Masks - Dark Idols [IC]

[Wuff]

The light from the city seems particularly bright tonight. The moon hangs above it, almost menacing, leaving an impression of plotting or scheming like many undoubtedly are doing beneath it. The news recently has been quiet. The end of summer normally calms things down; when the colder months arrive some find that their costumes are fairly impractical. Not everyone has super-resistance, or enough cash to live the lifestyle full-time.

A.E.G.I.S. had created a team of reprobates within the past month, somewhat of an unprecedented move for the organisation - as if A.E.G.I.S. or for that matter, adults in general, were known for consistency - and, snorting, given them the moniker blustered out by red-faced mayor. "Heroes?! Those Zeroes destroyed my car!!!" The fact that this was mostly reflected in a file somewhere in A.E.G.I.S. HQ had amused the group for a while.

This group had been set up to shift some of the workload from A.E.G.I.S. agents, who are beginning to slowly dwindle in number as more people question the extreme methods used by the organisation. Even the mainstream media are beginning to break the long silence they've held in the face of such a significant political player. The lack of a real response after a month is seen as typical of the sturdy bureaucracy, or perhaps a sign that the organisation is no longer what it once was. At some points, the spotlight was placed on the topic of heroes, often accompanied with shots of dark alleys or torn and graffiti'd posters.

As part of the Zeroes' allowance, they had been given a secure, shared space in the outer suburbs of Halcyon City, which is, at this time of the year, showing some wear and tear from all the conflicts of the past few months in some places, particularly the inner city. The clashing metahumans are something of an occupational hazard, and their destructive fights are prepared for much in the same way that other places might prepare for floods, wildfires or earthquakes. Eventually, people learn to walk around the fallen debris, while long-time residents barely glance up to see the action anymore. It's surprising that insurance companies will even offer quotes at this point.

Today is a Saturday, so the group have managed to sneak some time in away from their normal requirements, perhaps even going as far to drop appointments to make this meeting. The group have placed four photos on a table, each one with a file attached and a label. These choices have become largely inconsequential, so much so that tonight, dice make the decision on who the group pursue this week. One sits in the middle of the table, supplied by A.E.G.I.S. and branded appropriately.

The conversation has come to a momentary halt, but whatever atmosphere this had created was broken by a grumbling sound from Crosswind. There wasn't any edible food in this place, not after the latest debacle with a certain sugar-based ex-villain. Ordering takeaway had been strictly forbidden by A.E.G.I.S. and thus left the group a decision on where to catch food, after "deciding" who to deal with by tossing the d4.

[Jumbus]

Crosswind was not only bored, he was tired and bored. Calling out big villains, talking trash on big superheroes and everything else to spice up the hero lifestyle had been thwarted and buried under the bureaucracy of AEGIS. He was at wits end with all the planned arrests, weakling villains and files. Since when did heroes have to do paperwork!? Though its not as if he ever read them in the first place. Crosswind was two steps away from outright fighting a hero or even secretly breaking out a few villains but that would put him in cuffs quicker than anything so I guess this would have to do.

Crosswind gave out a long sigh as he lay on the couch looking at the ceiling. "Just roll... the... dice". He dragged his head back to his team mates "before I lose... my... mind."

[Zero Prime]

Ulyana Khorzikhov, aka Evo (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=24151172&postcount=2)
Doom Track: [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Conditions: None.

Ulyana wandered around the sparsely furnished room, a undle of nervous energy, she wore a paior of loose linen pants, rolled down to her hips, fitted wife beater, with a hoodie overtop. As she walked by the wall she punched it, filled with frustration much like her teammates, "What in the hell is this d4?! Everyone kows dice have six sides, yes? 1-2-3-4-5-6! We just need to pick one of these golova der'ma and kick their face in, yea?" With that she walked by the table, grabbed all four photos and tossed them into the air over her shoulder, she spun, turned around and from her fingers thick, viscuous bio-matter surged forward extending from her fingers through the air, glossy, black, ridged almost like muscle, the tips hardened into steel like hardness, and sank into the opposite wall.

One of the photo's was pierced through as the three others drifted lazily to the floor. She extracted the tendrils, the organic bio-matter seeping through her pores to be contained, once again, beneath her pale, almost flawless skin. She walked over to the photo with the hole through it, "This one, what does their file say Providence? Oh, and once we read it, we're getting some food, we must fill our tanks before kicking ass, yes?"


OOC: [roll0]

[roko10]

Kamui Kezui, aka Providence
Conditions: None.

Ugh, and I thought Signus' bureaucracy was bad...

Kamui has more-or-less completely zoned out at this point, doodling blueprints on blank sheets of paper out of sheer boredom. Out of all possibilities she expected when she made the BT Driver and took up superheroing, she never quite expected it to become as boring as filing tax forms. Worse still is the fact that the weekly meetings constantly cut into her workshop time; she'll never finish up and of her work-in-progress Drives at this point.

After hearing Crosswind about to die from sheer boredom, Kamui decided to stretch out, let a long yawn, and reach for the d4- until Ulyana walked in and decided to select them in her own way. This shocked Kamui into being fully aware again, as she quickly scrambled up to pick the file that matched the photo Ulyana pierced. "Phantom... metahuman... illusions... attack..." she muttered to herself, her face slowly lighting up before turning towards the rest of the group.

Look alive, ladies and gentleman, for we have our target for the night! Kamui announced triumphantly, dramatically presenting the perforated photo to the group. "This lady's name is Phantom, and last week she went mental and decided to attack an insurance company for god knows what reason, hurting a lot of people and causing more collateral damage than we do on a regular basis. Her powers are mainly about making illusions of herself, and she likes to hide and dodge between those illusions, which means that we have to play whackamole with her. Though, try to not whack her too hard. She's still mostly human in terms of what she can take, and AEGIS probably would want her alive." Kamui places emphasis on the last sentence, giving a meaningful glare at Remilia as she does so before continuing. "She's currently on the run right now, hiding through the city. Though considering she did attack an insurance company last time she was seen, and that company suddenly got a suspicious boost in profits... yeah, what I'm saying is we should probably split up and cover any other big insurance business in Halycon. I mean, there's only, what, two of three of those here, not counting the one she attacked? It wouldn't be that hard, especially considering we have a teleporter in our group."

"Anyway, this is our chance to show off that we're not just the people who throw cars at supervillains, but that we also can have some finesse. If we do well here, AEGIS might even let us do something more exciting than locking us up in a boring building in nowhere suburbia and sending us against Z-tier villains. Am I right or am I not?"

[Wuff]

The wall cracks slightly as Evo's fist collides. The material itself is possibly weaker than even drywall, but some thick insulation prevents her fist from entirely passing through. It's becoming more and more clear with every meeting here that this place was the cheapest and most throwaway asset available.

The picture shows a snap of a pale, tall, masked performer, clearly taken on the streets. Her costume is remarkably plain. She wears a light, clinging robe, which covers her hair but leaves her bare arms exposed. The markedly feminine blank mask which covers her face seems to be smirking at whoever is taking the picture. Her eyes peer out in an almost eerie way, though it is hard to tell what colour they are due to the camera's poor quality.

[Sahe]

Blue Jay (Franka Blue)
Potential: 0/5
Conditions: -

"What do you mean Conner isn't home?", Blue Jay asked her sister Chloe over the phone. She was outside, away from the others, trying to ban all anger and frustration she had with her brother from her voice so Chloe wouldn't think she was in trouble. "Ok, just...do you know if Sera is there?...What...no Remi isn't there, I know that...ok just...Chloe...CHLOE! Listen! Lock the door, call Sera on the house phone and ask her to pick you...what? Was that the door? Conner? Chloe, give me Conner...Where were you Conner? And don't lie to me...uhu...ok...so, you just went down to do the laundry?...yeah, we'll talk about this when I get home from work...or tomorrow...bye and bring your sister to bed." Franka rolled her eyes, which couldn't be seen under the mask 'Doing laundry'...sure...do I even wanna know? With an weary sigh and shaking her head, Franka went back into meeting room, ready to excuse herself if the others hadn't managed to come to a decision by now.

Inside she noticed that it had apparently been Evo who had made a choice and she came just in time to catch Providence's rundown of the situation.

"Any known weaknesses?", Blue Jay asked and continued "and shouldn't we stick together? Maybe we can figure out her most likely next target?"

[Vex]

Riot
Potential: 0
Conditions:

Honestly, this official hero thing really sucked any of the fun out of being a hero. There was paperwork, there was a lot of time spent waiting around while A.E.G.I.S tried to figure out which boring people they wanted their team to stop, there was choices they had the illusion of, it was just all around a boring concept for Riot. And she knew that she wasn't the only one feeling this either, especially with how Crosswinds was carrying on about it. She had been hoping to be seeing some action, doing something. Though Sera had reminded her a couple times it took a lot of work to be a hero, and a lot of the time you needed to build up; you couldn't just start fighting the biggest baddest villain in town.

But she was impatient.

She looked over to Evo, leaning back in her chair trying to balance it a little, as Evo took her frustrations out on the files, throwing them over her shoulder and spearing them with her strange but honestly cool bio matter things. She nodded in agreement as she mentioned food "perfect… Sounds like a plan I can get behind" she said, a soft french lilt backing the harder tone of her voice. Watching as Providence scrambled to find out who they were fighting, she noticed that Blue Jay decided to poke her head in after her phone call while they had a rough plan laid out for them by Providence.

Though she did shoot a glare back when Providence mentioned not wacking her too hard. A smirk spread across her face as she continued to recline in her chair "So go for her knees not her body or head, got it" she said lazily as Blue Jay chimed in. Riot looked back and nodded pointed with her thumb to her and said "I'm with her. Splitting sounds like a dumb plan, what if one group doesn't get to do anything because she went to a different place." she said, turning her eyes to Providence and flashed her a smile "besides… Finesse is overrated. If you want to make a statement you go big and bombastic" she finished, looking around at the rest of the group as she said this.

[roko10]

Kamui Kezui, aka Providence
Conditions: None.

Kamui rolls her eyes at what Remillia said. "Yeah, yeah, I get it, you want to smash stuff, but the thing is that Phantom is just a normal lady behind all the illusions. Too hard a hit from your bat and she's a goner, and AEGIS will have even more reasons to be pissed at us."
She almost continues with her countargument but then pauses, thinking about it a bit more

"...you might have a good point against splitting up, though. I thought that Crosswind can teleport people to one of his daggers along with him if they hold onto him, So my plan was to split in two groups have Crosswind give one of his daggers to the group he isn't in, then have him teleport him and his partner to one of his daggers if the other group spots her, or hand over one of his daggers to his partner, teleport to the other group, and then teleport the other group to his partner. Though, again, that relies a lot on my assumptions about the Dagger of Wind?" She turns towards Crosswind. "Is that something your daggers can do?"

[Jumbus]

Crosswind heard his name and slowly got up his hands on his knees. He turned his torso back and forth on the spot to stretch out and then turned to Providence. "First off aside from the muscle twins, I don't know if you've noticed but the rest of us arent any tougher than the normal person. Phantom is either a threat which means I won't hold back or she isn't a threat which means she isn't worth our time. As for the Daggers I can't say I've tried it but if my costume comes with me I assume people aren't too different. Who wants to be the Guinea pig? he he." Crosswind was amused by the last part he looked around to see any takers.

[Sahe]

Blue Jay (Franka Blue)
Potential: 0/5
Conditions: -


Blue Jay frowned and glared at Crosswind when he spoke, talking about not holding back. She stepped up to him and channeling the frustation and anxiety she had about her younger brother into what she had to say, "For one...I'm tougher...two we take her down without killing her. I know you have this whole 'I don't care' shtick going on...but we are heroes, we are supposed to be better than those we fight. If we have no standards, no morals, we're just mercenaries...so...you'll hold back. Or you'll sit this one out. Your choice."


I use my Influence to tell Crosswind who he is and how this works, trying to shift his Danger down and his Savior up.

[Jumbus]

"Heroes? Ha don't make me laugh. I don't think you know this by now but we are dressed up dogs for AEGIS at the moment. And even then you know what heroes do? They take down the villain because villains hurt people and they should be taken down as fast as possible so they don't hurt anyone else. Holding back isn't going to help that. But no I won't kill her, hell I won't even get close cause that isn't my style if that puts your mind at ease. Villains know what they get into and they know the consequences of it, if they can't handle it well maybe they should start." Crosswind felt good about himself he thought the appeal to helping others was a nice touch of course. He started twirling his dagger on his finger.

[roll0]

But he sat back on the couch knowing that he pulled most of that out of his ass. "But fine we'll do it your way hero"

[roko10]

Kamui Kezui, aka Providence
Conditions: None.

Kamui opened her mouth, but was cut off by Blue Jay before she could speak. Somewhat annoyed, she then proceeded to try and talk again after everything has simmered down a bit. "So, about the daggers... I volunteer for the test. I mean, it's for science, right?"

[Wuff]

As Providence moves to volunteer, there is a sound at the door, and the clock ticks over into the next hour. There is a soft knock, before three quick raps. Each one of you had been individually told that this place was not to be spoken about at all to those who didn't have the right clearance. Of course, AEGIS hadn't been so transparent as to reveal who actually did have this clearance, so the best line of action was to simply not talk to anyone.

After a long moment, there is another knock, this one is significantly less patient. Despite the distant lights, it's dark outside, and no one has any business showing up here at this time. Nobody is expected to be showing up around now.

[Jumbus]

Without bothering to look or aim, Crosswind threw his dagger into the door. "As much as I like the offer Providence, the whole teleport thing only works one way if we do it. So I would prefer Riot or Evo with me in case we are the ones to meet her." Crosswind teleported to his dagger by the door and begun reaching for the handle.

[Zero Prime]

Ulyana Khorzikhov, aka Evo (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=24151172&postcount=2)
Doom Track: [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Conditions: None.

Ulyana was more than a little upset at the way Crosswind cut down Providence, hell, with the BT Driver and her analytical brain, Evo wasn't sure that she'd be able to win in a straight up fight. "Just cuz I'm willing to let you teleport me to the site, doesn't mean you're getting into my pants dagger-boy." She dead panned snarked, "Now get the door."

She did, however, turn her body so she was fully committed to stepping in the way of any on-coming threat, she wasn't about to let anything happen to her teammates, even Dagger-boy.

[Vex]

Riot
Potential 0/5
Conditions: None

Remi looked to Providence and rolled her eyes a little, pointing to the bat that was sitting at the table in front of her, your run of the mill wooden baseball bat “Why do you think I use it?” she idly said with a shrug “They would be pissed at me if I did and pissed at me if I didn’t use it. AEGIS just wants to be pissed at us.” she said before looking to Crosswind and rolling her eyes in annoyance. He loved to hear himself talk and this was clearly him trying to talk himself up, trying to make himself look tougher or something, acting hard and stuff.

Then a smirk spread across her face as Evo took a shot at Crosswind, shutting him down, as they had done a couple times a piece. Riot heard the knock at the door and craned her neck to take a look at it, watching as Crosswind teleported to his dagger in a rather pointless over the top show. So all in all it checked out for Crosswind. And much like Evo, she let the fall to all four legs as she got to her feet and stretched out, her hand wrapping around the chair’s back, causing the wood to creak with strain. Her eyes moved to Evo for a moment, hoping to make eye contact before flashing a smirk to the woman and nodding before turning them back to the door, waiting to see who was visiting them. Hopefully it was trouble, because this night really could use some entertainment.

[Sahe]

Blue Jay (Franka Blue)
Potential: 0/5
Conditions: -

Franka was satisfied with Crosswind backing down. He could talk, as long as he didn't cross a line, Franka was fine with it. The bit of tension that was building between the group members was momentarily, at least put on hold as everyone's attention was on the door that had just been knocked.

Franka backed up a little, towards the wall where all the power lines ran through and pressed her hand against it, causing the light to flicker for a moment as she charged herself in case there was a danger, she'd rather be ready.

[Jumbus]

Crosswind turned back to look at Evo "haha don't flatter yourself". Making sure to give a friendly smile back to show it was all just friendly banter before she went to break his arm. He quite enjoyed the back and forth in all honesty. Crosswind then turned to Providence "oh and sorry I don't mean much by it just that I would like someone who can break bones easy in case things go incredibly south with only two people."

[Wuff]

Crosswind opens the door to reveal a petite brunette with fair skin. She pokes her head around the door, before going doe-eyed and backing off a little, shuffling away from the room of deadly heroes. There's a card scanner at her hip, a Pizza ShackTM cap on her head and a box clutched in her hand. The receipt is upside down, but written in big lettering is "Crosswind" and "20% Hero Discount On All Pizza Deliveries."

Her vehicle must be parked further up the road, as it's not in sight. This place isn't exactly easy to get to. She shoots a glance to her right, before an abrupt change comes over her. She perks up, her back straightening and her chin raising. "Thank you for ordering from Pizza Shack and for your service to the city, Hero!" Her voice trembles uncertainly at the end, as if she doesn't have much conviction. She clearly knows something. Regardless of her doubts though, she proffers the pizza box, her hands only shake ever so slightly.

She waits for a moment before speaking again. "Am I interrupting something? Are you expecting somebody?"

[Jumbus]

Crosswind leans against the door frame putting on some charm. "Hey how you doing? I was getting a little worried for a bit because you were 5 minutes away from the 30 minutes or less deal and I wouldn't want you not getting paid." He pulled out the money he had for it, handed it over and took the pizza. "Now this place is supposed to be secret so I wouldn't supposed you could keep it that way, would you?" Giving her a wink.


[roll0] will pick to say she stays quiet about the base through charm

"Though I wouldn't mind you coming back."

[Zero Prime]

Ulyana Khorzikhov, aka Evo (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=24151172&postcount=2)
Doom Track: [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Conditions: None.

Ulyana walked behind Bradley as he tried to put the moves on this poor girl, oblivious to the subtle but noticeable shift in her demeanor when she first spoke to the assembled teens. However, as she moved, and while Crosswind's body blocked the delivery girl's line of sight, Ulyana's body shifted slightly, losing it's edge, her tattoos gone, her piercings absorbed into her new form. She didn't shift her appearance radically, she just softened her edge, her demeanor, and was much more, the girl next door as she approached the delivery girl. She grabbed the receipt from the top of the box, checked the driver's name, and used it to address the young woman.

"Hi! Just wanted to thank you for the pizza, the guys were starving!" She paused, shuffled awkwardly, like she was nervous, however, as she did so she studied the young woman carefully, looking for signs of her demeanor cracking, shifting, like she'd witnessed earlier, "I know the outskirts of Halcyon have been a little sketchy this last few weeks, especially at night." Another pause, playing the shy young girl, "Can I walk you to your car?"


OOC: Rolling Mundane, +0, to Pierce Pizza Girl's Mask. [roll0]. Let's see how this works. Whelp that sucks, but YAY!, Potential! Fully expecting to be blindsided when she gets possessed and kicks my ass, Riot better have the bat ready!

[roko10]

Kamui Kezui, aka Providence
Conditions: None.

Kamui shrugged at what Crosswind said; he does have a point, crazy as that sentence sounds. "Eh, none taken."

When she heard the knock on the door, however, Kamui's on high alert, keeping one of her hands on the BT Driver in her pocket in case something happens. When it turns out it was just a pizza delivery girl and Crosswind just ordered a pizza (typical, really), she visibly relaxed for a bit, though she still keeps a solid grip on her Driver, her eyes fixated on the scene unfolding between Crosswind, Evo, and the delivery girl. Hold on, I didn't remember Bradley ordering a pizza...

[roll0]
Asking who or what here is in the greatest danger?

[Sahe]

Blue Jay (Franka Blue)
Potential: 0/5
Conditions: -

The door opened to reveal a pizza delivery girl who seemed quite nervous. Blue Jay was already putting together a little speech for Crosswind who had apparently ordered the pizza. Or did he? Franka couldn't remember and she had stepped out for a bit earlier. She frowned and then closed her eyes, concentrating on her electroceptive senses, to see if anyone else besides the team and delivery girl was around. It was incredibly difficult to find the weak electric impulses coming from the human brain when you are surrounded by so many generators of electric fields, especially at a distance.


I think I should roll Unleash, since I'm trying to greatly expand the range of Franka's special sense? If no roll is needed, disregard it.
What I'm trying to do is using the Electroception to detect anyone besides the team and the delivery girl within the vicinity around (or inside) the building we're in.

[roll0]

[Wuff]

Bea, as identified by the receipt, looks truly overwhelmed with all the attention being laid on her. At Crosswind's words and wink, she flushes a little, her eyes going downcast momentarily as the heat rises in her cheeks. The cash is clutched tight in her now empty hand. When Evo adresses her by her name, her eyes widen, until she remembers that her name is on the receipt. She looks like she wants to bolt away despite the softening of her appearance, and her head shakes a little in response to the offer.

"Uh... No, thank you, Miss." She tries to offer a polite nod, then makes more moves away before continuing to speak. "There's not really enough pizza for a group... You seem busy. And, I... I'm not that far away. I'm fine, thank you." She points off into the darkness, down the path. There's no car in sight. If she did come by vehicle, it would be a walk in the dark for at least a few minutes.

She looks nervous when Blue Jay starts to do her thing, and starts slowly moving back towards the way she pointed. "Thank you." She repeats, trying to excuse herself.

There is absolutely no doubt that in this situation, the most vulnerable person is the pizza girl. She shows no signs of being dangerous. There are no weapons on her person, and as far as you can tell, she has no powers.

It's hard, but you can, to some extent, manage what you were trying to do. It helps that there is little interference except for some broken wiring in the walls of this place, which most definitely needs sorting out. Other than the group here, you can't sense practically anything out for a few metres around the place. However, you don't quite know the outer limits of your perception. It's entirely possible that there could be an entire hit squad just out of your reach.

[Zero Prime]

Ulyana Khorzikhov, aka Evo (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=24151172&postcount=2)
Doom Track: [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Conditions: None.

Evo nods as the young woman's face blanched at her offer, "Yea, that's fine. Looks safe out there, but hey, Bea, listen. Folks like us," she purposefully looked towards Franka, then nodded, indicating herself, "we're the freaks," another look at Bradley, "and geeks. We want nothing more than to be normal, you know, live normal lives, be treated like everyone else." She shrugged, "I know it's alot to taqke in quickly, but listen, if we wanna order a party pizza later on, can we ask for you?" She held the door open for the girl, "You seem to have your head on straight, and it'd be nice to see a friendly face."


OOC: Going to offer Bea Comfort & Support since she seems, so obviously, overwhelmed with everything going on here. Rolling Mundane, +0, [roll0]. Let's see how this turns out for Bea the Pizza Girl!

[Jumbus]

"Yeah would love to see you around again." Crosswind gave another wink then turned away from the door back inside. Already digging into his pizza. "So when do you guys want to head off for this Phantom lady." His mouth still full he swallowed the rest. "I don't mind moving with this pizza but it certainly will slow me down." The flavour is Hawaiian.

[roko10]

Kamui Kezui, aka Providence
Conditions: None.

Realizing that the pizza girl is, in fact, just a regular girl, Kamui drops her guard entirely and walks towards both Ulyana and Bradley. She frowns when she sees that the pizza is actually quite small. "Wait, you bought pizza only for yourself?" Kamui said, "Seriously?"

[Wuff]

Bea nods in a way that is almost solemn to Evo and then, slightly more curtly, to Crosswind. "I think I understand what you mean." She backs off, seeming a bit more relaxed than she was before. "If you ask for me by name they'll probably send me. I should get going for now though, they'll want me back soon." She pauses before turning around, for long enough to say "Thanks..."

Then, she's off, a slightly sheepish, somewhat baffled look on her face. Eventually, the darkness swallows up her form, and she fades from sight. The night is drawing on, in an hour, it'll be exactly a week since Phantom carried out her first attack, according to the file that Providence had investigated.

[Zero Prime]

Ulyana Khorzikhov, aka Evo (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=24151172&postcount=2)
Doom Track: [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Conditions: None.

Ulyana watched Beau leave, hesitantly, somewhat nervous about what the future would bring for the young woman, what side she'd end up falling on, and if they had pushed her, one way or another. "BLAYT!" She exclaimed, before taking a moment to inhale, exhale, she didn't need to put a fist through anyone, at least not anyone, here! There was another matter to take care of, and maybe in taking care of that threat she could work out some of her own problems.

She sighed, again, and turned towards Providence, putting an arm around her shoulder, softly, almost hesitently before whispering to her; "Kam, I could," she looked around clearly nervous of what she was about to say, "the lab," Providence immediately knew what Ulyana was speaking of, considering some of their earlier talks on the subject, "they have one close, I could, well, they could." Another sigh, "the %&$*#$'s could track us, they have equipment all over the city, we could probably ... you know. Track down this $&%*$ using those %^$&#*'s equipment, but, I'd, uhhh, need someone to help keep me focused." Ulyana's eyes were wide, fear was not something Providence was used to seeing there. "That place," she shuddered and her voice trailed off. "Should we use it, use Chelovechestvo's research or ... can we find another way?"


OOC: Yup! Ulyana's offering up using her Sanctuary and it's *powerful computer* to track down the whereabouts of this Phantom-chick, but she's only really willing to do it with Providence, because so far she's the only one who really knows Ulyana's deal and about the experimentation in anything other than a broad, generalised way.

Also this feels like it triggers my 2nd team move; When you share a vulnerability or weakness with someone, give them Influence over you and ask if they honestly think there’s hope for you. If they say yes, mark potential or clear one box of your doom track. If they say no, mark a condition or mark your doom track. If Providence says yes we should use the Sanctuary we're using Anti-Meta tech to do it, so that feels like there's no hope, if she says find another way, that feels like there is hope. Thoughts?

[Vex]

Riot
Potential 0/5
Conditions: None

As the door opened to reveal that it was just a pizza delivery that Crosswind had called, she sighed a little and her body relaxed a little. Part of her wanted to throw the chair at the back of his head for doing something dumb like that and not telling them, the other part of her knew that if she did that it likely would end up in both his injury and the pizza girl’s as well. She rolled her eyes as Crosswind flirted with her, guess he might actually be realizing that at some of them here weren’t interested all that much and was moving onto other pastures. Though a small frown did play on her face as Evo offered to walk her back. No it wasn’t jealousy, she was just annoyed that it ended up being something so boring like a pizza person.

Sitting back down Riot tapped her foot impatiently and sighed a little before looking to Blue Jay trying to avert her eyes as she watched Evo walk up to Providence and get all buddy buddy with her. “So any clue where to chase down this phantom lady? Cause I am starving and since someone didn’t order enough for everyone now I’m even hungrier. Sooner we get this done the sooner I can go and bother my neighbor for some food… She always cooks some amazing stuff” the last part was mostly a general statement, and part of her hoped that Evo heard it, maybe it would make her jealous or something. The other benefit was Blue Jay always seemed to understand things, while Riot was more the one to punch first; and if there was nothing to punch then she was lost.

[Sahe]

Blue Jay (Franka Blue)
Potential: 0/5
Conditions: -

Nothing. Just them and the faulty wiring in the wall. She ought to take a look at that, if they were stuck in a discussion like this again, maybe, she'd rather actually get payed for work like that. She had mouths to feed, including Riot's from time to time, which the she just reminded her off when she mentioned "her neighbor". It was, frankly speaking, a miracle that Riot hadn't figured out that Blue Jay was Franka. Then again, Riot was more known for her brawn than her brains. Either way, with the pizza girl leaving and her unable to detect any immediate threats, Blue Jay visibly relaxed, but also let out a sigh and giving Crosswind a look that very much said, "I'm not mad, I'm disappointed". Seriously, he was old enough that you'd expect him to have more self control and common sense than her idiot hormonal little brother! She had half a mind to just walk up to him and electro fry his pizza. But that'd just cause more trouble.

"Riot's right, we should get a move on. Providence, do you have any way to locate Phantom beyond trying to correctly guess her next target?"

[Jumbus]

Crosswind chuckled a bit at Blue Jay pulling the I'm not angry I'm just disappointed, his mum used that card quite a bit and it was always much more than just saying shes angry. "If I told you guys about it, you would have tried to stop me haha plus..." Crosswind trailed off as he read the room, he was going to say a little bit of danger is always good which frankly was the reason he did it. But the only person he could imagine supporting him on that was Riot and even that was debatable. It wasn't cool what he did and he had just come in to realizing that. "I'm not too hungry anyway you guys can have the rest." He tossed the pizza with 5 slices left trying to play it off cool. It was a lie he was still starving but hopefully the gesture would prove he wasn't all about himself "I'm... uh... sorry, but at least we have someone to deliver us food here now. I'm going to head down to the nearest insurance place and check it out its only a few blocks down the road."

Taking out his dagger he handed it over to Providence, "I'll trust you with this if you need me just call and toss it in the air. Or ya know, toss it at the danger I always appreciate that haha." And with that Crosswind begun walking toward the door.

[roko10]

Kamui Kezui, aka Providence
Conditions: None.

"Oh, hell no," Kamui whispered an indignant reply to Evo's suggestion. "I'm not touching that computer made by a bunch of anti-meta trogdolytes even if it means the death of me. Did you really forget that I'm a bonafide supergenius? Just... just give me five minutes." Kamui's voice noticeably trails off at the end, with her walking off to find a place to think and brainstorm for a bit.

[Wuff]

Crosswind's phone beeps once, an alert from the pizza place to leave a review, along with a message from Bea and her employee ID. With his enhanced mobility, it doesn't really take long to get to his destination. As soon as he reaches the right floor, he is noticed. Glances are exchanged and A number of official looking people flock forward to meet him. The group stand before him uncertainly for a few awkward moments before one steps forward to speak. "You need to help us." He looks genuinely troubled by something, and his eyes keep wandering towards the one remaining dagger that the young hero has.

"We were told to be ready for something soon, but we don't know what it is. I assume you're here to fill us in? Or at least... Protect us?" The guy speaking is particularly tall, standing out from the rest of the little gathering.

Some time passes while Providence ponders.

[Jumbus]

"Yes... er no need to fear I am here to protect you. Ah yeah." Crosswind knew fully well he had no idea what was going on. Ignoring the message from Bea at the present time, he begun to ring Blue Jay, she would know what to do and be able to get everyone down here if needed. While the communicator was ringing he begun to talk to everyone. "Everyone get to a safe place with in the building, we don't know the situation at the perimeter yet so its not safe to exit the building. So hunker down and watch me do my work." He presented a big cheesy smile with that last line both to comfort them but also he just thought it was a bad ass line.

"But not you, not just yet anyway." Crosswind grabbed the shoulder of the guy who initially spoke. "You're going to need to give me more details. Who told you this was it a manager or stranger or what? Also did they mention anything else?"

[Wuff]

There are a few other murmurs. Someone remarks on Crosswind's youth, and a final comment silences the group: "Susan said Phantom was coming back." A few uncomfortable glances are exchanged at that point.

"Susan spends too much time reading those superhero magazines." The tall man scoffs and tells the little group to go to the break room, the safest place in the building according to him. They scurry off like ants, after a moment more of staring. "We all got an email from above telling us to be aware of some activity from superheroes and stuff. They told us to not be too worried, sent us a list of instructions and all. But... You know, with the attack last week, everyone is on edge." He frowns.

"Why are you telling us to get somewhere safe? I thought this was a drill or something? And... You do look a little young to be doing this sort of stuff. We're all professionals here, in a newly booming business sector. We should really be doing our jobs."

The line to Blue Jay is quickly secured. It will take a few good minutes to walk down to this place, longer for the group than it was for Crosswind to get here.

[Jumbus]

"And what do you do in a drill huh? Do you follow safety procedure or do you keep doing what ever the hell you feel like doing? All drills should be treated as real events so make sure everyone gets somewhere safe." Crosswind was still angry from the call out that Blue Jay had done with it sure he took it to heart though and he was trying to do the heroic thing here but they were all still doubting him. It pisses him off when people do that.

"Blue Jay got a problem here, some people over here say Phantom is coming. It could be a drill though so maybe sending everyone isn't such a good idea from the get go. I'll leave it up to you." Crosswind spoke in a hushed voice and then hung up immediately, there was a situation on the ground and he had two choices. Teleport out to his team or teleport the dagger back and be fully prepared for the fight. He smiled and even shook a bit at the anticipation, would he finally be seeing some action. The second dagger appeared in his hand.

[Zero Prime]

Ulyana Khorzikhov, aka Evo (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=24151172&postcount=2)
Doom Track: [X] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Conditions: None.

Ulyana could only hear half of the conversation, but she knew Dagger Boy would try to be show stopper, he liked to prove himself, and get himself in over his head. Thankfully he'd handed Kamui on of his daggers. QUite no-chalantly, she took it from Providence, and gripped the blade tightly before running her hand down it, coating it in a smear of her own blood. She handed it back to Kam, though the young woman's wide eyed face as she did so made her want to laugh.

When Blue Jay got off the phone, she looked to Franka, "So he tell you where he is? No, right, because he's a %^&$*($ idiot." She didn't speak with venom in her voice, more like a sister complaining about her annoying brother, "I'll make sure he's ok." She wandered to a dark corner of their base, began to take off her clothing, folding it neatly and placing it on a table off to her side, until only the pale skin of her naked back was visible to the rest of the group. She looked over towards Riot and gave a playful wink.

"He's gonna love this part ...," and then, as simple as that, her body ... discorporated into it's biological components, blood, tissue and viscera sluiced down the drain where she was standing.

Even as Crosswid was staring at his recalled dagger, his nose scrunched as he thought about whose blood could possibly be smeared across the blade, the blood began to thicken, turning from a deep red, to a black, vicous, mass of writhing bio matter. That matter dripped from the blade, with a thick, heavy, Blop-blop-blop. Until it began to coalesce and shift on the office floor, it's size and shape beginning to shift, flow, grow, form, gaining mass, from, somewhere. Bones forming, then bio-mass shifting around growing upward until it began to resemble a human form, it took a stumbling step, a bloody hand, covered in wet, embryonic like fluid, steadied itself against a wall. As it's skin form, all those present noted it was pale, caucasion, however, feet, thighs, pelvis, hands, elbows, shoulders, chest, were covered in a thick, carapace, almost an exoskeleton. Her head and face weren't entirely obscured, and Crosswind recognized Evo's face smirking at him.


https://i.postimg.cc/wvrh6db5/Evo-Combat-Form.jpg

"Other's are on their way, any sign of this Phantom chick?"


OOC: Marking a Doom Sign and activating Infinite Power to replicate the Teleport power. In-game description is that she can 'regrow' from any bio-matter, even as insignificant as a smear of blood. So she tracked where the dagger went, and regrew from the blood she placed there. Ta-da! Gotta love shape shifters!

[Wuff]

The few remaining staff - those who hadn't had time to vacate - back away from Crosswind, hands out in front of them as if they could protect themselves from the thing that had emerged from his blade. There is a look of revulsion on each of their faces. The tall guy, who was the closest when Evo emerged, looks actually nauseous. "Is she with you...?" He looks uncertain, almost as if he wish he were facing Phantom right now, instead of the two heroes.

From under a nearby desk, there's a muted vomiting noise as puke spatters against the corporate carpets. And as soon as that sound hits, an electrical sizzle follows, and one by one, the lights seem to explode. There are a number of shrill alarms as the computers in the area die, but apart from that, no one else says a word or makes a noise. The moon shines in through the window, but apart from that, there is pitch black. Even some of the lights in the other nearby buildings have gone out. Something flares up in the darkness, blindingly bright after the sudden darkness. "What happened to the lights?" The large employee waves his phone around, illuminating the corners of the room. "That must have been her!"

[Jumbus]

Crosswind jumped back and flinched at Evo emerging for his dagger which he dropped during her teleportation. After a bit of time he relaxed a bit knowing it was just Evo, "Ya know you should really warn me before you do that, like 'oh hey Crosswind I have this terrifying teleportation ability, I just wanted to tell you before either you or the civilians vomit.'" And with perfect timing one had actually brought up their lunch. "Aaand there it is." He walked over to pick up his dagger noticing blood still on it "hey you wouldn't mind cleaning this up a bit would you. I don't know how hard it is to clean blood of a dagger and I don't really plan to find ou..."

His sentence was interrupted by the lights, he teleport the other dagger to his hand still a bit grossed out that it was coated in blood. "Well thats playing a bit dirty."

[Zero Prime]

Ulyana Khorzikhov, aka Evo (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=24151172&postcount=2)
Doom Track: [X] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Conditions: None.

Evo chuckled at Crosswind's complaining, "If you didn't want to be sick, maybe you shoulda shown up with an empty stomach?" She gave him a shot in the arm, "You deserve it, you ordered pizza without thinking of the team %$^#." However, even as she spoke, her eyes began to ****, the cones and the rods shifting, multiplying, amplifying the existing light, refracting it, illuminating the darkened office space, her eyes glowing a iridescent yellow.


OOC: Using my radical shapeshifting to give myself cat's eyes, allowing me to see in the darkened office. Assess the Situation, rolling Superior, -2, [roll0]. Let's see how this goes. Whelp, a failure, but hey, Potential too!

[Sahe]

Blue Jay (Franka Blue)
Potential: 0/5
Conditions: -


"Stay put, focus on defense, first of yourself, then the civilians", Franka instructed Crosswind, realizing a moment later she should've probably told him the opposite of what she wanted him to do, too late, "We're on our way."

Hanging up, Franka was about to say something, maybe motivational, but instead saw how Evo took Crosswinds dagger and cut herself, just before the token male of their group summoned his weapon back to him. Franka was a bit worried. What was this? A weird blood ritual. Then Evo proceeded to walk into the corner and started to strip down to nothing. After a few moments Blue Jay noticed she was staring and really thankful for her mask, because it was at least obscuring the fact that she was probably beet red under there. In her defense, she knew now for a long time that she was gay, but that hadn't so far translated into anything romantically and she rarely had been around other girls just straight up stripping down like Evo...and Evo was hot. There was a slight sting of jealousy when she saw how Evo winked to Riot, that however was immediately gone as Evo suddenly melted in the most nightmare fuel way possible.

Once the girl had...melted away Blue Jay just kept staring at the spot where she disappeared before shaking her head as if to get rid of the confusing and overlapping images of a really nice butt and body horror out of her mind and refocus, "So...that just happened...let's...let's just get a move on and try to be there quick...yeah?"

[Wuff]

As Blue Jay and the rest of the group move to meet with Crosswind and Evo, the action continues. The businessman stops waving about his phone, and has it focused on the present heroes. It's hard to see the space behind him, but Evo's adaptive sight manages to filter through the visual noise. She looks past the employee and spots something in the dark which Crosswind can't quite see. Three more people emerge. They most likely hadn't made it out of the room before the lights died, or had waited to hear more about the situation. One wipes their mouth with a sleeve, peering expectantly towards Evo, seeing her as perhaps more capable of defending them right now.

"We're okay, right? I heard she can only do illusions. They can't hurt us?"

With almost perfect timing, one of the employees yelps out a startled cry for help as a somebody charges from out of the darkness. Evo and Crosswind recognise the person as Phantom almost instantly, even in the darkness. She lunges forward with extraordinary grace, the rapier in her hand flashing out dangerously, nearly gutting the man instantly if not for his quick reflexes. The whole thing is incredibly theatrical and dramatic, but almost certainly capable of being lethal if the strike were to land. Her speed is incredible, so much so that she has crossed half the room and made a first strike before it was possible for anyone to react.

The group gasp, but no one moves to help, actually taking a few steps away from the action as the blade swirls back elegantly, sliding into the next stroke with ease.

[Jumbus]

The shaking had increase with in Crosswind the anticipation was all too much to bare. He needed a fight like this and while Evo was doing some weird body stuff again he would strike first. "Well you seem to be quite quick, don't disappoint me on this one. Catch!" He tossed the bloody dagger up in the air, and if all went well she wouldn't noticed the other one being tossed right past her head.


[roll0] I'll take expose a weakness or flaw and confuse them for sometime

[Wuff]

Phantom completely ignores the upward thrown dagger, she doesn't so much as flick her eyes to acknowledge it, however, her next lunge, which happens again, at unbelievable speeds, brings her into the path of Crosswind's thrown dagger unintentionally. The sharp part of the dagger sinks into her, and then a vase on the other side of her body explodes into shards. She flinches back, her free hand going to her head, which she throws back in agony.

For a second, what just happened isn't entirely clear. However, the path of the rapier is unstoppable, and it sinks into the stomach of her victim without so much as a sound. It is visible on the other side of him. He cries out, his hands clapping over his stomach as he stumbles backwards, falling onto his rear as he cowers away, a bloodcurdling scream escaping him. At the sight, the group splits, taken by raw terror. Each runs in a different direction, seeking a way out of the room as they witness their colleague be impaled by Phantom.

The rapier fades out of sight as the woman presses her other hand into her head, as if she were suffering from some sort of headache.

"Oh, God. God. S-She's never killed anyone... Before!" Only the tall man remains, frozen in place with fear. It's clear by the expression on his face that he would have bolted out of the room with everyone else if he were capable of doing so.

[Vex]

Riot
Potential 0/5
Conditions: None

Riot was never really the one who came up with the brilliant plans or amazing strats, she was more the one to punch things till they started to make sense. It was likely why they had put her in the group with Providence and BJ, to be the brains for her brawn. So for that moment she held position in their base, waiting on an order from either BJ, or Providence for her to start moving. Then Evo drew her eyes when she mentioned to BJ that she was going to back up Crosswinds.

Before she wandered over to the corner and started stripping. And Riot would be lying if she didn’t take full advantage of that view she was getting, though her face went absolutely crimson when Evo looked to her and winked, and she tried to play it off cool and advert her eyes a little to look like she didn’t care at all. Though, her eyes went back when Evo’s powers started to activate, as Evo started to disappear, her body turning to a mess of viscera and gore.

And while Blue Jay looked positively sick, Riot laughed a little “Ok. That was so cool” she said as she grabbed her bat and grinned at Blue Jay as she said that they were going to get there quickly. As she looked to Blue Jay once again and asked her “Where do you think they are?” she asked, as they got nearer and nearer to the company.

[roko10]

Kamui Kezui, aka Providence
Conditions: None.

When Kamui's mind finally settled on an idea, she wanted to share it, but then she suddenly noticed that Evo started stripping in the corner of the room. Flustered, she decided to avert her eyes, yet still trying to sneak a peek; bizarrely enough, she seemed almost more at ease when Evo turned into a bloody goop.

Still rendered somewhat speechless for once in her life, she decided to run along with the remaining Zeroes (she didn't have a chance to procure a bike yet); unfortunately for her, despite the extra physical training she has gone through, she still struggles with keeping pace with the literal superhumans next to her, visibly panting as she tries and fails to do so.

[Zero Prime]

Ulyana Khorzikhov, aka Evo (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=24151172&postcount=2)
Doom Track: [X] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Conditions: None.

Evo moved to the fallen man quickly, shaking the image from her head. Illusionists, they $%^#*@ with you! Crouching by his side, she pressed a hand to his wound, biomorphic tendrils flowing from her hand to the wound. "Dagger Boy, check her!" She shouted while she transferred a portion of her vitality to the wounded man. As she spoke a howl of pain erupted from her lips, "GRRR-awwwargh!", as her abdomen began to seep blood before her body began to knit her own flesh back together, the wound reminded her of years of surgeries, incisions, and it all came rushing back to her even as the victim's own wound knitted closed, just leaving a smear of their own blood.


OOC: Trying to use my Vitality Absorbtion in reverse, transferring his wound to myself, thereby removing any damage to him, as Evo's body is infinitely more equipped to deal with such trauma. Rolling Freak, +1, [roll0]. Not sure how Physical Damage works, as I should only mark a condition on 7-9, however if I need to Mark a Condition to represent the damage I am absorbing, I choose to mark Angry as she recalls her youth.
Just let me know. :)

[Jumbus]

Crosswind dropped his guard and non chalantly approached the lady. His dagger he tossed up was well lodged in the roof and the other was back in his hand. "Sorry to dissapoint you Evo but this ain't the real lady. Keep and eye out for her, but we have some relief for now I think my daggers screw with her powers." He held the dagger up to what he presumed was an illusion. He then raised his voice so anyone in the building could hear. " I said not to dissapoint me, you want to come out so we can start this for real? "

Just then he heard Evo cry in pain. He looked at her diverting his attention from Phantom. "Jesus, you all good? You got some freaky power you know that?"

[Wuff]

Evo feels the roar of blood in her head, but when she reaches out to heal the fallen man, she can find no injuries on his body apart from some scratches where he'd fallen on his belt, and a bruise that will be forming soon. Her touch seems to snap him out of his fear, and he looks down at where he had supposedly been stabbed in wonder. He looks confused for a moment, then angry. He sits up by himself and sheepishly tries to climb to his feet. He keeps watching Phantom, weary, asserting that he's fine to Evo. The tall man has backed off into the corner of the room by this point, having found his feet.

Phantom turns to Crosswind and in one step, closes the distance. In a strange movement, her body slinks around his, passing through him where it is convenient for her to do so. Her hands move to cover his eyes and dig in deep, in a gouging movement. The sensation is strange. It's as though water is passing through his eyes or a cool chill. She whispers something into his ear. Evo can see that her mask has twisted again. Shown on it is an emotion alike to anger.

Blue Jay, Riot and Providence arrive at the bottom floor of the high rise Phantom is attacking. The lights for most of the floors have been blown out, and there is shattered and then crushed glass on the carpet. Outside, a number of people huddle. Sirens sound in the distance. A small-league hero, hard to place exactly, stands outside, peering up. At the arrival of the group, he heaves a sigh of relief, and vanishes from sight with a whoosh of his cape. To the side of the building, some sort of panel has been blown out of the wall, sparks fly from it. There is a loud electrical buzzing coming from it. The pavement is scorched. Nobody seems to be injured.

[Zero Prime]

Ulyana Khorzikhov, aka Evo (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=24151172&postcount=2)
Doom Track: [X] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Conditions: None.

Evo looked towards where woman was driving her fingers into Crosswind's eye sockets, "HEY!" She screamed towards his assailant, "PHANTOM OF THE SUCK!" Evo threw her arm out, the bioorganic matter which coated, covered, comprised her body, spraying out with the intensity of a fire hose, plowing into the theatrically clad illusionist, hopefully pinning her to the opposite wall, ripping her away from her team mate.


OOC: I will Directly Engage, rolling Danger +2, [roll0]. An 11, two success, I will take something from her, specifically her mobility by pinning her to the wall. I will also create an opportunity for my allies, as she is momentarily trapped. Which means we trade blows, and I may have to roll to take a powerful blow?

[Wuff]

The stream of gunk seems to hit Phantom directly, but there is a crunching sound as it goes straight into the wall, crashing into it and even cracking it slightly. Crosswind is spattered by the stuff as it crashes past his face, clinging to him where it lands, congealing and becoming sticky. Although it travels through Phantom uselessly, the illusion seems to be slowed slightly by the stuff travelling through it. As she moves to get out of it, her fingers slip out from Crosswind's sockets, and his sight rushes back. The room is still dark, but a dropped phone cascades light across it somewhat, illuminating Phantom perfectly.

Crosswind's dagger finds a way into his grip, the pointy end edged towards Phantom. It'd only take a push to bury it into her. It's unlikely she'd be able to manoeuvre her way out.

Down below, the streets bustle, and some people start to notice the arrived group of heroes, and one or two will make their way over to beg for help.

[Jumbus]

Crosswind was so close to Phantom and his dagger was even closer, he knew it was an illusion but having blood all over him and the blade still freaked him out. It was also clear that whatever rules this illusion had it still affected Phantom in someway. "Don't try that again." Taking out his phone he teleported up to the roof where the other dagger was lodged and looked down on the situation


[roll0]
Using criminal mind my question is how could I best infuriate or provoke?

[Sahe]

Blue Jay (Franka Blue)
Potential: 1/5
Conditions: -

"Knowing them...", Blue Jay said as they got closer and closer to the company under attack by the villain, "they're where they always are. In trouble", she finished and pointed up ahead where the lights of the insurance company building and some of the surroundings where dead.

When they arrived the first thing Blue Jay noticed was the broken transformer formerly hidden by a panel, now shooting sparks in every direction and the cause of the blackout. It was hard not to, if you had her enhanced sense of electroreception, distracting and noisy as it was. Maybe she should fix it, try and get the lights back on.

"I'll try and switch the lights back on so we wont have to go in blind...then we go in...remember get the civilians out first...then we deal with Phantom."

She walked over to the transformer and assessed the damage. It wasn't looking good, several circuits where melted and this would certainly be a job she'd need a proper toolkit and some spare parts for. Maybe she could patch it up however. No fear of high voltage electrocution thanks to her powers, Franka used some broken parts from the transformer itself to jury rig a solution and then took a step back watching as the lights all around flickered back to life again.


BJ is going to Unleash her Powers, trying to fix the the broken transformer and get the lights back on.

[roll0]

I chose for the effect to be temporary or unstable

[Wuff]

Phantom stumbles back as her target vanishes from sight. The illusion shimmers, turning to Evo for just a moment, and then fades out entirely. As that happens, all the lights in the room suddenly spark up, crackling with electricity. The bulbs are smashed into thousands of tiny little shards, but the room is at least lit up now, to some extent. The room is mostly empty now. The employees that had been standing here are all gone, bar for the two that had remained. The audience outside gasp as Blue Jay does her work, and clap when the lights spark back, though they make a conscious effort to stay away from them.

Screams echo through the narrow, corporate hallways audible even from the ground floor with their volume. The low-light and loud, bouncing noises are ever so slightly disorientating. It seems like there are too many to be just from the workers here.

The roof is far from the floor that Crosswind had been on, and from so far up, he has a great view of most of the city, nevermind the unfolding situation. Traffic is piling up in the surrounding area as people try to come and go from the place. A few ambulances have been parked outside, just in case. They flash silently, but the effect of the strobing light is still obtrusive. While up there, Crosswind gets the idea that perhaps if he were to sabotage her illusions, he would be able to cause her more headaches.