Fortune's Favorites: Silhouette

[ripleycat]

Fortune City Showcase #3 presents: A Silhouette Adventure.

“Running Interference”

1:30 pm, Copper River Riverwalk and Plaza.

The Riverwalk was a little island of sanity in the ocean of excess that was Fortune City. For decades, most of the neighborhoods along the Copper River were what you’d expect waterfront neighborhoods to be: working class, and more than a little run down and dangerous. A few years ago, the remorseless advance of progress and cash had taken one of the worst parts of town and transformed it into a pedestrian-only sanctuary of high-priced boutiques and high quality restaurants.

http://www.ajx3photo.com/blog/wp-content/themes/thesis_18/custom/images/2010/Riverwalk01.jpg

The Red Tavern wasn’t red and it wasn’t a tavern, but they served damned good food and some wickedly creative cocktails. Even better, the chef was an old hand from embassy circles, not a spook, but astute enough to know what hints indicated someone from the Agency, and astute enough to let that person eat for free. Which is how Avery finds herself treated to a 4-star lunch without dipping into her wallet, in one of the best people-watching spots in the entire city, with no demands on her for once beyond “Would you like a refill?”.

The people-watching pays unusual dividends today. Avery spots a young woman sitting on a park bench, apparently scanning the crowd herself. Redheaded, with bright green eyes, she’s certainly striking, and behind conspicuously inconspicuous clothes, the woman is very toned and athletic. A tell-tale wire hangs down from her ear, and as you watch she leans over and whispers into her collar. It looks like today’s game of “find the Spy” is going to be an easy one.

A Perception check, if you would. Along with whatever other skills or powers you wish to roll.

[Green Bean]

Avery sat at her table, seemingly relaxed and just another professional enjoying a no doubt comped lunch. She'd spent the morning tracing a rather circuitous route through the city and completing a number of errands, some camouflage, some genuinely important, and was now scanning the teeming masses passing her by for familiar faces.

Fortune City wasn't technically hostile territory like some of the places she'd been, and she probably wasn't being tailed, but you only had to be wrong once. She'd cultivated a certain professional paranoia, and it had served her too well in the past to just give it up when she retired. Certainly, she'd waited for confirmation from some old friends in the State Department long before she accepted any of the chef's free food. Still, once he'd checked out, she had become a frequent guest. She'd never met the man while she was still on the job, but she'd met many like him. They were the backbone of diplomatic espionage; reserved, loyal, and knew enough to not want to know. Even if hardly spoke, sometimes it was nice to be around someone who Understood, even a little.

Fortunately, she'd avoided the biggest lunch crush and managed to get a decent table. Her seat was well placed, with excellent sight lines, and the foliage offering cover from the more distant rooftops and office windows. In short, the ideal public observation point. It only took a couple visual sweeps before she noticed the young woman.

Avery's first thought was that she was in fact being watched, but it didn't quite fit. The woman was dressed the part, and her observation technique looked decent, but an earpiece and collar mike wasn't subtle, not in the age of bluetooth. Maybe it was egotistical, but Avery figured that if some nebulous organization had managed to tail her all the way here, they wouldn't bother with the amateurs. Of course, there was still the possibility that the woman was just a diversion, to keep her from noticing anyone else closing in, but there were hundreds of better places to try to abduct or kill her than in the middle of a crowded riverfront. So, the odds were against it having anything to do with her personally. Just to be safe, she reviewed her emergency exit routes before moving on. It could be a police sting operation, or perhaps the woman was a bodyguard. There were any number of possible explanations, and Avery would need more context to figure out which it was.

Avery, an old hand at espionage, ran through that entire train of thought in a matter of seconds, not once breaking character as just another lunch-goer. She leaned back in her chair, and sipped a glass of water as she clandestinely subdivided and visually dissected the entire scene before her, looking for partners, possible targets, or any other relevant details. Then she pulled out her smartphone and flicked over to a custom app. The store clerk had probably wondered why she'd been so insistent on a model with an FM tuner, but days like today were exactly why. There was a trick she'd picked up from one of the DS&T guys she'd worked with; a little bit of jailbreaking, some simple business with a pair of pliers and you could pick up more than just talk radio. It wouldn't work on cell phone signals, but it was fairly reliable with point-to-point radios. Still the picture of relaxation, she stuck an earbud in her ear and paged through the common amateur and government frequencies. Any remotely competent secret mission would have sprung for scramblers, but if it were on a police or military band, well, that'd give her something to chew on.

Surveying the scene with Notice: 1d20+20

Using a smartphone to get technical info on the radio with Technology: 1d20+15

(Just to be clear, the physical modifications would be something she did when she bought the phone - she's not whipping out a screwdriver in the middle of the restaurant)

[ripleycat]

Unfortunately for Avery's listening pleasure, her hunch is correct. The mystery woman's frequency is scrambled, with little more than static and a warbling, distorted tone coming though on Avery's modified phone. There's certainly too much noise to pick up any voice messages that might be sent. Without being able to hear the woman's messages, there's no way to be certain, but none of the military or police channels have any mention of a sting or any other legitimate but clandestine operations. The closest thing to a hint Avery picks up is a pair of city cops grumbling about traffic duty. Apparently a few streets nearby are being closed off of a little while, but the cops infuriatingly neglect to say why out loud.

Avery's eyes serve her better than the phone does. The redhead's somewhat unsubtle and old-school gear is not the only thing that marks the scene as peculiar. The woman is rather jittery, possessed of a nervous energy that doesn't seem to fit the idea of the cool and collected field agent. Her eyes flicker towards the nearby bridge over the river a little too often to be mere coincidence. What or who she's looking at remains unclear. The bridge is quite busy, traffic and pedestrians passing over in a constant stream.

[Green Bean]

Avery almost felt bad for the woman on the bench; she clearly wasn't ready for a field operation. Carefully but subtly keeping an eye on the bridge, she switched off her frequency scanner and went into her contacts. After performing a little number conversion to get their actual phone numbers (transpose the fourth and seventh digits, alternately add and subtract 1-1-9-1-9-8-9), she rang up two of her contacts. It was time to play a little "good cop, bad cop."

Good cop was Lieutenant Robert Largo, a decent and honest cop who nonetheless understood the value of a quid quo pro relationship. Avery had fed him quite a bit of valuable information on the structure of organized crime in the city, and he was more than happy to return the favour with information from inside the blue line. Bad cop was Captain Harry Connely, a man who had sold out so thoroughly to so many different gangs that Avery was considering forwarding his dossier to Langley as a teaching aid. Of course, that also meant Avery had enough incriminating material on him to put him in jail for decades, though considering the gangs mostly weren't aware he was feeding information to their rivals, he probably wouldn't last his full sentence. So Avery used him as a source. She called it his 'redemption'. He called it something rather unprintable.

Perception on the bridge: [roll0]
Contacts to Investigate: [roll1]

[ripleycat]

Captain Connely picks up with a groan. "What? Oh God, it's you. Just what I need right now." He sounds hungover, and from the sound, he's outside somewhere, but he grudgingly listens to the situation. "Huh. Well, it's not us, not that I'm aware of, anyway." Connely always was free with police intelligence. "And that description doesn't ring any of my bells."

"But... I can tell you what might be going on. Governor Molina's gonna give a speech today. They've got me controlling traffic all around Warren Park. Supposedly its an "honor" to work 'round the bigwigs like this. Bull. Anyway, your spook could be one of his, you know, Secret Service or whatever the hell the version for people who aren't actually important is. Or, I dunno, someone could be after him. 'Assassins' sounds like something out of a bad movie to me, but you're the superspy, I bet you get that all the time." With that, Connely hangs up.

Lieutenant Largo is a bit more forthcoming, as expected. Your call also seems to be a welcome distraction. You can hear him typing away in the background, which means he's stuck in an office writing up reports today. "Afternoon, Ms. Johnson. Are you going to get me in trouble again?" The typing changes tone as you describe the situation. "I'm having a look through some of our databases. Hm. Interesting... Avery, is there any chance you could get me a picture of this mystery woman? Got a possible hit here, but need to confirm something."

Watching the bridge reveals what (or rather, who) the woman keeps looking at. Under the bridge, something keeps moving around in the shadows. It's actually darker than the shadows, maybe someone wearing all-black. It's something one learns in actual espionage training. True black is rare in nature, even at night. The classic black ninja-suit offers inferior camouflage compared to slightly lighter colors that blend better.

[Green Bean]

"One second, LT." Avery feigned hanging up and switched her phone to camera mode while ostensibly texting. When she snagged a good shot of the woman she sent it along to Largo. While he did his thing, Avery resumed her clandestine surveillance, this time paying attention to stance and other body language cues. Was this woman supervising, or preparing to go after the man in black?

[ripleycat]

"Much obliged. One second..." As Largo receives the picture, Avery has a few moments to monitor the situation further. The woman on the bench doesn't seem antagonistic toward the person under the bridge. If anything, they may be working together. Her body language is that of someone checking on an ally, not keeping an eye on an enemy. On the other hand, she still seems nervous, fidgety, glancing around like everyone walking by might be an enemy. Not the reaction of a coordinator, or at least not an experienced one.

Lieutenant Largo's response breaks through the silence. He sounds concerned. "I was right. Hate when that happens. Listen... Avery, your mark is a metahuman. A duplicator from the west coast. Calls herself Proxy. Real name is Roxanne Chell. True freelancer, hires herself out to the highest bidder. She's a thrillseeker, lot of public stunts and craziness in her file, but she's also done, or alleged to have done a lot of very bad things. I'll send you what I have clearance for. You want police help on this? We can have people there in a matter of minutes."

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k218/ripleycat/12_zpsf7739c6f.jpg


Chell, Roxanne
Aliases: Proxy
H: 5'8"
W: 139 lbs
DOB: 7/13/1987 (25 years old)

Metahuman profile #456: Chell is a Class 7 (Duplicator) metahuman, capable of creating between 7-12 duplicates of herself. Copies are indistinguishable from the original body. Reaction times across long distances indicate possible telepathic contact between bodies. Chell's duplicates have been killed on several occasions. Current hypothesis is that she can survive any number of these "deaths" so long as one of her bodies remains unharmed.


Copy of SFPD Assessment: Roxanne Chell, alias "Proxy," is, to put it simply, an adrenaline junkie. Her various stunts, which to date have cost the city 4.5 million dollars (FCPD note: Current damages in Fortune City total nearly 1.4 million dollars in property damage. See also case #4725, Robbery of Palm Gardens Casino) are more than expensive pranks. Chell is wanted for three separate counts of homicide, seven of grand theft, two of assault and battery, one of arson, as well as 48 moving violations. Given her metahuman abilities, "Proxy" should be treated similarly to an armed and dangerous suspect, even if no weapons are present. Officers are not to approach her without sufficient backup.

[ripleycat]

To add on to the info above, here's the result for Avery's well-informed check. Using the better roll, since technically the two rolls are on the same person. :smalltongue:

Roxanne Chell is a freelance metahuman who isn't afraid to get her hands dirty, and relishes thrills and adrenaline. Given that, it's not at all surprising that the Company had both history with her and a large file to go with it.

Avery's knowledge of the woman is thus: Roxanne Chell is indeed her real name. She comes from San Francisco, and is most frequently spotted there. It's her home base, but she operates world-wide. Proxy, to use her supername, is a mutant whose powers manifested when she was 20 years old. Before the manifestation, Chell was unremarkable, a bookstore clerk who lived alone with a pair of cats. Her powers have caused a profound shift in personality. Proxy is now a daredevil of the highest order. Several hazardous jobs in her record were chosen simply because "they seemed like fun," and the CIA's personality profile notes that Chell is "astonishingly impulsive."

She can create 10 "clones" at any one time, and while they are not a true hivemind (a clone must be reabsorbed for Proxy to gain its memories), they operate together supremely well, indicating some manner of coordination. The Company's resources are greater than those of the police, and Avery is aware the metahuman report is incorrect. Chell is not a telepath, or at least not a conscious one. She cannot command her clones directly. Direct command is rarely necessary, though, as her ability to literally do ten things at once has allowed Proxy to become quite skilled in a very short amount of time.

Though Chell's own term for her copies, "clone" itself is something of a misnomer, as the duplicates are all equally "valid" as the original, possessed of all her skills, memories, and powers. Proxy has wound up in a number of lethal situations, both on the side of the Company and against it, was reported killed several times. The police hypothesis is correct there. So long as one copy survives, Proxy is functionally immortal.

[Green Bean]

"Not a good idea - I only have a bead on two of her, and there's a lot of civilians here. I'd just tell the patrol guys in the area to be on alert, do the same for anyone covering the governor's visit. I'm going to try and head this off non-violently." Avery disconnected the call and tipped the waiter before heading over to the park bench. Her gait and bearing shifted subtly as she walkted. She approached via Roxanne's blind side and plopped herself down next to her.

"Hey Roxie, I gotta say, you're a hard girl to track down. Can we talk? I've got a warning, and an offer."

[ripleycat]

Lieutenant Largo manages to get out "Understood. Good lu-" before the call disconnects.

For all her nervous attempts at being a lookout, Roxanne doesn't notice your approach until Avery speaks. When you do, she jerks back like she'd just been electrocuted.

"Jesus**** how long have you been there?" The sentence comes out in one startled breath. The Proxy on the bench stays put, but the one under the bridge skitters off into the shadows like a cockroach.

Catching her breath, she takes stock of Avery and the crowd before continuing in a (slightly) slower voice. The woman still talks like she's forgotten how commas work.

"You just sat down like you popped out of thin air and you know my real name. What are you? Cape? Crook? Spook? Cop? No no, not a cop, they'da sent a SWAT team or something."

"So you've got a warning and an offer for me, huh? Well, I'm a little busy right now but I'd sure like to hear both of those. What's the catch?"

Insight and Perception checks if you would, GB?

[Green Bean]

"Hey now, I assure you, my business is legitimately illegitimate. No cops. The name's Peg Callahan." She pulled a driver's license out of her wallet and handed it to Roxanne. It matched her assumed name. "See? I know your real name, you know mine. Now we can talk like equals. I'm here on behalf of my boss."

The key to a blind approach was the first impression. You had to strike a balance between being plausible in your role and being someone your target could eventually trust. Roxanne was an impulsive thrillseeker, but the particulars of Avery's deception meant that meant she couldn't just play a sister in arms. No stranger to creating backstory on the fly, she decided that Peggy used to be a hellraiser, but settled down into more reliable employment as she aged. Peg would respect Roxanne for not giving up the adrenaline junky lifestyle, and see her as a younger version of herself. In short, Peg was a big fan, and flattery would get you everywhere.

"First of all, the warning. See, originally it was just the offer, right? But you're a tough lady to find, so my boss figured, hey, why not ask our boys in blue, 'least the ones who aren't opposed to having their bread buttered, if you catch my drift." Avery relaxed a little as she slipped back into the patter. "Anyway, funny thing is we didn't even need them; turns out I knew a guy who knows a guy who pointed me your way."

"I heard you were up to something big, so I tells my boss to wait until you're finished with it because, hey, you're the artiste, right? But here's the thing, those cops we greased? Called me up, oh, 20 minutes ago to tell me someone just pulled your file and sent your description to every cop in a mile of here. Didn't say it, but they're probably calling in the heavies, the undercovers, Miss Fortune for all I know. So I came down here fast as I could, on account of jailtime for someone of your calibre being a real tragedy, you know, for the whole community. Like locking up Mikeyangelo, right?" She very carefully didn't directly tell Roxy not to go through with it; thrillseekers tended to have a contrary streak in them. Let her draw her own conclusion. "Now, the offer, there's probably not enough time to give you the whole thing, before, you know, cops. But my boss wants you in on a job. Pay's, well, it's all right. Lady like you, you've gotten more for less, but I promise you won't go hungry. But that's not what's important. What's important is that this is gonna be big and it's gonna be loud. Like, if we pull this off, forget headlines. We're talking history books. Sound like something you'd be interested in?"

Persuasion check to make a good impression: [roll0]
Also, Bluff to fish for information about Roxy's plan: [roll1]

[ripleycat]

Roxanne's expression is hard to read. She seems to have totally bought that you are who you say you are, it's more that she doesn't seem to trust Peg Callahan quite yet. When you drop the warning about the cops incoming with their possible "heavies," Proxy looks around wildly, as if half the FCPD was going to jump out from around the corner and shout "Surprise!"

"Thanks a million for the heads up. Jail's no fun. And I'm flattered you think I'm some kinda artist. But here's the thing. I don't know who's been telling you what, but I didn't tell anyone about this, lady. This one was all my idea. And it's good! It's gonna work. They won't know what hit 'em. ...I just thought I'd have a little more time before the big guns showed up."

Roxanne is silent for a moment, her fingers drumming on the bench so fast you'd think her power was super-speed, not duplication. She suddenly blurts out "Look, this big world-shaker of a job you have planned, can you tell me any more? You got my attention but I don't sign on for promises."

[Green Bean]

"No plan's really safe nowadays, even in your head. Heck, I heard there's this creepy hero telepath crawling around town. He's some hardcore spec-ops guy who can pick a plan right outta your brain. But the boss's plan, I can't tell you everything, but oh, it's a doozy." Avery started to explain the totally fictional plan. She was no stranger to intrigues thanks to her old job, but Agency stuff tended to be small scale, and built around deniability, neither of which would appeal to Roxy. So instead she went with a hybrid of some old Fortune City news stories, a few of her favourite political thrillers, and some particularly choice from the old Castro assassination file, and blew it up to the national scale. Avery was a little bit cagey about the details so Roxy wouldn't be suspicious about her forthcomingness, but sketched a decent enough outline that Roxy would think she had one up on her by filling in the blanks.

"So what we need from you is your teamwork. We've got nine...targets in the DC area we need to hit simultaneously and surgically..." Timing was important; Avery had to speak long enough that Roxy felt the time pressure of a fictional legion of cops, but too long and she'd get overconfident because no heavies were showing up. "...so then we're heroes for stopping an alien government takeover, and an entire year of law enforcement gets thrown down the toilet. Depending on how the cards fall, we can probably swing a Presidential Medal of Freedom for everyone involved."

Avery grinned, a veteran hoping she still had what it took to impress the rising star. "So whatdya think? How's it stack up against your thing?"

More lies, damn lies, and fishing for info.
Deception: [roll0]

[ripleycat]

Proxy is silent for a long moment after the pitch. When she comes round again it's with a low whistle and a disbelieving giggle.

"Man, I was just gonna kidnap a governor. You guys think big. I don't know if it's good big or crazy big or both, but it sure would be fun. I reserve the right to save my own hide and and maybe kneecap you if this turns sour, but I think you might have yourself a deal, lady."

She grins and offers her hand, then glances up. On the roof of the nearest building is another of her copies, dressed up to make anyone who sees her think she must be part of security for the governor's speech. She makes a couple of hand gestures and runs off again.

"One sec, I need to uh, have a meeting with one of my business partners. Come on, this part's really cool." She motions towards one of the very narrow access alleys, a tiny gap between two of the Riverwalk's many buildings, hardly big enough for a person to fit through.

Away from the eyes of the crowd, you're met by two other clones, the ninja-suited Roxanne you spotted earlier, and one dressed in, of all things, the so classic it's cliche fedora and trenchcoat combo (Proxy is many things, subtle is not one of them.). The pair reach out and touch the original Roxanne's skin, and then they simply aren't there anymore, as if they stepped into the space occupied by her body. "God that's such a rush, every time."

She takes a few seconds to process the new memories, then perks up, an odd glint in her eye. "Oh cool, there's a bank across the street. I'm gonna grab some spending cash before we split, OK? Don't worry about the getaway, I've got lookouts posted. We should be in and out before the cops start swarming, I've gotten pretty good at this. Hey, you want to watch, get a little preview of what you've hired?" Without waiting for an answer, she ducks into a maintenance alcove and drags out a huge black duffel bag, which she reveals to be full of slightly outdated tactical gear and weapons. "Knocked over a surplus store on the way here. Was gonna be for if my shindig with the governor went south. Might as well put it to good use, right?" In a blur, she crowds the alley with her full complement of clones, who start gearing up to rush the bank.

What do you do?

Deception check passed. Roxanne buys the plan hook line and sinker.

Avery gets an HP for the "Proxy is a ferret surrounded by shiny things" setback.

[Green Bean]

Avery grabbed the nearest Roxy by her shoulder. "Whoa whoa whoa. One, we're like twenty feet away from where an army of cops and heroes and god only knows are going to start tearing up the street. Two, even if we avoid them, I can see inside the place. There's like two rent-a-cops and a fifteen year old alarm system in there. I could knock over that place. Not much of a preview. And three, and this is the killer, that place sent its deposits out yesterday. You'll be lucky to break four figures, and that's just insulting for a lady of your stature. Gimme a sec, I'll find something better."

She pulled out her phone and dialled Lieutenant Largo. "Hey boss, it's Peg. I was out by the Riverwalk, and I managed to talk to Roxy. Got her off that big job she was about to pull and onto the one you came up with." She didn't acknowledge Largo's actual response, but carried on a one-sided conversation with her imaginary boss, dropping as much information as she could.

"Nah, can you believe it, she was gonna kidnap the governor! Some headlines right there, right?"

"Now, here's the thing, she's not doing the governor job any more, but a girl like her, she's gotta pull something off or the whole day's wasted."

"She just wants to get a little spending cash, and maybe show us a little of what she can do. Things are a little hot here, so maybe you can point to a business elsewhere you wouldn't mind getting knocked over a little."

"Y'know, something nice and out of the way and fungible, where she can strut her stuff and really show off."

Deception-ing my way out of a bank robbery: [roll0]

Also, I'm fishing for similar information from Largo, but what would I roll to know/recall places that would be good to isolate and contain an ADHD-ridden duplicator?

[ripleycat]

That seems like a use of Well-Informed, so let's go with Investigation for Avery's knowledge/recall roll.

[Green Bean]

So that I'm not triple-posting in the OOC thread:

Investigation: [roll0]

[ripleycat]

Proxy doesn't seem to doubt your take on the situation. If anything, she seems a bit impressed. "How can you know what the inside of the bank looks like from here? Wait, do you have superpowers? X-ray vision or something? OK, look, you got me out of a jam, so I won't get you into one."

Lt. Largo is a bright bulb, and he catches on quickly when you call back and start talking about jobs and bosses. He's not pleased. "Aaaaa, no no no, I'm not trained for undercover, Johnson. Don't make me play a mob boss!" On the upside, his panicked protests make for a decent "angry conversation" noise when muffled and distorted by the phone.

Once he realizes you're just talking and he's not going to actually have to play the part, he calms down and gives you an answer. "This is illegal on so many levels... OK, OK. A fungible target we wouldn't mind seeing get knocked over... All right, listen close. 95% of the casinos in town are legit, they have been for decades, but not all. The mob still uses a couple as fronts to launder money. They're really slippery about it, we can't pin them, but we know where they do it."

"5736 Regent Ave. Far east end of town. It's called the Golden Circus, and it's a gaudy, rotting pit filled with bad people. It's small, you should be able to handle them just fine, especially with your 'backup'. Now I don't have to tell you this, but this conversation never happened."

"Oh, and Avery? You are a terrible person and if I get fired for this I'm blaming you."

Sorry for the delay. I haven't been feeling up to writing much lately. Getting back into it.

[Green Bean]

Avery covered the mouthpiece of her phone as her "boss" ranted angrily. "Ha! No, nothing so fancy. When I go to a new town, I like to check out the local hotspots, know what I mean? I had to meet a guy near here yesterday, so I cased the place a little. Old habits, right?" She went back to her imaginary conversation, simulating a back and forth about various amazing-sounding targets where the money seemed to be just falling off the back of a truck.

"Oh, a casino heist? You're so good to me, boss. One Fortune City special, coming right up." Avery flashed Roxy a thumbs up. "Oh yeah, boss, no need to send reinforcements along. It's just me and Roxy here, so last thing we need is a buncha superpowers or guys with guns showing up at the same time. If we scare everyone into surrendering, we're hardly going to get our money's worth, right?"


A thought occurs: how far away, physically, am I from Largo?

[ripleycat]

Largo's noice becomes serious again. "I make no promises, Avery. You rob a casino, even one I pointed you at, we can't just ignore it. Response time might be a bit slow, you know, but we're gonna have to show up one way or another. If you run into the cape-catchers, try to go easy on 'em, OK? They're expensive."

The Cape-Catchers is the universal nickname for the FCPD's Metahuman Special Response Team, an ultra-elite subunit of the SWAT team. They're mostly for show, but they do have very high-tech gear that can make them a threat to certain kinds of superhumans. Hopefully you won't have to put them to the test yourself.

The promise of a casino robbery causes the many Roxannes' faces to light up. The horde quickly shrinks back down to one person again. "OK, that sounds like way more fun. There's a parking lot around the corner, be easy to grab some disposable wheels, or we could use whatever you came in if you think we can reach it before the cops come."

He's in the FCPD main office, so a few miles from you. Call it 10-15 minutes by car.

[Green Bean]

I don't suppose we'll be passing within a mile of the main office on the way to the casino? Barring that, does Avery have contact information for any superheroes (their hero identities, not necessarily their personal ones)?

[ripleycat]

I hadn't planned on it, but now I'm curious as to what your plan is, so I'll say yes, the Golden Circus is on the far side of town, and the most direct route there will take you through the business/government district, where the FCPD HQ is.

As for superheroes, since this is taking pace after the second issue, I'll assume you have contact info for the rest of the team.

[Green Bean]

Avery flashed a roguish smile. "Gotta be careful with stolen cars - I once jacked a nice little hatchback for a two K smash and grab, found 30 kilos of drugs hidden in the undercarriage. Took me weeks to straighten things out with the cartels. But no worries, I've got us a nice little escape route." With casual ease, she led Roxy through a maze of department stores and underground parking garages, partly to conceal the fact that there wasn't actually an army of cops descending on the two of them, but mostly because Avery always took the circuitous route. On the way, she had her phone out to 'check directions', but was in fact firing out an open-ended request to every superhero she knew, and a few she didn't. Hopefully the scattershot approach would work.

Avery's car was well-clear of the Riverwalk, and when they pulled out of Long Term Parking, the streets were relatively clear. When they entered the government district, she pulled a mask and gloves out from under her car seat, ones similar to her hero outfit's. As she put them on, she sent her mind out towards FCPD HQ, projecting on a frequency that matched that of the mind of Lieutenant Largo.

Largo? This is Avery. I think you misinterpreted my request, but I couldn't say anything with Roxy right next to me. I want all your reinforcements to show up when we're about to go in. I'm calling in a few heroes I know on top of it. She's a thrillseeker, not stupid. If we can bring a big enough show of force to bear, we can end this without a shot being fired.

[Raynn]

Roulette

A lamp post outside the targeted casino . . .

*ZAP*

An pop is heard as a lamp post bulb explodes as a small creature (http://images.wikia.com/ben10/images/d/df/Buzzshock2.png) shoots forth from it like a bullet. It looks quite like a living battery on a sugar rush.

"Oh pesky, pernicious, cryptic criminality. I-"

The little creature suddenly roars out "WHAT IS THERE TO BLOW UP AROUND HERE!"

The creature grins an impossibly wide grin "Oh that is new, particular and peculiar . . . "

The creature shoots into the air, turning into electricity as it goes, trying to get a better view of his surroundings, especially a certain car he knows is approaching. He teleported as soon as he got the message so he should have arrived first.

He shouts out to any nearby civilians "Fear not fascinated fellows, all is surely safe- UNTIL STUFF STARTS BLOWING UP!"

Roulette pauses for a moment "Ever odder . . . these forms do so perplex and plague me."

He turns back to the civilians "On second thoughts, best evacuate. Energetically."

[ripleycat]

Roxy giggles at the story, following Avery's twisting path without trouble, and for now at least, without suspicion. "Man, that's some awful luck. I try not to work with the cartels, especially the border gangs. No sense of humor at all."

For Largo, the experience of having Avery's voice pop unbidden into his head is disconcerting. "Aaaaaah. God, now I'm even hearing her when the... phone's... off. Oh, right. Psychic. I need a drink."

The actual message gets his attention, though. Unsure of how to communicate back, he simply thinks. Very loudly. The effect for Avery is kind of like dealing with one of those tourists who think speaking LOUDER AND SLOWER will make the locals understand them, but you do get a response back. "I hope your heroes are intimidating enough. You've seen her record, Proxy certainly hasn't been afraid of us so far. But we'll be there, don't worry. Everything and everyone we can muster in 15 minutes."

At the Golden Circus, the patrons outside and in the parking lot have begun rather quickly dispersing. Whether they're evacuating because a superhero told them to or running away from the freaky little creature yelling about blowing things up is open to debate.

[SuperCracker]

Aegis

Radio signals had gone out from Avery’s phone. They had bounced between towers and servers, until letters formed words upon the screen of a certain someone. All of this technological activity had the direct consequence of putting a few cracks into the city sidewalk. Because not long after the send button had been pressed, the Trailer Park Titan came soaring in from above, landing on the sidewalk and leaving his mark.

Dressed in a gray t-shirt and a pair of faded jeans was one Tim McAllister… Aegis. He reached up and tied a red headband around his head.

“WOOO! I was sittin’ around tonight, hopin’ and prayin’ that someone would be dumb enough to step to me. Let’s see if baby Jesus granted my wish!”

[Raynn]

Roulette

*ZAP*

The little creature shoots over in front of Aegis staring up at him like an interested child "Oh. A curio and conundrum. I pray, peculiar pedestrian, did you arrive here on the suspicious summons say-so as well?"

Suddenly the small creature zaps to Aegis' shoulder and starts nibbling his left shoulder as he hangs on it "YOU TASTE LIKE RIGHTEOUSNESS AND WALMART!"

The little creature zaps to the other shoulder "BABY JESUS GREW UP! THEY NAILED HIM TO A CROSS! IT WAS A WHOLE THING! SHOULD I CALL YOU BABY AEGIS?! DID YOU NOT READ THE END OF THE BOOK YET?!"

The creature zaps back in front of Aegis. He seems slightly embarrassed, and again calm "Sorry . . . spoilers."

[SuperCracker]

Aegis

There was an annoying little thing skittering around him. Attempts to nibble are met with a mouthful of t-shirt and skin that’s too tough to chew. Tim looked at the little thing that’s trying to be a little sh**. It obviously can’t appreciate quality super-hero fight-speech.

“You ain’t got many friends, do ya?” Tim asks rather calmly. He doesn’t always hit with his fists.

[Raynn]

Roulette

Roulette blinks.

"Sir. Socially my recent life has been less than serendipitous. I am in the vernacular, vagabond bound; hopelessly homeless. It tends to put a damper on interaction with others, in the positive sense.

Yet, I'm a teen, I am expected to be annoying and rude, what is your excuse?"

[SuperCracker]

Aegis

“Whatever, tiny,” Tim says dismissively, starting to look around for the trouble he’d been called here for.

[smuchmuch]

Lady Luck (1hp; 4/4luck)

The Lady is not particulary amused.
Someone has decided to raid another casino; making it twice in barely two weeks. Admitedly it's small mafia owned place so not a lot of love lost if it get destroyed but still, for the principles of the thing, it's quite unnaceptable As much as she wants to avoid interfering, it seems she'll have to send a stronger message at some point. Or it's some kind of sting operation. That's would explain the message. Anyhow she'd still like to have a quiet talk with whoever is to thank for this.


"Fear not fascinated fellows, all is surely safe- UNTIL STUFF STARTS BLOWING UP!"

The Lady winces as those are the words she hears upon arrival. This bodes well.

"Gentle..men ?" A husky feminine voice comes from the side as an elegant early thirty-ish blonde in white and green clothes (which Aegis may or may not recognize as Lady luck*) walks from the other side of the parking.

The lady barely hesitate for a split second while looking at the electric thing.The city has it fair shares of strange visitors and inahibitants but that one doesn't ring any bells, though. It's not a minor modern fae or spirit; she'd know. So something technologic then. It looks like some kind of tiny robot but it feels alive. There is a slight familiar look of gambling in it's aura, well not exactly but a faint element of randomness and risk, though she wouldn't be able to say what. Intriguing.

The Slums Slammer, (or however that he calls himself) is already here too. She suppose it's a small mercy that the large woman with the mace decided to move out of town."Am I wong in assuming you came here because you got a call ?"
Her smile doesn't move but her eyes takes quick glance on the broken lightbulb and the cracked pavement. "A word before you do your thing, if I may ? I know you were asked to be impressive I love a dynamic entrance like the next girl" Really, she apreciates showmanship when she sees it. "but do you believe you could keep the collateral damage to a strict minimum ? I would be quite gratefull."

*I don't really know. I gather we're supposed to have all met in the open at least once (except Declan) at yet the end of the yet unfinished issue 2.
But I can't imagine Lady luck showing more than a glance of herself in her true form and name without some damn good reason. For what it's worth right now, she look more or less the same than she did in the bank.

[Raynn]

Roulette

Declan zaps over beside the new arrival "I assure you I will not be primarily responsible for any damage to public or private property."

The little creature rocks back and forth on the points that pass for feet as the group waits for target to arrive "So . . . anyone know who called us here?"

[ripleycat]

Silhouette's list of contacts reaches far beyond her teammates. There are other heroes in the city willing to drop in and head off Proxy and her 'partner in crime.' One by one they join those already in position outside the Golden Circus. Nightflash, the masked and mercurial flame-wielding guardian of the darkness puts on an uncharacteristic daytime appearance. Timegirl, a fresh-faced rookie gadgeteer from a far-flung future who happens to have a pet allosaurus. Redwood, a shy and kindly plant mutant able to take a truly towering form. The Human Tank, an unaging density controller, a scowling brick of a man who had been a superhero since World War II.

Heroes who were asked nicely aside, Avery has a lot of information on some of the lesser lights and black sheep of the superpowered community. Being a spook has its perks sometimes. Not all supervillains are power-hungry megalomanicas bent on world domination. Some are colorful losers who can be cowed by the threat of a visit from the government's shadow agents. Even the power-hungry megalomaniacs can reasoned with- or blackmailed. Everyone has secrets they would prefer not to read about in the headlines. If that means gritting their teeth and coming out to help scare a crazy duplicator into submission, so be it.

Madam Zero, an ice controller of terrifying scale who also happens to look out for local children and donates to environmental causes when she's not threatening city hall with freeze rays. The Battle Brothers, a pair of escaped convicts who are linked psychically by the two halves of an alien superweapon they wear. The Power Corps, eight dishonorably discharged soldiers turned power-armored mercenaries, who have done more work for the Company than either side is comfortable admitting. Tribal, the self-proclaimed King of the Beasts, a naive city dwelling shapeshifter who had to visit the zoo to realize he could do more than emulate stray dogs and pigeons. Scavenger, a canny packrat with a bewildering collection of stolen, salvaged, and half-repaired supertech.

Uninvited by Avery but still remarkably aware of the situation, the Don appears amid the growing throng outside the Golden Circus. A mysterious figure among the criminals of Fortune City, seemingly immortal, half mob boss half bogeyman, and always willing to step in and let the costumed freaks know when they're stepping on the toes of "legitimate" businessmen. He gives Lady Luck a knowing wink as he sits in front of the casino and waits for the fireworks. The spirit of the casinos wasn't the only part of the city who found the situation unacceptable.

The strange and tense scene is only ratcheted up further by the steady trickle of FCPD officers streaming into the area. Beat cops by the dozen, everyone who can be spared who isn't already guarding the governor, bolstered by two vans worth of black-armored SWAT officers and even a half dozen of the vaunted Metahuman Special Response Team, the Cape-Catchers, standing out like neon signs among the blue-clothed cops in their bright red-and-white uniforms. The supervillains shanghaied into this operation look none to happy to see them. If Avery doesn't arrive soon, her trap may collapse into a free-for-all brawl in the parking lot.

Feel free to react to all this. Also, other PCs who haven't chimed in yet, feel free to drop in if you want.

[SuperMuldoon]

Helios

Alan got the message, his suit's comms picking up Avery's call for heroes. Flying in from across town, jets propelling him through the sky amongst the clouds, Alan's vision zoomed in on the absolutely absurd amount of extraordinary individuals parked outside of the Golden Circus. His targeting computers grab a lock on some friendly faces, and he descends towards Aegis, Roulette and Lady Luck.

"Good to see you all." he says in greeting. "There are quite a lot of big names here - and from the looks of it not just us good guys."

[Raynn]

Roulette

Roulette suddenly hunkers down and crosses his arms to obscure the x symbol from the Omni-Morpher on his chest. He was a law enforcement member by way of an alien authority that empowered him but he was also a 'fugitive' from federal justice. Fugitive in the sense that Area 51 had people start hunting him without him actually doing anything wrong that is.

Which meant that he was more than a little anxious about the 'major cross-over event' number of heroes arriving. Any one of them could be connected to the US government and know he's on the run, of if this continues to escalate individuals he's had to run from before might arrive. He was a little annoyed with himself that he didn't know which heroes might be the sort to hand him over to Area 51 and which had nothing to do with the government.

Maybe he'd get lucky and no one would recognize him, he'd just be another, albeit currently quite small, hero in the crowd.

[Green Bean]

As they approached the casino, Avery accelerated, and when she reached down to shift gears, slipped one of her micro-tracers into Roxy's pocket. Whether the duplicator noticed or not, it was too late. Avery undid her seat belt, spun the steering wheel, and wrenched the handbrake, putting her car into a barely-controlled spin. As the forward momentum was neutralized, she stepped out of the driver's seat onto the curb, drawing her gun in a single smooth motion. The car continued to spin until 180 degrees later, when the two right side wheels caught the curb. The car came to a shuddering halt in full view of the casino entrance and the assembled army of cops, heroes, and quasi-villains.

Avery stepped forward and pointed her gun at Roxy in the passenger's seat, regret and fear clearly etched on her face. "I'm so so sorry about this, Roxy. He made me do this. He's got my family. Just surrender, for your own sake. Don't be like me."

She reached out with her mind to touch Largo's. Showtime, Lieutenant; let her know how deep she's in it.

For illustrative purposes. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYBM8VsxHEg)

Sleight of Hand: [roll0]
Bluff: [roll1]

[SuperCracker]

Aegis

He was chastised by Lady Luck, but she did so in a polite manner, so he didn’t give her any grief. Tim gave an apologetic smile and a small nod. “Sorry ma’am, they asked for a show a’ force, and I’m afraid the concrete took the brunt of it. I’ll try to stick to loud noises… but I ain’t makin’ no promises.”

The rest of the circus showed up directly. Some of these clowns didn’t look so nice. There were even the Cape-Catchers… bane of any mutant kid who doesn’t understand his or her powers. Tim wanted to deck them on general principle. That wasn’t even counting the super-villains.

Before Tim could get too riled up, the car came spinning in and out came the robber and the “robber.” Easy money.

“YO!” He called out, walking towards the car with swagger in his step. “Now, I reckon you thought you were gone come in here and win the jackpot. I got some good news for ya. Ya did! But it ain’t chips or cash you're gettin'… You just won two-hundred pounds of pure, concentrated ass whoopin’.”

He punched his fists together, the impact causing a loud boom and showing how strong he could be with an effortless gesture.

“Time to get down on the floor.”

[ripleycat]

Avery deftly slips her tracker into Proxy's pocket without the duplicator noticing as the veteran spy pulls off a move from the cheesiest of action movies without breaking a sweat, leaving Roxy dazed and staring down the barrel of a gun in the passenger seat in front of Avery's assembled throng and the horde of police.

There's a bit of a transmission delay between Avery's mental command and Largo's vocal one. It's not much more than a couple of seconds, but that's all you need when your powers are instantaneous. A swarm of Proxys boil out of the car, quickly grabbing the closest weapon they can, some aiming out at the police, some at Avery. The one still buckled into the passenger seat glowers at Silhouette.

"You're not doing this to save anyone! It was a setup the entire time, and I fell for it! You're a cape, I know it! Who else would have a crew like this waiting for me? I'm not getting taken in again!"

"You, um, all of you! Drop your weapons and lie down on the ground, hands behind your head!"

The police stop short, forming a sort of target shape, with the cops as the outer ring, Proxy as the inner, and Avery as the bullseye.

Proxy's eyes sweep over the assembled crowd of supers. Maybe she recognizes some of them, maybe it's just a shot in the dark, but she suddely shouts out "I'll give you $20 million dollars if you help get one of me out of here!"


The words hang in the air for a moment, as several of the villains (and even a couple of heroes and a cop or two) glance at each other, shifting uncomfortably in the crowd as they consider the offer. Some of the crew Avery had assembled were notoriously mercenary with their talents, but if there's anything that takes precedence over money in the mind of a villain, it's looking out for number one, and this was about as high-risk as situations got.

"Each!"

The hum and whine of weapons and armor powering up ripples through the crowd. The Power Corps use identical suits of armor with voice modulators, so there's no way of knowing just who the one who steps forward is. "You've got yourself a deal, lady!"

Nobody's started shooting yet, but all it'll take to set off this powder keg is one panicky cop or greedy "rescuer."

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4130626/
(Proxy beats Avery's Bluff by one, can't make save vs Sleight of Hand.)

HP for the complication/GM fiat moment. No initiative yet. Consider this a sort of last chance/free round.

[Green Bean]

Avery dropped the persona at being found out, and switched over to the equally fake but much more useful 'hard-as-nails secret agent' persona. She didn't show any sign of surprise or worry about Roxy's attempt to buy her way out. All she did was raise her voice so that the Power Corps could hear her over the crowd. "Before you make any deals, Randall, keep in mind that right now she's robbing a two-bit mafia casino (No offense, Don) for spending cash. Do you really think she's got 160 mil to give you?"

Deception - Roxy is broke!: [roll0]

[ripleycat]

The Power Corps pause in midair, Randall in the lead. After several tense moments of silence, he speaks up again. "How did you... nevermind. You're probably right. Not worth finding out anyway." The power-armored throng drop back to Earth, somewhat sheepishly rejoining the group blockading the casino entrance.

The various Proxys around Avery seem to deflate a little at the failure of the offer, but refuse to give up their hostage just yet. "Come on, I'm good for it! Ah, fine, who needs you? I asked nicely, but now you're gonna let me go free because if you don't, this nice lady is gonna get a couple of new holes in her brain."

Deception works, given that you rolled a goddamn 40.

Anyone who wants to act can. No combat yet unless you start it.

[smuchmuch]

Lady Luck

From her corner, the lady gives a little shrug to the Don that means 'Have you any idea what is going on'.
Things got a little weird when suddenly many heroes, and villains and cops suddenly came out of nowhere with no apparent reason except for a phone call. And somehow the police is willing to ignore the known criminals that they should be trying to arrest on sight, (what with it being their jobs), to instead concentrate on another one. The whole scene feels a tad silly,contrieved and confused to be hoonest

Sure, villains and heroes, working together it happens sometime but genraly there's a good reason to unite, something big that temporaily trumps the usual priorities. Roxie doesn't feel like she deserves that much attention.
Whoever is pulling the strings is either playing a very complex game, is completly crazy or has no definition of overkill. (... not that these propositions are all mutualy exclusive, mind.)

And frankly anyone who let themselves be surounded by the very people they plan to betray in the next ten seconds have either nerves of steel and one hell of a plan or are very very foolish. Or both; once again, not mutualy exclusive.

Honneslty she probably shouldn't even bother intervening but since she decided to play hero for this decade... It seems the old saying is true after all, Luck favor the bold.
(but you can bet she's going to get return for that little favor later)

'Subtle' Affliction Aera tech Control (8)
on the roxy's (or rather the machines they are carrying)
Gun will miss or stall if she tries to shot Avery. Note that the power is not selective, tho.

[SuperCracker]

Aegis

Roxie tried to call out for some help. Tim shot the power armored mercs the look of a man who wants to rumble. Just give him an excuse to throw down and clean house all up in here. Roxie is threatening the woman with her. Aegis has decided that enough is enough.

“I ain’t gone let you go. Ya wanna know why?”

He even gives her a beat to say something, only to just cut her off and keep talking.

“The reason you’re gone let her go and give up right the f*** now is that if ya don’t… if ya shoot ‘er. I’m gone pick up that car you showed up in, and I’m gone use it to smash each and every onna ya. It’s gone be a big game o’ whack a mole. I’ll get the real you, one way or another. After that… I hope you can clone wheelchairs, too.”

Tim took a step forward, his eyes full of fury.

“Just try me.”

[Raynn]

Declan

Roulette shoots in an arc of lightning towards Aegis and starts zipping around him "And I will B-b-back a boy up! FOOLS!"

[Green Bean]

Avery doesn't look put out or surprised in the least. "You've really got to start thinking these things through. You're not getting away now. The only question is whether or not you're dumb enough to shoot me before you get arrested." Her voice is quiet, calculated not to reach anyone but Roxy.


"I know who you are and who you've worked for. If you go quietly, you'll do a few years, and then the next time someone needs a deniable job done, you'll 'escape' and earn your freedom back quickly enough." Avery took a small step towards the police line, but stopped there. "You shoot me, you don't do much time either. See, kid, I've been doing this longer than you've been alive. I've got...friends who'd take my death rather personally, and I've been very specific about what happens to my killer. You'll 'escape', but I doubt you'll enjoy your freedom."

She started walking once more toward the police line, not stopping this time. "Make your choice, Roxy."