the restaurant had some silly rule of no weapons allowed, oh pish posh, prudes.

When the world changing event happened. When he witnessed the naginata in his hand beginning to glow so brightly he had to close his eye as something else tingly ran through him, like a prickly numb sort of feeling, and then it was gone. However, the weapon in his hand had transformed into an almost anime-ish designed weapon, it did not look practical as a weapon. His mind had began to try to figure out what had happened when suddenly he saw a ratman run out the restaurant and down the street. He then saw a moment later his mistress sprinting out of the restaurant and pursuing the ratman. His questions about the weapon were pushed to the side as he instinctively ran after her.

[Trobby]

"...Well, at the very least he'll scare everyone out of the building." Specter snarked to himself as the heavy metal man ran off.

Flexing his fingers all at once, and having a few mis-starts trying to get the hang of it, at least once getting his foot caught in the ground, he eventually manages to bring his spectral body upwards at a decent pace, climbing through the floors like an automatic elevator, until he was just below the roof.

Upon arriving, he began floating through the halls and rooms, looking for any survivors. "Hello? Anyone around? Hey, I don't know if you realized it but your building's kind of on fire!" Ah yes, so subtle...

[Deme]

Outside

Nazura, make a check. Your Ice Breath is applicable, of course.


The tall fireman (unless you were talking to Mike) turns to them.
"If you're going to join that bundle... Well, that'd be useful right now. There are 6 people inside; 3 adults, and 3 children. The children are the children of a single mother, so they'd probably be together. Probably, anyway. There are 4 floors, with access to the roof. The fire's started from inside."
---

1st Floor

Make a check to see if you're heard, Giant Metal Man.

---

2nd Floor (Kat)

The cat who leapt into the second floor finds the blaze there much more intense. Parts of the hallway are cut off by the fire, though they might be crossable...

It's also home to a pair of monsters. For the record, they are not Lizards. They are Salamanders, in the classical sense...But that's what you get for trusting your mythological beast identification to a fireman. They're probably a bit smaller than Kat -- thank god -- but they look at her with an air of menace. They're ready to fight.

[roll0]
[roll1]

Time for an Initiative (d6, + relevant modifiers) roll.

Floor Layout:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v98/Pictures_of_unicorns/TruthandJustice/Building2_zps495b7fa0.png

--

4th Floor, Specter

There's some burning rubble at the far end of the hallway, blocking the route to 4C, and a hole in the floor between 4 B and 4 C. The blaze is also stronger here: even in a spectral form, if he's not careful about his phasing, it may be difficult to cross. There's also a Salamander there, and it's none too pleased.

Specter probably has surprise here, at least for a moment; what animal expects a ghost-boy to phase through the floor?


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v98/Pictures_of_unicorns/TruthandJustice/Floor3_zps2c2c68c0.png

[Hawkflight]

I hissed as I saw the salamanders looking at me menacingly, as the heat roiled off my fur. I didn't have time for this. If anyone was in danger, I needed to get them out, and now.

Init: [roll0]

[Trobby]

Specter prepares to fly towards the little lizard thingy, but before he does, a slight pain hits his head, and a flash of fire sears across his vision.

He gets a feeling...that it wouldn't be a good idea.

So instead, he drifts along the hallway, and lets his spectral form fade in with the smoke, subconsciously fading himself out without even realizing it, making himself blend in with the wall as he tries to circle around the lizard to scan the top floor for survivors.

Precognition and Illusion, +2 on each if they are appropriate.

[roll0]

[Benson]

No sooner had the words left the firefighter's mouth that Ran ran into the building, to the first floor bringing his sleeve over his nose and mouth.
--

A moment or so later with a slight pant to her and annoyed expression, the young oriental woman stopped in front of the firemen, let's say Mike. "Did a ...ah..big tall man..with an eye patch run inside?"


Benson lied

[Lycan 01]

Viktor ponders for a moment.

He then stomps his way down to the end of the hall, finds the door for the last apartment, and rips it off its hinges. "ANYONE HOME? VIKTOR IS HERE TO BE SAVING YOU!!"

[Deme]

---
First Floor

There's no one there, Viktor...
But there is a hole in the floor of the room that looks like it could go up.

Ran would see Viktor doing this, of course.

-----
Outside

Nazura's efforts work...For a minute. The problem with extinguishing the fire from the outside is that the fire's source hasn't stopped on the inside.

But you gave the other two firemen a moment to bandage up poor Mike and force him to actually sit down, as opposed to try and go back in.
From here, Nazura can also see that it's possible to enter via the roof.


Mike gives the woman a nod.
"...Yeah...Just...A second ago. Wish he hadn't....The rest of them looked like they....Could at least take a lizard."

"I'm not even sure the metal guy needed to breathe."
"I think he was a sandwich."
"Wow, he may win the award for worst day."
---

Second Floor

Kat goes first.

---
Fourth Floor

The salamander blinks. It is not, as such, a smart creature, and so it takes it a moment to get its intellectual bearings.
[roll0]

So it appears that he doesn't really have time to notice Specter before Specter vanishes. This is confusing to it, so it takes 4 Failure Ranks, and 2 damage ranks for striking his weak point.

[Atreli]

There's not much I can do like this. Time to go in. Nazura flew as close to the roof as possible and shifted into something that looked like a very long haired, but with scales, claw and very draconic looking eyes. the transformation lasted mere seconds, if you had blinked you would've missed it. There was no real space between her and the roof so it wasn't like a true fall and instead was just like stepping down.

Wasting no time, she went in the building and yelled. "Hello? Can anyone hear me?"

[Trobby]

Specter certainly hears the dragon as it lands on the roof. Great, that dragon's going to...

...going to give him a perfect distraction to sneak past the lizard, is what it's going to do.

Taking advantage of distractions is, after all, an important ability for an expert prankster, as he uses the moment of distraction to slip away from the lizard, and into room 4A.

[Hawkflight]

---

Second Floor

Kat goes first.

---

I hissed at the lizards and sprinted towards them, hoping to get the situation under control quickly so I could find anyone who was still in here and get them out.

Attack: [roll0]

[Deme]

4th Floor

There's a coughing noise from 4A. When Specter phazes through it, he finds...
That the cough is coming for a woman who's on the ground of the apartment's living room. All around her is a blaze, and she's got one of those cauterized bite wounds on her leg.

The apartment is furnished about how'd you expect for a decent apartment, for the record.

Since Specter's still disguised to look like the building, she doesn't see him, but does manage to cry out,

"There's someone there? Help!"

Of course...This comes with a problem. Let's see if Specter realizes it?

----------------

2nd Floor

Specifically, she charges at the Darker Red Salamander, as I will call him. He clenches his claws into the ground, leaving burning cracks in the floor, and throws his weight towards her to keep from being pushed aside.

[roll0]

However, it's not enough, and he's sent flying up against a wall. He hisses... And opens up with a load of fire-breath onto the kitty.

His comerade, Lighter Red, charges through the flames and savagely claws at her.

((Their rolls will be in OOC, You'll need a seperate reaction and associated rolls to each.))

[Trobby]

Oh thank goodness someone's alive!

...And shouting. Someone is alive and shouting when there are bright red lizards, obviously some kind of dragon babies or something, crawling around in this building.

Brilliant. Top marks, lady. Though I guess you were trapped in here, so you wouldn't know, so you can be forgiven for now.

Hey! Leave the snarky comments to the superheroes, narrator!

Oh right, sorry Specter.

Anyway, Specter realizes this problem right away.

"Hey, lady, calm down! There's monsters out in the hall and if you make such a ruckus, they'll hear ya!"

Of course, HE just said that out loud himself...

"Crap...okay screw it, we're airlifting you out."

Specter phases half his body through the wall where he suspects the dragon (Naz) will be, interrupting whatever she was about to set out to do.

"Hey, dragon lady. You...are a lot more human looking right now." An unseen voice says to her, though she probably recognizes it as that ghost kid from outside. "Er, anyway listen, there's a lady in this room who needs help, could'ja lend a ghost a hand?"

[Lycan 01]

"NEXT."

Viktor stomps over to the next door to the right, and rips it off its hinges. "ROOM SERVICE. VIKTOR IS HERE TO DELIVER RESCUING."

[Atreli]

"Well I certainly couldn't be much help looking like that now could I?" She mused quietly.

" Ah yes, you're the ghost boy." Nazura says after a moment. " And of course I will. " She says with a mischeavus smile.

Without saying any more she goes into the room to help the very frightened lady. Hoping she looked human enough to not frightened the lady any further.

[Deme]

Uhhh...One problem with that, Nazzy.
The problem arises in the form of an angry salamander that tries to jump on her back and bite her; since she's decided to pay it no regard, it gets the jump on her.

[roll0]
((*Actually, subtract 2 from this. I misremembered.))

-----------

1st Floor -- 1B

Yeah, still nothing.

[Lycan 01]

"..."

Viktor stomps over to the third apartment door, and rips the door out of its frame. "PEEPLE ARE YOU BEING IN HERE WITH A NEED OF RESCUINGNESS?" he loudly asks while flippantly tossing the door over his shoulder.

[Deme]

There's a hole in the ceiling that looks like it leads to the second floor. Huh. How odd.

((Would you like to make another check to see if your yells can be heard from farther off than the floor you're on?))

[Atreli]

She snaps her jaws together loudly before letting a deep growl. Okay, Mr. Salamander, just trying to do a little good and this is my karmic reward?

Yea well, karma this!!

Digging her nails into the beasts shoulders she attempted to flip him over her head and get him off. To help with this, she also spread out her wings suddenly, hoping that would be enough (along with her own strength) to catapult him into the air above and over her.

[Lycan 01]

Viktor stands silently for a moment. He then takes a few steps back so that he's standing in the center of the lobby, where his voice will be most loud and perhaps made louder by the echoing and reverberation through the halls.

"HELLOOOOOO. I AM VIKTOR. I AM HERE TO BE SAVING YOUS. IF YOU ARE NEEDING RESCUING, MAKE NOISE!! I COME SAVEZ YOU LIVES!!" he loudly bellows, slightly straining with psychic effort to make his voice loud, proud, and clearly audible over the crackle and roar of the flaming building.


((Fast Talk: [roll0]))

[Hawkflight]

I jumped as the salamanders attacked me. I managed to avoid the jet of fire from one, but the other caught a glancing blow with its claws. Ow, but I'd deal with that later. I didn't have time for this.

I dashed into the closest room, the one not blocked off by fire. In an attempt to ward off the salamanders, I turned back and hissed at them ... only to be surprised when a blast of energy exited my mouth instead! What the....?

FIRIN MAH LAZOR at one upshift, at the damaged salamander: [roll0]

[Benson]

Well, at least we know at least one person heard Viktor. Ran stood there with his sleeve over his mouth and nose less than ten feet away from the Awakened hamburger in a robo suit. One brow cocked. "Well this is new."
===

Outside, the dark red colored words no sooner left Mike's mouth when the young woman ran into the burning building with a feeling of annoyance. Her weapon clutched in her hand.


[lame post but I was stuck with a slight feeling of overwhelmedness]

[Trobby]

"Oh, geeze! Yeah watch out for that!"

Yeah Specter, I think she gets that there's a Salamander there. Why not help her out a bit?

Specter isn't sure at first what to do to help Naz, but then a thought occurs to him.

Basically, he is keeping himself in mid-air with a little light telekinesis...could he maybe use the same force on other things?

Well, only one way to find out...

Telekinesis: [roll0]

[Deme]

1st Floor
From above, the trio on the first floor hears a man shout

"Help me! In the name of all the holy stars, help me!"

Second Floor

The salamander looks as surprised as she does, and can only prepare to take the damage.

[roll0]

Now that that shout's alerted Kat, she can hear whispering coming from one of the rooms. It sounds like praying.
"Please...If this is the end of the world, then I'll accept it...But if it is only a stage in Your Plan, please, allow me to see the end!"

Of course, there's still salamanders. The light red one charges for another assault, while the dark red one stays back and breathes fire.

4th Floor

The salamander gets flung off of Naz's back by the force of her wings... However, it manages to be too heavy for Specter's grip, and Specter's a little bit wearied by the effort of trying to hold it. ((2 Failure Ranks.))

For the sake of action-keeping, it's Naz's turn.

[Benson]

First Floor


Ran decided to waste not his time with gawking at the mecha burger and glanced up towards the hole. He did some quick calculations in his head and made for a leap to grab to the sides of the hole and pull himself out using his athletic prowess.

[roll0]

Hearing the noise Kurami coughed and sputtered a bit from smoke as she foolish continued to still be in the building. She came across that certain room and found herself in hesitation seeing Ran jumping and also a mecha burger. Right. Yes. Ah.

[Lycan 01]

Viktor doesn't want to try to climb up through the hole, since the already weakened ceiling may not support his weight. So instead, he goes stomping off to find the stairs and head up to the second floor. "HAF NO FEAR, VIKTOR IS ON THE WAY!!" he bellows in his heavy Russian accent.

[Deme]

Viktor

Viktor arrives on the side of the second floor with the battle going on.

---

Ren/Kurami

Ran ends up at the far side of the second floor -- there's a fire between him and the fighting, but there's also 2B and 2C closer to him, no fire-crossing needed.

Meanwhile....

"Are we going up there, or aren't we, mistress? Let's get moving!"

[Atreli]

Nazura faces the salamander and opens her mouth to make a lizardsicle out of the creep.
Icebreath:[roll0]

[Lycan 01]

Viktor sees the fight going on in the hallway between the kitty and the fire-breathing lizard.

Thoom thoom thoom!

The floor reverberates with heavy metallic footfalls as the armor-clad sandwich sprints towards the nearest lizard. Perhaps the lizard notices what's about to happen in time to give a look of utter horror, perhaps not. Regardless, Viktor pours all his strength and momentum into his right leg, swinging it forward with crushing force as he reaches the mythological reptile. His heavy metallic boot slams into the salamander with the force of a thousand football punts.

And the crowd goes wild.



Football punting the crap out of the lizard, preferably out the nearest convenient window.

Brawler + Super Strength: [roll0]

[Benson]

Ren/Kurami

Ran ends up at the far side of the second floor -- there's a fire between him and the fighting, but there's also 2B and 2C closer to him, no fire-crossing needed.

Meanwhile....


Ran takes a moment to look around for anything feasible as a weapon/tool, his mind will naturally favor something more one-two handed and club-like. At this point he is wearing his shirt over his mouth and nose.


"Are we going up there, or aren't we, mistress? Let's get moving!"



"Aaaagh...who said that??" Kurami demanded as she glanced around to find the voice of whoever that was. Of course she didn't immediately recognize it to have had come from the weapon in her hands.

[Deme]

Second Floor - Ren

It looks like there's a collapsed table in the apartment; a couple of its legs are broken off. One of those could work. There is also a coat rack and a floor lamp, and those might be managable.

Second Floor - Viktor and Kat

It stares, mind-boggled, and tries to resist the powerful kick. Since it's the nearest one, that'd be the Dark Red one that's been flame-breathing.

[roll0]

It gets tossed out through a wall, oozing burning blood. Bits of wall go flying out onto the street, though the crowd runs away in time. The Lizard clings to the edge of the break in the wall, climbing up the side of the building back towards them. It'll take a minute, though.

The Light Red Salamander will try and melt Viktor a bit, with a fire breath roll in the OOC.

4th Floor

It tries to dodge out of the way:
[roll1]


It fails, and the ice falls in a sheet around it, coating it in frost. It's not beaten yet, but it looks like its fire powers are getting dampened by the chill. It charges and, in the OOC, tries to slash at Naz.

Kurami

The naginata in her hand shakes a bit, to make its presence clear.

"...Ah, so you don't remember, Mistress. This strange place has addled as well as transformed you. Oh, well. Listen. Just unlock me and let me grab the way up, OK? You can use me like a whip or a chain."

[Atreli]

Nazura quickly tries to dodge out of the way by rolling underneathe him. Hoping that if she gets behind him it'll give her a moment of an advantage.

[Benson]

Ran

Ran picked up the coat hanger as it had more reach. He shouted out for the man that had cried out moments earlier.

"Sir! If you could guide me with your shouts, I'll find you and save you!" He shouted.

--


Kurami was on the slighted side that Ran wasn't really acknowledging her at all but that was not on the forefront of her mind.

"Waaah...unlock?...What...you're.......oh damn it all...." She'd deal with this cray cray naginata talking to her afterwards. She wasn't sure what the weapon meant by 'unlock' so she drew conclusions to swing the weapon.

Kurami bit down on her lip and held the weapon in front of her in battle pose as she swung it upward.

[Hawkflight]

With a twitch of my head, I glanced at the mecha man bursting into the room. I kept part of my attention on him, not knowing if he was a friend or a foe, but my fears were alleviated (slightly) when he punted a salamander out of the room. When the other salamander attacked him (I presumed it was a he for the moment), I attempted to intercept its attack by FIRIN MAH LAZOR.

Qi Blast: [roll0]

I then attempted to make my way to where I'd heard the praying come from, just smashing through any walls in the way.

[Lycan 01]

As the Salamander unleashes its fire breath upon Viktor, the armor-clad sandwich turns to directly face the fire blast. He crosses his robot arms in front of his chest protectively, and brazes against the blazing baptism. "YOU THINK FIRE HURT VIKTOR? VIKTOR WAS BORN FROM FLAME!! RAAAA!!!" he roars titanically as the flames wash over him.


Defense - Super Armor+Brawler: [roll0]

[Deme]

Kurami

"You just think 'unlock,'"

Since she had, the Naginata shape-shifts from a single, continuous pole with a blade on the end...To a series of vaguely-connected little pieces of
pole, each about the size of a chain link, with a blade at the end. It flexibly shot itself out (since she probably was not going to do it, lazy mistress...) and wrapped around a bit on the second floor apartment.


"Up you go, Mistress! I thirst for heroism!"

Make a check for your whip-swinging (or, rather, getting swung by your naginata-whip)


Second Floor - Ren

From 2B, he hears another shout.

"O-Over here!"

There's coughing.

Second Floor

The mander's used a good bit of it's fire to hurt Viktor, and is winded as a result.

Kat charges pretty much directly into a wall on fire, so she needs to make a check to not get burned to heck and back, and stopped by the fire. And a super-strength check to actually charge through a wall.

Anyway, it's Viktor's turn.

4th Floor

The Salamander hits the ground too hard during her dodge, and can't bring itself to its feet again. It's down!

"...Hello?"

Oh, right. There was a lady.

[Lycan 01]

Viktor uncrosses his arms, slams his fists together, then strides purposefully towards the salamander. "YOU MAKE FIRE PROBLEMS, DA?!" he roars at the demon lizard thing, before lunging forward and grabbing it in his "robotic" grasp. Picking the salamander up, Viktor begins to shake it and scream in its face. "YOU MAKE FLAMES AND HURT PEOPLE!! BAD LEEZARD!! NOW YOU FIX PROBLEMS YOU MADE, DA?!"

And with that, Viktor begins to smack the lizard against the nearest fire, using it to beat the fire out. How ironic.



Brawler to grasp (plus upshift): [roll0]
Super Strength to beat out the flames: [roll1]

[Atreli]

Nazura rose up from the floor with a devilish grin on. Dragon girl-1, bad lizard-0! There wasn't much time more than that to be triumphant as she had a human to save.

" Hello? " She replied quickly back. " Where are you exactly? " She paused and added quickly, " Don't be afraid, I'm here to help you."

[Trobby]

Specter was sort of floating in place for a moment, in minor awe.

I mean...that was pretty awesome.

Well...he didn't really...but he did get...and then that lizard...

THAT WAS AWESOME.

But then he remembered that there were lives to save, and floated on after the dragon.

"Careful, there's fire everywhere in there. I was kinda comin' to get you to put it all out, in fact. Maybe fly her outta here since um...I'm sort of tangibly-challenged."

[Atreli]

She turned and flashed him a grin. " Alright ghost boy, see ya in bit!"

In the back of her mind she felt Jesse stir as if in response to Specter. Sorry kiddo, still more lives to save. Nazura thought to herelf. She knew Jesse couldn't hear her yet but maybe one day that would change.

" Hold on tight to me okay? " She said to the woman in need of rescusing. " I'm gonna fly you outta here." She smiled softly hoping that that sentence didn't terrify the woman even more.

.

[Trobby]

Specter, meanwhile, goes to phase through the other walls of the building, to see if any of the other fourth-floor rooms hold a trapped survivor. Or a lizard.

[Benson]

Karumi

[roll0]


-

Ran

The large eye patch wearing man coughed as he made his way to 2B. "Do not fret sir...*cough*...I am coming....!"

[Deme]

Fourth Floor

To be honest, the woman *was* terrified. That said... If your options are sit there bleeding and burn or suffocate to death or cling to the first thing that said it could help you, it doesn't matter if that thing is a dragon or cthulu or the grand marshall for the Macy's Day Parade! You cling!
And so she did.


As Specter scans the room, he finds a large hole in the last one leading down to 3C.


2 hero points for them both for saving the lady while displaying great teamwork.

---

Entrance to 2B

There's a door in his path -- does he try the handle, which is probably burning hot, or does he try to force the door?

----

1st Floor

The naginata whips around and pulls her up.

"Alright, Mistress! Now, hero girl, let's get going!"

---

2nd Floor - Near the Stairwell

The salamander plan had some flaws. Sure, the salamander was easy to grab and beat about...But its own internal flame made using it to put out the flame difficult.
Here, take a hero point for awesome.

The salamander turns around and tries to flame Viktor.
[roll0]

Also, Kat ends up charging into the wall, which, besides being on fire, is alarming durable. She cracks it, but does not break it; the flames hamper her too much.
She takes 1 damage rank from being now on fire.

[Atreli]

Nazura flew up and out of the building and once she landed safely allowed the terrified woman to run away from her if she so desired.

She kept on smiling, not wanting the verge of her first real human contact to end in rejection. Buck up soldier there would all the time in the world for this later. So before she could really soak in the woman's reaction, Nazura took to the skies again and went back into the building.

[Deme]

Luckily, she was a) really too terrified to run, and b) physically unable to run, given that her leg was hurt. Instead, she sank gratefully to the ground with a sigh, her attitude now less 'a monster' and more 'an angel.' People embraced her. The two upright firemen gave Naz a nod.

[Lycan 01]

Viktor wrestles with the salamander, trying to restrain it and keep its fire breath from spraying directly on him. Hopefully brute force will win out over pyromania. "BAD LEEZARD!! DON'T BREATHE FIRE ON VIKTOR!!"



Super Strength + Brawler to defend: [roll0]

[Trobby]

Rather than diving headlong into a hole, Specter sits himself down at the edge of it, and waits for the cool ice dragon lady to arrive back.

Not that he's worried about, say, another fire lizard or twelve down below, but more that he doesn't want to do all the rescuing on his own!

...And he could probably use the backup.

-Once she arrives...-

Once she does arrive though, Specter gestures down the hole. "Might be more down there. Let's head down. Quietly, if you don't mind."

[Atreli]

Nazura nods. I can do quiet. She thought to herself.

Deciding not to wait any longer she heads down the hole.

[Trobby]

Specter is ready for this, and slips in after the ice dragon lady.

[Hawkflight]

I let out a low hiss at the salamanders, but used the metal man's distraction to have another go at the wall, doing my damnedest to ignore the flames licking at my body. Knocking it down, I searched the room for survivors using my new super-senses.

(Roll to break down the wall: 10)

(Roll to search for survivors: [roll0])

[Lycan 01]

Metal hisses and groans as the flames bathe Viktor's armor. Some of the steel warps, hampering his structural integrity. The metal-clad sandwich then holds the salamander up in front of his chest, looking at him eye-to-burger through the porthole.

"DAT WAS BAD MOVE."

Viktor then lets go of the salamander... and tries to punt him down the hall and into the other salamander trying to climb through the window.


Super Strength + Analytical Mind - 2 downshifts +2d6 from 6 Hero Points: [roll0]

[Benson]

Entrance to 2B

There's a door in his path -- does he try the handle, which is probably burning hot, or does he try to force the door?

----

1st Floor

The naginata whips around and pulls her up.

"Alright, Mistress! Now, hero girl, let's get going!"



"...Nnngggh" Kurami manages to noise from her mouth at that rather exciting moment and strange use of this even stranger blade. But no time for that! The sword suddenly transformed/snapped back into its solid blade shape, which she found, amazing and plain cool.

She turned the corner dashing out the room trying not to breath too much, she stumbled upon Ran who was in mid kick of the door to this apartment.

"Ran---!"
--

[Ran kicking door down]

[roll0]

[Deme]

Second Floor, 2B

The three parties break into the burning apartment at once. It's sparsely-furnished. There's a single folding chair and a folding table in the center of the room. No couch. No TV.

There are piles of signs by the walls, which have strange phrases like 'the end is coming' 'the stars command it' 'Unlearn!' written on them. Pamphlets, scattered and stacked across the floor like the lining of a birdcage, proclaim that they will teach you about 'The Will of The Ones Beyond the Blackness and You.'

The walls have odd writing on them; some of it carved, some of it in spray-painted black...A very small amount written with an odd brown paint, very thinly applied. They are phrases written in unknown alphabets, mixed with some of the less commanding sign-phrases.


There are book cases against the back wall. Two of them have fallen in front of the two doors that, side-by-side, lead further into the apartment. They're on fire. The old man coughs from behind one of them, but it's hard to tell which.

Third Floor


The third floor is an obstacle course of fire, and, of course, home to 3 Salamanders. Two of them are on the ceiling, hanging onto what appear to be support beams...And eating them. Their results lay littered on the floor, ablaze, making it hard to progress.

The last one sees them coming out.

((roll initiative!))
[roll0]



Second Floor Hall

The salamander in his hands desperately tries to resist getting thrown like that, while the one outside the window will try to dodge.

[roll1]
[roll2]

Both of their efforts are futile -- they slam into one another, and then down onto the ground below. And they aint getting back up anytime soon! Victory!

[Trobby]

"Ah crap." Specter says, cursing his lack of preparation.

Initiative: [roll0]

[Atreli]

" You took the words right out of my mouth ghost boy." Nazura said as she stared ahead at their horrid task.

[roll0]

[Lycan 01]

Viktor fist-pumps the air. "WOOHOO!!"

He then turns around, and begins to look at his surroundings. "HELLOOOO? IS ANYONE BEING IN NEEDZ OF RESCUING?" he bellows.

[Hawkflight]

Second Floor, 2B

The three parties break into the burning apartment at once. It's sparsely-furnished. There's a single folding chair and a folding table in the center of the room. No couch. No TV.

There are piles of signs by the walls, which have strange phrases like 'the end is coming' 'the stars command it' 'Unlearn!' written on them. Pamphlets, scattered and stacked across the floor like the lining of a birdcage, proclaim that they will teach you about 'The Will of The Ones Beyond the Blackness and You.'

The walls have odd writing on them; some of it carved, some of it in spray-painted black...A very small amount written with an odd brown paint, very thinly applied. They are phrases written in unknown alphabets, mixed with some of the less commanding sign-phrases.

There are book cases against the back wall. Two of them have fallen in front of the two doors that, side-by-side, lead further into the apartment. They're on fire. The old man coughs from behind one of them, but it's hard to tell which.

Oh for f*** sake, I thought, observing the writing on the walls. But there was no time for this. Spotting the old man, I attempted to hoist him onto my back to get him out of there ... whether he liked it or not. (Hey, you can't be too careful with the crazy ones.)

[Deme]

Third Floor

Yyyeaahhh, this is a tough one.
The salamanders are 3 in number: the one on the ground is Black-Spottled, the one closest to them on the ceiling is White Mottled, the one further from them on the ceiling is Plain.

The White Mottled one crawls over and eats out the connecting points on the support beam above them, to try and send it crashing on their heads.

[roll0] (Actually, subtract 2, since it's targeting them both.)

The Black Spotted will go for clawing at Specter, because he looks like he could be easier to take out.

[roll1]

The Plain one will stay back and breathe fire at Naz.

[roll2]

These kids better have some reactions ready (one for each), and try and work out if it's better not to fight.


Second Floor Hall

Viktor fist-pumps the air. "WOOHOO!!"

He then turns around, and begins to look at his surroundings. "HELLOOOO? IS ANYONE BEING IN NEEDZ OF RESCUING?" he bellows.

Other than the man that everyone else on this floor is attending to, there's no one left on this floor. One floor left un-searched (two from Viktor's perspective.)

[Trobby]

"Time for a disappearing act." Specter quips, as he attempts to fade out before the lizard hits him, hopefully letting the lizard crash himself into the ground instead. He'll attempt to slip away, and find some object he can use to help fight these lizards.

[roll0]

[Atreli]

Jumping or flying out of the way won't do any real good. The only thing she could think of to do in that split second decision making time was her ice breath to stop the fire...and maybe to even hurt the crazy salamander.

[roll0]

[Lycan 01]

Viktor shrugs and stomps his way upstairs. "HELLOOOOO? VIKTOR HERE TO RESCUE YOU!!" he bellows as he triumphantly barges his way onto the third floor.

[Benson]

"Talk about getting oneself' an interior decorator...." Kurami grimaced as she took in the interesting....decor of the home. Ran glanced at her and shook his head, wondering why she would choose now to make lame unfunny jokes.

"Sir, we're here to help you, just...hold on.." He stood there for a second trying to figure which door to break open when--

Kurami then suddenly took the naginata and thrusted it into the top half of the wooden door and wriggled it around.

[roll0]

(lemme know if I derped in regards to rolling)

[Deme]

Third Floor

Specter's efforts are...Mostly successful. He fades out just as the -- so he's a little frightened or winded, but OK (they both take a failure rank, for a tie when I add in an "average" second roll, since I forgot)...And so is the Salamander, who hits the ground behind Specter with a smooth-but-confused landing.

Naz's ice melts in mid-air, turning into steam before the might of the blaze that hits her. (Factoring in an "average" second roll, that's 7 damage ranks.)

The beam crashes behind them, doing them no harm. Oopsy, Mr. Salamander.

Viktor sees all this from the other side of the hallway... But he also hears a voice from 3B. A womans voice, as much coughing as shouting.
"S-som*cough*eone...Someone*hack, cough*...Help!"

---------------
2B

Kurami breaks open the top half of the door, since the bottom half is still blocked/barricaded (I'm assuming she's sort of pulling the door out, not pushing it in) by the fallen book-cases, but she makes a hole big enough for a person to slide through...Or a larger-than-person but super-flexible cat, perhaps. Smoke billows out... But there's also the sound of a person coughing that billows out, too.

[Atreli]

Nazura grunted at the pain. But she turned her head quickly as she heard the beam fall behind her.

" Wow...okay that was too close."

Beyond the pain she felt a very strange twinge inside of her.

The faint presence of Jesse that she had felt before was gone.

" Okay, that's bad." Jesse's presence had given her knowledge of modern times as well all sorts of useful things the human had picked up over the years. Without that...well...it was going to be just dandy wasn't it?

As if the unpresent Jesse was enough to worry about she felt something else. No longer could she a connection to her true self, the body she had been born to. " And that's worse..."

Alone. She was truly alone from here on out in this fight.

And even through the tough outer shell of who she was, she couldn't help but be a little afraid.

[Lycan 01]

Viktor hears the screaming lady! He knows exactly what to do!

And that's not charge through the flames and lizards. Instead, he kicks in the door to 3B, storms into that apartment, and then tries to find a good spot in the wall between 3B and 2B to punch through. Somewhere where there's not much stuff in the way, or that wouldn't cause too much structural instability.

Once he's got a good spot in mind, he slaps his mechanical hands together rubs them together in preparation, kicking off a few sparks with the gesture. "HEY LADY IN DA NEXT ROOM!! YA MIGHT WANNA STAND BACK A BIT!! VIKTOR IS COMING TO BE RESCUING YOU!!!"

And with that, he charges through the wall.


Analytical Mind+Super Strength: [roll0]

[Benson]

2B

Kurami breaks open the top half of the door, since the bottom half is still blocked/barricaded (I'm assuming she's sort of pulling the door out, not pushing it in) by the fallen book-cases, but she makes a hole big enough for a person to slide through...Or a larger-than-person but super-flexible cat, perhaps. Smoke billows out... But there's also the sound of a person coughing that billows out, too.


Ran begins to move the barricading bookcases away from the door where he heard the coughing from while Kurami joins in to assist to clear them out. Kurami's attack on the door was more or less a reckless way to gauge which side the person was stuck behind. They would eventually get to that opening the door point.

[Trobby]

Specter WAS just about to tell the Tin Titan to go save the civilian, but it looks like his heart is in the right place (wherever a sandwich keeps its heart that is).

But now it was just him and the Cool Dragon against three of these lizard things, and the dragon was looking pretty badly winded at the moment. If he didn't do something soon, they'd be toasty lizard treats!

That's when he looked down, at the floor.

He could pass through it easily enough, though he didn't quite know why. And he felt like, if he just stopped, part-way through, he could maybe...

His form slid effortlessly into the floor beneath him. In the spirit of the moment, he let out a chuckle, which was to his delight, echoed in the hallway.

"Looks like I'm getting the drop on you!"

Once he was in the floor, he stretched himself through it, hoping that his intangibility would stretch through the floor, dropping them straight through it.

Spending four (!) hero points on this Spin-off Stunt.

[roll0]

[Deme]

2b

And how does he handle the fact that he's basically handling burning objects?


3b

As he plows into 3b, Viktor sees the situation at-hand: a woman and 3 children, in a rather busy-looking apartment. The children, 2 girls and a boy, are pressed as low to the ground as possible, presumably to avoid smoke inhalation. The woman's on her knees and has a baseball bat (her son's, perhaps?) and looks about ready to smash anything that comes through that door... But she basically drops it in surprise when Viktor rushes through her walls.

The room's mostly uninteresting, except to note a smashed and burning terrarium. Earlier today, it presumably held some small pet...Like, say, some newts? Or salamanders?


3rd floor hall

The two salamanders on the ground struggle to try and avoid the vanishing floor, though the one of the ceiling is uniquely unconcerned.
[roll0]
[roll1]

It doesn't work, though, and they drop to the second floor.

[Atreli]

Nazura stood up, her full attention on the salamander on the ceiling. Now how to get it down?

Spreading her wings, she flew up to it and tried to kick it down.

[Lycan 01]

Viktor extends a robot hand out towards the family. "COME WITH ME IF YOU WANT TO LIVE."

He then turns towards the back wall of the apartment. "OR I CAN PUNCH OUT WALL TO ESCAPE. WHATEVER YOU ARE TO BE PREFERRING." Despite his loud volume, he's at least got a casually polite tone.

[Trobby]

Specter exits from the floor, feeling a tiny bit dizzy from the experience of sinking his body into something so expansive and thoroughly.

"Ugh...gotta remember to save that for special occasions..."

[Benson]

By kicking the door down.

[roll0]


or at least try to.

[Deme]

2b

He succeeds and take 2 damage ranks from, you know...Burning.

-----------

3rd Floor Hall
The salamander tries to cling on for dear life.

[roll0]

He fails and gets knocked to the ground.
----------

The woman drops the bat in relief. Viktor can probably comfortably carry two of them at a time, maybe more if he gets creative and uses non-arm stuff.

She hands him the two smaller of her children, and holds the hand of the third.
"We can *cough* use the hole you already made..."

The kids are crying from some mixture of terror and relief.

[Trobby]

3rd Floor Hallway

Seeing an opportunity to strike a finishing blow, Specter reaches out for a fallen timber, temporarily forgetting that he can't actually lift things with transparent hands.

Which when he realizes it, makes it quite surprising that the fallen timber still manages to rise up into the air anyway.

"..Telekinesis, eh? Heh...cool."

He lifts the timber into the air and aims a solid blow across the Salamander's skull.

"Batter up!"

[roll0]

[Lycan 01]

Viktor accepts the two smaller children, and holds them close. "Sh-sh-shhh..." he quietly tries to shush them in a comforting manner.

Yes. Viktor is actually trying to be quiet for once.

"It is being okay..." he softly tells them in his heavy accented. "Viktor the Burger-Bot is here to being rescue you. You will all be okayz. Hang on tight, and Viktor be getting you out of here here, da?"

The hulking metal behemoth turns, and begins to head back through the ruined apartment, though he pauses at the doorway to peek out into the hallway to make sure it's safe, rather than blatantly barging out with a devil-may-cry attitude.


Fast Talk: [roll0]

[Atreli]

Nazura grins to herself as she watches the salamander fall. Her momentary good mood only gets better as watches the ghost boy try to take care of it.

For the moment, she decides to wait and see what happens before going on with another attack.

[Deme]

3b

The two children in his arms seem to calm down. One of them, through the tears, asks,

"Are you a superhero, Mister Burger-Bot?"

When he looks into the hallway he sees...

3rd Floor Hallway

A salamander trying to endure a whack with a wooden beam.

[roll0]

It fails to, and gets knocked back and scraped-up.

[Atreli]

Once the salamander is down, Nazura springs into action. She opens her mouth and attempts to turn into a giant icecube.

[Lycan 01]

Viktor watches the salamander get bonked, and then be set upon by a dragon.

"Yes, leetle children, I am hero-sandwich. I keep youz safe, while dragon hero and ghost-boy hero keep leezards busy," he quietly tells the children in a consoling fashion. "Now let us be geting youz out of here."

And with that, Viktor strides out into the hallway and makes his way towards the stairs. Barring any further obstructions, he will keep going until he's back outside with the kids, where he hands them off to the firefighters.

[Deme]

2B

With the door broken down, I should add, Ran can see inside the other room; the man's underneath a cheap dresser. This room isn't much less creepily furnished; he's an old man with long hair, dressed in what was probably once a nice coat, with his hands all bandaged up.

3rd floor hall

The salamander tries to use its own internal furnace to stay unmelted.
[roll0]

And counter her with some burn, baby, burn.

[roll1]


There's one problem with Viktor's strategy... And that's that the beams that had been eaten by the salamanders...begin to fall towards him. We're slowing down enough for one really good reaction, a non-super-speed character like Viktor running out of the way won't cut it.

[Lycan 01]

Viktor clutches the children close, twisting himself around so that he bares his shoulder against the incoming beam. He hunkers down, and braces for impact, in the hopes that if the beam does hit him, he will be the one mangled, instead of the children. As the beam falls towards him, he quickly tries to figure out it's weight, speed, angle of descent, and fulcrum.

And then, just before impact, he unleashes his psychic might upon the beam, attempting to blast it back up towards the ceiling, hopefully lodging it back in place, or at the very least, buying him a few seconds to escape with the children.

If that fails... this is gonna hurt.


I'm using Analytical Mind [+4] and Pyschic Powers [+2].

Unleashing psychic awesomeness: [roll0]

[Atreli]

Nazura's eyes widen at the oncoming flames. Spreading her wings she attempts to fly up and out of the way of the attack.

][roll0]

[Deme]

He catches it.But it's just overhead, and he's going to have to hold it up there for a while if the mother and the remaining child is going to get going, or find another way to manage it all...
Anyway, it's Specter's turn in the lizard-fight, if he's going to mess with that, or his turn with this in general.

[Trobby]

Specter wants to help his friend! But there's no way he could hurt that lizard. Leastwise not without also hurting Naz...

But maybe....maybe he doesn't have to.

Let's see, a great big dragon made of pure ice? Yes, that should scare them plenty.

Of course he isn't REALLY turning into such a beast, but he's finding that he can make himself appear quite scary with a little effort...

Prankster + Illusion: [roll0]

[Deme]

The salamander tries an intimidating posture, to keep from being over-frightened by this big icecube!

[roll0]
But...It's...It's just too convincing and scary! Get it away!
He drops his guard and covers his eyes with his claws.

[Lycan 01]

Viktor grits his non-existent teeth, straining to keep the beam lodged in place, lest it fall on him and the kids. He knows trying to escape with the children is too risky without something or someone to keep the beam and materials above it from falling.

So Viktor kneels to set the children on the floor, while still psychically straining to keep the beam in place. "GO, LADY AND CHEELDREN, I KEEP BEAM UP! WAY TO DOOR IZ CLEAR! HURRY AND NO LOOK BACK!" he bellows, urging them to escape while they still can.

[Atreli]

Nazura laughs maniacally at seeing their small triumph but the fight still isn't over.

Diving down, she flies into the salamander, hoping to knock it over into the hole and the floor below.

[Deme]

The children run forward, their mother grabbing them along, creating sort of a child chain as best they can; the smoke's not treated them well, but they're still able to move on.
The mother looks back for just a second, with an expression of gratitude.

The salamander tries to dodge. [roll0]
At the end of her swoop, it doesn't get back up.

[Trobby]

With the Salamander being taken care of, Specter tries to help pull the load of the timber off the shoulders of the mechanically-contained meal.

Telekinesis: [roll0]

[Benson]

2B

With the door broken down, I should add, Ran can see inside the other room; the man's underneath a cheap dresser. This room isn't much less creepily furnished; he's an old man with long hair, dressed in what was probably once a nice coat, with his hands all bandaged up.


"Ran you fool..!" Kuramo cried out as Ran did what he did and was consequenced'd for it. Ran simply just shook his head as he held out his burnt hands and simply winced. Might not have been the smartest thing to do, but sometimes smarts go out the burning window when you're trying to save people. He gestured that she ignore him and focus on the trapped man underneath the dresser.

Kurami nodded as she took her naginata and used it to carefully smash one side of the dresser farthest from the trapped man to not cause further injury to the trapped man. She smashed one end to make it easier to move the heavy thing.

[roll]2d6+4]/roll]
================

[posted the roll in the OOC since I fukled it up here]

[Lycan 01]

Viktor continues to keep the beam in place with his psychic energy, not relenting even as the ghost-boy offers his own assistance. "MY THANKS, GHOSTY-MAN, BUT I HAZ IT!! YOU GO AND BE MAKING OF SURE CHEELDREN AND MUTHER ARE GET OUT SAFE!!" he says, trying to sound jovial and friendly - though there's still a certain edge of strain and stress in his voice.

[Trobby]

"Ah, alright then big guy! Naz, you make sure our friend here's alright. I'm gonna escort the normals outta here."

And without waiting for team confirmation, Specter heads out to do just that.

[Deme]

"Ran you fool..!" Kuramo cried out as Ran did what he did and was consequenced'd for it. Ran simply just shook his head as he held out his burnt hands and simply winced. Might not have been the smartest thing to do, but sometimes smarts go out the burning window when you're trying to save people. He gestured that she ignore him and focus on the trapped man underneath the dresser.

Kurami nodded as she took her naginata and used it to carefully smash one side of the dresser farthest from the trapped man to not cause further injury to the trapped man. She smashed one end to make it easier to move the heavy thing.

[roll]2d6+4]/roll]
================

[posted the roll in the OOC since I fukled it up here]

The dresser breaks. It should be pretty easy to lift, and even the old man manages to start trying to lift it enough to get out.

"T-thank you...Thank you, my saviors."

He croaked.

---------------

Of course...When Specter gets downstairs, he sees that the mother and children are just a bit ahead of him...And chasing them is the problem with just straight-out dropping your bad guys down to a floor you'll have to cross: one of the salamanders was with them.

Specifically, he was chasing them as they changed staircases, trying to get down to the first floor. There are a few things on the landing, since now might be a good time for me to mention them; a floor-lamp, a small end-table with a vase of flowers dried-out from the heat...

The salamander is just now about to exit the "main hallway" portion of the floor.

[Atreli]

Nazura hurries to help Vixktor with the beam.

" Don't worry big man, I've got your back."

Without waiting for a response she goes over and tries to keep the beam up.

[Trobby]

Damn! With the family all the way at the other end of the hallway, Specter could never outpace the Salamander and get to them in time...

But of course, that wasn't the goal, was it? Specter was learning, quickly, that thinking outside the box definitely pays off. And he didn't have to get to the family, he just had to stop the Salamander from getting to them.

And for that, a little distraction was all he'd need...

Simple enough really. He'd done it before countless times to escape after a prank gone awry. You simply can't ignore the sound of a flower pot smashing into a thousand little pieces.

Especially if it happens to be aimed at the back of your head.

Specter hoped, sincerely, that the flower would land directly on the Salamander's head, and wobble around a bit cartoon style. He could use a good laugh before becoming the sole object of the creature's vengeance.

"Think fast, lizard brain!"

Pranking+Telekinesis: [roll0]

[Lycan 01]

Nazura hurries to help Vixktor with the beam.

" Don't worry big man, I've got your back."

Without waiting for a response she goes over and tries to keep the beam up.

Viktor continues to hold the beam up as well. "THANKS FOR HELP MISS DRAGON LADY, BUT UH, SERIOUSLY, I HAZ THIS. GO HELP WITH THE SAVING OF THE CHEELDREN OR OTHER PEOPLES," the loud-voiced burger-bot tries to tell her.

[Atreli]

Her brow furrowed a bit. The guardian she had been wanted her to stay but she also didn't want to leave the ghost boy to fend for herself.

" Okay, only if you're sure."

Without waiting a single moment longer she dashed into the direction Specter had gone.

[Benson]

The dresser breaks. It should be pretty easy to lift, and even the old man manages to start trying to lift it enough to get out.

"T-thank you...Thank you, my saviors."

He croaked.

"Not yet...we got to get out of his literal hell hole," Kurami said as she and Ran get the old man out and helped him stand up. "Hurry, get on his back." She directed the old man as Ran crouched down and coughed.

[Deme]

2b

The man climbed up on Ran's back, tears of gratitude evaporating off of his face.


Let's give Kurami/Ran a hero point, for their good deed, and one for Kat, for helping. Assuming she's still playing.

"Excellent work, my lady. My lady's henchman." The naginata added. Being used for trivial tasks like breaking stuff was secondary to JUSTICE.
-----------
2nd Floor Landing

The salamander just tries to endure the flowerpot.
[roll0]
...But who can ignore a flower pot, smashing into their heads? It stuns him for a second.

-------
3rd Floor

Above Viktor's head, he can feel something rumble.

They all can, but Viktor feels it more closely. There may no longer be a fourth floor. Roll to keep enduring, Mr. Building-holding burger-man!

[Trobby]

Specter could just try to grab the lizard's attention, and pull it away from the fleeing family, but then he'd have to contend with it directly, which could prove very dangerous on his own.

So instead, he comes up with a quick plan.

Taking advantage of the lizard's momentary dazed state, Specter attempts to possess the floor lamp, and then wrap its electric chord around the lizard's leg. Once it heads off in pursuit of the family, he shall give the lizard's leg a sharp tug, stopping it short and very effectively deterring it from chasing the family.

Usually he'd do this trick with shoelaces, but you gotta make do with what you've got.


Pranking, Electrical Devices & Posession: [roll0]

[Lycan 01]

Viktor lets out a low chuckle as the building begins to collapse above him. "Heh. Peeple still in building, yes? Noooo, I don't be thinking I let building fall just yet..." he mutters, crackles of psychic energy sparking off his armor. He pours everything he has into holding up the beam, through sheer physical and mental strength. "Just... need... to keep up... bit longer... Make sure... all peeples... getz out... safes."


Super Strength + Psychic Power to keep holding up the beam and building til everyone can escape. Also spending 3 Hero Points for an extra d6.

[roll0]

[Deme]

Specter could just try to grab the lizard's attention, and pull it away from the fleeing family, but then he'd have to contend with it directly, which could prove very dangerous on his own.

So instead, he comes up with a quick plan.

Taking advantage of the lizard's momentary dazed state, Specter attempts to possess the floor lamp, and then wrap its electric chord around the lizard's leg. Once it heads off in pursuit of the family, he shall give the lizard's leg a sharp tug, stopping it short and very effectively deterring it from chasing the family.

Usually he'd do this trick with shoelaces, but you gotta make do with what you've got.


Pranking, Electrical Devices & Posession: [roll0]


The lizard will try and just keep going foreward; what does it mean to him, some dangling lamp?
[roll0]

It eventually breaks the chord, but is worn from doing so. Each take a failure rank.

----
Third Floor

The building creaks. It shudders.
But, resting on Viktor's mind and shoulders... The third floor stays up.

[Atreli]

Nazura taking her opportunity, runs up and kicks the salamander in the back of the head.

[Deme]

He'll try and endure:
[roll0]

And, just barely, manages to get knocked down, head-ward. But then it turns around and tries to counter by biting the offending leg.

[Benson]

2b

The man climbed up on Ran's back, tears of gratitude evaporating off of his face.


Let's give Kurami/Ran a hero point, for their good deed, and one for Kat, for helping. Assuming she's still playing.

"Excellent work, my lady. My lady's henchman." The naginata added. Being used for trivial tasks like breaking stuff was secondary to JUSTICE.
-----------

Kurami had still not gotten used to the talking naginata, frankly she had hoped she was delusional from all the smoke inhalation or something. "Uh...uhm...thank you?"...She glanced around warily and then got back to her senses.

"Come on Ran we need to get out of here...get this man out to safety," She said as he followed. They made their way back to the entrance of the apartment as she then looked down both sides of the hallway to see how relatively 'clear' it was.

[Lycan 01]

Viktor continues to brace against the weight, not relenting until he knows for sure that everyone is out safe. And just to be sure he hasn't missed anyone - "HELLOOOO? ANYONE ELSE ON DIS FLOOR? OR ANYWHERE ELSE DAT CAN HEER ME? BUILDING BOUT TO FALL DOWN SO YOU MAY WANTS TO HURRY AND ESCAPE OR CALL FOR HELP OR SOMETHING BECAUSE DIS IS REEEELLY HEAVY!!"

[Deme]

Viktor doesn't hear anything. Looks like it's all clear.

----

Ran and Kurami would see a dragon-looking girl being attacked by a salamander as a ghost-boy lingered in the background, and a mother ushered her children down the stairs.

[Trobby]

Seeing Naz in danger, Specter tries to tug the Salamander back by its tail using his Lamp Chord.

It feels so strange to be thinking like that. That it's not just a lamp chord, but HIS lamp chord, as if he's lived his whole life as a walking talking lighting fixture.

He'll have to remember to contemplate that later, when his new friend isn't getting turned into fried dragon burgers by a lizard.

Pranking+Telekinesis: [roll0]

[Hawkflight]

I began hyperventilating as the smoke swirled about my head. My vision began to swim as I stumbled around, looking for anyone still trapped inside. Finally, I collapsed on the floor, hearing the building collapsing above me.

I don't know how long I lay there, but in short order I heard a commotion out in the hallway. Slowly, I managed to get to my feet, stumbling out into the hallway. Seeing what looked like a half-dragon girl being attacked by another salamander, my body kicked into gear before I could even think. I rushed forward, attempting to knock the dragon-girl out of the way.

Spending a Hero Point to upshift my power: [roll0]

[Deme]

The salamander just lays down and gives up, dizzy and exhausted and tired of getting tripped by lamp-cords! It just wanted to eat a building! It never asked for all this screaming!

[Trobby]

Specter jumps out of the lamp, feeling he has lived a long enough life as a piece of furniture for now.

"Hey, is everyone clear of the building? It's pretty big, but I think everyone in the above levels has been vacated."

[Atreli]

Nazura is panting very hard, fighting off the urge to just sit down and take it easy.
Still just silence.
No Jesse. No connection to her real dragon form.
Despite the joy in the air of saving the family, she felt only hollow inside.

Jesse...please be there. Soon? We're the same and yet so different. I need you just as I need to be myself not this human shaped box.

[Lycan 01]

"Don't be minding of me," Viktor grumbles to himself as he continues to hold his ground against the beam. "I iz just holding up whole building. No rush or anyting like thatz. Just going to wait bit longer, in case somez peoplez is slow."

Psychic energy sparks off his armor as he continues to support the weight through physical and mental strength. "I wonder which way down be most fast - stairs, window, or going with crashing? Hmm. Decisionz decisionz."

[Atreli]

Once recovered from her attack, Naz jumped in to action and made a break for it.

" You guys coming?" She yelled over her shoulder.

[Trobby]

"Ah, yes of course! As long as nobody else is left in the-"

It hit Specter like the ton of bricks that would be hitting him very shortly.

"Crap, the robot dude! He's still holding up the building! You guys get outta here, I won't get hurt if the building falls on top of me, so I'll go check on him."

Without offering any room for argument, Specter flies up through the building to check on the burger bot.

[Hawkflight]

"Don't be minding of me," Viktor grumbles to himself as he continues to hold his ground against the beam. "I iz just holding up whole building. No rush or anyting like thatz. Just going to wait bit longer, in case somez peoplez is slow."

Oh good, I'll just curl up here and wait a bit then, I thought sarcastically.


"Ah, yes of course! As long as nobody else is left in the-"

It hit Specter like the ton of bricks that would be hitting him very shortly.

"Crap, the robot dude! He's still holding up the building! You guys get outta here, I won't get hurt if the building falls on top of me, so I'll go check on him."

Without offering any room for argument, Specter flies up through the building to check on the burger bot.

I frowned, dashing after Specter. I could easily have overtaken him (this form was fast), but he knew where we were going. And if everyone was going to make it out alive tonight, we would have to be fast.

[Atreli]

Nazura frowned at their retreating figures. Any other time, she would've loved to join them and nothing would've stopped her.

But her strength was draining.

She had to go on with the escape. Her injuries weren't so good and she had to see with her own eyes if everyone really and truly had gotten out safely. Sighing to herself...she muttered. " Please be safe my new friends."

It broke her heart, the heart that had sworn itself to duty to go on and leave.

Living felt so selfish, didn't it?

[Lycan 01]

Viktor hums a jaunty tune to himself as he continues to hold up the building.

He continues to hum even as Specter and the cat show up. "OH HI!!" he jovially greets them. "FUNNY TING, I THOUGHT I TELLZED YOU TO LEAVE BUILDING. AND YET HERE YOUZ ARE. STILL IN BUILDING. WHICH I IZ HOLDING UP."

Viktor pauses for a moment, before psychic sparks flicker and dance across his armor as he holds up the beam and ceiling. "WHY ARE YOU STILLZ HERE?!?" he bellows, sounding extremely exasperated. "GET OUT!! GET GET GO!! I HAZ DIS ALL COVERED, NOW BE GETTINGZ OUT OF HERE YOUSELVES!! GOOOOO!!!"

[Benson]

----

Ran and Kurami would see a dragon-looking girl being attacked by a salamander as a ghost-boy lingered in the background, and a mother ushered her children down the stairs.

Kurami couldn't waste her time pausing to confront with what looked like super powered weirdos who had an idea of what they were doing or going at least, so she commanded Ran to follow her following the mother ushering her children to provide any assistance for them if it came to it.

[Trobby]

Viktor hums a jaunty tune to himself as he continues to hold up the building.

He continues to hum even as Specter and the cat show up. "OH HI!!" he jovially greets them. "FUNNY TING, I THOUGHT I TELLZED YOU TO LEAVE BUILDING. AND YET HERE YOUZ ARE. STILL IN BUILDING. WHICH I IZ HOLDING UP."

Viktor pauses for a moment, before psychic sparks flicker and dance across his armor as he holds up the beam and ceiling. "WHY ARE YOU STILLZ HERE?!?" he bellows, sounding extremely exasperated. "GET OUT!! GET GET GO!! I HAZ DIS ALL COVERED, NOW BE GETTINGZ OUT OF HERE YOUSELVES!! GOOOOO!!!"

"Hey, it's alright big guy! I'm a ghost, see? If this thing falls on me the worst that'll happen is having to float down to ground level. You however..."

It occurs to Specter, quite suddenly, that Victor is looking at someone other than him.

He turns around, slowly, and sees That Cat standing behind him.

"...Oh no...nonononoNO! What are you doing?! you were supposed to leave! Dangit...Hey, Android, how much longer've we got before this place collapses, d'ya think?"

[Deme]

Outside
Those trying to leave the building succeed!
Nazuli's embraced by the mother, who's trying very hard to hug both the dragon-girl and her children at the same time.

"Good work. The fire's about stable, too."
The tall fireman takes the old man from Ran, and gives him a little apparatus to help him breath. A paramedic comes over from where she was treating Mike, who looks like he's at least sitting up now, and begins her triage efforts.

"I'm really impressed! You people didn't have to do any of this...I'd say you shouldn't have, but..." The short fireman says, reluctantly enthusiastic.

"But we needed the help," Mike said from his seat on the back of the truck.


Inside
The building groans.

[Atreli]

It was so wonderful to be appreciated like this. Maybe she had jumped the gun in judging what some of these humans were like.

[Hawkflight]

I frowned at the big metal beast holding the building up. My instincts said to knock him out the window and follow myself, but from the looks of things I'd just have to trust that he had everything in hand.

Nodding, I dashed back to the hallway I'd just left, checking to make sure everyone had evacuated safely. Seeing nobody remaining, I assumed they'd gotten out safely and followed through the second-story window.

[Trobby]

"Alright, looks like the cat's out of the bag at least."

Specter looks up at the burger bot with concern welling up in his eyes.

"Okay, maybe I could boost your strength if I possess...no, no then we'd both be trapped here. Or maybe, maybe I could possess the building, and let you escape! Then when the building collapses I'll...I'll what? what will happen to me, even if I could do something that big, what if it falls apart...don't panic, okay don't panic big guy, whatever you do, DON'T PANIC!"

Said the panicking ghost boy.

[Benson]

Outside
Those trying to leave the building succeed!
Nazuli's embraced by the mother, who's trying very hard to hug both the dragon-girl and her children at the same time.

"Good work. The fire's about stable, too."
The tall fireman takes the old man from Ran, and gives him a little apparatus to help him breath. A paramedic comes over from where she was treating Mike, who looks like he's at least sitting up now, and begins her triage efforts.

"I'm really impressed! You people didn't have to do any of this...I'd say you shouldn't have, but..." The short fireman says, reluctantly enthusiastic.

"But we needed the help," Mike said from his seat on the back of the truck.

"Consider it simply a civilian's duty to help in however they can," Ran said standing upright and briefly bowing.

Kuramo just nodded her head with a faint smile of relief they were out of that hellhole. She then remembered something with Ran. "I'd like to see some attending for his hands, they got somewhat injured, if permitted."

[Deme]

"Still...Most civilians wouldn't even try."

The fireman nods appreciatively. He looks over at the cat leaping down.

"And the cat, too... That's everyone who came in, isn't it?"

He shook his head. The rest seems to have cleared his head enough to do the map.

"No, two more...I'll hand it to you folks, though. That was some rough stuff. Took me completely by surprise."

After everyone else was checked out, the paramedic looked over Ran's hands.
"The burns...Aren't bad. Not like they should be." She was still treating the burns, but with a confused expression.

[Lycan 01]

If the burger-bot had a face and eyes to make expressions with, he'd be giving Specter a deadpan stare right now.

"Ghosty-kid," he flatly states. "Get. Out."

[Trobby]

"...Don't you DARE die on me, Viktor. You're way too cool for that."

And, obeying the bot's advice, Specter phases through the wall of the building to make his own escape.

[Lycan 01]

"No be worried, ghosty-kid! I see you in few seconds! Viktor will be rights behind youz!" the armored sandwich jovially proclaims.

Once Specter is out of sight, Viktor "looks" up at the ceiling. "Oi... Dis is gunna suck." he grumbles to himself.

Cri-cri-creeeak.

Viktor's gaze drops to the floor, which is no doubt starting to bend and buckle beneath his feet. "Hm. Cheeseburger and armor versus gravity and building, huh? Heh. Heh heh."

Creeeeeeeeeee-

"Bring it."

Crack!

[Deme]

The building begins its crash, the floor sliding away from the effort of holding the broken weight. Well, Viktor? Pick a way to survive this situation and roll.

[Deme]

The firemen looked up at the ghostboy floating out of the side of the building...
Which, for a second, distracted them. The building crashed. Rubble and dust rose in a wave in the air around the building as the whole

"There was still...That metal..." Mike stared at the heap. He turned to his men.

"Get digging!"

He himself tried to stagger back to his feet; the stitched on his midsection on the bite marks looked hasty, and the paramedic glared at him as he winced.

"If you've seen the paramedic and are good to go, please evacuate the area immediately! Everyone else, get or carry others to the truck!"

The kids were crying as their mother tried to pull them away. They were good to leave the area, but...Their super-burger-bot...

"There's a shelter in the cherry-viewing park!"

[Trobby]

"V-viktor! Nooo!"

Specter flies down to the rubble, and at first tries to pull the crumbled bits of building off by hand.

When he remembers that he can't exactly do that, he starts tossing off the pieces telekinetically instead, frantically trying to home in on where Viktor's body was before the collapse.

Telekinesis: [roll0]

[Atreli]

Naz staggers over to the rubble close to Specter. Her sense duty out weighing the pain inside, she begins to help him clear it away barehandedly.

" I don't care that I'm injured. I'm not letting him die down there." She mumbles though it is unclear whether or not she's talking to Specter or herself.

[Benson]

Ran protectively used his body to shield his mistress from any flying debris and got a couple of small rocks and fist sized chunk of building hit his back. "Are you alright milady?" He asked Kurami who had found herself taken by surprise and had frozen in place clutching her naginata hard when the building came crashing down. She slowly nodded her head.

"I'm fine Ran...but that thing...they mentioned...is underneath that.." She half whispered in shock of what just happened.

"That odd thing I saw inside, sacrificed itself for everyone," His words heavy with...something. "At the most it deserves a proper hero's burial." Even though his hands hurt a bit, he would still assist in digging out, looking for Viktor's body.

[Lycan 01]

A massive robotic fist suddenly punches out of a the rubble. It waves around for a few seconds, before giving a thumbs up.

[Trobby]

Specter doesn't waste even one second making a witty quip about-

"Alright Viktor! You rock!"

...Okay, ONE quip, but you can barely call that one intentional. Regardless, he helps toss aside the rubble covering up the bot.

[Atreli]

Nazura grinned.

" I second that."

[Hawkflight]

I dashed over to help clear the rubble as well.

[Benson]

There was a look of relief on the two's faces, particularly on Ran's, as with signs the robot thing was still functioning removed the rubble quicker, casually tossing larger pieces to the side.

[Deme]

The available firemen work on clearing the rubble as well. Eventually, Viktor emerges. His metal's pretty banged-up but the actual burger that is Viktor is totally unharmed.

Mike blinks and processes this situation.

"You know...I'm guessing you might just be the winner of today's 'officially the weirdest day' contest."

Because you can say a lot of things about being a cat and being dead and so on...Even, like Naz, being in a strange world... But being a burger? He was sort of assuming that Viktor was a human being at one point, like everyone else.

[Lycan 01]

The giant metal robot rises triumphantly from the rubble.

He then takes a moment to stoop down, and pick up his severed right arm. Holding the metal limb in his left hand, the robot turns from side to side, allowing the sentient cheeseburger inside to look through his viewport at all the people standing around him. "Oh good, da keeds are hokay. Well dat was fun. What we do next?" he casually asks, completely ignoring the fact that sparks are pouring from several gashes in his armor, and his robot body is missing a limb.

[Trobby]

"...Holy crap dude." The ironically mortified Specter says. "You are....so...AWESOME."

Specter floats up to the battered burger bot, like a kid in awe of his favorite superhero.

"Dude, you held up an entire burning building, and SURVIVED after it collapsed! That's...you're the coolest burger-powered robot I ever met! Heck even regular robots don't compare, that was the coolest!"

Looks like Viktor has a new fan.

[Deme]

"...Are you...gonna be OK? Those aren't meant to have feeling in them, right?"

Mike poked the metal arm. He'd decided that the course of action was to assume nothing. Then again, the burger-guy didn't sound like he was in any pain.

[Hawkflight]

As the burger-bot emerged from the rubble, I stepped back and just stared in ... not so much awe as 'holy crap'. After a moment, I shook myself back to my senses and looked around, keeping my senses wide open for any more signs of danger. After all, it wasn't like I could talk to these people or anything, unless they spoke cat.

[Benson]

Well, the excitement and danger had died significantly it would seem. Ran stood there with a small relieved smile as he looked upon the robo burger fellow, a real hero there.

Kurami was just glad that was all over, she felt a shower was needed after this, a shower before questions, questions could wait.

[Lycan 01]

Viktor chuckles heartily at all the comments and concerns. "I am being fine, there is no reason to being worried. Arm is just just metal, not actually me. Actually me is sentient burger made from interesting mix of magic, fast food, and expensive Russian vodka," the burger-bot explains. He then points at the glass porthole in his chest, using his severed right arm for the actual gesturing. Sure enough, there's a burger in there. And it's currently waving a piece of lettuce in what looks like a friendly gesture. "See? I iz burger. Safe and sound; robot suit just keep me from being smoosh-ed. And I get to punch thingz, heh heh..."

[Deme]

"An acceptable amount of heroism, for both you and him, Mistress. And your henchman made it out unscathed! Justice has been served! ...You ought to recruit the burger; he'd make a good henchman, too."

This seemed to catch Mike off-guard.
"So, you were born *today*?"
More than alarmed, though, he seems...Impressed. And a little concerned, for reasons to get through.
"You need a place to stay?"

[Atreli]

In any other situation Nazura would have piped up and offered the space. But from what she knew about Jesse, he would've had a cow.

Best to try and make a decent first impression on the ole' counterpart right?

Looking around she noticed that though everyone had banded together and saved the innocents they didn't even know each other's names yet.

[Hawkflight]

In any other situation, I would have piped up and offered the space. However, given that I literally could not talk right now (at least, not in the human tongue), that was out of the question. With a sigh, I idly wondered if I could understand cats now, and if maybe I should just depart the scene.

[Trobby]

"...Wait...you...you're a burger...a living burger...inside of a giant metal robot?"

Specter processes the level of absurdity going on over a few seconds.

Then flashes a great big gleaming grin.

"That...is...AWESOME. That is the most awesome thing ever! Ahahaha, Oh god you really ARE a burger bot!"

Specter finds himself laughing aloud at the fantastic absurdity of this awesomeness, feeling like nothing at all could possibly ruin his day.

Which is when he hears the horn of a 2005 Prius blaring out at full pitch from behind.

He turns around, and if he weren't already white as a ghost, by the look on his face, he would be now.

"Oh no...she found me...I don't know how, but she found me...guys, hide! HIDE!"

[Lycan 01]

Viktor holds out his severed right arm. "QWUIK HIDE IN MY ARM!!"

[Hawkflight]

"...Wait...you...you're a burger...a living burger...inside of a giant metal robot?"

Specter processes the level of absurdity going on over a few seconds.

Then flashes a great big gleaming grin.

"That...is...AWESOME. That is the most awesome thing ever! Ahahaha, Oh god you really ARE a burger bot!"

Specter finds himself laughing aloud at the fantastic absurdity of this awesomeness, feeling like nothing at all could possibly ruin his day.

Which is when he hears the horn of a 2005 Prius blaring out at full pitch from behind.

He turns around, and if he weren't already white as a ghost, by the look on his face, he would be now.

"Oh no...she found me...I don't know how, but she found me...guys, hide! HIDE!"

My hackles raised as I heard the warning. Immediately, two thoughts flashed through my mind. One, there was no way I was hiding in this form. I may be a cat, but I was the size of a horse! And two, if I couldn't hide, there was only one thing I could do, and that was buy the others time to escape. My hackles sparked as I tapped into my newfound qi energy, ready to hold off whatever new threat was coming.

[Benson]

"An acceptable amount of heroism, for both you and him, Mistress. And your henchman made it out unscathed! Justice has been served! ...You ought to recruit the burger; he'd make a good henchman, too."


"Eh?..." Kurami grimaced as she stared at her talking naginata, she had so many questions. "I...whatever....nevermind...uhm...thanks.." She said awkwardly since she knew she hadn't initially decide to this for the heroics, saving the old man and going through all that trouble and near smoke suffocation sorta just happened, she'll just blame Ran.

And then Specter and the 2005 Prius thing happened. Kurami just stood there, frozen in whatever, blinking confusedly. "Why?..." She didn't know this Specter, she didn't know why she should hide. Ran however was kinda on the ball and took a defensively position in front of her like a good bodyguard.

[Atreli]

Nazzy just stood there.

Arms folded.

Broken. Bruised. Without inner backup.

She didn't care.

Bring it on.

Smirk.

[Trobby]

The door to the Prius opened up, and out came a long, feminine leg, standing in a high-heeled white shoe that matched the Prius to a T. From the way it lifted the body of the individual up, she meant serious business.

"Sorry guys, there's nothing you could've done to prevent this, we're just going to have to bite the bullet...and hope she doesn't kill us all."

She slammed the door forcefully, giving everyone a good look at her. It was not so much that she was tall, in fact she was only a little above average for a woman her age, but the way she stood, and the way she walked straight towards Specter with determination showed she meant business.

The way she was dressed helped too, with a business skirt that was short, but conservative, and a blouse and vest that managed to keep her bothersome busom under control. She wore no tie, but she had a scarf on in its place, as well as a large magatama stone hanging from a necklace, along with two matching earrings, and she kept her long brown hair very well-groomed, despite clearly having been in a rush to get here.

She marches straight up to Specter, looking him straight in the eyes. The ghost boy, for his part, sinks down to eye level with her, and shrugs his shoulders as if to hide in his hoodie, speaking in a low, muffled voice.

"...Hi sis...how'd you find-"

"Your teacher was looking everywhere for you. The school called us at home, and our parents called me. I'm the first one who found you, and by the look of things, it's lucky that I did. Specter, PLEASE tell me you had nothing to do with the rubble that used to be a building behind you."

"What? Sis no, you got it all wrong! I was-"

"No tricks, Spect-"

His sister went to tug his ear. She had done it before, perhaps more often than she should have. And she was as surprised as Specter when her hand passed right through his head, giving both brother and sister a moment to pause.

In that moment, the cold expression on his sister's face turned to fear, and concern, as she took a real, honest look at the brother before her, and for the first time really understood what she was looking at.

"...Specter...what in the world happened to you..."

He thought. He really had no idea what he could say to her to make it less of an impact...so he decided, perhaps better to play it the way he always does.

"Heh...cool huh sis? Now I can really haunt the church on halloween! Oooooo~ Spooky!"

His sister was far, far less than amused, and finally turned her attention to the rest of the group.

"So who are you all that have pulled my poor misguided brother into an act of petty arson? And before you answer, let me remind you that I am a lawyer, and I can and will use what you say in the court of law."

[Hawkflight]

I gave Specter a deadpan look of, 'Really?' before turning my attention to the lady in front of us. I really wanted to point out that as a lawyer, she shouldn't be jumping to conclusions, and indeed had no reason to assume the ghost boy actually did anything wrong, and that as his sister she should be more focused on the fact that her brother is now a freaking ghost. However, a meow barely escaped my lips before I realized, oh wait, I can't talk. I let out a small hiss of frustration before turning to walk away.

[Deme]

Mike burst out laughing. It was a good, deep laugh, right from the diaphragm. After a day like today, one lawyer was not scary. He'd been bitten near in half by a flame-lizard-thing...
Oh, wait. Yeah, that happened. His body suddenly remembered that his midsection had no business moving. He folded up, grabbing himself and wincing.

"Ow. Ow. Ow...."

After a moment of that, he straightened back up, with some effort.

"Mike Nelson, Argent City Fire Department, ma'am. Actually, your brother was assisting us in removing all civilains from the premises, under heavy literal fire from literal fire-monsters. He was part of a group that contributed directly to the saving of 6 lives."

[Lycan 01]

Viktor bellows out a big laugh of his own, and proceeds to point at Specter with his severed limb. "Hah! Ghosty-boy here did good deed! Saved cheeldren from fire breathing leezards! He is hero! No need for involvement of lawyerness."

The hulking burger-robot suddenly turns to look back at the smouldering remains of the ruin. "Hokay aktually no, da peeple livingz here will likely be in needz of good legal advize in terms of insurance coverage, liability, and other thingiez like dat."

Wut.

Viktor turns back to the lawyer-lady. "Maybe good lawyer like you make good work here, eh? Brudder saves the peeples, den da sister helps them get they legal and financial help dey needz? Eh, eh? Everybody happy."

Wut.

[Trobby]

"...A hero? My brother?...I find that a little hard to believe...but regardless, I'm not exactly the lawyer you're looking for."

"Aw, c'mon Mia! These people need-"

"A lawyer who knows insurance policies. I focus on civil suits and you know that, Specter. Now, if their insurance refused to pay for their fire and animal damage, and yes they are still animals, there IS legal precedence for strange and abnormal growth and mutation, then they would indeed want to seek me out, or perhaps a lawyer who isn't still a paralegal."

"So...what about you two?" Mia asked, looking at the other two heroes who had yet to speak up. "I assume you all were just performing your civic duty, and won't be blamed for these damages either?"

[Hawkflight]

I turned back as I sensed a question directed partially at me. I nodded my head with an affirming meow.

[Atreli]

" I don't care if I am or not. Being new to this world, I didn't have to lift a finger but I did." For his sake...

"Everyone's safe and that's the only thing that should matter!"

Naz tossed her head, her hair flaring up in the wind like a long blue satin ribbon.

" I can't believe it takes a group like us to have some compassion towards those in most need of it!" Maybe it was a bit of a sore subject but it was one she was passionate about.

I will protect my home. But this isn't my world it's Jesse's so how can I being to feel this way?

[Benson]

"So...what about you two?"[/COLOR] Mia asked, looking at the other two heroes who had yet to speak up. "I assume you all were just performing your civic duty, and won't be blamed for these damages either?"

Kurami felt herself annoyed by this woman's...attitude as she stepped out in front from behind the large six foot something Ran. She handed her talking naginata to Ran to hold. She narrowed her eyes slightly and held her chest up. Despite being a little dirty from the smoke she held herself with a dignity and elegance that had been instilled in her since childhood.

"While I do not like your tone or attitude, miss, yes, you can say I was just performing my civic duty.." Although she hadn't been too keen on doing it in the first place. "Any damages to this building were beyond anyone's control, if anyone were to get the blame it would be whatever those things were that started it."

[Trobby]

With her hands to her hips, surveying the 'heroes' gathered in front of the burned-down building, the attorney's grimace turns to a bit of a smile.

"Well...six collaborating stories will certainly hold up in the court of law, if anyone tries to contest your claim. Not to mention the people you saved today."

Her expression warms considerably once she has learned that these people have not gotten her brother into trouble. If anything, they've done the exact opposite.

"Sorry for putting you all through the ringer. But believe me, I have seen worse cases brought to court for liability, and I had to check each of your stories. Especially since you were with my brother at the time. I'm Mia Phenton, paralegal at Argent University. Pleased to meet all of you." She offers, to anyone wishing to take it, her business card.

"Wait, sis, are you really offering your legal services at a time like this? When half of us have turned into crazy robots and monsters and...and other stuff?"

She gives her brother a firm, serious look into his eyes.

"Yes, right now it is absolutely important, I think, for all of you to have legal representation. The rights and privileges of a United States citizen are fairly well-covered by our laws, but less so are the rights and privileges of citizens from other worlds, of other species and...ah...particularly the rights of sentient foods, I think, would require the oversight of a seasoned lawyer."

"Paralegal."

"Non-profit, paralegal, and I'm betting most of you don't have much of an income to cover any other kind of lawyer."

"So, what do you all say? In need of some legal aid?"

[Lycan 01]

Viktor looks around uncertainly. "Technically I am not robot. I am psychic cheeseburger in 'body' armor. Heh. Also not sure if US citizen. Was made in fast food place across town. Not sure if that counts."

The robot armor shrugs. "But eh, free lawyer sounds good."

[Hawkflight]

I paused to consider Mia's words. She had a point, actually. Technically, I was more likely to be seen as a giant cat now than a person, possibly as no more than an animal. And it didn't help that I couldn't talk, just meow like a normal cat. Nodding, I accepted her card with a grateful meow.

[Deme]

"I don't think there are going to be charges pressed...Not for anything that's happened today."

Mike shook his head. The situation was... a mess. All around the city was the blare of sirens, distant yelling. Somewhere, a helicopter whirled. By the sound of things, nothing had really calmed down. The single EMT that could be spared for *this* crisis was still tending to various patients, as the crowd milled about and stared.

"I don't think anyone's had time to get their head on straight; by the time anyone does, anyone who could be caught will be long gone....Besides...This building was a lost cause, long before they arrived. Things were *eating* it. And could have eaten people."

Mike pointed to his stitched-up stomach, as a sample point. As for Viktor...


"But you sound like you might need someone to watch out for you. I mean, damn... I have no idea what counts for anything. I'm not sure the laws of physics count, much less the laws of people. The firehouse can put you up, if you want -- it's the least we can do."

And if 'today' was going to last for a while, they wouldn't say no to any volunteer help, even psychic burger in a metal suit help.

[Lycan 01]

Viktor taps his "chin" thoughtfully (with the severed arm, no less). "Fire house could be neat. I couldz help with fire truck repairs and things like that. Ghosty-man has enough problems; he not need big burger-robot in closet. Fire house it is!" the psychic cheeseburger cheerfully proclaims.

[Atreli]

Naz's steam at Mia evaporated the longer the conversation went on. Good woman just trying to protect her brother. She could respect that easily.

" I can understand Mia. I apologize for coming off a bit strong. As for the lawyer thing I'm covered but thank you." From the little she saw of Jesse...yea they were good. She turned to Viktor.

" If you need anything Viktor, don't hesitate to ask, by the way all, the name's Nazura, Guardian Dragoness of the Galliatrix Territories. "

[Trobby]

Mia hands her card to the burger bot, as well as the cat. She doesn't know if the cat really understands her or not, but given what has been going on today, she's making no assumptions.

"Hey Mia, I think the kitty's going to need somewhere to stay for awhile. I mean, even if they had a home before now, if they're trapped as a cat, someone's gotta take care of them...can we take him home?"

"I think it's a girl, Specter."

"Well then can we take HER home? How about it, kitty? You need a place to stay?"

[Hawkflight]

Mia hands her card to the burger bot, as well as the cat. She doesn't know if the cat really understands her or not, but given what has been going on today, she's making no assumptions.

"Hey Mia, I think the kitty's going to need somewhere to stay for awhile. I mean, even if they had a home before now, if they're trapped as a cat, someone's gotta take care of them...can we take him home?"

"I think it's a girl, Specter."

"Well then can we take HER home? How about it, kitty? You need a place to stay?"

My first instinct was to indicate that no, I was fine thanks. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized ... I really had no way to take care of myself while stuck in this form. Even if things did change to accommodate people changed by this catastrophe (ha, pun), it would take a lot for me to merely get a meal without causing any problems. After taking a moment to think it over, I slowly bowed my head in acceptance of the ghost boy's offer.

[Trobby]

Specter looks at his sister with a HUGE goofy grin on his face.

Mia, for her part, slaps her head.

"You'd better not shed all over the car. I don't care how old and beaten-down it is, kitty...just...get in the back. *sigh* I'll have a hard enough time explaining all this as it is to mom and dad..."

[Hawkflight]

I made to get in the car, but found myself stymied. Sure, it was a decently-sized car, but I was literally the size of a horse. There was no way I was fitting inside. Then my ears picked up Mia's sigh. Concerned, I stepped back and glanced at ghost-boy to make sure this was really okay.

[Trobby]

Specter gives the poor big kitty a pitiful look, while Mia holds the back door open for the big cat, looking at it, and tapping her foot.

"It's the only car I've got, kitty. Either you get in the back, hop onto the roof, or follow on foot. There's literally no other option."

[Deme]

Viktor taps his "chin" thoughtfully (with the severed arm, no less). "Fire house could be neat. I couldz help with fire truck repairs and things like that. Ghosty-man has enough problems; he not need big burger-robot in closet. Fire house it is!" the psychic cheeseburger cheerfully proclaims.

"Alright. We've got a little left to do here, just clean-up and marking off stuff, but you can wait in the truck if you like."

[Hawkflight]

Specter gives the poor big kitty a pitiful look, while Mia holds the back door open for the big cat, looking at it, and tapping her foot.

"It's the only car I've got, kitty. Either you get in the back, hop onto the roof, or follow on foot. There's literally no other option."

I didn't know what to make of Specter's look, so I glanced back at Mia. Follow on foot ... that actually sounded liked a good idea, remembering how fast I'd been able to run here from the college. I padded over to sit next to the car, giving Mia a kitty smirk as I waited for go-time.

[Trobby]

"...Really?" She blinks. "...Well, no skin off my back. Just...try to keep up, k?"

Mia hops into her car. Specter attempts to do the same but finds it quite difficult to even sit down, so he winds up just slipping his spirit into one of the backseat cushions, just barely resisting the temptation to be the entire car.

[Hawkflight]

I twitched my tail as I waited for Mia and Specter to hit the gas. This was going to be kinda fun, I decided. Like a giant sleepover. Granted, a sleepover with someone I'd only met less than an hour ago. Normally I would have gone into a Fluttershy-esque 'hide' mode at the idea, being naturally shy around people I didn't know, but for some reason I didn't this time. I stared off into the distance, pondering why this could be.

[Benson]

Kurami was amused at the question of legal aid that was offered to everyone, yet the answer already seemed to be decided before Kurami could speak, in its own way. At some point as the focus more than shifted off of her and stuff about taking cats home, she turned to Ran and gestured that they leave, they had no more reason here. They had more important, to her, business to finish. So without a word the two began to slip away.

[Atreli]

Watching the precedings carefully, once everyone had left Nazura made her way home.

Or more accurately...Jesse's home.

Once she healed, he'd back, she'd just have to rest til then.

[Lycan 01]

With a wave of farewell to the other heroes and the rescued family, Viktor cheerfully bounds over to the firetruck. It may or may not groan under his weight. A spry and lithe dalmatian dog, he is not.

[Deme]

1 Month Later...Thereabouts.

To say things recovered was not exactly true. Oh, the power, the lights, the facilities and supplies needed for urban life as they knew it, that recovered.

What didn't recover was that the world was not as it was -- many non-essential things destroyed in the chaos had yet to recover, if recovery was being attempted at all, and many lives, socially, psychologically, or just in terms of sheer vital signs, had been lost or damaged beyond repair.

People still did not know what to make of the things and people that had changed. For people like Viktor, there was no word from the Government about his status. There was still a grip of fear.

What was clear was that an event, possibly beyond the global scale (reports were not verified on this yet) had occurred. Certain individuals reported being from something like another world, but sorting them out from the crazies made it a strong theory, at best. No one knew what had happened. The world of science (and, come to that, the worlds of theology and philosophy...And art, too) was just now having the resources to jump on this with the energy I deserved.

Perhaps a better way of addressing it would be... There was a new normal, a strange half-real stability that had fallen on the world. For some people, it was waiting on the other shoe to drop. For some, it was simply a matter of hurrying things along.


The day is Tuesday, mid-spring. A school and business day. 3:00. The High School would be letting out. The day is likely ordinary so far. If everyone would care to say what it's like for them, and/or what they've been up to in the time since the event?

[Atreli]

Jesse sighed deeply, taking in a moment to enjoy the freedom that came with leaving school grounds. It had been too long of a day. He ran a hand through his collar bone length black hair and he swore he heard sighs from the female persuasion somewhere to his left.

But when he looked, it wa just another faceless crowd. He rolled his eyes and headed over to his car.

He only had one friend at this school. Everyone else had some crazed, outlandish opinion about him that they had mentally set in stone. Now, after all that happened he just didn't care about impressing these people anymore.

As he approached, a tiny woman in a chauffer's uniform hopped out of the driver's seat of the sleek and gunmetal gray lamborghini decked out in black racing stripes. The brakelights flashed in the shape of a skull for a single moment before she killed the engine. Black leather interior, tricked out in the latest tech toys on the inside and much more then most people made in 5 years.

" Hey Mimi, did you bring the equipment for te gun range? I have practice this afternoon. " She simply nodded in return. "Of course Sir."

Jesse opened the passenger door, flipping it up into the air and making it rest above his head. " Will Mr. Phenton be joining you today sir?"

Almost immeadiately he replied, "Probably. Give him a minute, he'll be here."
He opened

[Deme]

The peanut gallery was starting early today, hovering just out of fantasy. Specifically, the particularly devoted trio who acted as Jesse's own personal Greek chorus, and the tip of the boil, as it were.

"Oh, he's so strong..." Crooned a pigtailed brunette, her face in a beatific smile.
"I bet if a monster attacked, he'd be able to protect us!" a Japanese girl nodded feistily, her bob flouncing a half-second behind her face.

"He'd protect me; you girls would get eaten." a blonde girl disagreed smugly.
"You know he doesn't play favorites!"
"That's just part of his charm!"
"Yeah, but it's also why none of us have had a chance yet."

This was true, and the essential problem of being a Jesse fangirl.

"Better he dates none of us than the wrong girl, right?"
"Maybe he's dating Phenton?"
They whispered, their tones become speculatory. They seemed to consider this image.

[Lycan 01]

"ORDER IS UP!!"

The boomed voice of Viktor echoed through the firehouse. In the middle of the station's kitchen, a hulking robot was hastily setting out bowls and spoons. Behind him, a large pot of chili bubbled and boiled, the sweet aroma of hot spice and perfectly cooked meat flooding the kitchen. No longer was the sentient burger's metal exo-armor made of cheap parts and spare equipment - Viktor's new "body" was constructed from gleaming metal and reinforced steal.

The massive iron giant moved with surprising speed and grace - fueled and moved by the cheeseburger's own psychic might, a month of practice and experienced had honed his motor skills and telekinesis to the point that he could do everything from repair a firetruck engine to cook a fine meal. Both of these skills made him very useful around the station, and his jovial, boisterous personality made him a popular member of the crew.

He even tagged along on most runs and jobs; there were more than a few stories being swapped and circulated among the local firehouses, about Viktor's exploits. From ripping the door off a car to free a trapped driver, to gently removing a scared kitten from a tree with his psychic might, Viktor had done more than a few heroic tasks and feats in the last few weeks. But right now, he wasn't trying to be a hero. He was just trying to be a good chef... albeit loudly.

"GET IT WHILE IT IS STILL BEING HOT."

[Benson]

Ran and Kurami's month was one spent still trying to find leads to her father's..and mother's killer, but to no avail or luck. It was a month spent in frustration and anger and continuous squatting in her old family home. It was a month spent in trying to find out more about this talking naginata of hers and time spent trying to learn and understand more in its power. It was not a good month, it was one filled with lots of anger about what happened to the world that only wound up putting a damper on her goals. It was a month where Ran spent most of his time trying to instill meditation techniques in his young mistress.

[Deme]

"Thanks for the food!"

Called out Mike as greeting as he came into the room. He certainly had no regrets about asking Viktor to stay here. While things had calmed down after the first day or two, the fire house had taken a hit or two as well: Mike had needed most of the month off to recover from his injury,

Sadly, whatever powers may have come with his little set of horns never made itself apparent. It was a little disenheartening.


He sat down at the table as the rest of the team filed in, including the short fireman (we will call him Rob) with the mail.

-----

"Deep breath in, hold 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8, long breath out..."

The naginata was helping. Or trying to. Believe it or not...It wasn't exactly pleased to hear that there was a wrong upon the family line that it could not yet avenge, either.

("I was crafted to serve justice and to serve your family, milady. A loss to the blood is a loss to me. A wrong against you is a wrong against me...However...I'm just a weapon." it had said).

[Hawkflight]

Kat, meanwhile, had spent most of her month doing the same stuff she usually did. She had regained her humanoid form after a week, during which she had stayed with her new friend Specter. After regaining her humanoid form, she had immediately sought out her parents, with whom she had stayed in a hotel room for another week until the college has re-opened. After it had, she settled back into her usual routine of school, martial arts practice, and anime.

Though there were a couple of differences. For one, she spent a lot of time pouring over textbooks on internal martial arts, trying to harness her new qi powers. And her practice was paying off - she was now able to fire beams of energy, and enhance the strength of her martial arts exponentially. However, it was still hard to maintain a good form when she did so. And speaking of forms, she hadn't yet managed to tap the potential of her feline body while humanoid, a fact which annoyed her greatly.

All in all, she had it comparatively well. Her family was alive and unharmed, she was able to harness Dragonball levels of martial arts powers, and most of all, the internet had returned, she she could finally check in with her more distant relatives. On the downside ... homework.

[Trobby]

"If he is, I'd like to know about it." An invisible voice says from behind the three fangirls, before the spectral figure materializes, and laughs malevolently at the three girls.

Well, he considers it malevolent at least. He's been working on that bit...

Pranking non-supers with his ghost powers probably doesn't require a roll.

---------------------------------------------------

Four weeks…nearly a full month of time, yet to Specter, it seemed like only one twelfth of a year.

Which is not to say it wasn’t marked with some interesting moments…especially in the first few days. Coming home with a colossal cat was shocking enough for his mom and dad, let alone coming home as a ghost.

He was amazed though…he’d expected them to scold him, tell him that it was his fault, or at least tell him not to get in trouble, but whether it was the stress of the chaos, an inability to enforce their rules, or for once actually realizing that it wasn’t his fault, Specter’s mom and dad simply…let him be.

In a way, it was far worse than being punished. It made his…condition…feel like something to be feared, something that not even his parents could understand.

Which is not to say they weren’t busy in their own way either. His father, an ordained Catholic priest, had quite a flock of followers to attend to. The changes that had come, the confusion and struggle to understand the unknown, had brought a lot of people to church, especially on the first day. Specter had been there, as well as Kat, though neither of them said much, and no one really spoke to them. They weren’t even the focus of attention. There were enough transformed and confused individuals at the church to distract from one ghost boy and a large cat.

After the first day, Specter opted out of church. He felt like there wasn’t much point in looking for answers in God, and his father wasn’t going to force him when he had so many questions to answer, particularly from newcomers. Not newcomers to the Church, but newcomers to the world, which just blew Specter’s mind. Though he didn’t get much chance to ask them about it, preferring to stay out of his mother’s way while she served tea and cookies and offered her own sort of guidance around the new world, even as she was just as confused and lost as the rest of them.

He had also made a very good friend in Kat…though awkward at times for…reasons he’d prefer not be printed here. Two weeks after the event, school started back up. Somewhere in the back of his mind, school had been cordoned off as something unaffected by all this insanity. To him, it’d be just a place to go back to and get back to being bored and sleeping in class and pranking teachers when he could get away with it again. And while it was true enough that the walks through the halls from class to class, and the lectures were still basically the same, the fact that his classmates were minotaurs, goblins and faeries, and his teachers were gorgons, centaurs and catgirls (notable, since he had formerly been a middle-aged gym teacher) made everything so surreal…like walking through a dream, or in Specter’s case, floating through it, which only made it more dreamlike.

Oh yeah, he was a ghost still. Even after a month that still took some getting used to. He’d gotten the hang of floating pretty easily, and had tried quite a few different kinds of possession over the last four weeks. He’d gotten pretty good at keyboard typing and traveling through wires, though the rush of moving at near the speed of light was still disorienting to him. And he’d learned to manipulate and move around in all sorts of different things, particularly dolls and models, but also blankets, pillows, backpacks, beds, dressers, refrigerators, lamps, chairs, doors, drapes, alarm clocks, you get the idea. And each thing had a different life to itself, a different feel that always took some getting used to, yet he felt like he had a pretty good handle on it so far, along with his other ghost powers...

---------------------------------------------------

Which he was using right now to make himself appear slightly more intimidating to three high school girls.

Yes, truly heroic actions indeed.

[Deme]

((It would, but since is just for fun, we'll let is slide.))


Two of the three girls jumped -- well, forward, actually. Away from the ghost-boy.
"Eek!"
"Eek!"
"...Nah, you're right. He's out of your league." Said the blonde girl, unimpressed.

[Trobby]

"And yours." Specter says, suspecting the whole ghost shtick might be losing its kick after two weeks. "BUt I won't hold it against you either."

And fully knowing they can't stop him, he floats right past/through the three fangirls over to his best pal's Lambourghini.

"I think your fangirls are starting to get used to my ghost tricks, Jesse." Specter says, about as casually as one could talk about such a thing. "Maybe I need to freshen up the routine?"

--------------------------------------------------------

The past four weeks had been quite an endeavor for Mia as well. Seeing her brother like that, and her family the way it was...for a time, she wondered if anything would ever be sane again.

At the same time though...

Well, she had to admit it was all very...exciting! To think, that ghosts and the spiritual afterlife really did exist, and her brother was true solid proof!

Of course she hadn't broached this topic....and she wasn't going to anytime soon. He had enough to worry about without her occult interests probing into his free time...

And then of course school started up again, with her classes resuming right where they left off, occasionally trying to incorporate recent events into the lectures, and a few of her closer friends talking about the changes, though she only knew one or two who had been directly affected...

This weekend though, she decided to get back in touch, with those folks she had met four weeks ago, who her brother had gone in with to save people from a burning building.

Which is why she found herself parked outside a fire station, walking into the mess hall.

Viktor was not hard to find, and she waved to him well before she reached the Burger Bot.

"Hey, Viktor!" She called out from across the room, likely drawing some attention from the firemen gathered there. A well-dressed woman likely brought some attention.

[Benson]

"Deep breath in, hold 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8, long breath out..."

The naginata was helping. Or trying to. Believe it or not...It wasn't exactly pleased to hear that there was a wrong upon the family line that it could not yet avenge, either.

("I was crafted to serve justice and to serve your family, milady. A loss to the blood is a loss to me. A wrong against you is a wrong against me...However...I'm just a weapon." it had said).


Kurami seemed to grimace and roll her eyes at the whole breathing exercise thing.

"Is that it? Just a weapon come to life? Then why the changed appearance?" She demanded of it. "Is it supposed to mean something?"

[Atreli]

Jesse smirked. " Just enough to keep them on their toes." Keeping them continously at a distance would help his calm demeanour running.

" Maybe I'll even chip in a few ideas for you. I have one about shoes you're gonna love. " Mimi cleared her throat reminding him dutifully that time was ticking and he had a schedule to keep.

" Hey Spec, are you in for some hanging out? Today's gun practice, Mimi brought extras if you wanna give shooting another go." Jesse asked hopeful.

As his only friend, he always vying for more time with him.

[Trobby]

"Ah well, I've got a lot of homework so...yeah, that'd be a great excuse not to do it. 'Sides I'd like to see what being a gun feels like." He says with a smirk. "What kind are they?"

[Deme]

Kurami seemed to grimace and roll her eyes at the whole breathing exercise thing.

"Is that it? Just a weapon come to life? Then why the changed appearance?" She demanded of it. "Is it supposed to mean something?"

"...On this, your memories are addled, Milady. I have been as I am for generations upon generations! You have been slacking in your history, perhaps?"

The weapon took its usual bravado-filled, snippy tone... But then it paused. The pause was a long one, and seemed full of thought. After a while, it continued.

"...But then, my memories of Milord's death...Are also addled, perhaps. I believe your account. However, that is not the way I remember Milord to have died.
Why my memories are very clear on one thing, and yours clear on another... I do not know."

No one knew -- not enough to make sense of it, or publicly enough that others would know -- about the two worlds. Not in such a way that the subjective "this is what the world was like" could be untangled and made sense of.

[Benson]

"...On this, your memories are addled, Milady. I have been as I am for generations upon generations! You have been slacking in your history, perhaps?"

The weapon took its usual bravado-filled, snippy tone... But then it paused. The pause was a long one, and seemed full of thought. After a while, it continued.

"...But then, my memories of Milord's death...Are also addled, perhaps. I believe your account. However, that is not the way I remember Milord to have died.
Why my memories are very clear on one thing, and yours clear on another... I do not know."

No one knew -- not enough to make sense of it, or publicly enough that others would know -- about the two worlds. Not in such a way that the subjective "this is what the world was like" could be untangled and made sense of.

"So, milady...essentially...you are possibly from a parallel world and because....this is just a theory.." Ran said politely to the Naginata as he observed the scene from the background. He was sitting down crossed legged having had meditating a little. "Two exact objects cannot exist in the same exact space, so when this...event happened, your existence in this world cancelled out the existence of the naginata of this world to avoid a paradox."

"...That's kinda of a morbid thought Ran," Kurami replied with a frown.

"My apologies, tis just a theory...a guess like all theories." Ran bowed his head.

[Deme]

"...But why would two objects exist that are the same object? Also...
ARE YOU CALLING ME AN OBJECT, LACKEY?"

Tamamo-no-mae shouted, shaking a bit in place from the sheer effort of the cry.

[Benson]

"...But why would two objects exist that are the same object? Also...
ARE YOU CALLING ME AN OBJECT, LACKEY?"

Tamamo-no-mae shouted, shaking a bit in place from the sheer effort of the cry.

"Hauh....?" This seemed to have startled the large eye patching ex gangster. "No no Miss...forgive my foolish tongue, I will perform 99 tongue lashings upon myself."

Kurami broke her composure and snickered a little.

[Atreli]

Jesse grinned. " Awesome." Sneaking a glance over at Specter, a soft expression came into his eyes for a moment. His fans, even Mimi would could it had been just a shadow.

He leaned over and opened the case that was lying in the car. " Brand new 9mm Sigsauer. Beautiful huh?"

[Lycan 01]

Viktor was more than happy to fill the bowls for the firefighters, even using his telekinesis to casually fling some spoons their way. "I am hoping you are all finding chili to your liking. May have put too much spice. But hey, youz guyz can handle a little heat, yeah?" the sentient cheeseburger asks, his tone jovial and imparting a sense of camaraderie. He may be talking food, and most folks would consider such a thing bizarre or alien even in this new bizarro-world, but amongst his firefighter friends, he's "just one of the guys."


And then Specter's sister showed up!

"Hah! Miss Phenton!" the hulking "robot" jovially greeted her. "So nice to be seeing you again. What is bringing you around these parts? Would you be liking some chili? Careful! Heh heh, iz spicy!" he warns with a goodhearted chuckle.

[Trobby]

"Er um...yeah that's...look I'm not even going to pretend like I know my Glocks from my Colts, let alone a Sigsausage." Specter explains. "All I know is it's a gun and it shoots bullets."

-------------------------------------------------

"Ah, no thanks Viktor, I already had lunch." Mia explains. "Just thought I'd come by and see how you're adjusting to your new life."

[Atreli]

Jesse threw back his head and laughed. " It's alright Spec. There are some I've read about who don't know that much."

In laughing, he had sent a few girls' heads turning toward him again. In typical fashion they "Kyahh'd" all over the view. You could practically see the little red hearts coming out of their eyes.

" Mimi, keys." Without a word she handed them to him and got into the passenger seat after sliding the gun case to the back.

Jesse of course slid into the leather driver's seat. " We'd better get moving Spec."

[Trobby]

Specter has vanished...

Or has he?

The car quite suddenly revs up, of its own accord, as Specter's voice emerges from all around.

"Way ahead of you Jesse. Heh."

Of course, operating an entire car is a bit much for him, but he can still start up the engine easy enough.

[Deme]

Outside the High School

Mimi gasps as the car decides to start acting on its own.

"...Do you have a license, Mr. Phenton?"


--

Firehouse

Mike wiped some chili from the sides of his mouth. He'd been mid-bite when she'd come in, and stood up. The rest of the men stayed eating.

"He's doing really well; he's a big help...Makes good chili, too."

Mike rubbed the back of the head and looked worried.

"...But... No one's said anything. About his legal status, I mean."


----
With Kurami

"Good, good." Well, it sounded satisfied enough.



---

Room 408, Davidson Hall, Argent University

Cid Manx's class had begun 45 minutes ago; he did have classes, in theory. In practice, he sent Tony to actually run it, like a good graduate student. As a result, his note-taking had been slowed a bit; he'd just have to remember it for later. It was a solid test, anyway.

Sitting on a tall desk chair was a red-and-white corgi, wearing glasses that didn't fit quite properly, dressed in a sweater. He was not sure about the sweater; it was rather precious, and anyway, not very comfortable. But he did want to show willing. Hmph.
He was looking over a battered-looking book, lost in it except for the momentary unease of turning a page with his nose. The rest of the desk was covered in open books and photographs of some old tablets, many of them fragmented.

[Trobby]

Outside the High School

Mimi gasps as the car decides to start acting on its own.

"...Do you have a license, Mr. Phenton?"


"...No. And I can't really move all the parts of the car at once. But I also can't just sit down in the back either. Can't a guy have a little fun though?"


Firehouse

Mike wiped some chili from the sides of his mouth. He'd been mid-bite when she'd come in, and stood up. The rest of the men stayed eating.

"He's doing really well; he's a big help...Makes good chili, too."

Mike rubbed the back of the head and looked worried.

"...But... No one's said anything. About his legal status, I mean."


"It's...still a highly disputed topic." Mia explained. "And until laws are passed to resolve the legal status of a non-human intelligent being such as Viktor, and we come up with a better term than the one I just used to describe Viktor, he's in a bit of a legal limbo I'm afraid."

[Lycan 01]

Viktor gives a low chuckle. "Just means Viktor is special, is all. Besides," he gives a small wave of a robotic hand, which is a much larger and more animated gesture than he probably intend, "Iz not like I am to be causing trouble. I help with the fighting of the fires and the saving of the kittens from trees. No reason for lawman to look my way, yes?"

[Atreli]

Jesse sighed. " Spec, she's my favorite, you know that so since you're not the best at this yet, how 'bout letting me handle it?"

He gave the keys a small twirl in the air.

"Just to be on the safe side."

[Trobby]

"...Yeah okay. I see your point. I DO need something to possess though, or she'll go right through me." He points out.

[Deme]

"Well, hopefully... "

Mike looked dubious that things would work out forever...But for now, everything was OK.

"But if they don't have anything that says what you can do, they don't have any way of saying what they can do to you..."

He looked at Mia.

"...Right?"


----

Mimi snatched the keys from Jesse's hand. She was the driver here, after all. If Jesse wanted to drive home from school, he could park in the lot with the rest of the plebians.

"Your father hired me for a reason, sir. And one of those reasons is driving the car."

The other was keeping an eye on Jesse, but she never said that. Out loud.

[Trobby]

Mia grimaced. This was not going to be pleasant.

"Unfortunately...that is not true. Because there are not yet any laws declaring the rights and privileges of...of a sentient hamburger...any court could rule that he has as many rights and privileges as an inanimate object. No more or less than a sandwich."

She then turned to Mike. This...was going to be even less pleasant.

"And you aren't in the clear either. There are already cases in court challenging the legal standing of non-humans. I wish I had better news for you two...but the truth is, neither of you are safe."

She didn't have the heart to also tell him that there was a sizable push to have him and other non-human sentient beings treated as wild animals in court...or that it was starting to gain ground.

"You...both of you...may want to seek legal representation. Just to be safe."

---------------------------------------------------------

Yeah, but it IS his car, and he should get to drive it.

Thinking this, Specter decides to try to quickly possess the keys and pop them out of Mimi's hand, back over to his pal.

Possession: [roll0]

[Lycan 01]

Viktor just goes back to stirring the chili. "Eh, so we just need to be on best behavior, she we iz good peeple. Peeple-things. Whatever we iz. Show dem we good and nice-like, no reason to give problems to us. Though yes, leegal person-lawyer-thing might be good idea. Who would be suggesting?"

[Hawkflight]

Room 408, Davidson Hall, Argent University

Cid Manx's class had begun 45 minutes ago; he did have classes, in theory. In practice, he sent Tony to actually run it, like a good graduate student. As a result, his note-taking had been slowed a bit; he'd just have to remember it for later. It was a solid test, anyway.

Sitting on a tall desk chair was a red-and-white corgi, wearing glasses that didn't fit quite properly, dressed in a sweater. He was not sure about the sweater; it was rather precious, and anyway, not very comfortable. But he did want to show willing. Hmph.
He was looking over a battered-looking book, lost in it except for the momentary unease of turning a page with his nose. The rest of the desk was covered in open books and photographs of some old tablets, many of them fragmented.

Kat presently found herself in the gym, finishing her workout. Recently, she'd found out she had to be careful with her practicing on the dummies here, otherwise she might accidentally unleash her qi energy and destroy them. The first time that happened was rather embarrassing, she admitted.

After she finished her workout, she decided to visit her uncle. She was a little worried about him, since unlike her, he still had to deal with living on four legs. So after her shower, she made her way towards her uncle Cid's office.

[Deme]

Viktor just goes back to stirring the chili. "Eh, so we just need to be on best behavior, she we iz good peeple. Peeple-things. Whatever we iz. Show dem we good and nice-like, no reason to give problems to us. Though yes, leegal person-lawyer-thing might be good idea. Who would be suggesting?"

"I'm...Mostly human. Ish. I just need bigger hats."

This was true...Mostly. It was really just a small pair of horns. It was a darn useless random addition.

"Anyway, I think she's suggesting her... Hey, should we think about those other people? From that day? Your brother and the rest?"

----

The corgi looked up from his work at the sound of his niece's knocking. Actually, now that he thought about it, he'd smelled her a little while ago. That would explain why he was wagging to the point that his chair was starting to wiggle.

"Ah, come in! Come in."

--------------

Mimi tried to hold the keys harder.

[roll0]

They flipped out of her hand and into Jesse's.

"Fine. Fiiine. As long as you don't mind this being..."

She glared sourly. It was one thing to have to put up with teenagers -- the things she did for money -- but this....This was too much. Luckily, she was not without power.

"In my report."

[Hawkflight]

The corgi looked up from his work at the sound of his niece's knocking. Actually, now that he thought about it, he'd smelled her a little while ago. That would explain why he was wagging to the point that his chair was starting to wiggle.

"Ah, come in! Come in."

"Yo," Kat said, stepping inside. "Just popping by to see if you need anything. I know how difficult it can be to get around on four legs and all."

As an aside, she did manage to keep her amusement in check, reminding herself that it was likely a pretty bad situation for her uncle. If she cracked, it would be rather embarrassing.

[Trobby]

"I'm...Mostly human. Ish. I just need bigger hats."

This was true...Mostly. It was really just a small pair of horns. It was a darn useless random addition.

"Anyway, I think she's suggesting her... Hey, should we think about those other people? From that day? Your brother and the rest?"


"I need to talk to them too. My brother already knows a little bit, though I'm not sure he's taking it as seriously as I'd hope he would...but Viktor concerns me more than anyone else because...well, I hate to put it this way, but he may very well be the worst off in securing his legal rights. A set of horns might get overlooked, but it would be much harder to make a case for sentient food."



Mimi tried to hold the keys harder.

[roll0]

They flipped out of her hand and into Jesse's.

"Fine. Fiiine. As long as you don't mind this being..."

She glared sourly. It was one thing to have to put up with teenagers -- the things she did for money -- but this....This was too much. Luckily, she was not without power.

"In my report."

"Hmm...what do you think, Jesse, a little fun in your car worth getting written up over?"

[Benson]

With Kurami

"Good, good." Well, it sounded satisfied enough.


Ran bowed his head, though now he was unsure of how to seque back to his topic he was discussion. Kurami sensed this and naturally she changed the subject to something else, because hurr hurr.

"So...you....is it possible for you to take on other forms?...Like...less conspicuous forms? I find the image of me walking about with you in such a......gawdy appearance...to be...distracting." Kurami knew she was likely going to get some complaining and what not for her word choice, but she wasn't up for caring about that at the moment.

[Atreli]

Jesse sighed deeply, frustrated that as always he felted caged. Being able to do what he wanted when he wanted was such a pipe dream. He may be rich but life was far from ideal. In his mind an image of his dad cropped up and he realized the cons would definitely out the pros.

" Not if I risk having to have one of those fun convos with dad. "

He quickly switched places with Mimi, who got the lambo started and drove off to the gun range.

Gazing out the window, he glimpsed his reflection in the rearview mirror. That's me, always the good boy. Sigh.

[Trobby]

Specter sighed inwardly. He had a feeling he might buckle in. Again. One of these days, he really hoped that Jesse would stand up to his dad. Dude can't keep his son under his thumb forever.

He hopped into a seat, literally, and rode alongside Jesse. He could tell right away that Jesse was getting all contemplative, which was something that had to be fixed right away. A change of topics would help.

"Say Jesse, you remember Naz? That cool dragon lady I told you about?"

[Deme]

"I need to talk to them too. My brother already knows a little bit, though I'm not sure he's taking it as seriously as I'd hope he would...but Viktor concerns me more than anyone else because...well, I hate to put it this way, but he may very well be the worst off in securing his legal rights. A set of horns might get overlooked, but it would be much harder to make a case for sentient food."


"Well, not just that...Your brother and I are still American Citizens. Social security numbers, all that. They've got to make new rules before we can work differently...
But...
When someone's brought to life on United States Soil, is that the same as being born?"

Ah, citizenry debates.

-----

The Office

"Ah, you didn't need to worry about me....Mostly. You can, though, get me a book from one of the higher shelves."

He didn't seem particularly bothered by it, or maybe he was just better at hiding his feelings than most.

----

....Where is this even?

"Ah, but of course."

It twitched slightly and...Folded would be the wrong word. It didn't really fold, so much as shift through space. It moved in some unknown way and...Looked much more like an ordinary, if somewhat ornate, naginata.

"Will this do?"

[Hawkflight]

The Office

"Ah, you didn't need to worry about me....Mostly. You can, though, get me a book from one of the higher shelves."

He didn't seem particularly bothered by it, or maybe he was just better at hiding his feelings than most.

"Oh, sure," said Kat, walking over to the bookshelf. She should probably get him a corgi-friendly ladder or something, she thought, it shouldn't be too hard to make. "Which book do you want?"

[Lycan 01]

Viktor chuckles. "I iz Russian-speaking cheezeburger born in USA. Sounds like start to joke or something," the burger-bot muses to himself.

He then turns back to Mia, and telekinetically pulls a soda out of the nearby refridgerator. The drink is set down on the counter near her, and Viktor gestures a robotic hand at it. "Хотите чего-нибудь выпить?" he asks in perfectly spoken Russian, his tone and manner of speech much more suave, almost erudite, compared to his usual boisterous, butchered English.



"Would you like something to drink?"

[Trobby]

Unfortunately, Russian is not one of Mia's strong suits, so she has to give Viktor a bit of an odd stare when he asks her something in perfectly unbroken Russian.

The gesture makes sense though, so she nods in approval, popping open the can to have a drink.

"That is one major concern, yes. Citizenry is difficult enough for those claiming to have another name, who are not identifiable by their photo ID, let alone those who were freshly-created in this land..."

Mia giggles a bit, because a very bad joke just occurred to her. One that doesn't even quite make sense. She has, perhaps, been listening to her brother a bit too much.

Or maybe the way Viktor is taking it so well is helping her relax too.

"In any case, keep him working here, and we can play up the people he saved from that building. The hero card will be pretty valuable should anything come up. Especially since people are still worried about enforcing order in the chaotic aftermath."

[Deme]

Office

"Third from the right, the big red one. The Mitchell."

His books were often the sort without anything more than an author or translator's name on the spine, when they weren't dog-eared paperbacks coming principally from dodgy old book stores -- or becoming, after a certain time in his possession, material for dodgy old book store.

--------------------

Firehouse

"Right. So he could get deported to Russia. And who knows what they'd do about him."

Face-palm. He just sighed a little and considered returning to his chilli.

"No one's said anything, and we've got him listed as a volunteer firefighter...For the moment."

[Trobby]

"That's..a bit optimistic, actually. Our best hope would be to try to apply for his citizenship in America. Better to not get international politics concerned at all...I have a feeling things are just as bad across the ocean."

"In any case, if he's listed as a volunteer, that's already a step in the right direction. a public service position, even as a volunteer, gives him some much needed identifying documentation. Really, anything we can do to legally prove he belongs here is a step forward. Try to keep as much paperwork as you can."

[Atreli]

What about her?"

Jesse's voice sounded tight as he asked. Hearing that girl's name sparked something in him, like he had stood up too quickly and the world was just slightly tilted.

[Trobby]

"Nothin'...Just I haven't seen her around lately...I'm starting to worry if she's found somewhere to settle in, y'know?"

[Atreli]

In that moment, something washed over him like a headache or nausea. He swayed a bit and put a hand to his face.

Inside him, he heard her voice. "Specter!"

Not now, later please? Specter can't know, no one can that you and I are-

" Maybe she found a way home?" He said quietly, only after he looked a little less green. "You never know, maybe that's why no one's seen her since that day.

"Jesse please, they'll understand I'm sure of it. You don't need to be afraid of what they or even your father will think. Come on it's Specter."

Jesse just shook his head.

[Trobby]

Specter barely heard Jesse's response, more concerned with his friend's strange behavior, and apparent disorientation.

"You okay, Jesse? Not coming down with a cold or anything, are ya'?"

[Atreli]

" No, I'm good, really." He mumbled quickly.

Instantly he could feel her pouting and above all her disapointment. This was a good opportunity to come clean and once again Jesse had ended up choosing the denial path.

"Oh Jesse..." Naz groaned softly. "When will you listen to me?"

He hated disapointing her. After all, over the past month he had come to adore her but letting her out had immeadiately proved too risky, given how little time he had away from his father and his little minions.

'I'm sorry' was all he could think back at her.

[Trobby]

"...Okay..." Specter said, even though he knew it was not at all. Something WAS bothering his friend, and he had a feeling it had been bothering him for awhile. He'd find out what it was in his own time...but he wasn't going to push it. Not when it made Jesse so antsy. Jesse was perhaps the one person to whom he would not try to sneak or swipe a secret away from. He was a confidant. A true friend to the end. And whatever it was he wasn't going to share, Specter knew there had to be a good reason.

[Lycan 01]

Viktor continues to casually tend to the cooking. "Paperwork iz being kept, yes. And I could probably be doing other volunteering workz. Maybe work at soup kitchen? Or read books to cheeldren at library?" he thinks aloud.

[Benson]

....Where is this even?

"Ah, but of course."

It twitched slightly and...Folded would be the wrong word. It didn't really fold, so much as shift through space. It moved in some unknown way and...Looked much more like an ordinary, if somewhat ornate, naginata.

"Will this do?"

Kurami's Old Family Home

Kurami's expression found itself reflecting that she was quite impressed by its ability there.

"That is quite...less conspicuous," She nodded her head. She held the sentient naginata in her hand in a defensive pose and stood there for a while as she was hit with a wash of certain 'relatively' recent memories and feelings of the time before this strange fusion of worlds. Feelings of bitterness made her grip tighter. After a moment it softened as she recollected herself.

"Good, good it will do...somewhat," She said quietly. "Anyways...let's combat practice with your regular form."

[Atreli]

Jesse leaned his head against the head seat. For now, Naz had retreated to some dark corner.

In the small rearview mirror on the windshield Mimi's eyes were glaring into him as if she too knew something was up. But it wasn't for him that she was concerned, after all, she was his father's employee therefore she always had a hidden agenda of waiting for him to trip up and then go squeal on him to his father.

Not this time. It's just an ordinary headache. He smiled grimly at her and her eyes went back to the road.

[Trobby]

Viktor continues to casually tend to the cooking. "Paperwork iz being kept, yes. And I could probably be doing other volunteering workz. Maybe work at soup kitchen? Or read books to cheeldren at library?" he thinks aloud.

"...I think the children would..." Mia thought about what Specter was like when he was six years old. "...Love it, actually. If you could convince their parents to allow it. But yes, that is a step in the right direction. Above all else though, keep your nose clean. No need to cause a scandal and make things worse."


Jesse leaned his head against the head seat. For now, Naz had retreated to some dark corner.

In the small rearview mirror on the windshield Mimi's eyes were glaring into him as if she too knew something was up. But it wasn't for him that she was concerned, after all, she was his father's employee therefore she always had a hidden agenda of waiting for him to trip up and then go squeal on him to his father.

Not this time. It's just an ordinary headache. He smiled grimly at her and her eyes went back to the road.

Specter remains quiet for the remainder of the trip, not quite sure how to shift topics away from what had probably given his friend a headache.