If you're tired of the same old story (IC)

[josienoms]

Walker's Pub is the kind of out of the way place that the tourists and college kids never seem to find. It's a local gem not widely known outside of the Supernatural community. It's a haven, where Beasts, Vampire, Changelings, Werewolves, and just about everyone else can come and speak plainly and openly, without fear of exposing themselves to the outside world. The pub's owner, Walker, is a wizard of few words, who lives in an apartment above the pub with his wife and sons.

At the moment, as you all filter in past the door, which is slightly off its hinges as usual, Walker himself is behind the bar, cleaning a glass. The TV in the corner is on, showing the local news. A young girl sits at the bar, her bearing one of predatory grace, her eyes shining in the dim light, reflecting like a wolf in the dark. A pair of young men occupy a table, one in an expensive suit and wearing dark shades, the other a thin, wiry, nervous looking fellow who's holding the first's hand across the table.

The pub is otherwise unoccupied, but the smell of Walker's famous steak sandwiches fills the air. Walker grunts in welcome, and sets down the glass, ready to take your orders. Meanwhile, the music on the TV gets louder, as they begin a special report.

"Good evening, I'm Tom Allen,"

"And I'm Amila West, repoting to you from WICZ, Syracuse. Our top story tonight, local serial killer Jason Miller escaped from USP Leavenworth earlier this afternoon, with help from an unknown accomplice."

"That's right, Amila. Miller, who was senteced to life in prison for the murders of six people in Ithaca 15 years ago, was released by a man impersonating an FBI agent. Local law enforcement in Leavenworth described the man as middled aged caucasian, about 5'9, with thinning brown hair and glasses."

"The FBI refused to comment on this fale agent, saying only that they will "thoroughly investigate the matter"."

The bar falls silent. Everyone, even the non Beasts, know who Miller was, and what he's done. There's only one reason he'd want to escape: to finish what he started all those years ago.

[JonRG]

Nate avoids clenching his jaw. It's not the serial killer on the way to murder his compatriots that concerns him. They're scrappy. They'll manage. No, it's the tingle in his mouth and the taste of ozone. Could it be... Probably not, but he needs to make sure. Nate slams his laptop on the table and taps out a text to Raleigh while it boots. 'Jason Miller. Know anything?' He might be the Inquisitor, but she had way more connections than he did. Otherwise, he'd have to hack into the source directly. Hacking the FBI... Fun way to spend a night.

Suddenly recalling the point of being at Walker's, he asks, "Could I get a sandwich and a coke? Thanks."

[Obscurejones]

"And I'll have a Bloody Mary, answer to garnishes is 'Yes', and one of those steak sammiches. "
Carthage drums a little on the table edge with his fingertips. A frown creases his face as he contemplates the television. This was... Annoying. Let's go with annoying. It didn't seem... Bad? Just something else to deal with. He might have to invest in expanding his lair a little. Or think about throwing his lot in with the kid and the others. But that could maybe avoided if he sent any oncoming heroes in their direction. Same benefits, smaller investment. Without looking over he comments on Nates movements.
"That's interesting. Texting while waiting. Implies hurry."

[JonRG]

Nate shrugs but never stops typing. "Got a hunch, an' if I'm right, y'all are in a lot more trouble than ya think."

[Obscurejones]

"To be fair I don't feel any particular fear at the moment. As I, like yourself, am but a humble mortal businessman. Look at us, luxuriating in our mellow humanity."
Without comment Nate fades from focus, disappearing into a hazy sort of otherness. He becomes simply one of the crowd. Granted, the crowd in Walkers was a bit more diverse then most. But the primordial power didn't mind. Folk was folk. Even demons.

Sitting just outside perception, Carthage scans the room, reading the reactions of the different factions of meta humanity.
Atavism: From the Shadows

[Kell_tamer]

The small child sits off in the corner of the table booth, scribbling in her sketchbook. She looks up at the TV and listens in. Nervously she scratches the ear of the dog with her. Her parents didn't know she was here and she would have to head home soon anyway. A book bag sits next to her, several comics sticking out of it.

On her book is a drawing of a girl, like her, but in a much more flamboyant attire. A plumed hat, cape, large gloves, all bearing violet and midnight blue, set in a renaissance style.. Around her are rough lines for where others are to be positioned. At the top is a scrawl meant to look like a title. "The Nightmares".

She listens to the TV intently now. She pulls down her hood to keep it from blocking any sound.

[JonRG]

Nate glances over, then does a double take as he realizes what he thought was a midget was actually a small girl. He glances at his laptop and phone. It's not like he'd hack into the FBI if Raleigh told him what he needed to know. Not right here on the spot, anyway. Nate rises from the table and squats down next to the booth bench. Tries to look as non-threatening as possible. "Howdy, darlin'. My name's Nate. What's yours?"

[Kell_tamer]

Shana looks up a bit startled as her pencil clatters to the ground. "Sh-sh-shana, Bonjour" Her French-Canadian accent very audible. She glances around and nervously holds out a hand.

[JonRG]

Nate grins a bit while taking her hand. Québécoise detected. "That's a pretty name. And uh, fer the record, ya might wanna slow it down a tick. Helps with the stutterin', least in my experience." He winks at her.

[Kell_tamer]

Shana takes a deep breath. "S-s-sorry. I have always h-h-had a stuttering problem" She scrambles to pick up her pencil which is instead dutifully being handed to her by her dog.

[JonRG]

Huh. Need a very delicate touch with this one. "Don't worry about it. I was tryin' to say I did too, when I was yer age." Nate feels a nose against his leg. "Anyway, who's this cute fella?" Nate scritches the dog under his chin.

[Kell_tamer]

Shana looks down at her dog then up at the man. "Th-th-that's Ace"

She glances back up at the screen, watching as the news ticker goes by.

[JonRG]

"Well howdy, Ace." Nate doesn't want to push the kid too hard, so he just pets her dog while waiting for his food/Raleigh's reply.

[Kell_tamer]

"W-w-what's going on?" She points to the screen. "E-e-everyone is n-n-nervous about th-th-this..."

[JonRG]

Nate suppresses a frown. "Well, before ya were born, Jay Miller killed a buncha yer, yanno, kin, so he's pretty dang good at it. And if that weren't bad enough, it looks like he's got help this time from some really well-connected people." Merciless machine in Heaven, let Miller's accomplice be just people. "But I wouldn't lose any sleep over it. Cops should grab 'im before he does too much damage." He really, desperately hoped that was true. Where in the fresh hell was that coke? Nate needed something to wash this awful taste out of his mouth.

[Kell_tamer]

Shana looks a bit relieved when the guy uses the word kin. "S-s-so he's a Hero?" She visibly huddles up a bit. "Il ne serait pas assez stupide pour venir à un bar plein de m-m-monstres , non? Aurait-il?" She seems to mutter to herself in french, which she seems to have more control of her stutter with, its still there but she has a bit more control.

I gotta change that.... but she asked (according to google so dunno HOW accurate it is) "he wouldn't be dumb enough to come to this bar being full of monsters right?"

[JonRG]

Nate nods. "But he ain't stupid, just crazier 'n a ****house rat, pardon my French." He winks at her.

[Kell_tamer]

Shana looks up at him a moment. Then she realized she spoke out loud and this gentleman actually speaks a second language.

She starts talking with a much less noticeable stutter, and its more often than not on words that are very similar to English words.

<"So what are you if you know so much about us?"> She sets her sketchbook down and sips her drink.


I will be putting < > whenever shana is speaking in a different language, thats way easier. If i actually learn french before this game is done i'll probably just use the language and translate down here, but for now, this is easier.

[JonRG]

Nate shrugs again. Shana seemed like the type who could keep a secret. <"I'm just a freelance investigator who knows Maya and the doc."> He gestures in their general direction. <"Nothin' special.">

[Kell_tamer]

Shana nods and sips her drink some more.

She glances back down at her unfinished comic cover. Everything somehow became both simpler and more complex since her homecoming. She had superpowers, or she told herself that, and the world opened up. However there is an entire world filled with enough political agendas and subterfuge and vendettas to make even the DC timelines seems simple and straight forward.

Maybe she'd drop by the lair tonight... Clear her head.

[ChaosArchon]

Zoe had arrived late, of course she did. Fraking traffic. Or at least, that's what she would tell most people if she was ever late. Traffic. Such a small lie but a simple one, a lie people will just nod their heads to and mutter obscenities to in agreement.

Nevertheless, she walks over to Maya sits down."So, what'd I miss?" As she waits, she pulls her sleeve down a bit to cover up the blood on her shirt.

[JonRG]

Nate watches Zoe take a seat. Somehow, no matter the time of day, that woman was always hitting traffic. Somebody's been engaging in extracurricular activities. Learning what would take some effort, and his current situation took priority. He checks his phone, eagerly awaiting Raleigh's reply.

[josienoms]

Nate's phone buzzes as he gets the text he wanted!

"I know his escape reeks of the GM. Nothing concrete yet."

[JonRG]

Nate closes his eyes briefly. Great. "Guess I'll have to solidify things then. I'll keep ya posted. ;)" With that, he pockets his phone and turns to Shana. "Sorry, kid. I gotta get to work, but I'll catch ya later, a'ight?" Nate ruffles her hair, then slides back into his original seat, nodding in greeting to Zoe. Then he gets serious. While Nate appears to be simply running some basic scripts, he's actually tapping into a wealth of knowledge hidden within the fabric of reality itself. Hopefully, that would make his foray into the FBI's data banks a little safer.

Download Knowledge: [roll0]

If this works, Nate will get (success) extra dots in computer to improve his hack time.

[Kell_tamer]

Shana nods to Nate and goes back to work on her drawing. She keeps her hood down so she can hear the news as more information comes up.

[JonRG]

Nate glances at the list of wireless networks in the area. Walker's offered the strongest signal, but it wouldn't do to have the feds busting down his door. The Dunkin Donuts two doors over, on the other hand, would throw law enforcement off his scent. Spoofed IP and MAC addresses and hidden behind enough proxy servers to choke a Trojan Horse. Even if he couldn't wipe every trace of his intrusion, the FBI would be hard-pressed to find him. Nate glances at the time. Outside of regular office hours, so fewer people in the office. Miller's escape might cause a bit of a ker-fuffle at the Ithaca field office, but in all likelihood, that would mean agents were out speaking to any family or friends he had left. Doing damage control in the media. Anything but sitting around the office watching out for hackers. All in all, a good time to peek at the FBI's notes.

Intelligence (4)+ Computers (4)+ Specialty (1)+ Willpower (3) + Equipment (3) = 15

Let's DO this: [roll0]

[horus42]

Jessica comes into the pub, just looking for a drink to relax after a tough day. Those grad students can be a real pain in the ass sometimes. She orders one of Walker's steak sandwiches, well done, and a beer, then sits back to watch the news. A cold fear settles in her belly as the story unfolds. She had never met Miller, but she was old enough to remember his reign of terror. The thoughts of what he could do to her, or God forbid, her family, sent a shiver up her spine.

She glances over to the other tables, trying to gauge the room. She herself remains stunned.

[josienoms]

From what Nate's able to tell, hacking into the local office, the man posing as an FBI Agent called himself Agent Macintosh, and there's no record of him ever belonging to the Bureau. Or ever existing, for that matter. The database has no fingerprints, no dental records, no birth certificate, social security number, or anything.

This persona is either a very, very thorough false identity... Or Macintosh is an Angel of the God-Machine.

[JonRG]

"Oh, câlisse." Nate taps out a message on his phone. "VERY solid." He then glances about for Carthage. "Yer local boogeyman bustin' outta prison is whatcha missed," Nate replies to Zoe.

[josienoms]

Sorry, Jones. Your thing got lost amidst the many posts between when I checked the thread!

Carthage and Jessica both notice that the reactions of some of the others are tense. Walker and the vampire in the suit and shades know who Miller is and what the stakes are. The young werewolf and the vampire's changeling boyfriend seem to have no idea, but obviously understand that a serial killer escaping is bad. But they're too young to really know what life in Ithaca as a supernatural creature was like before Miller was caught.

Raleigh replies quickly to Nate's text.

"Well ****. Think he's coming for you?"

Walker gets everybody their drinks and food, with unsurprising speed and deliciousness.

[JonRG]

"Not specifically. Miller's bein' used. His keepers're prolly comin' for all of us, though." Nate sips his coke. "Y'all got a plan in this situation?"

[ChaosArchon]

Zoe sighs,"Well chit, that could be an issue. We always could lure him to our brood lairs and then gang up on him when he enters..."

[JonRG]

Nate downloads whatever information he can grab to a flash drive, deletes the evidence of his presence as best he can, and then disconnects from wireless. He'd gotten some answers, but that only led to more troubling questions. "Great idea. 'Come to our seat of power. We have cookies!'" Nate snickers to himself as he sifts through the other data. Surveillance photo of Macintosh was garbage. Not that it mattered. Any angel worth its salt would have ditched that Cover in a figurative heartbeat. Probably why it took so damn long for the escape to be noticed. Nobody could remember the guy.

Now, how to break it to these dorks that their nightmare had teamed up with the fascist computer that controls reality? Probably would start with- "Where the hell'd the boss go? He takin' a leak or somethin'?"

[Obscurejones]

Without reappearing Carthage places a hand on Nate's head and gently ruffles his hair. A quiet whisper slips out of the air.
"What have we found?"

[JonRG]

Nate visibly flinches but recovers quickly. "Trouble. The kind bein' mortal won't protect you from." He brings up the surveillance photo of Miller leaving the prison, and points to the "captive" prisoner. "That's yer boy, Miller," his finger slides over to the suited man with the frightfully neutral expression, "And that's an angel."

[Obscurejones]

"Aww, I didn't know forgettable bureaucrat was your type. This means your bad guy is using my bad guy. I would categorize that as generally bad."

[JonRG]

Nate snorts. "Me too. These folks... you trust 'em?"

[Obscurejones]

"Not really. But letting them die from not knowing is just barely on the side of more dickish then I want to be. You want me to tell them and give your cover that extra layer of deniability?"

[JonRG]

Nate shakes his head. "I 'ppreciate the thought, but I already gave Maya a bit of the rundown, so she'll think it's weird if I play dumb." He pulls himself out of his seat and locks the door, flipping the sign over to closed. "What I'm about to tell y'all," Nate continues in a louder voice, "does not leave this room." He meets Walker's gaze. "Which means you have some appliances ta turn off." While Walker's away, Nate goes about hooking up his laptop to the bar's television. No one need to hear what "author of best-selling pop psychology book (in stores now)" had to say about Jason Miller.

[Kell_tamer]

Shana looks back up at Nate and then to the screen.

[ChaosArchon]

Zoe raises an eyebrow, but otherwise lets the mortal speak his piece.

[Tome]

"Oh chyort voz'mi" Maya curses at the news, pausing in mid bite. Unlike some of the others she recognises Jason Miller. He's before her time, but she's heard about him. A veteran Hero, coming to her city? She can just feel the bad times coming.

She downs her drink in one. Going to need to prepare. Book some time off work, fortify the Lair... feed. She's in that comfortable state between starvation and satiety that leaves her vulnerable and that's a no go with a Hero on the horizon. Maybe dig out that bottle her mama gave her? No, save that for the celebration after.

Then some fool starts making shum. Wait, she recognises that fool. It's that investigator, from the time she got the weird lump of gears from inside that burial mask (labelled 'Infrastructure', stored in section 8, shelf 21... still where it's supposed to be, she confirms). Fairly reticent sort, she recalls, by the name of Nate. If he's got something to say... probably that god-machine of his again. That's good, it tastes kind of spicy.

"Something to share with the group Nate? Don't you usually prefer to keep your secrets?" she ribs good-naturedly.

[josienoms]

Walker pretends like he doesn't know what Nate's talking about, he just shrugs, mutters something noncommittal, and waves a hand.

The young werewolf, however, snarls and stands from the bar.

"What are you accusing him of?"

The others in the pub become tense, Walker himself going rigid.

[JonRG]

Nate's gaze flicks to Maya. "I do, but I more prefer y'all not dyin' horribly. Feel me?" He draws himself up a bit taller when Shadow gets in his face, then raises his hands in a defensive gesture. "Easy, sweetheart. I ain't lookin' to cause y'all trouble, but if he don't turn the friggin' radio off, I ain't goin'." Nate shrugs. "Personal tic of mine. Don't like all that crap bein' recorded these days. Barman gets it, I'm sure." He flashes Walker a look. Olive branches weren't his style, but Nate was trying to be an ambassador. He pulls a small black box from his bag and shows it to Walker, one eyebrow raised. Nate flips the device once he's sure Walker's seen it.

[Kell_tamer]

Shana quietly sets her things down and climbs down from the stool she's on. She meanders her way to a position where she could get in the way if something happened.

She wanted to hear the guy out.

[josienoms]

She growls, but relents when Walker puts his hand on her shoulder. She stalks off and sits back down.

Walker simply holds up his hands in conciliatory gesture. He says something in a language that none of you quite catch. It sounds off, like the words don't match the forms his mouth makes. Then he simply shrugs and motions for Nate to continue.

[JonRG]

Atlantean. A language Nate doesn't know. He hates those but tries his best not to show it. "A’ight, let's do this." Nate presses a button and the surveillance photo appears on the screen. "At 7:00 AM CST, a black Chevrolet Suburban rocks up to the gates of Leavenworth. FBI Agent Christopher Macintosh proceeds to the Warden's Office with a Prisoner Transfer Order for one Jason Lloyd Miller. Since the order checks out, corrections officers have no choice but to surrender him. Only one problem. There's no Christopher Macintosh. At all. His fingerprints ain't in the system. His mug won't pop in any facial recognition database, and believe me, they tried 'em all. They can't find a single bit of proof this guy exists. So where'd our mysterious unperson come from?"

http://i.imgur.com/CV1d97M.png
"Lemme answer that question with a question. Who all has heard of the God Machine?" Nate lets his eyes flare a bit as half the hands in the room go up. "Dang. Well-informed crowd. I'll try ta keep it interestin'. Failin' that, I'll be brief. God Machine's the fascist computer that rules reality. In the world but not of it, if that makes sense. It's got feelers everywhere, but sometimes, it needs a mind and a body to carry out its designs. Hence, ya got yer angels." With a click, Macintosh's face reappears on the screen. "The Machine can give 'em faces, names, almost anythin' under the sun... 'cept humanity. Angels think, but they can't feel. They’re robots. No emotions. No mercy. But it gets worse, if y'all can believe that. See, the Machine is all about the big picture, so its agents are too. That means 'collateral damage' ain't exactly in their vocabulary. They'll derail a train, burn down an apartment complex, or shoot up a school to kill one person. An image of each type of disaster appears on the screen as Nate mentions it. "I can tell ya for a fact they'd burn this block to the ground to get us outta the way."


http://i.imgur.com/noxWqo7.png
"So, what should y’all take away from this? What you’re up against is big, it’s scary, and it cheats. The Machine's outside reality. Take nothin’ for granted." He takes a brief pause. "That's pretty much my schpiel, so I'll open the floor to questions."

[Kell_tamer]

Shana raises her hand. "You know a l-l-lot about this... what d-d-does that m-m-make you?"

[JonRG]

Nate smiles at Shana. Clever little kid, that one. Maybe he'd be able to tell her the truth, someday. "Sorry ta disappoint, kiddo, but I am utterly and entirely mundane. Got a friend or two who ain't, 'side from you."

[Kell_tamer]

"I m-m-mean, y-y-your job. You g-g-got that information faster th-th-than the TV did!" Shana scratches her head.

[JonRG]

"Sorry, little lady, but a good reporter never reveals his sources."

[horus42]

Dr. Fields sits and listens to Nate's spiel, her mouth drawn into a tight line. "This is all very fascinating, but aside from your wild conspiracy theories, is there any actual evidence that this "god-machine" exists?"

A bit ironic for a dragon to be a skeptic, but she didn't get where she was by believing everything she heard.

[Kell_tamer]

Shana looks at the skeptical beast. "Y-y-you are asking that in h-h-here??"

[JonRG]

Doctor, doctor. Nate scowls before his face bursts into a wide grin. "It's a fair question. You could prolly get with these nice people," he gestures at Walker and co, "Or if ya gotta see it with yer own eyes, Dr. Mizushima's got a piece of it in 'er collection."

[ChaosArchon]

Zoe's eye continues to be raised, she might be the reincarnation of an ancient Hindu demon-god but... well actually that does sound equally possible,"So if this Macintosh fellow is an angel, how do we stop it? The picture you painted seems to imply they're kind of hard to kill."

[Kell_tamer]

Shana looks around "Well I th-th-think you put him in a room l-l-like this. One k-k-kind of hard to kill vs a l-l-lot of k-k-kind of h-h-hard to kill."

[Tome]

"I'll vouch for him on this one sestra," Maya confirms, "got a piece of his god-machine in my hoard".

"You can get your soul over there to take a look if you want" she adds, closing her eyes. Through her Soul's eyes she watches as she carefully eases the strange fragment off of it's shelf, bearing it through the tunnel connecting her Lair to Jessica's clutched carefully in her tentacles.

I'm assuming that Jessica is, in fact, part of Maya's Brood.

[JonRG]

"Little lady has the right of it. Angel's got a lot in its corner, but that don't make it invincible." Dang. Kid was turning out to be a lot smarter than some of her broodmates.

[horus42]

Jessica closes her eyes, seeing through the eyes of the Dragon. Sure enough, the fragment of the God-Machine is there. When she opens her eyes to the material world again, she sighs. "I stand corrected, and concede the point." She adjusts her glasses, then rests her elbows on the table. "I suppose the main question now is, why? What does it stand to gain by letting Miller free?"

[JonRG]

Nate grins as he's proven right. "No idea. I wager we'll hafta find out if we wanna stop 'em both."

[horus42]

"You say that it runs reality. Can it be stopped? Or are we, essentially, ****ed?"

[Obscurejones]

Slipping into view by the bar Carthage takes a sip of his drink before responding.
"Well gwarsh, what do heroes do? Aw hell, I knew this when I got up today... Rhymes with Ducking Trill Measts. Also, if it can't be stopped it probably wouldn't have chunks of itself lying around."

[josienoms]

At that moment, Raleigh replies to Nate!

"Course I do. Too long to tell over texts. I'll meet you and we can talk about it. ;)"

[Kell_tamer]

Shana mutters, "<Well we didn't need a sassy Susan...>" Shana pulls her hood back over her head.

[JonRG]

Nate hides this smile. "Arright. I'll text you once I'm free." He slides the phone back in his pocket and simply watches the Beasts quarrel.

[horus42]

Dr. Fields sneers. "Thank you for your patronizing contribution, Dr. Allen. I'm well aware of what Heroes do. As your friend said, this God-Machine looks at the bigger picture. The implications of my question were about why it would profit from killing Beasts." She takes a heavy sigh. "At any rate, it doesn't matter. I suppose that it works in mysterious ways, and the reasons will only be clear in hindsight. What matters now is stopping whatever it has planned."

[Kell_tamer]

Shana holds up her hands. "H-h-hey hey! We're all Kin h-h-here!" The small girl didn't want this to break into a tussle over the why.

[ChaosArchon]

Zoe nods,"Yeah let's not start fighting eachother even before the heroic ublyudok gets into town, ok?"

[Obscurejones]

Carthage shrugs his consent to the peace and then a slightly dorky grin breaks out across his face.
"Holy ****. We're the Illinois Nazis."

[Kell_tamer]

Shana raises an eyebrow. The poor dear hasn't seen that movie.

[JonRG]

Mein Leben." Nate chuckles under his breath while standing on top of a chair to unplug his laptop. He jumps down once the screen has gone dark. "Arright, guys. I'm off the clock, so think I'm gonna call it a night. Nice ta see y'all, again for most. Catch ya tomorrow, doc." Nate unlocks the door and steps out onto the street. While walking off, he types furiously on his phone. "Just got done. Where you wanna meet?"

[ChaosArchon]

Zoe's eyebrow rises high into the sky, why the hell would Carthage's buddy drop this knowledge bomb on us then leave. She stands up and walks up to him,"Listen umm Nate, since you know so much mind sticking around a bit longer? Maybe telling us a bit more about this machine god and why its angels might want my Family dead?"

[JonRG]

Having just fired off the text, Nate does an abrupt about-face in the doorway. Annoyance bleeds through, but only slightly. "Well, when I asked if y'all had questions and ya didn't say nothin', I figured I was free to go. But s'cool. I got time." He plops down on a chair. "So whaddaya wanna know?"

[Obscurejones]

"Extended family. More like estranged, really. Distant cousins at best."
Draining his beverage in one long gulp Carthage grabs his toothpick of pickled garnishes and heads out onto the street. Debating hopping behind the wheel he instead hitches his arm out to hail a taxi.

[ChaosArchon]

Zoe sighs,"I'm not entirely sure, just seems like what you said is a pretty big deal but you've answered like two questions and now you're off... anyway I can't think of any right now but if any come to mind I guess I'll ask them later. Do svidaniya."

[Tome]

"I can think of a few pertinent questions" Maya sighs, seeing that no one else is going to ask anything useful. Bloody useless broodmates, she grouses affectionately.

"Since you're spilling Nate, what should we be looking for in terms of god machine or angelic influence?" she demands. "What are the warning signs? Do angels have any particular vulnerabilities or patterns of weakness? Is most Infrastructure dealt with that same way as that burial mask? Which is to say, just smashing it as opposed to more esoteric methods?"

[JonRG]

Nate contemplates calling out Zoe for being a moron but focuses on Maya once she speaks. "Fair question, but I got a prior engagement, which is why I'm tryin' to get outta here so quick. I can swing by yer office tomorrow and talk yer damn ear off if ya want. Just text me. Night all." With that, he breezes out onto the street. Nods in passing to Carthage and gets behind the wheel of his boss's car. "I'll drop it by yer place!" Nate shouts. The temptation to peel out and scare the doc was there, but he'd rather get to Raleigh without being stopped by the police.

[Tome]

"Later Nate" Maya waves as he leaves. Her other hand taps out a quick message on her phone. Nate receives it moments later, a simple 'TEXT - there, drop by whenever'. The sea serpent in human form notes that she's feeling remarkably facetious in the face of their incipient murders. Probably means she should take a taxi home, maybe not order another.

"So, crazy machine god and it's mecha angels on top of the murderous hero on the loose. Good day or best day, no?"

[ChaosArchon]

Zoe shrugs,"I mean at least it's not an entire team of Heroes, just one of them. The angel seems like the bigger issue here, since we don't get any warning about when it comes to town."

[Kell_tamer]

Shana sighs. "I'd l-l-like to stay but I actually have t-t-to get home before m-m-my parents get mad..."

She gathers her backpack and sketch books. She whistled for Ace who proceeded to come with her. "Au revoir" She heads out of the bar and into the streets. She was already late, and she knew her folks would be mad already.

[josienoms]

Raleigh replies quickly to Nate!

"Pick me up at the usual place. See you soon!"

Shana is able to get home without any problems, and finds the house empty when she arrives. A bit unusual, really. They usually leave a note or something, since they still think she's too young to have her own phone.

Back at Walker's, Walker himself picks up a glass. He looks over to the Beasts, and simply shrugs.

"Good luck."

[JonRG]

Nate smiles to himself, then drives to the old church. It had been condemned years ago. Now, only drug addicts looking to score went there. Nobody paid much attention to the two college kids speaking obscure languages. He arrives in ten minutes. Sees the woman sitting on the bench outside. "Beautiful as ever." Nate flashes the lights twice, then drums his hands on the wheel while he waits.

[Kell_tamer]

Shana looks around after she gets a bowl of food for Ace, (along with a nice piece of cheese). "Maman? Papa?" She walks through to her sisters room. "Anne?"

[Tome]

"I should probably phone Lisa and let her know" Maya mumbles, finishing her drink.

"Maybe start setting up excuses at work". She eyes her companions, fishing her mobile out of her purse. "We should all start preparing. Meet in the Lair to plan?".

[ChaosArchon]

Zoe nods, excuses excuses excuses, sometimes that's all this life is but it is a life. "That works, I'll see you guys at the Lair in a bit then," and walks out to hail a cab.

what time is it josie?

[josienoms]

Raleigh is waiting for Nate, sitting on the bench out front. She saunters over and climbs into the car with casual grace, a smirk on her face.

"New wheels? Another gift from the good doctor?"

At Shana's house, she hears no replies from her family.

Do Wits+Investigation for me please, Kell.

Meanwhile back at Walker's, a cab pulls up. The driver asks Carthage and Zoe,

"Where to?"

[Obscurejones]

Carthage takes a step back.
"After you. Never take a cab from a lady. Bad karma."

[JonRG]

Nate scoffs, then responds in Swedish, "I wish. Just borrowin' it fer the night." It wasn't necessary, but it was more force of habit. He drives away before anyone gets funny ideas. "Ya said you had a plan?"

[ChaosArchon]

Zoe smiles at Carthage as she enters the cab,"Thanks man, see you later." She then turns to the cabbie and says"16th and Century Ave. please." Time to visit mom and dad.

[Obscurejones]

Strolling down the street, Carthage ponders going on a hunt. He wasn't terribly hungry, but he hadn't eaten since John. And it'd be fun to stretch his legs a little. Glancing through his calendar he checks if he has to have an early night.

[horus42]

Jessica nods towards Maya in agreement. "I'll see you all there." She leaves the bar after paying her tab, leaving her beer untouched, but taking the sandwich. She gets into her car and drives home, wanting to make sure that Aaron and Iris are safe before she goes to the Lair.

[Tome]

"Any sage advice from our resident barkeep?" Maya asks Walker as she returns the glasses and plates from her table. Always seemed like good manners to clean up after herself a little, she remembers when she was waitressing her way through college.

While she waits, she taps out a quick text to Lisa. 'Liz, supe problems. Tell you at home. Love you, stay safe'.

[josienoms]

"Yeah, I have a plan."

Raleigh smiles coyly.

"This guy, he's just like something that happened to me a few years back. An angel that had been beaten before was after me. All I had to do to get rid of him is lead him to the Demons who beat him last time. They had no idea what I did, of course. They still think he came for them."

At Shana's house, she starts to panic. There's no note, no sign of anyone home, and a killer just got loose? Miller must have come for her, known she was a Beast... Her family might be dead!

At Zoe's parent's house, she finds the lights on, and the car in the driveway. They seem to be home.

At Jessica's house, Aaron also seems to be home. His car is there and the lights are on.

Back at the pub, Walker looks to Maya.

"It's dangerous. Be careful."

The vampire at the table lets go of his boyfriend's hand and sits next to Maya.

"Walker's not a big talker. What he means is that we've encountered it before. The God-Machine stole his wife, my brother, and their loved ones."

He jerks his head towards the other two.

"We nearly died getting them back. Just expect the unexpected, and pack as much mojo as you can. Walker ended up destroying a parallel universe to do it."

Walker rolls his eyes.

"Just a mall."

He grumbles.

[Kell_tamer]

Shana starts to freak out. They always left a note! always! something was wrong she had to warn the others! CRAP he could be here! "Merde! Merde merde merde!"

She whistled for Ace. Dashing like crazy she ran to the garage and got her bike. Riding like mad she made for the school where she made her chamber.

She pries open the loose board under the keep out sign and squeezes in and motions for ace to follow. It was open in the field. She needed it cold. Focusing she brings a frigid chill across the empty field and playground.


She took a deep breath, her hand was scratching Ace's head absentmindedly.


She tried to go home.


Wits 2 Resolve 3 -3 material plane +2 for imposed lair traits, no penalty as she made the chamber here. 4 dice...

[roll0]

[ChaosArchon]

Zoe pays the cabbie and walks up the driveway. As she reaches the glass and oak door she knocks and says,"Mom, dad; I'm home!"

[Kell_tamer]

Shana now merged with her soul tears through her lair looking for the other beasts. She heads to where Maya's tentacles usually climb out of the water and without thinking just gives one a big old smack.

[Tome]

May nods appreciatively. Never hurts to look grateful, even if the advice was a bit generic. Settling up her tab and heading out, the Makara opts to walk home. It's a nice enough evening and her apartment isn't too far off.

A few blocks away from her destination, she feels a slight sting in her hand. No, not her hand. She flinches in fear. Something is attacking her soul. She jams her eyes shut, only to relax upon seeing Shana trying to get her attention. Her eyes briefly reopen, scanning the shadows for anything that might have changed during her brief distraction, before she re-closes one of them to focus on her youngest Broodmate.

In the Lair, the colossal sea serpent stops it's enraged trilling, it's frill of poisonous tentacles folding back down. She fixes the great hound with her six crimson eyes and keens [Yes Shana? What is it?].

[Kell_tamer]

"[I went h-h-home and mama and papa weren't there! A note, always a note, but nothing! I think a hero is there! I ran! He has mama and papa and Anne!]" The 3 headed beast is panicky and frantic!

[Tome]

[Shana, the Hero is still miles away] Maya points out.

[Or he should be, if the god-machine hasn't interfered. Or it's not another Hero popping up. Or it's not a Hero at all] she adds, her wail sounding progressively more concerned. Primary manipulators begin fidget slightly under her frill. Assumptions are usually bad.

Maya casts a one-eyed glance at her apartment building that has just come into sight, sighing reluctantly.

[I'll help you find them] the leviathan sings it's consent. [Would they have anything on them I might have seen before? A hairband or phone you might have borrowed once?]

[Kell_tamer]

The big dog seems to shrug. But fidgeting and all its clear Shana herself is kind of scared. One of the heads is scanning around for the other beasts the other is looking around in case something followed into the dream. The middle head looks on pleadingly with droopy ears and big puppy eyes.

[JonRG]

Nate clucks his tongue, but Raleigh was a lover, not a fighter. "Oh, they'll be fine with Miller, no sweat. It's the Machine that's got me worryin'. Dunno if they're angel caliber. I mean, granted, three of them are the smartest people in town. One of 'em's inexperienced an' immature. And the last one's a twelve-year-old Quebecoise." He nods. "I'll make do, though. Always do. What's naggin' me though is, why this Hero? Why Ithaca? It's all so dang specific. Gotta be more to it." He drives on. Needed something to occupy, other than this vision of loveliness..."So, how's everythin' with you? Survivin' classes okay?"

[josienoms]

As Carthage flips through his appointment book, and he does indeed have an appointment. He was supposed to head to Janet's tonight, to make some of the last arrangements of her late husband's estate.

Zoe's mother lets her in, smiling softly.

"Always good to see you, dear. Come in, come in!"

She stands aside, her iron locks pushed back behind her ear.

"Are you staying for dinner? I can set a place for a third, after all. Your father's getting antsy, you know how he is."

She laughs as she ushers her daughter inside.

In the car, Raleigh snorts with laughter.

"Well, how the hell should I know? If I knew how the GM thought, I wouldn't have Fallen. The plan still applies, though. There's always a bigger fish, y'know?"

She sighs, then shrugs.

"Classes are going okay, I guess. It's the one thing I hate about this Cover, the need to be in school. I already know all this stuff!"

[Obscurejones]

That's... Heh. To hell with it. She'd call if he bailed. And it'd be interesting to see what she'd picked over by now. Flipping through his contacts Carthage dialed the number for Janet.
"Hey uh... Hey Jan. Sorry to do this to you but I had a couple earlier and a buddy grabbed my car keys. Don't suppose I could get you to pick me up for our meeting?"

[JonRG]

"I wouldn't mind goin' back ta school. Even if it's the same material, everyone teaches it different. 'Sides, there's always somethin' new ta learn." "Austin" beams at her. If there's one thing he liked more than Raleigh, it was knowledge.

[ChaosArchon]

Zoe smiles and hugs her mom,"Здравствуйте mom, I'd love to stay for dinner. What are we having?" Without waiting for an answer, Zoe walks into the dinning room where her dad is seated. She rushes to hug him,"Hey dad! How's life been going?"

[horus42]

Jessica opens the door and walks inside. Iris might be asleep, so she softly calls for her husband.

[josienoms]

Janet answers the phone straight away!

"I see... Well I'm sure I can come get you. Where are you?"

Raleigh shrugs.

"I guess so. And I guess it's nice being around all the cute college boys."

She winks playfully at Nate.

At Zoe's house, her mother starts setting another place at the table.

"Baked chicken and zucchini fritters. I'm trying to get your father to actually eat something with flavor."

Zoe's father rolls his eyes.

"I'll have you know darling, that not all British food is dull and tasteless."

He smiles and hugs his daughter.

"Rather well, love. How are you?"

Inside Jessica's house, there's no response. Before she can start to panic, she feels arms around her middle and lips on her neck. Aaron's laughter fills the room.

"Iris is already asleep, but that doesn't mean we can't have a little fun."

[Obscurejones]

Carthage takes a tick to check the street signs.
"Corner of West 17th, and Elm."

[JonRG]

"Cool. Anybody catch your eye?" Nate looks casual, but inside, he's screaming.

[josienoms]

"I'll be right there."

Something seems unsaid, but Carthage can't tell what it is without thinking about it more in depth.

In the car, Raleigh smirks.

"Maybe. Most are just candidates for Pacts, but I'll admit there's a few I wouldn't mind getting to know better."

[Obscurejones]

"See you in a minute."
Carthage flips his phone off and takes a moment to enjoy the few stars visible through the city lights. God. The joys of a double degree. Just enough knowledge of human insides to rip a woman's husband apart, and just enough psychology to try and figure out what it's done to her.
"... I should probably feel guiltier about all this."
Composure + Empathy [roll0]

[JonRG]

Nate tries to stay calm rather than just appear as such. Raleigh was screwing with him. It was her way. It was hard to get a demon to squirm, but if anyone could, it would be her. He realizes that his mindless driving has wound towards his apartment. Good idea. Connor'd be awake. Buy a few more grams, smoke up with Raleigh, and... see where the night took them. "You ain't got class 'til afternoon, right? Wanna hang for a while, maybe smoke a l'il? My treat."

[Tome]

[Ack, your Soul should not be able to pull off puppy dog eyes that well.] the cthonic serpent murmurs quietly, a manipulator tendril hesitatly reaching out to give the middle head a reassuring pat. [There there Shana, don't worry. We'll, er, find them. One way or another.]

[Look, why don't I come find you once you leave the Lair and we'll look for them together, okay?]

[Kell_tamer]

All three of Shana's heads nod in enthusiastic agreement.

["I'm gonna go let the others know... this could be bad!"] She bounds off to find Zoe or Jessica in their respective lairs.

[Tome]

Maya sighs, and relinquishes control of her Soul. This... could be nasty. Or the kid's parents could have just stepped out without telling her, but a streak of cynicism suspects otherwise.

She glances at her apartment block. It's not like she can tell where to meet Shana until she leaves the Lair... it won't hurt to just check in with Lisa. With a quickened pace, Maya hustles homewards, running a quick check on her mental map just to be sure.

[josienoms]

"I'll see you soon."

As Carthage ponders on what was left unsaid, the simplest answer reveals itself. She didn't ask why he were there, though she clearly wanted to. As far as she knows, Walker's Pub doesn't exist, so why would Carthage be at this random intersection surrounded by apartments?

Raleigh smiles, then gasps in mock shock.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were offering me drugs. Of course a God-fearing girl like me wouldn't dare take you up on it."

She's barely able to keep a straight face through the sentence, which says a lot about how ridiculous she thought the statement was.

[Obscurejones]

That's... Mildly amusing and easily explained. Laughing softly to himself Carthage sits on the curb and counts stars while he waits.

[JonRG]

Nate smiles softly. No sense in getting ahead of himself. Raleigh was his friend. "Never." He parks in the driveway of his apartment. "C'mon, I'll introduce ya ta Connor." Nate proceeds quietly up the stairs, not wanting to wake Mrs. Schaff, then raps on his neighbor's door. "Connor, it's me. Open up."

[josienoms]

Janet's car pulls up to the place where Carthage is sitting several minutes later. The window rolls down and she looks to him.

"Going to hop in, stranger?"

At Nate's apartment, a bleary eyed drug dealer opens his door.

"Dude. This is like, the earliest I've ever seen you. What's the occasion?"

He looks behind Nate and sees Raleigh.

"Ah. Say no more, man. Come on in."

[Obscurejones]

"If you insist."
He hops in and waits for about a block before he speaks again.
"...I went for a walk. Helps me think."

[ChaosArchon]

"Ooooh sounds yummy mom!" exclaims Zoe, while her Soul roars in agreement. Yummy, delicious flesh of the most annoying bird on the planet. "And I'm doing... ok I guess dad. Part of the reason I swung by actually. Just thought you guys should know that um.... theresaherocomingwhomayhavethehelpofanomnicidalage ntofanuncaringgodwhomightattackyouguystogettome." She stops to take a breath and then nervously says,"But no biggie."

[Kell_tamer]

As zoe is talking with her folks her soul hears the frantic barking of Shana's soul.

["HE'SHEREHE'SHERE HE HAS MY FAMILY! HE'S AT MY HOUSE!!!!"]

[JonRG]

"Thanks, man." Nate helps Raleigh inside. "Watch yer step." He guides her over to Connor's least smelly couch, stepping over and around filthy clothes, beer cans, and old textbooks. "Can I get an eighth?" Nate pulls three twenties from his wallet. He shrugs with a playful smile at Raleigh, as if to say, "What can you do?"

[ChaosArchon]

While she sits at the dinner table with her parents, she can hear Shana's terror. Zoe quickly closes her eyes and focuses on the Dream and in an instant she can feel it, she is not only part of it but it is part of her.

She slithers along inside herself, through twisted corridors of arteries and veins while her world-body moves closer to the destination. Eventually she slides out of her mouth, rapidly growing in size until she is as big as herself and rather than in a dark, featureless void; is now in a dark alleyway, bloodstained and gore filled while vipers of all stripes swarm over a decrepit corpse.

She continues her journey until she reaches the Brood's chamber, a meeting place between four terrors of the human soul and their dreams. A titanic serpent appears from the horizon, infinite in scope and terrible in nature as it glides across both mountain and forest. It raises its body up and looks questioningly at the three-headed dog of Hell. It's voice is a thousand voices speaking in unison, the sound crawling across any listener's ears as it hisses,"What issss the problem Ssssshana? Do you mean the Hero?"

[Kell_tamer]

["PARENTS! GONE! NO NOTE! TAKEN BY HERO!"] She is frantic and panicked. She is bouncing up and down barking like crazy.

[ChaosArchon]

"That isssssss... problematic." The snake turns its head to sea serpent,"Where are you right now? I could sssswing by Ssssshana's but I just got to my parentssss via cab so it could be awhile."

[Kell_tamer]

The dog jumps around barking. ["In the dream! here! Came in from my school chamber!"] It's left head swings back to the barrow connecting the chamber to the abandoned school.

[josienoms]

Janet puts the car in drive, and pulls out into the street.

"What were you thinking about?"

She asks, conversationally.

Zoe's parents both blink, confusedly.

"Um... what was that, dear?"

Connor tosses Nate a small baggie, after taking the money.

"Pleasure doin' business with ya, dude."

[Obscurejones]

"I ran into a patient of John's."
When you're setting a conversational hook, it's a three count, or two dry swallows. Any more, they have a chance to respond, any less no time to think about what you're going to say next.
"Ever been to Walker's? Tiny place. Hole in the wall really. But nice. Good steak sandwiches. And a hell of a bloody mary. And I'm minding my own business, eating my sandwich, and drinking my drink. And a girl walks in. And she is just a girl. Couldn't be a day over thirteen. And I recognize her. She's been in our office. Shana. One of John's patients. And... I reached for my phone..."
He takes a second, rolling the thought around in his head for a moment, staring out the windshield with a slightly dazed expression.
"I was going to call him. And I swear to god, I got to my contacts before I remembered I couldn't... I couldn't call him."

[JonRG]

"Right on. By the way, Connor, Lisa. Lisa, Connor." It wasn't her name (you know, probably), but it was good enough. Once introductions are through, Nate offers Raleigh his hand and leads her back out of the messy apartment. He reticently lets go once they're out the door. Nate's own apartment is a different sort of messy, almost like he has to actively work to do so. He has the decency to maintain adequate paths of egress in and out of the apartment. One can at least see that the carpet's tan, if nothing else. "Gotta grab some stuff. Back in a flash." Nate ducks into his room, then strips off his jacket and underarm holster. Shouldn't have to shoot anybody tonight. The next item of concern: jeans. Not the best 'getting high' garment. Not for other things either. Either way, better lose 'em. He wriggles out of his skinny jeans and dons a particularly comfy pair of pajama pants. Satisfied, Nate grabs his box of rolling papers. Wanders back into the living room. "Miss me?" Nate sits on the couch and quickly rolls a joint, which he holds out to Raleigh, a lighter in his other hand. "Ladies first."

"So I got a question," Nate says while rolling his own joint. "How d'ya get people in on Pacts? Like, I can't see there bein' that many New Age idiots and moonbats in Ithaca, of all places."

I wanna know what works in Josieland, okay? :smalltongue: That and I don't want every Pact to be tricking a gullible idiot into believing they're signing some kind of sacred scroll like in the sample Pact.

[josienoms]

Janet's knuckles turn white from gripping the steering wheel so hard.

"I... I know exactly what you mean. Just the other day, I was alone in the house, and I called out his name, as if he was just in the other room, to see if he would help me with something."

A single tear rolls down her cheek.

"Jesus. I miss him so much."

At Nate's apartment, Raleigh lights up her joint, and takes a puff.

"You wanna know the ****ed up thing about it? I just tell them the truth. If they don't believe me, who are they gonna tell? Everyone'll think they're crazy. If they do, and they know what they're getting into, I make the deal. That's usually only if I'm getting the total package, mind you. For scraps, just little bits and pieces, I usually pretend to overhear something, and offer my help. I can be a bit sneaky about it, then. Somebody wants a new job? I'll tell 'em that I can help out. We work together on a new resume or some bull****, I work my mojo, and then I get their old job, and they get something better."

[Obscurejones]

"...Do you... ****. Nevermind. It's a ****ed up thought anyway."
Bait, set the hook, hope.

[JonRG]

Nate inhales deeply, then releases a cloud of smoke. "Izzat how ya got that face?"

[ChaosArchon]

The serpent hisses,"I'll return later, I'm with my family right now."

And in an instant Zoe returns,"Sorry, um...yeah so there's a Hero on his way to town and I'm worried he might attack you guys to get to me. So just...you know, watch out."

[josienoms]

Janet tilts her head, slightly confused.

"What is it?"

Raleigh stays silent for a moment, just smoking.

"Did I never tell you the story? I feel bad for the poor girl. She never even got to enjoy what I gave her before I... Before I needed her. Two days later, I Went Loud. I was Burned and desperate... I don't wanna lose this Cover. It's ****ed up, but I feel like I owe it to her, y'know?"

Nadia sighs, and brings out a tray of croissants from the kitchen.

"It's not Jason Miller, is it? We saw on the news that he escaped. I'd hoped he wasn't stupid enough to come back here... But if that говнюк thinks he can get to you by going through me, he's in for a surprise. He'll have trouble keeping me down."

[Obscurejones]

"...I get angry at him. And I know it's stupid, but it's... He left this giant hole. And I want to scream at him. Because I have all these questions, and I have no way to ask him."

[josienoms]

Janet stays still for a long time, staring ahead at the road. She makes no effort to acknowledge Carthage for about ten minutes.

"How could you even say that?"

[Obscurejones]

"...He was the closest thing I had to a brother, Jan. He was my best friend since... Hell, for as long as I've had memories, John's been in them. And I thought I knew him. I thought... I thought I knew him better then anyone. For ****'s sake, I lived with him for almost as long as you did. And all of a sudden... He's gone. And whoever... Whatever happened to him wasn't... You don't lose an arm to a mugger. To someone breaking in to steal some Oxy from our pharmacy. That's something that takes hate. And I can't imagine anyone hating John. The John I knew... You had to love him. He was just... Good."
He stares out the window for a moment.
"So I have to try to figure out who my brother was. Because he left behind too many... Hell's bells, I mean the weirdness with the house alone."

[josienoms]

"Everyone has secrets. Even John. But I don't believe for one second that he was involved in anything that would make him deserve... that. No one hated him. Not enough to... To kill him like that."

Her composure nearly breaks.

"Whoever did this didn't do it out of hate. They did it because they're very sick. How could anyone hurt him? He was such a good man... He... He..."

She has to pull over to wipe her eyes.

"All the rationalization in the world won't bring him back. And it won't change how I feel. How could this happen? What kind of monster would do this to someone innocent? What kind of world do we live in, Carthage? I... Oh Jesus. The thought of being without him for the rest of my life is killing me. The thought of our son not having his father... I can't handle it."

Tears freely fall down her cheeks, which have gone blotchy from sobbing.

[Obscurejones]

A winner is me. Carthage shivers for just a moment as a feeling of immense satisfaction rolls through his bones. He feels it settling in his gut and then, a decadent burst of hunger renewed as he pulls the moment into his dreams. For just a moment he sees the Stag standing by the side of the road. As it lopes off, back into the corners of his mind he turns to Janet. As he speaks his voice breaks, matching her own devastated tone.
"...I can't... I don't know, Jan. But I promise you, I'll help with everything I can. Hell, I'm Carl's godfather. I won't let anything happen to either of you. I owe John at least that much. He was family. So are both of you."
Spending a Satiety to add the darkened highway to Carthage's lair. It shares the flowing and exposed traits with his current heart.

[JonRG]

Nate sets his joint in the ashtray, then pulls Raleigh into a tight embrace. "We did terrible things ta get where we are, an' we'll hafta do more ta stay. It sucks, but dwellin' on the past won't change nothin'. We just gotta move forward. Help who we can. Not hurt who we can avoid. Try to be, yanno, a net positive force in the world. An'... I think yer doin' a pretty good job." He tips her chin up to meet her gaze. "I mean, I wouldn't be here if it weren't for you. I owe ya, so much." Nate's not sure what to do at this point. Or rather, he knew exactly what he wanted to do but had zero idea where her head is at. Frickin' demons, man.

[josienoms]

Janet wipes her eyes, still trembling and barely maintaining her shattered composure.

"I'm sorry... It's just so hard with him gone. I'll try not to let this happen again."

She blows her nose.

In Nate's Apartment, Raleigh sighs. She keeps her arms around Nate, but she doesn't cry. There are benefits to have total conscious control of your emotions, after all.

"I mean, I'll be fine. I get that what we do to stop the GM is important. Doesn't help me feel better about the fact that I worse than murdered this girl. No one even knows she's gone."

She buries her face in the crook of Nate's neck.

[Kell_tamer]

Shana contemplates calling for more help. but she decides against it, time was of the essence.

She had to get home.

She heads back to the chamber she made and focuses back on the school.

4 dice
[roll0]

[JonRG]

Nate sighs internally. So close. He idly rubs her back. "Well, you do, an' now, so do I. Tell me 'bout her?"

[Obscurejones]

Not if he can help it. This is a taste. An appetizer. There's a three course meal to be made of your suffering Janet.
"I'm sorry if I... Sorry if I made it worse. I don't exactly have anyone to talk to about this."

[josienoms]

Janet takes a deep breath.

"It's not your fault. Please, don't ever think it was your fault."

Raleigh straightens up, all business again. Frickin' demons, indeed.

"It was easy to slip into her identity. She was a lot like me. Smart, witty, charming."

She flashes Nate a wide grin.

"And obviously she was humble as ****."

She forces herself to laugh at her lame joke.

"She wanted to get a scholarship. That was it. She came from a poor family, and wanted the money to go to college. And now, out of some ****ed up sense of obligation to her memory, I'm probably gonna end up as a dental hygienist, or something."

Shana reappears in the material world, and finds the trip back to her house to be quick and uneventful. Nobody's there, still!

[Obscurejones]

HA! Hehehehehehehehe... Heh... That's... That is a good one.
"Alright. Still want to... Still want to talk about the ugly details of the clinic's finances?"

[JonRG]

Nate shakes his head. "Ya can't do that to yourself. People change. They grow. They change their majors. They give up on school and start a frickin' rock band. Don't marry yerself ta what this girl wanted when you met her, because then you're not- There's no right way ta be someone else. Ya gotta be you. Make yer own path... But fer the record?" Nate stares into her eyes. "Ya'd be the smartest, funniest, prettiest dental hygienist in the world." He leans in closer.

[josienoms]

"I... I've got it under control for now. We really ought to finish what we planned to get done tonight."

Janet keeps driving!

Raleigh's eyes fill with tears, and she blinks them away.

"I guess I never thought about it like that before."

She reaches over and strokes Nate's cheek, before closing the gap between them, and pressing her lips to his.

[Kell_tamer]

Shana slips back into the garage to hide her bike and goes to get a bat. she begins walking in with it before pausing, looking at it, remembering she has fists that can hit like a truck, and puts it back.

She slips into the house with Ace.

[Obscurejones]

Alright she's got her feet beneath her. Solid base. Ready for the worst of it.

Sweep the leg, Johnny. Put her in a body bag.
"Alright. Cliff notes. You don't seem to own your house, this car, or anything, really. At least nothing substantive. It seems everything that could be considered collateral was moved over to being held by the Clinic. I don't have access to John's personal accounts, but Larry... You met Larry, right? Right, he dropped off those papers last week. Well, Larry's hesitant to venture a guess, he's more an expert in liabilities and not financial forensics, but it looks like John was trying to hide his assets. That usually indicates something illegal. And nasty at that. This isn't a tax dodge, this is someone who breaks legs as a way to say hello. Which means his personal accounts might be... Have you tried an ATM in the last week?"

[JonRG]

Nate pulls Raleigh into his lap, kissing her deeply while peeling off her sweater. "You wanna?" Nate gasps out. He slides a hand up her thigh.

[Tome]

Having quickly checked in with Lisa, having given her the most basic of explanations before having to rush out again, Maya finds herself standing in front of the house that she presumes to be Shana's. Unless her juvenile broodmate is creeping around some other house in the dead of night.

She really does have to make a point of getting a look at her brood's various loved ones sometime, it would make situations like this a lot easier to deal with.

The door is unlocked; Maya carefully inches it open and slips inside. Stepping carefully, she follows after Shana and her dog.

Stealth+Dex

[roll0]

[Kell_tamer]

Wits + Composure, five dice!
[roll0]

Shana remains unaware of her compatriot coming in. She can be seen poking her own head around her kitchen doorway looking down a hall. If she herself is being sneaky she's being awful at it.

[Tome]

A hand claps down on Shana's shoulder, accompanied by a keening whisper. "[Shana]".

Just for a moment, the hand slick and damp, a looming presence behind her.

[Kell_tamer]

Shana yelps and jumps up before bringing both her hands around to whollop whatever just grabbed her.

1 die since maya has 5 defense.
Strength + Brawl - Def full attack since she's terrified :P
3 dice
[roll0]

[josienoms]

Janet pulls into the driveway of her house, her hands trembling.

"N-no. No, that's not true. That's impossible. I mean, I haven't tried an ATM lately, because I haven't needed to. But this must be some kind of mistake. You know as well as I do that he couldn't hurt anyone. Either someone is framing him, or there's been a clerical error. It has to be."

It's unclear if she really believes this, or if she's desperately trying to convince herself.

"And even if everything transferred to the Clinic... So what? Can't you transfer everything back into my name?"

Raleigh hesitates for a fraction of a second, then nods enthusiastically. They then play Gin Rummy all night long.

Shana's blow goes wild, missing Maya entirely! It's obvious now who's there.

[Obscurejones]

"That's where it gets tricky. If I transfer anything of value? Taxes kick in. Rather massive ones. Basically, you'd lose the house. The car... You might be able to hold onto for a little while, but you'd probably have to take out a loan."
He sighs and massages his temples.
"You got mobile banking? And a smartphone?"

[Kell_tamer]

Shana now terribly embarassed begins cursing in french whispers.

She shakes her fist at Maya. "Whats the big idea?!"

[Tome]

"Whoa there little dovotshka" Maya chortles as she hooks Shana's adorable yet destructive punch aside, "good thing I was not your sister, yes?".

Her expression shifts to serious. "No sign of the Hero?".

[Kell_tamer]

Shana shakes her head. She's clearly nervous. She points down the hall. "I w-w-was going to l-l-look in the st-st-study."

[Tome]

"Have you checked all the entrances?".

[Kell_tamer]

Shana shakes her head nervously.

[Tome]

Maya sighs. "You know the house better than I do. I will sweep inside while you try to find out how he got in. Your parents would not let in a stranger, no?".

I assume this sort of search would be Composure+Investigation? [roll0]

EDIT Yes, I would like to take a beat to make that a dramatic failure. All hail the invisible note!

[ChaosArchon]

Zoe grins, her mom was so badass! She eats a bit of the food and then picks up the napkin and wipes her mouth before sighing,"Well I'm sorry my visit was so short but my brood is kind of freaking out and I need to help them."

She stands up and kisses them both on the cheek,"Bye, love you both!" before heading out. She jogs a little until she finds an alley a decent distance away from her parents house. She looks for any spectators before tossing a rock at the light in the alley, darkening it so it resembles the classic horror alley in movies...or the place where she murdered her first murderer, same thing really.

She closes her eyes and focuses on her Soul, feeling the ebb and flow of the dream of dreams, sensing the titanic serpent slither through worlds to bring its other half to their true home.

alright so Wits (3)+ Resolve (2)-3 (modifiers):[roll0]

here goes nothing

[josienoms]

Janet, her hands trembling, takes out her smartphone and checks her bank account. She drops the phone in horror.

"How did this happen?"

She's clearly being rhetorical.

"Carthage, you have to help me. I know you're a good man. John trusted you for a reason, and you've been my friend for years. There has to be something you can do. Anything."

Her eyes fill with tears again.

In Shana's house Maya and Shana find nothing of importance... Until Maya finds a red stain on the floor by the stove. It must be blood!

Zoe, meanwhile, is unable to bring herself into the Primordial Dream. Perhaps a bit troubling. A can might be the faster choice indeed.

[Tome]

"Shana" Maya screams "get in here!".

Oh frag. Ohfragohfragohfrag. The Hero really is already here. He... he could be going after Lisa!

She fumbles for her phone, clumsily tapping out a warning. 'liz stay inside hero on loose lock door DO NOT OPEN!!!'.

[Kell_tamer]

Shana runs back in, tripping over a chair leg in her hurry and toppling head over heels to the ground. She sits up holding her head a moment before looking to where Maya is pointing.

"MERDE! Merdemerdemerdemerde!"

She takes a moment to take control of her soul and contact Zoe

Her soul howls and snarls at zoe's. "Where are you!? we found blood!"

[ChaosArchon]

The serpent races through the barriers that separates the waking from the dreaming, smashing through every barrier in its way... until it meets a barrier that refuses to yield, resulting in a loud THUMP that echos throughout the dream.

Hissing at the veil that separates the worlds, the Serpent sighs,"We could not enter the dream... we'll be there soon by way of a cab."

Her attention once again returning to the warm, harsh feel of reality; Zoe hails a cab and begins her embarrassed trip to Shana's home.

[Obscurejones]

"... Jan, I... F*** Jan, this is... I'm not... F***."
Carthage's voice drops to a resigned rasp.
"I'm poor1."
Carthage drops his head into his hands and rubs his temples for a moment. Taking a deep breathe he slowly rises back, resting his head tiredly against the seat.
"John had a trust fund. That's how he got the clinic up and running2. And I don't know what he told you about how we split the clinic, but I... I worked for John, to be honest3. And have barely been able to keep my head above my student loans.4 If... If I can keep the clinic open, I might be able to help you keep the house and car. I'll be the senior partner now, which means if we can actually turn a profit and keep John's steady clients, I might have enough to help5. And I promise you Jan, I'm going to bust my ass every day to do that6. But... It's a gamble.7"

1 Bull****
2 True
3 Eh, kinda true.
4 Eh, mostly bull****.
5 True, in the sense that he has all of John's money and could help them indefinitely if he retired today with no worries.
6 Yeah, that's a lie. He's going to work hard, but mostly to stoke his own ego.
7 Complete and utter horse****.

[josienoms]

"But... There are ways around it, right? I mean, the taxes. You could sell me the title of the car for a dollar. Something, anything... I know you're having a rough time too, but I've... I've lost everything but my son."

She openly weeps again.

Meanwhile, Zoe makes it to Shana's house about 20 minutes later.

[Obscurejones]

"The taxes have nothing to do with selling you the car. I could sign over the deed tomorrow and it doesn't change the value of the car. Or the house... Look, I've got to get in by six tomorrow. Appointments start at seven. Can you drop me at the condo?"

[ChaosArchon]

After much silent cursing and nursing her bruised pride, Zoe finally arrives at Shana's house and knocks on the door to be let in. While she waits by the door, she continues to look around to see if the Hero or his cronies are still around.

Wits+Investigation for basically looking for anybody near the doorstep right?

Wits (3)+ Investigation (1):[roll0]

[Kell_tamer]

Shana freezes up a moment when the knocking is heard. She holds her finger to her lips and quietly moves to the door and peers out the mail slot.

Sighing in relief when she see's its Zoe she quickly opens the door and pulls her inside before quickly shutting and locking it again.

"w-w-we think we f-f-found bl-bl-blood!"

[ChaosArchon]

Turning away from whatever she might have seen, Zoe looks at Shana,"Oh my god, I'm so sorry Shana... where is it?"

As Shana leads her to the the damned spot, Zoe continues to look for any signs of a struggle or conflict.

ok so here's for the exploding die in the OoC [roll0]

and here's for this search [roll1]

[josienoms]

Janet nods, and drives silently off. She needs to be alone right now, and gives Carthage the cold shoulder. When she arrives at his condo, she simply says

"We'll talk about this l-later. We'll figure something out."

Meanwhile, at Shana's house, Zoe notices that the stain is not, in fact, blood. It's friggin' pasta sauce.

[Obscurejones]

Carthage hangs his head for a moment as Jan drives away. Once she turns the corner he raises it with a grin and pulls out his cellphone. A quick search through his contacts and he dials the number for Walker's.
"Hi, sorry to bother you. I was wondering if I could ask for a favor. I was planning to run an idea past a few movers and shakers in the community. And then I realized I don't know anyone. Don't suppose you'd know a changeling, werewolf, vampire, and... Well I suppose you'd be the mage to know. Any chance you could set up a meeting for tomorrow?"
"Tomorrow. Noon."
Click.
"Huh. Real charmer."
Walking inside, Carthage starts his stereo with a few swipes on his phone. Dancing through his apartment he sends a quick message to Nate.
'Find everything you can on Walker's friends by noon. And if if you don't have my car to me by six am I'm taking one of your arms for lunch. XOXO [kiss emoji]'

[JonRG]

Nate steps out of the shower several hours later, Raleigh not far behind. Finally, finally, he can focus enough to look at his phone. "Aw hell." His mouth twists into a frown. "Boss's in one-a his moods again. Means I'm gonna hafta call it an earlier night than I'd like if I wanna keep both my arms." Nate lets out a strained chuckle while he dresses. "Need caffeine. Wanna come with me ta the corner store?" He extends a hand to her.

[josienoms]

Raleigh nods and smiles.

"Sure, it'll be fun. And if he ends up taking an arm, make sure he takes the elft one. The right one is my favorite."

She giggles and kisses his cheek, before getting ready to head out for coffee!

[JonRG]

Nate grins and walks Raleigh out to the car. Then he drives down the block to the corner store. A little bell clatters merrily as they walk in. "Evenin', fellas," Nate says. These two were always a hoot, always mouthing off about customers in Pashto. Wonder what they're talking about now...

[ChaosArchon]

What the... oh my god... goddamnit

Zoe sighs but then grins and runs her finger over the "blood" and puts some in her mouth, making a very loud yum sound while doing so. Waiting the appropriate time for the two to look disgusted at her before explaining herself, she chuckles and says,"It's pasta sauce you chuckleheads, not blood. Shana are you sure they didn't leave you a text or note of some sort. The place doesn't really look like a home invasion went down, pasta or no pasta."

[Kell_tamer]

Shana turns beet red but still looks frightened. Th-th-th-they a-a-a-always l-l-leave a n-n-note. I d-d-d-didn't s-s-see w-w-one..."

She hangs her head sheepishly.

[ChaosArchon]

Zoe's features soften, the kid's tears could melt an iceberg. She gives Shana a small hug,"Oh sweetie I'm sure your parents are fine. Here how about I double-check the house for a note or something while Maya pours you some milk or something."

Counting on the wonders of milk to cheer Shana up, Zoe searches the house for some form of a note; either one left by Shana's parents... or by the Hero leaving one as a taunt to a girl whose only sin was not being human.

ok searching specifically for a note, [roll0]

[josienoms]

The two in the corner store seem surprised that Nate brought a girl with him. One comments on how he always thought Nate was gay. The other rolls his eyes and rings Nate up, then lets him go.

Zoe finds a slip of paper underneath the fridge. There's a smudge on it that matches the tread of Shana's shoe. On it is written in French:

<"Shana,

Your mother, sister, and I went out for dinner. There was a spill in the kitchen and the meal was ruined. We'll bring something back for you!

Love,

Papa">

[Kell_tamer]

Shana turns red and stammers. She looks at the others now realizing she brought them here for nothing. She curls up now feeling really small and embarrassed.

[JonRG]

Nate doesn't laugh until they're back in the car. "That was amazin'. They ain't gonna call me a *** anymore." He drives Raleigh back to the student center and drops her off with a parting kiss. Once she walks out of sight, Nate just sits in the car for a minute. Today had been simultaneously the worst and best day of his new life. He eventually snaps out of it. Drives back to the apartment in silence. Once inside, Nate slides into his desk chair. It was time to go to work. Thing was, two of Walker's pals were almost completely off grid, which left... "Arright, David Kaine. Let's see what yer about."

Sure, he could brute force hack his way to the answers, but why not start by asking the man himself? David's Facebook profile was protected, but his LinkedIn profile wasn't. He picks a charming young lady from Howard, Lawrence and Dewane, one of the interns, and then dummies up a Facebook page for her. Then he fires off a message. "Hi, i could use more professional contacts for my facebook. Could you add me back please, thanks~!" While he waits for David to take the bait, Nate figures he might as well also do the whole brute force hack thing. You know, for thoroughness. He also tries to tease out a couple leads on Tim and Shadow, thin as those might be.

Intelligence + Investigation + Hacking [roll0]

[ChaosArchon]

After finding the note and showing it to Shana, Zoe feels bad for the girl... it seems like she had a tough night. "Hey Shana... listen it's fine, Maya and I both understand why you freaked out. Heck if my parents weren't at home when I visited them after finding out about the Hero I may have freaked out too."

[Tome]

"It's true dovotshka, even I got a bit worried for Lisa" Maya comforts Shana, her use of the past tense perhaps a bit premature. She eyes the door, resisting the urge to bolt home to check on her girlfriend. This whole business has her spooked.

"But now, maybe Zoe and I should be off before your parents return? If you are okay on your own?".

[ChaosArchon]

Zoe nods,"Perhaps we should exit out the back, just in case her parents are arriving now? It would be kinda hard to explain if they saw us walking out of their house."

[Tome]

Maya nods and pads towards the back door. "Remember Shana, meeting tonight in the lair" she calls back, before glancing outside and amending to "or perhaps just veeery early tomorrow morning".

[josienoms]

Raleigh snickers and blushes.

"Well you already proved it to me."

She eventually goes on her way, allowing Nate to work.
You find out all that stuff we went over in PMs!


Meanwhile, at Shana's house, the front door opens, and voices are heard in the front room.

[Kell_tamer]

Shana's eyes become saucers and she holds her hands to gesture for quiet.

Running out to intercept them at the front door. "MAMA, PAPA, ANNE.... seth... Bonjour!"

She makes sure to keep herself between them and the hall to the kitchen. Glancing back in she hopes the others are heading to the back door.

"H-h-how was d-d-dinner?"

[JonRG]

Nate yawns deeply. He'd just spend the last four hours trying to get inside David Kaine's head. One bleary eye glances at the clock. 5:30 AM. "Damn it. Got late fast." Nate swings the messenger bag over his shoulder and rushes out the door. He nips into the Carriage House and orders two coffees. The Cadillac pulls in front of Carthage's condo at 5:55. An impish smirk crosses Nate's face, then he lays on the horn.

When Carthage gets into the car, Nate greets him with a chipper, "Howdy, boss. Gotcha a mocha, just the way ya like it." He gestures to the untouched cup.

[Obscurejones]

Carthage walks out of his condo and crosses in front of his car. Takes the Mocha without a word and begins flipping through the CD collection tucked under his car. Takes another slip and slides Against Me into the CD player. Turns the volume until it won't turn anymore.
"...Drive fast. Very. Big day. Psyche up."

[JonRG]

Nate beams. "Got it, boss." He steps on the gas.

[ChaosArchon]

Zoe wordlessly follows Maya, and takes special care to close the door silently. Once closed, she quickens her pace and climbs on the nearby dog house before using it to leap over the wooden fence. As she flips through the air, she gives Maya a small wink as gravity pulls Zoe back down to the other side of the fence.

making a Dex+Athletics roll:[roll0]

[Tome]

Maya gives an amused snort at Zoe's unnecessary acrobatics and, resisting the temptation to show her up, simply unlatches the garden gate and quietly walks out. Boring but practical.

A quick glance around the corner confirms that none of Shana's family are lingering out front and then she's back on the street. Crisis over, time to finally get back to Lisa.

[JonRG]

Even if Nate wanted to chat, he certainly wasn't in the mood to shout over the music. Least the boss had decent taste. They rock out for the ten or so minutes it takes to reach the clinic. "We're here!" Nate shouts, throwing the car into park. He takes a quick sip of his coffee.

[Obscurejones]

Reaching over Carthage turns off the car and palms his keys. Drops them into the pocket of his overcoat. Takes a slow sip of his coffee.
"... Don't smoke in my... Clarification. Don't smoke, ****, and then get into my car. Do it again and I claim one of your arms for my dark master."
Another slow sip.
"Seriously, I'm an apex predator. Do you really think a shower keeps me from smelling some poor girl using you to make bad decisions?"

[josienoms]

Zoe is able to make it over the fence, though barely. Maya's escape is much more smooth.

Shana is able to distract her family from her broodmates's presence. They never notice anything was amiss, with the exception of Peter.

"You seem distressed, ma chere. What is the matter?"

Nate and Carthage get closer to Walker's, somehow miraculously avoiding the police!

[Kell_tamer]

Shana shakes her head. "N-n-nothing. The n-n-note fell from the fridge a-a-and I o-o-only just s-s-saw it. I w-w-was worried..." A huge sigh of relief comes from her. She loosens up a big. "Wh-wh-where did you g-g-go for d-d-d-dinner?" She says changing the subject, realizing she was now hungry.... in more ways than one.

[josienoms]

Peter smiles kindly.

"Well don't worry, ma chere. We're home, and we brought you something to eat."

He hands her a to-go box from Olive Garden!

Anne laughs a little.

"Mama was dead set on still having pasta after the spill."

[Kell_tamer]

Shana giggles but covers her mouth to hide it from mom, in that "no i'm not laughing at you, you are crazy" way. "OH! Anne! I h-h-have n-n-n-new drawings! you t-t-told me to sh-sh-show you when I made s-s-some!" She's practically beaming right now, a complete mood flipflop from earlier when she was worried a psychopath had her family.

[JonRG]

Nate smiles around the lid of his coffee cup, then sets it back in the holder. "Awww, lemme guess. Ya struck out with... wossername, Janice? Jeanette? Chin up, bud. You'll get 'er someday." He pats Carthage on the shoulder while unbuckling with his other hand.

[Obscurejones]

"I'm trying to systematically unmake a woman's life to punish her for having the hubris to be happy at one point in her life. You're... Trying to get your **** wet?"
Carthage takes a quick sip and then gives Nate a thumbs up.
"So, way to go buddy! Real proud of you slugger. Got in there quick."

[JonRG]

Nate says nothing, just smiles beatifically. He taps out a quick note into his phone. This could work out very well for him. Nate clears his throat while sliding out of the front seat. Whistles a merry tune as he holds open the front door for Carthage.

I think we're at Walker's right now. That's what I'm assuming anyway.

[Obscurejones]

They're likely at the office for now, as the meeting's not till noon.
"... That was... Rude. My apologies. Stressful day planned. I hope you'll accept my apologies. With the understanding that I'm serious about my car's use."

[JonRG]

Josie expressed interest in skipping ahead to the noon time. See post 200. Figure wait and see what she says.

Nate shrugs. "No big. I got thick skin, an' I'll be more careful with the car. Get me one-a them l'il pine trees." His doofy grin makes it obvious that was a joke.

[josienoms]

Timeskip time!

Everybody's family is fine, Miller's nowhere near Ithaca yet. An emergency meeting has been called, at Carthage's request. Walker and his friends are waiting for you all at the pub. The wizard of few words is standing behind the bar, and gestures towards Carthage.

"Well?"

[Obscurejones]

Carthage laughs just a little, chuckling under his breath. He steps forward, putting on his best harmless smile.
"Thank you for the incredibly eloquent introduction from our host. As you may or may not know my name is Dr. Carthage Allen. As I know you all know, having been in this very establishment as the supernatural community all found out at once, a hero is on his way to Ithaca. As a result I have a sudden interest in reaching out to the supernatural community. I have decided to offer my clinic's service to any and all members of the community, completely pro bono. We can provide advanced medical care, have a dedicated surgical unit, and top notch psychological health services. I should point out that this is not a quid pro quo offer. It is free and open, sorely for the purpose of community outreach. No services are expected in compensation. I'm not saying anyone'll have to jump in front of a hero for any of this, or even pick up the phone if I call. But it seemed the best way to reach out. And you seemed the best people to reach out to in order to spread the word quickly. Leaders in your respective... Species, I suppose. Now, I'm aware that any given community has its own systems for healing in place. I'm certain a dedicated group of mages, has access to healing spells or some such. I've heard stories of changeling fruits that can mend a broken body. And from what I hear Werewolves and Vampires have a tendency to knit themselves back together after anything short of an atom bomb. Still, our services can help fill in the gaps, and offer a good deal less risk then more adventurous remedies. We also, have access to a bloodbank and a pharmacy."
Carthage pauses for breath, and looks to see if there's any response from any of the... Well, friendly neighborhood monsters.

[JonRG]

Nate watches the group's reaction, hands casually folded in front of him. He's a bit nervous to be honest. Who on Team Walker knew what he was? Who suspected? Well, if Walker had seen through his disguise, he certainly wasn't the type to talk about it. Just have to wait and see...

[Kell_tamer]

Shana sighs as she eats her lunch. She idly doodles in her sketchbook while she eats a turkey sandwich. She's alone as normal, never was that good at making friends with the other kids. The last couple beatdowns she gave some for being bullies hasn't done her favors but she didn't have many favors being the girl with the stutter or funny accent.

Her sketchbook has doodles of Batman, Oracle, Joker. She's a fan of the classics.

[josienoms]

Walker ponders for a moment, then nods.

"Seems fair."

But the vampire, David, stands up.

"Really? That's it? Just out of the kindness of your heart? I find that hard to believe. What's the catch?"

The other two eye Carthage suspiciously, but seem to know that David is the best talker of the group, and let him say his piece.

Meanwhile, at Shana's school, she sees a new kid in the cafeteria. He looks nervous and shy, and carries his tray while pushing his glasses up his nose with his free hand. He has a Green Lantern backpack, and seems to be looking for somewhere to sit.

[Kell_tamer]

Shana smiles at the new kid and waves him over trying to get his attention. Not many of the kids were into comics beyond the movies.

She holds up her binder which has several hero logo stickers including a green lantern one so he can see she's into it.

[josienoms]

The kid smiles and comes over, setting down his tray across from Shana.

"H-hey. I'm Taylor."

His voice sounds nervous, like he's not good at meeting new people.

"Those are some pretty cool drawing, y'know. You're really good."

[Kell_tamer]

Shana blushes. "I'm S-s-shana, and Th-th-thank you. I l-l-love c-c-comics. I w-w-wanna make my own s-s-some d-d-day."

She looks up at him. "Y-y-your new r-r-right?"

[josienoms]

"Making your own would be pretty cool! I can't draw though. I flunked art at my old school."

His cheeks turn a slight shade of pink.

"So uh... who's your favorite superhero?"

[Kell_tamer]

Shana flips her sketchbook back a bit. She points to a page with several of the X-Men on it, tapping one in particular. "Kitty P-p-pryde." She smiles "And y-y-yours?"

[JonRG]

Sitting at the bar, Nate swirls a straw in his Coke. "Damn Yankees, so suspicious. Doc wants to do a nice thing. I mean, ya've done pro bono work before, haven't ya?" He knew the answer to that was a yes. Didn't even need the research to know that. It was a legal requirement to be accepted to the bar.

[Tome]

Maya kicks back in her chair, stretching her arms with a yawn. That guy in Washington was being an awkward prick again, she'd been refiling paperwork and sending emails all morning just because he couldn't remove the stick long enough to just make up his mind on the transportation arrangements for his mexica headdress.

Her stomach clenches slightly with hunger. She's going to have to find something to add to her hoard soon. Preferably something outside the museum.

Suppressing a growl of frustration, she tabs over over to a search of the local news. There's got to be something supernatural happening.

[ChaosArchon]

Zoe walked out of the courtroom, and could practically feel the fear present in the building. Nothing like 25 to life to make people wet themselves with anxiety and tension. Sadly her case had been a rather dull divorce case, not much fear to be had in those other than the guilty party worrying they won't get to keep their six Ferraris.

As she walks down the courthouse steps, her stomach growls and she walks over to the hotdog vendor. "One plain dog please."

[josienoms]

Taylor holds up his backpack.

"Green Lantern, of course. But my favorite's Kyle Rayner."

At Walker's, David shrugs.

"Well, yes I have. But back then, I wasn't a monster. I just want to make sure there aren't going to be any surprises if we accept the offer. Mind if I draw up a contract?"

He glances over at Tim, who gives him a slight nod.

At the Museum, Maya scans through the news and spots a report on Miller! According to the website, he was spotted travelling through Illinois early this morning. By the time officers arrived on the scene, he was gone.

Zoe gets her hot dog, and Do a perception roll to hear a thing!

[Kell_tamer]

Shana pulls out a marker and draws a quick chibi Kyle Rayner lantern. She hands him the picture with a smile. "W-w-where are y-y-you from?"


Quick doodle! 6 dice, 2 int +2 craft + 2 area of expertise in comics! 6 dice
[roll0] c'mon don't screw up shana!

welp its accidently hal jordan BEAT! IGNORE ME!!!!!

[JonRG]

Dracula liked to play tough. Adorable. "If you say so, man..." Nate winks playfully, then returns to his coke.

[josienoms]

Nah, the drawing's more like a rote action, and the failure or success of it isn't important enough to warrant a roll. No beat for you!

"That's so cool!"

Taylor smiles widely, his braces showing.

"I'm from Minneapolis, originally. What about you?"

At Walker's, David gives Nate a weird look, then ignores him to await Carthage's response.

[Kell_tamer]

Shana blushes at the smile. "Quebec. Mama w-w-wanted to m-m-move here w-w-when her writing p-p-picked up."

She idly flips her marker in her hand. "S-s-so what c-c-class do you have n-n-next?"

in her head she was already thinking "please say phys ed with Charavino, please say phys ed with Charavino...."

[Obscurejones]

"Alright, if I may point by point.

One, what I hope to gain is more or less, goodwill. As you may or may not know Beasts such as myself tend to thrive on connection to the supernatural community. I don't care to connect to the local nest of beasts, because they strike me as dangerously inept at being people, much less monsters.

Two, no I will not be signing a contract. If by some miracle of chance you know a judge who'd be willing to hear a breach of contract dispute called Dr. Carthage V. The Local Ghouls and Goblins, well I'm not sure I'd trust him to be impartial.

Three, I will however be more then willing to be pledged to this service by him."
Carthage points to Tim with a wry smile.
"As I understand it that has the best chance of reaping an immediate return in exchange for a willingness to guarantee my services."

[josienoms]

Taylor nods and smiles.

"So you're Canadian, that's cool. And I've got phys-ed, next, I think."

He takes a piece of paper out of his bag and checks it.

"Yeah. With Chara... Charavino?"

Meanwhile, Zoe hears the faint sounds of whimpering from an alley down the street!

At Walker's David balks slightly, but nods.

"Who said anything about a Judge? Having Tim make the Pledge was what I meant all along. It does assuage some concerns, though. I'll get the terms typed up, and we'll spread the word. Deal?"

He offers his hand to Carthage.

[Kell_tamer]

Shana smiles. "W-w-were in c-c-class together!"

She does some mental backflips before suddenly thinking, "wait is today swim day? or is it a normal day.... merde merde merde... "

"S-s-so w-w-where are y-y-you l-l-living?" Her stutter worsens as body image issues flood her mind and she desperately tries to change the subject about it.

[Obscurejones]

Carthage shakes David's hand and lowers his voice, looking ever so slightly nervous.
"Actually uh... Had a personal question for you if you've got a minute after the meeting?"

[ChaosArchon]

As she hears the whimpers, in the Dream a thousand poisonous maws open as they anticipate a meal of their own. It seems like some ruffians might be roughing someone up, and this close to a courthouse? How gauche, well that simply will not do.

After paying for her hot dog, she strolls over to where she hear the whimpering; nonchalantly eating her hot dog on the way.

[josienoms]

Shana realizes that it is, in fact, a swim day!

"I'm living down on East Buffalo Street."

At Walker's, David gives Carthage a nearly imperceptible nod, then goes off to type up the terms. When he comes back, he basically typed out everything Carthage had said. No strings attached, no fine print, it's written as a win-win.

"Anything you'd like to add?"

In the alley outside the courthouse, Zoe finds a woman on the ground, holding her ankle. She has her blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail, and the swell of her belly indicates that she's pregnant. Her ankle looks twisted!

[Kell_tamer]

Shana mentally sighs. "Oh y-y-you live n-n-near me!"

She looks up at the clock as they eat and talk comics.

"It's almost t-t-time for c-c-class. I c-c-can sh-sh-show you the w-w-way..." She blushes a bit.
"if y-y-you w-w-want th-th-that is..."

[Obscurejones]

"This looks lovely."
Carthage signs with a flourish, paying whatever necessary cost in will and spiritual force comes about in the process. As the representatives begin to file out he catches David's arm.
"I uh... This is incredibly awkward for me, but I'm wondering if you know any good uh... Gay bars? In town?"

[JonRG]

Huh! Carthage said he didn't swing that way, so this was probably a ploy to get under David's skin. More information would be required. Nate sits attentively, one hand under the bar. There, he taps out a message on his cell phone.

[We should talk. Stick around after he leaves.] Attached is a screen print of Tim's picture next to Ben's driver's license photo.

[josienoms]

Taylor smiles shyly, and nods.

"Yeah, that'll be great. I'm still kinda lost here."

At Walker's David seems slightly surprised, but shrugs it off and whispers to Carthage,

"There's always Silky Jones."

He shrugs again, then lets Carthage go, before checking his phone, which buzzed while he was talking.

What the hell is this? I'll be here.

Soon, everyone else clears out, leaving David and Nate alone. David simply glares at him.

[Kell_tamer]

Shana smiles at Taylor, and when the bell rings to head to class she leads him to where the boys locker is. "I'll s-s-see you in c-c-class!" And with a blush she makes her way to the girls' locker room to change quickly.

Hopefully quickly...

[Tome]

Maya grimaces. So he really is on his way. Still, she can at least estimate how long it'll take him to arrive.

She opens google maps in a another tab, along with a few travel guides. So, to get to Illinois then he must have been travelling at a certain speed... assuming that remains roughly constant - she checks the travel guides to see if his journey is likely to get easier or harder - he should be arriving in Ithaca in...

She jots down her answer, satisfied to at least have an estimate to share with the brood. Now, back to searching for lunch.

Trying to estimate how long it'll take our Hero to get here, based on his travel time so far. Int (3) + Academics (3)
[roll0]

Doing a little research to find something supernatural she can go poke for noms. Wits (3) + Occult (2)
[roll1]

[JonRG]

Nate continues to sip his Coke, merrily kicking his feet against the barstool. Horrifying android from beyond reality or literal six year old boy? It was hard to tell sometimes. The bar fills with a ghastly sucking noise as Nate attempts to get his money's worth. Not really possible with a soda. He eventually surrenders, then rises to his feet. "Not here." Nate pushes through the backdoor. For such an infrequent visitor, he is dreadfully familiar with the bar's layout. Eventually, he - or they, if David actually followed him - winds up in the back alley. Nate sits on the back step. Looks to see if anyone's around. Once he's sure no one's listening, he takes a deep breath and begins. "Arright. Now, I'm sure yer pissed, but I needed ta make sure ya'd actually stay. 'sides, lemme pose ta ya a hypothetical. I drive up to Ben's dorm. Tell him that Tim an' David are in trouble an' he's gotta come with me. Think he'll get in my car? I bet he would. Now, I might not be the first person who's supernaturally affiliated ta think of that, an' I'm certain I won't be the last. Short version, yer boyfriend's adorable, but don't put his dang pic on Facebook." Nate flicks his gaze over to David. "But yeah, that's what I do. I figger out certain security weaknesses, an' then I help people keep their **** locked up tight. S'a new age, man. Gotta protect ya neck." Maybe not the best turn of phrase to use in this instance. "See, that's what I bring to the table. I can explain ta ya any particular flaws in your own security, an' the dire consequences thereof, or I can do the same thing for, yanno, yer friends. Enemies. Fellow work draculas." More specifics about Howard, Lawrence and Dewane without having felt David out would probably catch him a bullet to the head, but to get the favor Nate wanted, he was gonna have to pull out the big guns.

Heh.

[josienoms]

When she's done changing, Shana finds herself next to the pool, with Charavino in front of the class.

"Alright, class! Today we're going to be swimming laps. I'll be testing your endurance and speed, so don't think you can tread water and get a passing grade for the day."

She blows her whistle, the signal to get in the pool! Everyone jumps in, and Taylor very nearly slips on his way in. Several of the other kids start laughing at him.

Maya is able to see how far he's come, and notes that if he was just making a beeline to Ithaca, he would be a lot closer. He's been making stops. What he's doing isn't clear, but a quick check of the news in places he would have passed shows stories of murder. At the rate he's going, it could take him upwards of two weeks to reach Ithaca.

She does not, however, find anything that would be satisfying to eat.

Outside Walker's, David's eyes are impossible to read behind his dark shades, but he takes on a grim smile. His fangs show ever so slightly, though whether it's intentional or just a sign of how angry he is isn't clear.

"So that's what this is about? You're just a concerned citizen who dug up blackmail material on me for my own good?"

He sneers, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"There are better ways to get money out of people. I get that your spiel is based on fear tactics. It's effective. But I can't deny that having the extra security would come in handy. What do you want?"

[Kell_tamer]

While not as good a swimmer as say, Maya, Shana definitely knew how to swim. While others are laughing at Taylor, Shana ducks under her lane over to his and checks to see if he's OK. "D-d-don't hurt y-y-yourself..." She gives him a reassuring pat on the back before dipping down and making her way to the other end with a breast stroke. She pauses halfway across to look back with a smile and wave him on encouragingly.

[JonRG]

"Better ways? Oh do go on, Mister Ivy League. Yer so much smarter than l'il ol' me." Nate rests his chin on his palms, beaming like an idiot. "Luckier, if nothin' else." He remains silent for a time, a (false) frown appearing on his face. "Hell, I'm makin' myself sad. But if I wanted a pity party, I'd be at a strip joint. I guess I'll get ta business." Nate takes a slow shuddery breath. "Look, I don't- Blackmail was never my idea. I swear." His tone is pleading, like he wants David to figure it out on his own. "Anyway, I was wonderin' if ya had contacts in the... military hardware department?" Nate flashes a nervous grin. Sucks air through his teeth. God, he was so good at this.

[ChaosArchon]

The thousand maws close with a tinge of disappointment, there would be no prey to be punished today it seemed.

Zoe's expression softens and she walks briskly over to the fallen woman,"Hello, can I help you? I think there's a hospital nearby that I can help you get to so you can get that ankle looked at miss."

[josienoms]

Taylor blushes and starts to swim too. He's actually kinda graceful in the water, but the other kids keep laughing.

"Look at that, girls! Shana has a booooyfriend!"

The cluster of popular girls giggle and point.

Outside Walker's, David's jaw clenches.

"Carthage. This was all his idea."

He sighs, fuming for a moment.

"Well if that's what this was all for, you didn't do your research. I don't have any contacts like that. I might be able to put you in touch with a friend of a friend of a friend sort of thing. But I can't promise anything. What do you need it for, anyway?"

In the alley, the woman is helped to her wobbly feet.

"Oh, bless you."

She winces, trying to keep her weight off her leg.

"I was just on my way to my car, when this young man ran down the alley. I'm not sure if he meant to, but he bumped me out of the way. That's how I fell."

[Kell_tamer]

Shana blushes but snaps back. "Y-y-your just j-j-jealous that I-i-i'm pretty enough t-t-to t-t-talk to one D-d-denise!" She dips down and is nearby them. Her flawless french bites into them. "Peut-être un sac vous fera attractif"

supposedly that means "maybe a bag will make you attractive"

[JonRG]

Fear flashes in Nate's eyes. "Please, ya can't say nothin'. Best case, I'm outta a job, an'... I don't wanna hafta tell ya how the worst case goes." He takes a deep breath, seeming almost relieved to focus on something else. "Ya work fer Howard, Lawrence and Dewane, the most consolidated Ventrue power base outside of the big city. If y'all don't know one mother****er gettin' rich in the Middle East, that's prolly a sign I should go elsewhere anyhow." Nate crosses his legs under himself. Takes a deep breath through his nose. "For we wrestle not against flesh an' blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." He smirks. "Basically, if we end up fightin' an angel, I want a solid anti-personnel gun."

[josienoms]

Denise pauses and turns around in the pool.

"What did you say to me, bitch?"

Outside Walker's David's expression softens.

"Listen, I'll see what I can do, okay? I'll call you."

[Kell_tamer]

Shana places her hand on the step so she can get up to the diving block. She glances back over. "D-d-did I st-st-stutter?" She climbs up to leap off, looking away with a bit of a smug grin that Denise can't see.

[JonRG]

Nate nods. "Thanks. Yer a pretty nice guy. Well, I got other places ta be. Take it easy." He meanders off down the road. Twenty minutes later, Nate finds himself at the door to Maya's office. He raps twice on the door. "Knock knock!"

[ChaosArchon]

Zoe frowns, she might check into that later. "Well here, let me help you get to your car." she moves to help the woman up. "Do you remember what the *ahem* jerk looked like?