A New Chance

[evisiron]

Nosferatu


After following the various instructions, and trying to appear in control despite the admin, Nosferatu eventually get to a point where he can be properly registered.

"Will you be using your powers while costumed or in a civilian identity?

"Costumed. Standard 'protect the ones I care about' situation"

What is your name and/or alias?

"You may call me Nosferatu"

What are your powers?

"Like a creature of the night from stories of old, I can fly and am extremely resilient. I also seem stronger and faster than ever before."

There is a slight pause as Nosferatu considers the implications of mentioning the other power...

"I can also sense others 'supers', and tell them apart from uneffected people"

A thought crosses Nosferatu's mind, about other uses of the list and who might try to gain access to it.

"I have not been able to go near anything with garlic on it, and cannot bear the sight of crosses. Thankfully however, I do not need to consume blood to survive."

The last sentence is spoken with a slight smirk.

OOC: Considering the amount of things this guy is likely to have heard in the past few hours, I was not sure a bluff roll was needed. Still, just in case... http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=1375439

What do you plan on doing with your powers?


"Helping people. I suppose the first thing would be to help prevent violence in the wake of this 'incident', both from super powered criminals to mobs of hate filled humans"

Do you have any police, military and/or medical training?

"I do not have any official training"

Do you have a criminal record?

"No"

Are you interested in receiving Police training?"

"Yes, but at a later date."


"I had a question. Would I be able to receive some kind of police scanner, or a diferent way to get in contact? I would like to know as soon as possible if something should decide to go on a rampage."

*Before Nosferatu will leave, he will use the Detect Power (full 3 rounds, 3PP) to see if any other Supers are in the building*

Future Plans: Finish up at police station. Go and try to purchase a new 'blank' phone with prepaid minutes (so no ID necessary). Return and give the new phone number to the police so they can get in touch if the radioactive goo hits the fan. Glide around for another hour or so. If all is quiet, return home (in as a confusing route as possible) and try to sleep.

[The_Snark]

Judith

"Huh. That's..." She gives him a curious look. "If you can see who was affected by the blast..." She trails off, storing that information for later. That could be very useful, though.

"So Balchem's been grabbing ideas off other companies. Figures. Well, that's something to start with—we know what kind of evidence to look for, anyway. Did you find out where the unstable chemical was taken from? The rest of them, too, actually—it might have been a reaction between two or more of them..." She frowns. "Probably too much to hope that they kept accurate records of illegal activity, though." And even if they did, a legal investigation would tip them off... they probably wouldn't shy from destroying the records. So much for just giving our infamously nosy press an anonymous tip and calling it a day.

She returns to her earlier thoughts. "Have you thought about what you're going to do with that ability?"

[Tar Palantir]

The Reaper whirls about, his claws flying in a dervish of death, to cut down the switchblade wielding thug. He cries out, "Feel the fear, and pay for your crimes!"


Attack and Fear the thug, 3 PP. I can't suppress it, so I have to watch my PP. Should have 27 left if I hit.
[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]

[The_Lonely_d12]

Davan

Davan turns and walks back to the woman, and hands her purse back to her.
could that have been any easier? I could have taken him with one hand behind my back even before this explosion happened.

"Here you go, ma'am. Have a good evening, and take care around here at night. Not everyone is out to stop crime around here, and it can be dangerous walking around here by yourself.

OoC:Assuming she doesn't have a long conversation planned, I'm going to politely make my way off to a bar for a few minutes, and later home.

[Xerxes Shadow]

"GOD! JUST DIE!" screams Joe, whirling his katanas at the knuckles-guy.

ROLLS: 28 and 19. (http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=1375776) Damage: 11 and 14. (http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=1375778)

[Thrall_Of_Ao]

Draven/Oblivion
9:45?
Club Umbral

Taking his shot, slamming it back, and clapping it decicively down on the bartop, he listened to Andys response, nodding minutely as he let the drink settle.
He speaks up after Andy finishes "Very Zen of you Andy, but you're right, this is definitely a 'one step at a time' kind of situation. Hey, who knows, maybe we'll all get lucky and find out only one self proclaimed insane mass murderer will have gained inhuman powers, and the one that did will never escape custody", he chuckles darkly as he finishes.
He shrugs,"Let's just hope it gets better before it gets a whole lot worse eh?"

Ignoring the money and sliding the shot glass back across the counter, he pulls out another $5 bill, adds it to the stack of change and says, "For now, open a tab, keep em comin, and please keep the change."

He takes up the second shot and holds onto it a bit, looking into the murky "deer blood" before downing it thoughtfully , as APC's "Weak and Powerless" played in the background, the projected images of the creeping and crawling creatures of the earth devouring...the feral eyed woman crawling about on all fours, looking about, as if searching for something that cannot be defined.

Briefly glancing at his glass in disdain when Andy wasn't looking, it was becoming more and more obvious to him that the effect produced was definitely...less intense. Now that he thought about it, not only the effect, but the flavor as well seemed to be...muted somehow.
[roll0]

How much have I changed? I have irrefutably been given god-like power, but at what cost? He takes his gloves off, carefully placing them in his coat pocket, then ordering a 'Liquid Cocain' when Andy came back. No need to risk anyone wondering how I'm holding the old Fire Water so well...

I wonder if she'll even show...he mused to himself, stroking his goatee thoughtfully as he sipped his drink, not that I need an excuse to sit here and have a few drinks after a day like today. She's a little on the short side, but could definitely have potential, and those boots she wore were really sexy...
Maybe I should check out the second floor. I'm...curious. Stretching his hands out on the bar as he thinks this, enjoying the feel of the cool marble beneath his fingertips, the feel of the entire surface, the feel of the woman at the other end of the bar as she swirled her fingers idly on it...he ran a hand over his face, refocusing himself, and prepared to rise. So much for not looking like I'm getting smashed, maybe I should just get the hell out of here before anything more bizzar happens...

That was when he felt her. A presence, heavier somehow than the rest in the room, moving past the crenelated entrance pillars, approaching him. So intense, yet so fragile, like a grenade in a wine goblet, waiting to be...
Power Detection, activated and sustained long enough to get the full measure of her power level, and possibly pick up on any other superhumans in range.

The APC song came to a somber end, the rippling pool of blood loop flashing up on the screen, fading into "Black No.1"

His nails scraping across the polished stone beneath his fingers, he resists the urge to glance over his shoulder at the woman who could only be Natasha, as she approached him, managing to smoothly lace his fingers together into a more relaxed pose as she sat down next to him.

He nods at her greeting and watches her coyly as she settled herself onto the barstool.
Listening patiently as she made her explanation, Draven observed her out of the corner of his brooding gray eyes, the faintest of smiles slowly surfacing to hover around his lips. And I thought I was having a hard time focusing before...

"So, let me get this straight, superhuman lunatics on the news distracted you so much that you nearly forgot our date? Obviously, you're easily frazzled, I suggest a drink, it really helps with "the sky is falling", feeling, trust me, I know. In the mean time, I'll try and decide whether or not I want to forgive you for letting me wait around long enough for my ass to almost fall asleep".

I wonder how long I should wait to tell her that I know, or if she'll figure out that I do before I actually...I suppose I'll wait to see what she orders. Live in the moment, just like Andy said.

"By the way, don't think I invited you here because of the way you dress, I just like the atmosphere, plus I just happen to work security here on occasion.
Not to mention that it beats the hell out of the alternative as a nice place to sit down and have a decent conversation".

"So what are you having?" he purrs after pausing long enough in between each statement for her to reply to any of them.


OOC: Geez3r, in your last post to Draven, he was calling me by his own name. :smallbiggrin: Maybe he's snuck one to many from behind the bar...after all, it has been a rough night.

[geez3r]

Legion


"All of the bank's security systems are controlled from the security room, if you don't have the bank president's key, or can't walk through walls, you can't get to the security room. All of the tapes for the cameras are stored there as well."

Nosferatu

As you rattle off your answers, you come to 1 of 2 conclusions: 1) this guy has the best poker face ever or 2) he's seen and heard so much wacky crap today that none of this fazes him anymore. After you're done with the interview, the officer responds "Well I'm glad to hear that you would like to use your powers to help others, but at this time, we can't condone any vigilantes. We need to get all of our facts straight and get a handle on things before we basically allow people to run amok." The officer then drops his voice and leans into you "Though if some Super does start flipping out, you could get into our good books if you put a stop to it."

===================================
Power Detections detects nada in your vicinity.

Unless you wish to roleplay it out, I'm willing to just hand-wave the acquisition of a phone and subsequent giving the number to the Police. *Flips coin* And you don't find anything else noteworthy going on, so you return home.

Judith

"Technically the chemical isn't unstable unless it's stored at a "high" temperature; it's perfectly inert if stored properly, which it wasn't because that would draw too much attention to have like a single barrel stored differently than all the rest. I guess they didn't know it would react this violently. As for which company it belonged to, that part was kept purposefully vague, though I would venture to guess that Balchem has probably "acquired" from most other chemical companies on the market by this time. Now as for what I'm going to do with this ability, I'm going to try to recruit others like yourself who were affected, because they have both a personal interest in seeing Balchem brought to justice, and they have abilities Balchem can't predict or guard against. I think it would greatly speed up the legal process, so we can get this over and done with."

Joe/ Reaper/ Thugs

Joe, visibly angered slashed out at the knuckled thug, cutting deeply into him, causing him to cough up some blood, and lean up the wall for support. He's clearly on his last legs, but because you and Reaper have him blocked in, he decides to go down fighting.

Reaper, in classic form, slashes out at the knife wielding leader, but fails to hit his mark.

The bat thug tries yet again to hit the Reaper, but misses his mark yet again.
Captain Knuckles here tries to deck Joe one last time, but he misses and over exerts himself, and he drops to the ground.
Finally the leader tries to slash Reaper back, echoing the cries of "DIE" and very narrowly misses.


attack and damage rolls (1d20+7=17, 1d6+6=7) (http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=1377058)
attack and damage rolls (1d20+7=19, 1d6+6=10) (http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=1377060)
attack and damage rolls (1d20+8=25, 1d4+6=10) (http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=1377064)


Davan

The woman says "Bless your heart. We need more people like you around." and continues on her way.

Draven-Oblivion/ Tasha

{Clearly you are forgetting rule 0.01: The DM's spelling, grammar and naming conventions are always correct. :smalltongue: }

[BloodyAngel]

Tasha

(Well crap crap crap crappity crap! I didn't know ol' dark and brooding could sense supers passively. *waves goodbye to her secret ID*)

Did he just... No... good guess... that's all. Stop being paranoid! Tasha chided herself internally as Draven spoke about the club and it's atmosphere.

It's alright... Plenty of people make that assumption. At least you didn't assume that I write morbid poetry and secretly want to be a vampire. Tasha will say with a laugh, and settle in at the bar.

I'm actually late because I spent all day watching the stupid news, thinking my class tomorrow was canceled. I just found out it's not... and I have a paper due. Which I should be doing right now but... I didn't want you think I stood you up. She will explain... only partially true... but better than confessing that she spent half the day possessing a boy from their school. But I'm here now, and I may as well skip tomorrow if I'm not going to have my paper due so... I'm up for staying out all night if you are.

Tasha smiled, her black lipstick a sharp contrast to her pale skin and long dark hair.

I... have no idea what half of those drinks are... so... I'll just have a screwdriver.

Tasha will pay for her drink herself... and show off her fake ID, if need be. She's only 20, technically... and small enough that she's often mistaken for younger.

(Since the DM is going to be jumping ahead to the next day soon... I think Draven and I should either sum this up... or set a place up to role-play it on the side... which is my choice. Maybe in PM's? What do you think Ao? I don't want to hold the game up... but I DO want to deal with someone knowing she's a mutant.)

[Wiz]

*DING* I don't see any reason not to do what I set in my previous post before midnight and as I wake up. Naturally, in addition to keeping my police scanner on, I'll have the morning news television and radio playing while I do the following... and if anything interesting happens, I'll pause and perhaps modify my morning.


Dr. Harold Smith a.k.a. Pulse

Harold spraypaints everything flat black and then replaces the bulbs with new ones to make sure everything looks kosher, and of the same technological origin. He tests his various devices, the flyer, the flare grips, the sonic screwdriver, the magnetic starfish, and the guns.

He fishes out his untraceable cell and punches in another number. "Lewis? Yes... it's me, can we talk on this line? Okay... yes, I do actually have a request, and it will be a difficult one. I want to know everything Balchem knows about the accident... and I mean everything. Yes, I know it's a really bad time, but do you remember when I helped someone else with a really bad time... good, I thought you might. No... magnetic media might be bad... I've had a computer meltdown myself... a new invention I'm working on. A Photon Disk would be best. I'll call for updates once a week... I know your investigation will be ongoing. What's that... no... Nice try, but you and I know that you can get them to funnel everything through legal... they are going to want to cover their asses every which way. No, I promise, the data is for my own use, nothing will be released before Balchem releases it themselves. Okay, thanks, Lewis."

Harold grabs a quick meal, then sits down in front of the mirror and dons his familiar makeup for Pulse, then puts on his costume, holster, and stows various pieces of equipment about his person. He turns off his police scanner, since nothing significant seems to be happening about the city and takes his usual precautions before departing his home and making a visible show of his patrol. As he soars over the city, keeping his senses active for crime, he also watches for other heroes. "Can't hurt to get to know some of my fellow crimefighters... someone might even want to start a group effort, those four who covered the mayor and took down The Reaper showed good teamwork.

[PlasticSoldier]

((He said he had the keys to the security room when he gave me his keys))


"I distinctly remember you saying you had the keys to the security room, but that's irrelevant. Now last chance where is the security room. "

#1 puts on a mask and gloves.

[Raven T.]

(Since Wiz dinged, I'm going to start the next day, as well...I'm getting bored.)

Alex

Dawn had yet to break over the horizon when the alarm switched on, blaring a big hit by a local metal band. It was another early morning for Alex. Now more than ever he had to show his tenacity and his mettle. If he was going to inspire the management under him, he had to demonstrate competence. He needed people to succeed in this venture. Fear was a poor ruling tool; it didn’t bring about greatness. It is always better to rule with a velvet glove than an iron fist.

Two cups of coffee and a shower later he was ready for work. The weather was supposed to be mild today and he regretted the fact he had been forced to sell his motorcycle when he moved to Rainport. Instead, he grabbed his laptop, his briefcase, and his phone and headed for the Express, a bus route that went from the business apartments on the west side to the major corporations on the east. It gave him quite a bit of time to think on the way. He would have to move fast and he knew of several of the men and women he oversaw would absolutely jump at the opportunity for power. He had noticed that he was a special case in his quick advancement. The board of directors saw him as some sort of golden boy…or a major threat. Either way, his position was such that he could, in fact, make a bid for power, be it here or with his own group.

The bus ran as on schedule as it did ever other day. Influential people didn’t like to be late. Another day, another dollar…but this time, the ball’s in MY court. As he sat down at his desk and took stock of what needed done for the day, he sent out one of his special departmental e-mails to the men and women he wanted to talk to:

My friends,
Recent events have provided a window of opportunity. I am scheduling a business lunch at the usual place. I would ask you to come, even if just for a free meal.

Regards,
Alex.

(These events should take me up to about 7:30am.)

[evisiron]

Nosferatu - Day 2

Robert Wright wakes up back in his bed, in his students apartment. He lies there, eyes open for a minute. Giving a few minutes to review his surroundings, he ponders whether the previous day was nothing but a dream. With a smile, he realises this is not the case.

Moving his arm to sit up, it peels off the bedsheet. Looking at his arm, Robert can see fine hair like protusions reaching from the skin. Slowly, they pull back into the skin.

"What the... did I set down roots?"

Standing up slowly, taking care not to tear any other roots that had grown out, Robert walks to the window. Flicking the blinds open, he is bathed in sunlight. Instantly he feels revitalised and infused with fresh energy. He stands there for a minute, basking in the golden energy, before checking his computer. Looking up the university website, Robert realises with a sigh that most of his classes are still running.

"Education cares not for the woes of this world, I suppose"

Glancing at his watch, there seems to be a fair bit of time before the first class of the day begins. A few minutes are spent gathering books as well as getting some breakfast. He does pause before drinking the orange juice.

"Huh. I wonder if this counts as canibalism now.. Oh well" *Gulps down juice*

Before heading out, he packs the various pieces of his outfit into his backpack, as well as a pair of black gloves that were still in the packaging; neglected since last Halloween. They had a skeleton pattern running up the fingers, and would help him keep fingerprints off stuff. In addition, Robert grabs a few zip ties commonly used as a restraint.

"The cop said I could help by restraining any supers... I sure that would extent to crazy people attacking randomly as well. They could have super powers I guess. Aww, wait. I told him I could sense powers. Oh well, I will just be careful. Better leave the sword behind then. Baseball bat should be fine though"

Heading to the door, Robert pauses for a second.

"Why walk...when you can fly?!"

In a rush, Robert pulls on his outfit, once again becoming Nosferatu. Changing into his 'game face' Nosferatu takes off towards the university taking a reasonably loose route, keeping an eye out for trouble as always.


Summary: Nosferatu has his 'civilian' stuff in the backpack and is flying towards the university.

[evisiron]

[Just realised Pulse is scanning the skies for other heroes, so if nothing in his morning stopped him heading out, and I actually can spot him, the following would happen:]

Nosferatu

Gliding through the air, Nosferatu relishes how much easier it is to move without worrying about traffic. As soon as the thought crosses his mind, he does notice some traffic... a caped figure flying on what appears to be some kind of hover board with smoke trickling from its rear.

With a change of course, Nosferatu soars towards the figure. As he gets nearer, Nosferatu lets his senses increase and 'tastes' the area around him [when within 50ft, using Detect Power for 3 rounds, 3PP spent]. He then raises his hand in greeting:

"Its nice weather to fly in, isnt it?"

[Tar Palantir]

The Reaper lunges forward, trying to rip out the annoying thug's heart.


Attack the thug with the knife. Assuming +2 flanking bonus.

[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]

[Xerxes Shadow]

Joe pulls back about ten feet from the thugs and heals himself again for 8 HP. (http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=1377391)

[The_Snark]

Judith

Judith regards Nerros seriously. "There are other things you could do, too. I'm not saying Balchem doesn't need taking care of, because it does, but this whole business is going to cause a lot of trouble for everyone, and... hmmm. I suppose the police could use that ability, but even if you don't want to go to them, you could still put it to use." Actually... I don't know how much the police could even do with it, legally.

"We already know there are people in the blast who were crazy... or maybe you didn't, but some guy attacked the Mayor at his speech. Somebody should at least be watching to make sure people who have these abilities aren't misusing them..."

[Nelphine]

Murky Day 2

Murky Lyam looked around his apartment. Everything seemed to be losing it's colour, going to black and white. Just like his clothing and his lucky Rainbow Manitee's hat. Murky didn't really know why it was all happening, but it was. His skin was ashen grey and sorta smokey, and his hair and eyes had become varying shades of grey as well. The morning paper had become all greys when he was holding it too, though it had regained some of it's colour when he put it down.

All in all it was very depressing. And muddles of memories of the last few nights didn't help much either. The dog attack while getting the paper this morning was just another thing designed to bring his mood down, barking and biting.. oddly he still hadn't noticed any marks, and the 2 bigger dogs had really seemed to want to chew his leg off.

But none of this was going to stop him. According to the news, superheroes were showing up all over town! 'I'm going to prove to everyone that I'm more than just a cargo handler! I can help people! I'm going to give everyone around here what they want!' Murky jumped up and threw on his steel toed boots and his leather vest (and of course the logo on the front promptly turned grey. He was getting used to that.) As an afterthought he grabbed his armour vest and his Baretta. If he was going to prove that he knew what it took to be a superhero, he may as well start with the Neo-Mafia thugs who sold him the weapon in the first place.

The vest and the jacket were a tight fit over his new arm. Luckily the thing retracted down to a very small size, and sat snugly on his chest. If people saw him with a 20' black tentacly arm thing waving all over he'd probably get a reception like that crazy Reaper dude. No sir. Better hide it, and avoid all the hubbub.

He pulled his hat close down over his eyes, and left his grey apartment. (Already bits of colour were coming back, and the stairway he was in looked a little more drab.. sigh.)

Downstairs and onto the street where his Dodge Charger was parked. Piece of junk. He tried and tried to do all the little upgrades the magazines told him about, but it never seemed to help the car. But to better things!

Murky had to go to find some of the local card players, see if they could lead him to real gang members.

[dfpiii]

Professor Lachlan Dark aka Paragon

It was a great and lasting disappointment to Professor Dark that none of his super powers had made him any more capable of making decent French toast. He had an understanding of the physical principles involved that was unrivalled in all the world - he had given over several hours, a loaf of bread and a dozen eggs to the subject one Saturday night as an undergraduate when he had taken LSD. At least once a month since, he would experiment. That was what he had always done. He was utterly relentless.

Even before he had become gifted, he would have gone toe-to-toe with Einstein on the subject of the thermodynamic properties of milky egg soaked bread.

Nevertheless, he could not actually cook it without burning it.

He sighed and put on his jacket. He had woken up all of his teachers with a personal phone call earlier that morning. They had not really appreciated that, but Professor Dark could care less. He was the boss and it was an emergency.

He stopped at a campus coffee bar open early and asked for French toast. They offered him a bagel, which he took, but it wasn't really the same thing, and some coffee, which he declined. As he did not appear to need sleep any longer, caffeine was pointless.

He arrived to find his faculty assembled and bitching. He didn't want to crush them - though he could; by strength, intellect or sheer willpower - he wanted them on side. He needed them on side.

"Good morning gentlemen," Professor Dark said, entering his office and moving through the throng to sit on the edge of his desk - which was cluttered to the point of uselessness. "I'm Lachlan Dark and while I don't know any of you personally, I know many of you by reputation".

Professor Dark was... possibly... the youngest man in the room. He had to admit that he did not resemble the traditional mechanician. He now looked like the kind of person who received a scholarship for playing some kind of team sport - while his colleagues looked like they had got their scholarship free at the bottom of their ten thousandth box of crackers. At least one of them had more hair in his ears than on his head.

"You'll be aware by now of the Balchem incident and I've no doubt that we'll be hearing more on the news over the days, weeks and possibly years to come. Balchem is an important company and I wouldn't be surprised if it happens to be a major contributor to our funds. This means it is a sensitive issue".

"Any of you might be contacted by the press looking for vague speculation to turn into a story. This could be embarrassing for the Institute and I want to avoid it. Any requests for scientific comment on the explosion, or any aspect of the super powers observed must be referred to me".

"Also, we may find ourselves a target for attack by the less stable individuals who have been affected by the explosion. So I want the to know the details of all secure projects the department is working on - and I want to know the security measures that are in place to protect them - and I want this information as soon as possible. We will review safety protocols and do some creative thinking about how we protect our more sensitive research projects".

"Finally, we have a duty of care to our students. I imagine there's a fair amount of cheap housing, night clubs and so forth in the area. If any of your returning students exhibited markedly different behaviour - significantly better or worse test scores for example - I want to know about it. I'll speak to all of these students myself. I expect this department to show tolerance of any student who displays these new... super... abilities. And I expect some understanding from faculty over the next few weeks, since we may be dealing with a lot of students who have lost family or friends in the last few days - combined with the fact that tensions will be running very high".

"All that said, we are here to teach, we are here to dedicate ourselves to scientific enquiry. Neither of those facts have changed in the last 48 hours. Classes run as scheduled".

Professor Dark gave them time to consider his instructions, but was clearly pushing on to other issues.

“Having heard about some of the abilities displayed, it is clear that some powers fall within the purview of our area of study. Un-powered flight - for example - is an excellent place to start. I intend to set up an informal research group to develop proposals for a full study on the subject of mutate powers and their function in relation to the physical sciences. There’s a Nobel prize in this - and I’ll be damned if a couple of M.D.s at the local sex clinic get all the credit for studying this phenomenon just because they work nightshift. If any of your PhD students are interested then send them my way. I shouldn’t think obtaining government funding will be a problem”.

“Are there any questions?”

[Glawackus]

Andrew/Vox Populi

Andrew wakes up on the couch, massages a crick in his neck, and heads off to shower.

To Do: See mayor regarding Mutant-Human Coalition.

[PlasticSoldier]

Oops forgot a disguise check.

[roll0]

[geez3r]

Sorry for not coming out and saying this before, but Day 2 officially starts NOW. Finish up lagging details from Day 1, such as banter back and forth between PC's and/or combat rounds. That being said I've got some work to do. Several of you have sent me PM's recently, and they will be answered.... eventually. I'm just not used to having to answer so many things at once. For some reason, running a nearly freeform game with upwards of a dozen players takes a lot of time, who knew? :smallwink: Anyways, off to the megaposting.

EVERYONE

I don't care how little or how much contact you have with anyone or anything, you somehow know the headline of today's newspaper: The monsters only come out at night. Here are some highlights of the article:

...Late last night, the Reaper escaped from custody, taking the innocent Dr. Margret Fritz with him, their location is unknown. The Reaper is harmed by light, the public is urged to carry some sort of light source on them after dark...

... Violent vigilantes swarm over the streets. The potential jewel-thiefs were found dead outside a local jewlery store by a local 14 year old girl, after suffering blunt force trauma that could only result from what police investigators described as "super human strength, and animalistic morals." A stylized "P" was found scrawled in blood at the scene...

...Three gang members were found dead in alleyway. They died of multiple severe lacerations consistant with injuries resulting from long blades and claws. The difference in weapons and position of the wounds suggests there were multiple attackers....

[Blurp about the bank incident with Legion, this will be edited in once the event has been finished]

Legion

"I told you before, the security room is at the far end of the security deposit room. You need the bank president's key to get into that area, and the key you have to open the door to the security room itself."

Alex

{This is meeting you were referring to the other day, correct? If so, then I really have nothing to say.}

Nosferatu

As you fly about, quite a number of people try and make themselves scarce as they see your, others go about their day as usually, and a small number of them wave at you. You don't really see any crimes afoot however. If Pulse does indeed not alter his actions, I think you could have a chance meeting.

Reaper/Joe/Thugs

{I just realized that Reaper flanking with Joe = Sneak attack, which wasn't rolled for like the past 2 turns, so umm, *deads knife guy, deals 2d6 damage to bat guy, and redirects Reaper's attack to Bat guy. I also recorded the 3 of them as dead, because the two of your are frankly doing to mutilate this last mook}

Joe backs up and heals himself, Reaper slices clean through the knife guy and embeds his claws into Bat guy *wink-wink*. Bat guy then tries to clonk Reaper, failing miserably.

attack and damage rolls (1d20+7=18, 1d6+6=12) (http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=1377862)

Murky

You drive around in your "fancy" hunk of metal for like 20 minutes before you wind up outside the "Texas Cradle". If it involves cards and money, this place has it.

Professor Lachlan Dark aka Paragon

A few of the professors in the crowd continue to look skeptical, while a few look at you with something closer to respect. It appears that none of them have really pressing questions for the time being. Although some of them may not like it, you just made a lot of sense to them. Unless there is something else you would like to add, they start heading out to fulfill their respective duties, a few grumbling on the way.

[PlasticSoldier]

"Thanks for being cooperative if you want I could get you a gift from the Deposit boxes. Also is there anyone who actively sits in the Security Room and does security?" Orig says before creating a clone that looks exactly like the guard and has the same outfit. Guard Clone will pick up the gun, keys, ID etc. and walk out of the bathroom up the steps and behind the desk looking around for his "fellow" guards.

Geez3r: I already rolled the disguise check and its the post right above your update.

[Raven T.]

(Yes, it is...if you want to throw me something between 7:30 and noon, go ahead, but I won't overwork you.)

Alex

After sending out the e-mail, he checked the news online. Some people would think that, if you unplugged him from his hardware, he would cease to function. This is only partially true; he would still be able to function, just not well. Seeing the new items, he leaned back and began to muse on the state of things.

This is more than I could ever have hoped for. These freaks deciding to kill, terrorize, and do other things that are causing them to be demonized in the press...all the more reason to develop an antidote. A fitting punishment for those who break the social norms. And, who's going to keep supplying the world with new villains? Alex smirks to himself some at the last though, filing it away for later, and began to dig into his work load.

[Xerxes Shadow]

Joe charged and attempted to simply disable his foe... he wanted to take some prisoners!

ROLLS: 22 for attack (http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=1377928) and 16 for damage. (http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=1377933) Crap, I forgot the -4 for nonlethal damage... that's an 18, not a 22. Either way, I'm pretty sure this guy's unconcious...

[Tar Palantir]

OOC: I'm assuming the thug's unconscious from Joe's attack. Also, Xerxes, I'm assuming in my post that Joe will come with me to save time. If not, I can change it.

The Reaper

The Reaper pauses, wiping the blood off of his claws on one of the dead thug's pants. He then turns to Joe and the third, unconscious thug. He says, "If you want to keep him, grab him. Either way, follow me, and keep up." He leads Joe swiftly back to his old apartment, its windows sealed against even the smallest amount of light. The two enter unseen, and the Reaper locks the door behind them. He says to Joe, "Get some sleep. I'll keep watch. We'll talk in the morning." He then sits back against the wall, still but wide awake.

Day Two

Morning dawns, but none of the hated light enters the apartment where the Reaper shelters. As Joe begins to wake, he finds the Reaper turning on the television, its brightness set low, to find news reports about himself on practically every channel. At the advice of carrying a light source after dark, he would have smiled, if he had a mouth. No flashlight could stop him, if he had wanted to kill them. But he was a changed man, and so searched for any sign of the strange doctor. Apparently they thought that he had kidnapped him. Interesting. He then turned to Joe. "It appears that I am now public enemy number one," he remarked, moving to sit across from the katana wielding man. "I am trying to perform a task, and I would like your assistance, if you would be willing to offer it to me. You know that I am the Reaper; What is your name?"

[Nelphine]

Murky

(OOC: first attempt to use forum roller will take place in this post)

Murky cursed to himself. It had taken 20 minutes to reach the Texas Cradle, and it was only a 15 minute walk from his apartment. The sunlight was really bothering his senses, but in his greyed out car, he hadn't realized it was that bad.

He reached into the back seat and unrolled his crowbar, and wrapped the blanket around himself. Murky left the crowbar on the seat; if he would need a weapon, no doubt the Baretta would be more intimidating. Cursing the brilliance of the sun, he opened the door of his Charger, and promptly tripped over a chain he couldn't see with all the clothing bundled about his head.

'OWW! Who in their right mi-' "GRRRROWWW BARK BARK BARK GRARRRR" 'Oh blast. That old geezer Cone must have slept here last night, and he left his bleeding dog tied up outside.' With that, Murky finally got the blanket off his head; the dog was kicking up a horrible racket, and at least 2 or 3 more had joined in the noise. 'Holy crap!' Murky yelled as soon as he could see. The dog, a massive german shepherd, was knawing on his knee, and snarling the whole time. 2 more dogs had come bounding down the street, possibly strays, and were barking as loudly as possible; all four were drooling and looked absolutely beserk.

[roll0]
[roll1]

'Get off me dog! I'm not a chew toy!' Murky tried to shove the dog away from him, but it wouldn't stop. It came right back in, this time with the other 2 right behind it.

[roll2]
[roll3]
[roll4]
[roll5]
[roll6]
[roll7]

Murky was getting desperate. This was the second time today; last time he simply fled from the scene, but at that point he had a head start. Now he didn't. He had to do something.. and he had a 20' arm that could reach his crowbar. He twisted around and grabbed it out of the back seat of his car.
The dogs wouldn't stop trying to rip his clothes off, and so he started swing the crowbar at them, trying to make them back off; he hoped they wouldn't die.

[roll8]
[roll9]
[roll10]
[roll11]
[roll12]
[roll13]
[roll14]
[roll15]

[Xerxes Shadow]

"Dear God, thank you!" Joe was understandably tired from dragging an unconcious thug over roofs. It was kinda scary... in less than a day, he had become used to that mode of transit. ((Beware... long internal monologue time!))

As he bound and gagged the unconcious thug ((Use Rope check 14 (http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=1378066))) he reflected on what had happened that day. I killed someone, he began. I beat up a cop, I knocked a man out, I plotted to save a vicious killer. I was nearly incarcerated for life because of that... well, better not think it. There might be a telepath around. I escaped from the cops... this is twice Reaper's saved my butt, by the way.

I'm starting to get the hang of this superhero stuff, I guess. I'm smarter than ever, and feeling great. I just discovered I can heal myself too. What was in those vitamins, anyway? They must have been mutated by the blast. I'll have to go back there soon, and find out what brand they were... and I'll have to figure out what chemical that was. I hope that the Reaper will help me.

Why am I feeling so guilty over killing that guy? It's not like I've never killed before. With my bare hands, no less. But this felt different... like I was taking advantage of him somehow. He didn't have powers... I do. Not his fault I'm a superenhanced mutant freak.

Dear God, I'm not even human anymore! What do I tell Laura? I haven't seen her since last week... she didn't call after the explosion! Is she okay? Is she even humanoid anymore? I saw what the explosion did to some of these people... it was horrible. Oh my God, what if Laura's a lizard? I have to find her and make sure she's okay.

I have to make sure she... He drifted off into a restless sleep, filled with nightmares about Laura as a monster.

He woke up early the next morning to find the Reaper standing as vigilant as before. He rubbed his eyes and saw the thug was awake as well, squirming. "Joe Kobayashi. I really have to thank you for saving me... twice now. First from a life in prison... second from those thugs. They would've torn me to pieces." He thought for a moment. "How can I repay you? I'll help you hide as much as I can, but there's no guarantee my forged documents would work for a shadow-man with claws and a goth-style aversion to light."

[Wiz]

Pulse

After a busy morning of preparations, and a careful sneaking away from his house before taking to the air, the new, improved Pulse is gliding along, his flyer making a low-level whining noise and smoke coming out the back. He scans the streets of Rainport below him, shadows creeping across the city as it is still morning. He keeps an eye to the shadows, for he knows Reaper is on the loose. "Next time, I'll make sure there aren't any shadows about."

As Pulse keeps his senses alert, he is thinking about the other people killed. The jewel thieves, obviously slain by a vigilante. The two men found dead in the alley from claws and blades. "Reaper likely... I hope to god the other wasn't the jumping guy who knocked out the cop... I let him get away."


Gliding through the air, Nosferatu ... raises his hand in greeting: "Its nice weather to fly in, isnt it?"

Pulse looks up at the gliding hero and banks his flyer making a slow circle around him. "Very much so... good morning." He looks the other over slowly. "The vampire theme is interesting, though you don't seem to have their most commonly known weakness."

[evisiron]

Pulse looks up at the gliding hero and banks his flyer making a slow circle around him. "Very much so... good morning." He looks the other over slowly. "The vampire theme is interesting, though you don't seem to have their most commonly known weakness."

"Nor the craving for human blood. Personally, I am quite thankful for that. Anyway, my name is Nosferatu. You also seem to have an interesting theme"

Nosferatu examines the 'taste' of the other supers power while he speaks. It's almost a copper / metallic taste, almost like the taste of blood. But it seems to shift and move... And the taste is strong. Whatever this persons power is, he is using it now.

"This may be a redundant question due to the fact you are flying about in broad daylight, but what are your motives for being out here? To make my intent clear, are you patrolling to keep the streets and civilians safe, or looking to attack someone with similar powers and/ or the general populous? Speaking of which, what are your powers?"

[dfpiii]

Professor Lachlan Dark aka Paragon

"I'm sure we'll all get a chance to speak individually over the next few weeks about our normal business. Good morning, gentlemen," Professor Dark says.

As the group leaves he notices one of them has left a newspaper behind. He looks at it for the moment, considering the implications of Morgenstern and Von Neumann's common knowledge. The situation changed with the certainty that everyone involved knew certain things. Ignorance could in fact be a position of strength.

Of course Von Neumann had helped construct the A-bomb that fell on Nagasaki. Professor Dark wondered if he had moralised over the issue of murder on a broad scale or calculated - with characteristic brilliance - a pay-off matrix for the World War II game. Or if he, like so many others, had responded to situational necessity and had simply done what was asked of him.

He picked up the paper and read it.

... Violent vigilantes swarm over the streets. The potential jewel-thiefs were found dead outside a local jewlery store by a local 14 year old girl, after suffering blunt force trauma that could only result from what police investigators described as "super human strength, and animalistic morals." A stylized "P" was found scrawled in blood at the scene...

"Poor girl," he muttered automatically. Leaving the bodies out like that had been needlessly arrogant and careless. He would have to watch himself for that in future.

He made a point of putting the paper in a bin outside his office on the way to his 9am class. He was grateful that the Reaper had escaped, because it would deflect attention. But kidnap - of this Dr Fritz - seemed entirely out of character. Everyone else was just killed, as evidenced by the subsequent street deaths - unless there were two maniacs prowling the streets with claws. Something didn't seem quite right there. Did Dr Fritz have something Reaper wanted? What did Reaper want? Would he be a target for this creature? Or was this Dr Fritz not a victim at all?

He filed that thought for later investigation. He could not know the truth and the conjecture was unhelpful.

Professor Dark walked into the lecture hall alongside the last straggling students.

"Quiet," he commanded with an authority he could never have summoned last week. He would have got less attention if he had fired a gun into the air. Professor Dark thrilled - buzzed - with the sensation of power. "When the class begins I speak and you do not speak unless it is to me".

"This is Dynamics 101. It is intended as an introduction to the subject for those of you in your first year of studies for degrees in the physical sciences and engineering - for whom it is compulsory - and as an optional class for those of you following less reputable pursuits," he finished that with a winning smile. He had magnificent teeth. "I understand we also have a few students in from City University who are here by virtue of some sort of geographically limited, socially-minded student exchange programme. Welcome to you all - don't leave gum under the seats".

"If none of these descriptions apply to you then, as Bob Dylan said, you're in the wrong place my friend, you'd better leave". A few sheepish grins were evoked and a couple left as quietly as possible.

"I want to say before we begin that I appreciate - and the faculty appreciates - that this is a difficult time. We will treat sensitively any issues you bring to us now. The city is in turmoil. People have died. The order of our world has changed. It is possible that some of you here today have been gifted - and I believe that is the right word - with extraordinary abilities".

"But you are all here today because you are in some way excellent. When we have all adjusted to our new world, you will all still be excellent. You will all still have a duty to your own talents. And I will continue to have a responsibility to direct those talents productively".

"I am Professor Dark," he said. "Who can tell me what dynamics is?"

A few hands shot up around the room, all people eager to make an impression, to distinguish themselves for the new Head of Department. He made a note of who these eager young hopefuls were.

"Good," he said, selecting none of them. "Those of you who do not have your hands up will learn today. Next Monday morning when I ask this question you will all put your hands in the air".

"Dynamics is the study of forces on the motion of objects. As such it comes to us from the application of Newton's three laws of motion. Page three in the textbook assigned for this class tells you what those laws are and I see also has an amusing picture of a man in a powdered wig - presumably Newton - being hit on the head with an apple.... This picture will not feature in your exam".

There was a ripple of appreciative laughter.

"However Newtonian physics will form the basis of your first three weeks in this class before we move on to specific topics like solid, gas and fluid dynamics. At the risk of being current I shall use some examples to explain...."

Professor Dark approached the trio of massive whiteboards and sketched out over the course of an hour: Galileo's principle of inertia using Spiderman's web-swinging, Newton's second and third laws of motion using an atmospheric fight between Superman and - what he was forced to describe as - "...some other comic book character who can fly, like the evil Superman from... was it the third film?" and fit this neatly into the framework of the development of applied mechanics.

"Next week we shall deal with these principles and their application in structural engineering - stresses! - and following that we shall look at their application in mechanical engineering, focussing on aircraft and the construction of massive robots to take over the city -" laughter from those assembled "- unless that's already happened, in which case class will be cancelled".

"We're out of time, but you all have tutorials this week, for which I expect you to have read chapters one to three and provided your answer, with working, for this problem -" he holds up a sheet of paper from a stack of photocopies on a desk by the door. "If you have any questions that can't wait until your tutorial, please come and see me in my office. My door is not always open, but you will find that by applying force, you will obtain motion".

A groan came from around the room - which was the reaction he was looking for. It didn't do to look too slick. He was only 10 years older than most of these students and he had to do something to cultivate the feel of fatherliness. Bad jokes were just what he needed.

On perfect time the bell rang.

[Tar Palantir]

The Reaper nodded, registering Joe's name within his mind, then said, "I thank you for the offer, but I do not need to hide. I need to find someone, someone who killed a young girl. Apparently she was mutilated, and I have been accussed. I, of course, know that it wasn't me, but either way this animal must be brought to justice. I have reason to suspect this Dr. Fritz, who I have been accussed of kidnapping, and who inexplicably allowed me to escape. I do not trust him, and he had the eyes of a killer. Find either of those people, and you will have easily repaided the debt you owe me for saving you. I cannot search during the day, and so I ask your help. I wish to clear my name and prove that I am not the animal I was before."

[Nelphine]

Murky

After 30 or 40 seconds of howling dogs and crowbar smashing, the 3 dogs were all lying on the ground, in various stages of injuries. Murky wasn't sure why the dogs weren't able to hurt him, but he was grateful. The animals in Rainport were totally crazy. Maybe the blast had affected them as well. 'Oh dang it! That was Cone's dog.. I can't go into the Texas Cradle now, he'll kill me!'
People who had heard the commotion were starting to appear in windows and doors along the street - it was time to leave.

Picking up the fateful blanket and covering the dogs, Murky climbed back in the car. As he drove off, he rolled down the window as he passed one large looking fellow 'Call a doctor! Those dogs are going to need attention!'

He hoped nothing else would go wrong, and he hoped he couldn't get in trouble if any of the dogs died. He'd have to go somewhere else for now, and be more careful of random dogs; they probably all had rabies or something.

Murky decided to go to Ronnie's. He didn't go there often, as Ronnie didn't encourage card playing, but it was a good place to find people. Maybe someone would know a better way to fend off animals than with a crowbar.

[Xerxes Shadow]

"I will help you find this girl... but first I have to interrogate this thug." He turned to the thug in question, who waas looking at him with pleading eyes. "Now, I'm going to pull this gag off. I'm still holding both of my swords and my shotgun, and you know I can use them. When I pull off the gag, if you scream, you will get your throat cut out. So tell me who you're working for." He walked over and pulled off the gag...

ROLLS: Intimidate check for 15. (http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=1378520)

[The_Lonely_d12]

Davan

Waking up later than usual for him, Davan quickly showers and changes. Grabbing the newspaper from the mailbox downstairs, he returns to his apartment to eat breakfast, and only then notices the headlines of the newspaper.

"Wow...all this happened last night? I didn't see anything like this...How the hell am I supposed to find these people, I can only do so much by myself.

Exasperated, he sits down and reads through the article..

So the reaper broke out, and at least two other crazies are running around, maybe three or four. Sounds like I got my work cut out for me, trying to find them. It'll be worth it if I can find the Reaper or this "p" guy. Win or lose, it could be fun.

He sets down the paper and finishes breakfast-a bowl of cereal, an apple, and a large cup of coffee.

Y'know, maybe I should try staying above the street level today. I'll have a better view of whats going on. I wish there was a definite way of finding these others, though. But hey, maybe I'll be lucky enough to find a group of jewelry thieves or something. Regardless, if that's what I'm doing, I'd better cover my face some. I should really come up with a name or something.

Donning his hood and mask along with other sundry equipment, Davan exits his apartment, and jumps to the roof, taking a look around before setting off through the city, making sure to keep from taking too great of a jump.

[Wiz]

Pulse


"Nor the craving for human blood. Personally, I am quite thankful for that. Anyway, my name is Nosferatu. You also seem to have an interesting theme"

Nosferatu seems to look over Pulse as he slowly flies around in a wide circle.

"This may be a redundant question due to the fact you are flying about in broad daylight, but what are your motives for being out here? To make my intent clear, are you patrolling to keep the streets and civilians safe, or looking to attack someone with similar powers and/ or the general populous? Speaking of which, what are your powers?"

Pulse nods, "You got it in one... patrol, looking for misuse of powers mostly. The police can handle the normal criminals... unfortunately there's few to handle the abnormal ones except other mutates, like us." Pulse looks over the gliding non-vampire, and smiles, "Well, you tell me yours and I'll tell you mine, but for one part I'll state the obvious, I'm a lot smarter than I used to be, and I've cobbled together some special equipment using those smarts."

[evisiron]

Pulse

Pulse nods, "You got it in one... patrol, looking for misuse of powers mostly. The police can handle the normal criminals... unfortunately there's few to handle the abnormal ones except other mutates, like us." Pulse looks over the gliding non-vampire, and smiles, "Well, you tell me yours and I'll tell you mine, but for one part I'll state the obvious, I'm a lot smarter than I used to be, and I've cobbled together some special equipment using those smarts."

Nosferatu

Nosferatu smiles broadly.

"Great. I thought it would be better to ask than chit chat for a while before finding you are a murdering psychopath looking for a way to make a name for yourself. But yeah, I am also patrolling. The police mentioned it would be helpful to keep an look out for other supers turning bad, and I think by keeping a sharp eye I may be able to stop any aspiring 'Reapers' before they hurt someone. I have to admit, I am glad to see I am not the only one on patrol"

Nosferatu ponders for a second on the mention of his powers. There is something that is not being mentioned... Then again, everyone is entitled to their secrets. And is wise to keep them.

"As my powers, generic vampire stuff. Stronger, more resilient, faster healing, better senses. And as you may have guessed, flight. So, as opposed to me calling you a 'fellow hero', do you have a name?"

[Wiz]

"As my powers, generic vampire stuff. Stronger, more resilient, faster healing, better senses. And as you may have guessed, flight. So, as opposed to me calling you a 'fellow hero', do you have a name?"

Pulse chuckles, "I guess higher intelligence doesn't guarantee better manners, my apologies, and I'm called Pulse. My ace in the hole, I suppose, and part of the reason for my increased intelligence is my brain interacts with local electromagnetic fields, so I have a sort of magnetic-pulse radar sense. And it gives me very good aim with these, as well." He taps one of his pistol butts. "Reaper's loose again, if you hadn't heard, so watch the shadows, he's damned hard to hit if there are any shadows for him to hide in... and when I say hide in, I mean he literally can become part of them. He got away from me the first time by doing that..."

[evisiron]

Pulse chuckles, "I guess higher intelligence doesn't guarantee better manners, my apologies, and I'm called Pulse. My ace in the hole, I suppose, and part of the reason for my increased intelligence is my brain interacts with local electromagnetic fields, so I have a sort of magnetic-pulse radar sense. And it gives me very good aim with these, as well." He taps one of his pistol butts. "Reaper's loose again, if you hadn't heard, so watch the shadows, he's damned hard to hit if there are any shadows for him to hide in... and when I say hide in, I mean he literally can become part of them. He got away from me the first time by doing that..."

Nosferatu

"Ah, magnetics. Thats pretty cool. Just don't declare yourself the head of the House of M and try to overthrow humanity, okay? Are those guns though? I ...wouldnt use guns myself... but I guess its better than nothing when a super goes crazy. Speaking of which, you say the Reaper got free? And becomes part of the shadows. Great. Why can't the bad ones have the common decency of being 40ft high and neon yellow?
So, any plans on how to catch this guy? By the sounds of it, you may be smart enough to build some kind of multi spectrum scanner to spot his infa red signature or something."

[geez3r]

Sorry I'm late on this.

Legion

"I couldn't accept such a gift, and no, there's only the 3 of us." Your clone passes "inspection" and the guards nod at your return.

Alex

{My creativity is kind of reached a limit, so I'm going to take a break on bumping your individual story for now. Feel free to do whatever in the mean time}

Joe/Reaper

Yep, that shot knocks the guy out.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ <- passage of time
*banter*
The thug you gagged and bound is clearly scared out of his mind in his current situation, and the news report about how dangerous Reaper is sure isn't helping matters. He nods very slowly when Joe tells him to be quiet. When the gag is removed, he coughs a little before saying in a choked voice "Man I ain't sure what you guys think we was doing down there, we just thought you had money is all, and we wanted to take it from you man. You best be letting me go man, or my Suit brothers are going to be all up in this place man."

Murky

{the forum rollers don't work if you preview your posts, but I got a feeling that you are quite able to beat the tar out of random mutts}
After you tussle with man's best friend, you head down to Ronnie's. There's 7 people total in the bar. Two of them are at the bar, but at opposite ends. There's 2 guys at a table talking, and 2 more tables are taken up by 1 person at each of them. Ronnie himself is number 7.

Paragon

{Why didn't I have more teachers like you?}

Davan

You jump from rooftop to rooftop, nothing really grabs your interest until you hear a siren. As you look over the rooftops down at the ground, you see a fire truck go by with all of its lights on. You follow its path with your eyes and see a some smoke rising from a building roughly 8 stories high about 15 blocks away.

[Tar Palantir]

The Reaper moves beside Joe, flexing his claws. He says, "I highly doubt your 'Suit brothers' could handle me. Now, you will answer anything we ask you, or they'll be cleaning your remains off the street...in three different states."


[roll0]

[PlasticSoldier]

"Well then unless you have money kept anywhere but the Registers and Deposit Boxes that you want to tell me about we're just going to sit here for a few minutes.". Meanwhile #1 walks along the back of the wall measuring its length in steps, before pausing to think over his minimal knowledge of the bank's interior, and spraypainting a mark at a spot 10 feet to the right of the halfway point. He thens takes out the drill bores through the spot and verifying that the room was indeed an empty office room. He then takes out the rifle and now emptied duffelbag, cuts a 1.5ft radius semicircle centered around the spot pushes the cut out wall into the room throws the rifle, duffelbag inside and then pushes the drill inside as well. Guard Clone in a much less exciting duty tries to start up small talk with the guards on any subject not Super related and patiently observes them for any sign that they are aware of the drilling.

Edit: Guard Clone delays his actions until he knows the guards reactions if any to the drilling.

[Wiz]

Pulse


"Ah, magnetics. Thats pretty cool. Just don't declare yourself the head of the House of M and try to overthrow humanity, okay? Are those guns though? I ...wouldnt use guns myself... but I guess its better than nothing when a super goes crazy. Speaking of which, you say the Reaper got free? And becomes part of the shadows. Great. Why can't the bad ones have the common decency of being 40ft high and neon yellow? So, any plans on how to catch this guy? By the sounds of it, you may be smart enough to build some kind of multi spectrum scanner to spot his infa red signature or something."

Pulse shrugs, "No specific plan. He is not the kind to lay low forever, though, and if I see him again I have a thing or two to try against him."

[Xerxes Shadow]

"Well then! Feisty, aren't we? Who exactly are these... 'suit brothers'... and who leads them?" He drew one of the swords, annoyed at himself for not cleaning it earlier. Oh well. "Answer me, punk."

[evisiron]

Pulse



Pulse shrugs, "No specific plan. He is not the kind to lay low forever, though, and if I see him again I have a thing or two to try against him."

Nosferatu

"Indeed. By any chance are you willing to share any such equipment? I heard on the TV that people should carry torches about, but that hardly seems likely to help considering the force that was needed at the mayor attack. Any fancy gadgets you could lend would be highly appreciated."

[Wiz]

"Indeed. By any chance are you willing to share any such equipment? I heard on the TV that people should carry torches about, but that hardly seems likely to help considering the force that was needed at the mayor attack. Any fancy gadgets you could lend would be highly appreciated."

Pulse chuckles, "Sorry again, my high-tech solution to Mr. Shadow is road flares. I haven't had time to come up with anything more elegant yet. He is, after all, only one potential villain we may see. In time I may be able to come up with more specific, and more spectacular devices." He pauses, circling Nosferatu again. "Probably best if I move on... I was planning on heading that way, if you'd like to come along and talk more." He points toward city center.

[The_Lonely_d12]

Davan

Oh, hell. There goes the morning. I can't just go on by without seeing what could do...I've got no reason to let it alone...this might be a different sort of challenge, wouldn't it? Besides, I don't really wish harm on anyone that might be in that building. A bit more dangerous than your average fight...better head over quickly. No time to waste.

Davan rushes across the rooftops towards the site of the fire, and jumps down close to the nearest fire engine. Sprinting over to the nearest fireman, he quickly says

"Whats the situation here? I may be able to help...I'm one of those people affected by the chemical blast. Is there anyone still inside?

Ooc:Waiting to post what I'm going to do till I know the situation, otherwise I'd try and have something ready here. Also, a couple questions. 1, is there a building adjacent to the one on fire, and 2, in the description for Amazing Leap, it says that "for every level of this power you add a +10 super bonus to all jump checks and ignore 50 feet worth of falling damage if and when you take a fall. Does that mean 50 feet for each level? I'm not sure with how it's worded

[dfpiii]

(Geez3r - it's the difference between just being a teacher, and having a +15 modifier in the profession :smallbiggrin: )

Professor Lachlan Dark aka Paragon

Professor Dark returned to his office, as he had no more lectures this morning - and as it was the start of the semester there were no tutorials until after the first lecture. He had been originally sceptical about a department head taking an introductory class which could so easily have been handled by any other member of the faculty - or indeed many of the more advanced students. Having experienced it, he now understood why his predecessor had arranged it.

If you could get a room full of 18 year olds to feel excited about anything first thing on a Monday morning then essentially you had walked on water. It needed concentration, skill and, perhaps most importantly, discipline. It was an exercise as much about marshalling your own abilities.

Professor Dark closed the door of his office and surveyed the scene. The late Professor Mulroy had been a remarkable genius, but could have benefited enormously from a one day course in clerical skills. The papers, which were piled all around the room, seemed to be in no particularly logical order. One block, which was in front of his desk, had a cushion on top of it and was being used as an impromptu chair.

Professor Mulroy had not retained a departmental secretary either. Somewhere in this room and on that computer were files that explained every function and every budgeted penny of this department and from Professor Dark's perspective it might have been easier to set fire to the room and start again. Mulroy's whole life had been individualised order - which was now indistinguishable from chaos.

He turned his attention to the thermostat on the wall. He put on his outdoor gloves, took out his pocket screwdriver and removed the housing. He switched the wires around inside so that it would put out maximum heat regardless of what you did with the controls. Carefully re-securing the housing he gave it a brief dusting to make it look like it had been cleaned rather than tampered with.

He dialled building maintenance from the phone hidden on his desk. "Hello, the thermostat in my office is broken - I need to have someone come and have a look at it.... I'm in room 107 of the Fermi building". He put the phone down and sat at his desk, which, along with rest of his furniture and the mountains of paper, were actually in room 207 of the Fermi building. Now if anyone asked he could say, with perfect honesty, that he had reported the fault and maintenance had said they would send someone to look at it.

As the heat kicked in and his office began to warm up, he took off his jacket and gloves and began to sort through the papers.

((If any PCs do want to contact him on Monday morning, they'll find him in his office shuffling through papers))

Triage was the order of the day. It was impossible to read everything in full, so he sorted according to type and urgency. Financial reports, class outlines, current work at various stages, personal correspondence and miscellaneous were what he ended up with. The miscellaneous pile was twice as large as any of the others; it included doctoral theses and dissertations, research proposals and a surprising amount of viciously worded internal memoranda about the second floor toilets.

"Institutional politics," he muttered.

The office now looked even less ordered than it had before. The untidy stacks had become untidy piles that sprawled over the whole carpet - but at least now the individualised order was his.

This was a task to which he was perfectly suited. Lachlan Dark had always had an unflinching resolve and determination - and ruthlessly cutting away rubbish came as naturally as breathing. Within about two hours he reduced the piles of uncounted thousands of items down to less than 300. Half of the miscellaneous pile had boiled down to a short note: fix second floor toilets - urgent.

Mulroy's own work was interesting, but typically scattered, some almost finished, much of it little more than notes. There were three articles almost ready for publication - and certainly worthy; even the superhuman intellect of Professor Dark found no fault with them. Professor Dark applied the finishing touches to the electronic versions and emailed the three of them away together to an appropriate journal with a brief note explaining the circumstances of Professor Mulroy's death before he could put them forward for peer review.

There were a further half a dozen articles which he felt he could complete and publish honestly as Mulroy and Dark, but he'd need to leave that for a few weeks or his industry would attract suspicion. The remaining ten pieces were clearly ideas, first drafts with little or no science behind them. These might have merit, but if they ever saw the light of day it would be under Professor Dark's name alone.

It was one o'clock and following a most satisfactory morning he headed out to have lunch. He still needed to buy new clothes that actually fit him, so somewhere in the city seemed best. He hailed a cab and headed into the city.

[evisiron]

Pulse chuckles, "Sorry again, my high-tech solution to Mr. Shadow is road flares. I haven't had time to come up with anything more elegant yet. He is, after all, only one potential villain we may see. In time I may be able to come up with more specific, and more spectacular devices." He pauses, circling Nosferatu again. "Probably best if I move on... I was planning on heading that way, if you'd like to come along and talk more." He points toward city center.

Nosferatu

Nosferatu chuckles lightly at the mention of road flares, realising such a simple idea did not even register in his mind.

"I can't complain when presented with simple solutions to complex problems. By any chance do you have one spare?"

Nosferatu checks his watch before replying to the second comment.

"I do have a little bit of time to spare before I am needed elsewhere. I will fly along for a while. By the way, it sounds as if you have already been tested in combat. I have not, and would rather try these abilities against a sparing partner than wait until my life relies uopn them working. Time allowing, would you be willing to take part in a practise fight in somewhere less crowded? Non lethal of course, and we would only fight to a few successful blows."

OOC: Nosferatu fully intends to reach the class Dynamics 101, and hopefully will unless something disastrous occurs. After the conversation with Pulse, Nos will fly back to the university and attend the lecture. I will then pick up from just after that lecture ends. Oh, and I will be using Detect Powers to see if there are any other supers in the lecture hall...

[Glawackus]

Andrew/Vox Populi

Andrew heads for City Hall, calling ahead to the secretaries to see what the news of the day is. He listens on the radio and grips the steering wheel tightly at the mention that the Reaper has escaped, then quickly snaps off the description of the carnage as someone picks up at City Hall.

[Wiz]

"I do have a little bit of time to spare before I am needed elsewhere. I will fly along for a while. By the way, it sounds as if you have already been tested in combat. I have not, and would rather try these abilities against a sparing partner than wait until my life relies uopn them working. Time allowing, would you be willing to take part in a practise fight in somewhere less crowded? Non lethal of course, and we would only fight to a few successful blows."

Pulse nods, "Another morning might be better. And I'll have a spare flare for you then as well, say tomorrow, same time... perhaps the northside park area?"

[Nelphine]

Murky

Walking into the pleasantly dim bar, Murky smiled. He waved at Ronnie as he came in and nodded in general at the rest of the bar. As he approached the bar he called 'Hey Ronnie; can I get vodka on the rocks?' As he waited, he watched the rest of the bar, hoping no one was too interested in the fact that the bar his elbows were resting on was now grey.

When Ronnie returns with the drink, Murky leans over and asks 'I know I haven't been around much Ronnie, but I'm wondering if you might know anyone who might be on the lookout for any help.. I kinda need some quick money, and you've always steered me right before.'

[roll0] Spot check to see if anyone is paying too much attention to me, and to see if anyone appropriately criminal looking is in the bar. [roll1] Sense Motive check in case that would be more appropriate.

[evisiron]

Pulse nods, "Another morning might be better. And I'll have a spare flare for you then as well, say tomorrow, same time... perhaps the northside park area?"

Nosferatu

"Agreed. By the way, here is my mobile phone number. Give me a shout if the bads guys start something without being polite enough to give me some advance notice, or you come up with some crazy gadget that is likely to save my unlife at some point. Other than that, I will see you tomorrow"

Nosferatu hands over a blank piece of paper with a cell number written on it, then waits a few seconds to finish up the conversation and flies outward towards the university.

OOC: Assuming nothing happens en route, my next post will lead on from after the 101 lecture. If anything, say, an exciting police chase, should happen before the conversation ends, I will go with that first.

[Wiz]

Pulse

Pulse reaches out and takes the paper, then salutes Nos4A2 and continues flying toward city center, keeping an eye out for trouble below.

[evisiron]

Nosferatu

As the two part ways, Noferatu calls after Pulse "Text me so I have your number!"

After finishing the conversation with Pulse, Nosferatu flies at a fair pace to the university. Arriving within a few minutes (avoiding traffic is so much easier...), Nosferatu lands discretely behind a fairly empty building. After checking to make sure no one is around, he changes out of his costume and dons his civilian clothes once again, returning to the inconspicous image of Robert.

With a mild run in his step, Robert weaves through the student populace dragging their feet towards the relevant Monday classes. Several snippets of conversation are caught refering to the chemical blast and these mutants. Robert smiles inwardly when he hears a few students the missed opportunity of not gaining powers themselves, but makes note of the faces in a group when 'Damn freaks' is spat mid-sentence amoungst another group.

Eventually, Robert reaches the correct room. Dynamics 101. Despite the chance meeting of Pulse, Robert is still a few minutes early. He is glad; he had been looking forward to taking the class as an elective.

A few minutes pass, and eventually the class begins.

[OOC: See paragons entry for details on lecture]

About halfway through the lecture, Robert decides most people would have arrived by now. Time to see how far the chemicals have spread...

With a fair degree of concentration, Robert boosts his senses to 'taste' the occupants of the lecture theatre, while surpressing the green cells from showing on his face and hands. It takes a bit of effort, but eventually he can pick up a fair 'signal'.

Hmm... at least one super is here, maybe more... [OOC: require description from geez3r, but assuming I can detect Paragon]

There is a signal right at the front... Professor Lachlan himself!
The question now is what to do with this information. Directly asking him after class may not work, as it would reveal that Robert is also a super. Asking from the perspective of Nosferatu may be better, but what if the super Prof reacts violently to someone knowing this 'secret'? Does he even know he has superpowers yet?!

Perhaps the best idea would be to follow him, see if he turns into the Reaper or something. Although, finding that you are being followed by someone who looks like a vampire does not promote the best first impression. Perhaps it would be best to just go and talk. At best, a new ally against evil is found. At worst, the Prof freaks out and starts blowing stuff up... in which case it was probably better to 'set him off' than wait until he planned something.

Robert packs his stuff and heads outside. After the explosion, it doesn't seem that most of his other classes are on today. With a zig zag pattern, Robert heads back to the 'abandoned' alley, and when no-one seems to be looking, changes back into his costume. Skirting around the area, avoiding students as much as possible, Nosferatu heads to Professor Lachlan's office window.

Tapping on the window, Nosferatu says

"Professor Lachlan. I do believe we have something to discuss. Any chance you could let me in?"

[OOC: This is under the assumption that no other supers were detected. If that is the case, I may try to speak to them first. Also, I will only be trying the window thing is it is reasonably out of view. If it is facing into a busy courtyard or something, say so, and I will try something else. I would not fly up to the window in braod daylight in front of a group of people.]

[dfpiii]

((Obviously this is slightly out-of-step with his current timeline))

((I'm not sure you would actually be able to scan him given distances involved, etc., but I think the whole detect power ability is just incomprehensible. So I'm going to carry on as if you could and have.))

Professor Lachlan Dark aka Paragon

He looks up from his collection of papers to see the form hovering at the window. Easing himself up from the floor he crosses to the window and says, "My office can be reached by the stairs, you know. It's how I got here".

He opens the window and Nos4a2 is struck by a wave of heat.

"Come in," he says. "Take a seat - not there, that's not actually a chair. And it's Professor Dark, by the way; Lachlan is my first name and I don't work on daytime television".

Professor Dark sits down behind his desk and looks at his guest over a stack of crumpled invoices. "Forgive the mess," Dark says conversationally. He seems quite unconcerned that a man has just flown through his office window; he exudes calm purpose and confidence.

"Tell me, what's your name and how can I help you?"

[evisiron]

[OOC: I am not sure how big the theatre was, but I would be kind of near the middle, and the range for a power not being used would be 30ft as far as I can tell. It is tricky to tell the distances in PbP, but in this situation I think I would be able to get close enough to scan everyone without arousing suspicion. If not, we can assume this conversation never happened.]

Nosferatu

Nosferatu smiles beneath the half mask. It seems that charisma displayed in the lecture theatre was not a rehearsed script, but a real razor sharp wit. His smile fades slightly as he notices the mess of the office. Oh well, no-one is perfect I guess... It justed seemed a little odd...

"Thanks"

Nosferatu swoops in, and perches on the window edge, legs bent to fit in the frame. He notes that no look of surprise crossed Darks face. Interesting.

"I apoligise Professor Dark, both for the intrusion into your schedule and the misplaced naming. As for me, you may call me Nosferatu. I am one of the people affected by the chemical blast, and am seeking others in a similar situation. I could perceive that you have been affected, and likely have some kind of beneficial 'power'. So, I thought it might be useful to have a little chat, if you have the time. My curiousity leads me to ask, what are your powers?"

[Raven T.]

Alex

Flashback: August 31, 2004...first day of college

Alex watched the old hatchback drive off down the road and off campus. His parents had just finished hauling his stuff upstairs and into his room. He had gotten lucky; thanks to a small extra fee, he had been pushed to the front of the list for housing and got a single dorm room, one of only 20 on campus. Usually they go for the upperclassmen, but a sufficient number of them were being housed in a new apartment complex that just went up that the singles were free. It suited him; he preferred the solitude. Setup of his massive computer system was almost finished and the rest of the stuff he ordered would be coming later in the week.

Many of the people who saw him move in couldn't believe his parents were driving the old car that they were. By looking at the hardware he hauled in, you would have thought he was rich. In truth, he had gotten a full-ride, four year scholarship from the university, permitting him to spend the college fund his parents had been saving up since he was a little sprout on stuff FOR college.

Alex took a deep breath in. Independence. No more nagging parents who STILL can't program a VCR. Unfortunately, he began to gag some. The wind had caught just right and all he could smell was...dirty jockstraps from the fieldhouse. Doesn't ANYONE know what a [expletive deleted] WASHING MACHINE IS?! Catching his breath, he returned to his room to find ways to increase the sunlight in his room. There were plants on order and he had to make sure they would keep growing. He smiled to himself; it'll be a jungle in his room soon enough.

[dfpiii]

Professor Dark aka Paragon

"Hmmm," he says, studying Nosferatu carefully, as he might look at a new problem. He tilts his head this way and that, a wry smile on his lips. "No need to appologise, I was simply sorting through my predecessor's things and you present a pleasant distraction".

He lapses into a moment of silence while scrutinising his guest.

"You're young," he says eventually. "Your clothes are young, obviously. You're carrying a baseball bat because... because you thought it would not look out of place for you to be seen with a baseball bat? You're also here, which makes me think you're a student. You're here now, which makes me think you're a student in the class I just took, because nobody else would know what I look like".

He leans back in his chair, clearly enjoying this. "That means I've got you down to less than a hundred people. You referred to me as Professor Lachlan, which means you're not familiar with the form of address in common usage at an academic institution. Which means you aren't overly familiar with academia, which means there's no way you got into RIT. The screening process is extensive, you would have spoken to several professors by now and you would probably have applied to a number of other technical colleges. Perhaps you're more accustomed to calling lecturers Frank or Jimbo, because you're really more of an arts student than a scientist".

Professor Dark watches Nosferatu's eyes for reaction, but his whole tone is one of slight amusement rather than hostility. "You're from City University. Which narrows you down to about -" he taps his keyboard and looks at the monitor screen "- eight names, two of which are women. You might be able to change gender, but you do have that baseball bat and a girl carrying a bat would naturally look more suspicious. So I'm going to guess you're normally male. So I have these six names here and you're one of them. If I read them out, do you think you'd react when your name was mentioned? I think you would. And even if you didn't react now, it would be very easy for me to eliminate the other five from my list over the next few weeks".

"Perhaps that puts us on a more even footing," he continues. "You're not a vampire, despite the name, because vampires don't exist. You don't appear to have a psychosis that makes you believe you are, either - otherwise you might have turned up in a opera cloak and hissed at me. Clearly you don't burn in direct sunlight, so I would naturally presume you aren't affected by any other supposed vampire weaknesses - until I saw evidence to the contrary. You can fly, rather well, since you hovered outside of my window - a feat which is otherwise impossible in nature for a creature your size. But that seems rather flimsy basis for a secret identity. So you probably have some other related powers which made you find the name appropriate. Strength... speed... you must be reasonably physically capable, otherwise you wouldn't engage an unknown like this so calmly. Anything else would be pure speculation at this point".

"How am I doing?" Professor Dark grins broadly, though the question is rhetorical, since he continues on immediately.

"You can't be certain about my abilities, otherwise why would you ask? A double bluff? That seems rather involved for a first meeting. So, let's look at this from your side, if I can give you the advantage of my insight. I'm clearly intelligent, and I enjoy showing that off, so presumably I have recently become extremely intelligent. I too am here with an unknown, so I too must be reasonably confident that I could not be physically overpowered. Taking point one and point two together you can be reasonably certain that I am right about point two".

Professor Dark relaxes. He seems quite self-assured, and would come across as arrogant if it weren't for the obvious fun he was having with the whole deductive process.

"I should tell you that I haven't registered with the police and that I don't intend to. Perhaps you might tell me what you are planning on doing with your abilities - and why you are seeking out others?"

"Water?" he asks, pointing to a pitcher on his desk, behind a small hill of petty cash claim forms.

[geez3r]

Joe/ Reaper

The thug looks like he's willing to cooperate. Especially when the bloody sword is drawn. "Yo, the suits all roll wit D-Train. I don't care what powers yo got man, yo can't mess with him."

Legion

You start drilling outside, while simultaneously holding a guard hostage and pretending to be said guard talking to another guard. You drill for maybe 30 seconds before one of the guards (who is currently chatting with clone 2) says "Hey, what's that noise?" and goes to investigate.

Nosferatu/ Paragon

{We'll assume that Nosferatu can sense in that range. I haven't really been in a room large enough that I was more than 30ft. away from the teacher at all times, and RIT is kind of a smaller school because you need to be pretty smart to get in, so there aren't that many huge lecture halls.

Nosferatu - You kind of sense another besides Prof. Dark. It's someone on the far right side of the room, but you have a frustratingly hard time trying to pinpoint who or what it is.}

Davan

{There is a building next to it to jump to. Now as for the wording of Amazing Leap, I agree that it is horrible. Cat falling now allows you ignore 200ft at the base cost, and Amazing leap scales both Jump bonus and falling damage.}

Taken aback for a moment the fire-fighter responds saying "The fire is on the 3rd floors, so we can't get to the people trapped on the floors above, and there is at least 3 people trapped on the 3rd floor, and a good 20 in the floors above. Do what you can to help, we'll need it."

Andrew/Vox Populi

You pull up to City Hall, parking in your usual spot. When you enter the building, the receptionist informs you that you are wanted in Conference room 221C immediately for your meeting with the Mayor (a room on the top floor; meetings held on this level are usually of the utmost importance).

Murky

Ronnie informs you that Forthwind needs a few more pairs of hands because many of it's employees don't want to go to that side of town until everything is all cleaned up.

[Xerxes Shadow]

"His name is... 'D-Train?' Where does this 'D-Train' tend to hang out?" He looked at Reaper, shrugging. "This isn't much, but it's something. Since we can't exactly march in and kill Ms. Fritz, we're going to have to prove she's a murderer. I'd like to have a more... concrete plan, but this is the best I can manage on short notice. If we comb the names of organized criminals in the city, maybe we can connect the dots."

[Glawackus]

Andrew/Vox Populi

"Great," Andrew says, stepping briskly towards the elevators and tapping the button to get to the meeting room.

[Wiz]

Pulse

Flying over the city as morning grades into afternoon, he turns and slowly makes his way back toward home base. Several times he notes the position of major openings into the extensive underground drainage/sewer system of Rainport. "I'll have to check out whether those tunnels could be used for more covert starting and stopping points for my patrols. It wouldn't do to be seen flying in from or off to same direction every time." He continues flying keeping an eye out for trouble as he makes his way slowly back home. "A particularly quiet day... it would seem."

[evisiron]

Nosferatu

Hidden behind the mask, Nosferatu cracked a smile and laughed inside, though he tried to stop anyhting showing through his face. He was already impressed by the professor, but it had now moved to awe-inspired. The only mentally sobering thought was that this man could be Reaper, or some other murderous psychopath. Logically, Nosferatu realised, he should take flight before giving anything else away. But surely Prof Dark had all the information he would need to work out his identity. Then again, it call all be a ruse, the computer screen could not be seen from this angle. Ahh...but the intellectual part of his brain could not pass up the chance to talk to such an individual, and so he stayed.

"Haha. Impressive. Of course, you have made some pretty large assumptions. Then again, by poking holes in your ideas, I could be validating them."

The cheer in Nosferatus voice can be plainly heard.

"But I can't resist a good discussion. First off, the biggest point seems to be assumption that I do not attend here, observed from how I referred to you. Perhaps I have called you that on purpose, to establish a connection not through rank in the world of scholars, but as peers. You assume I attended the lecture you mentioned, but surely I could have followed and listened into your life since last night."
Nosferatu politely turns down the water.

"Perhaps... ah, there is too many 'perhaps' to get involved in, reaching the point where I could merely be a chemical induced hallucination. Surely such an impressive increase in intelligence must have some side effects, am I right?"

"But I shall concede, that yes, that sets us on more even footing. And for the record, I never claimed to be a vampire. The name conjured the mental image I wanted, and so I took it. But now I am left to wonder about you. I may be killing a previous point by mentioning that you do not seem the type to sit idle when granted a power. And as you mentioned, you seem quite confident in being able to fight me, so some physical power must have been gained. But no... you would not sit still. The relish and surprise at being able to silence an entire class with a single word was plain on your face. I thought you were about to break into a little jig. Haha. And yes, I have given away another point. I was at least able to view todays lecture."

Nosferatu leans back slightly on the window frame, relaxing slightly.

"As for why am I here... ah, why does one seek out his own kind? Perhaps you know more about the situation than me, and would be willing to share a little info. And if you were the mass-murdering evil villain cliche, you probably would have tried to attack me while I sat here. And I may have been able to stop you before you hurt anyone. As for what to do with my powers... No plans long term. In the short term, I am trying to keep this incident from turning into a bloodbath, either from some crazy super villain or an angry mob of the unaffected."

"So, what are you up to, other than motivating a bunch of Generation Y students on a Monday morning? Which was pretty impressive by the way."

[Raven T.]

Alex

Lunch had come far faster than he had anticipated. Grabbing his coat, his hat (a beautiful fedora,) and bidding his secretary a good afternoon, he headed down the street at a leisurely pace, smiling to himself. It was a pleasant enough day for October, mild and breezy. Many things crossed his mind as he walked.

Frank's Fine Dining. Not the most imaginative name for a restaurant, but their food is top notch. Alex, as always, was the first to arrive. He showed the server his card, the server dialed back for Frank, and Frank came out and showed him to his usual table...just like every other meeting. Alex had learned quickly the benefit of holding his staff meetings over a good meal.

On cue, his "minions" filtered in, sat down, and placed their orders. Alex nodded and smiled at each of them. While not outwardly friendly toward his middle management, he was never cross without cause. Within five minutes, they had all assembled.

"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for coming. As per our usual protocol, I will be paying for this meal and we will discuss the important matters afterwards. Again, I thank you for coming."

After speaking, Alex winces some. The feeling was coming back; he needed some alcohol in his system to mitigate the chemicals within him. He ordered a lemonade slushie* and told the server to "keep 'em coming until I say stop."


*For those of you who have been there, it's like the Lemon Slushie thing you can order from the bar at Olive Garden.

[PlasticSoldier]

((I'm assuming the guard walks through the same hallway that goes to the bathroom))

One of the guards is going to investigate, get ready. Guard Clone 'says' before receiving an OK from everyone. While the guard walks down the hallway, he'll move so that he has a clear line of sight down the hallway.

Orig. turns to his hostage and says " Hey, I'm needed with the other guys. But I'll still be here, and my first action will be to tell them they can shoot you if you come out. Got it. saying the last sentence more like how one would say a command then like a question. Then Orig goes through the door and lays prone halfway up the stairs using it as cover to hide from the investigating guard.

#1 meanwhile continues unconcerned.

Guard waits for a few seconds until the investigating guard starts fumbling with his key ring. Saying to the nearby guard "Hey, you know what would be the coolest superpower ever? Pausing for a second to both signal Orig. and to add a healthy dose of suspense. Finishing by saying, as he draws and points his gun at the guard "Shapeshifting. Now be quiet, and stand still.".

Orig. as soon as he's signalled springs forward and points his gun at the last guard saying "You're the only guard not captured, so come quietly.


[roll0]
[roll1]
GuardClone readies an action to grapple/tackle the guard if he tries to push the alarm buttons.

[Tar Palantir]

The Reaper nods, saying, "At least it's something." He then turns back to the thug, and says, "If I decide that this D-Train person should die, he had better be sleeping with the brightest night light in a tri county area, or I will tear his throat out with my bare hands. You know who I am. I know you know who I am. You will answer two questions. First, I want you to tell me everything you know about D-Train, in excruciating detail. Second, you will tell me anything you know about supers who were or are members of any of the major criminal organizations. I understand that you may not know much, but you will tell me everything you do know, and trust me, you don't want to try and hide anything from me."

[Nelphine]

Murky

'Ah crap!' Murky jumps up after gulping down his vodka.

'Forthwind!' He runs out the door and straight to his car, forgetting to even check for rabid dogs.

He was employed by Forthwind! He'd been sleeping, possibly for more than a day (OOC: slept through day 1 as I didn't exist then), and then all these crazy powers and mutates and everything had totally distracted him! His boss was .. who was his boss now?? DAN WAS DEAD! Murky suddenly sped up, screaming at his car 'Faster! Faster! I gotta find out where Dan is! I gotta get to work!'

He drove through a red light, swerving to avoid various potholes as he headed to the main local office of Forthwind in the southern section, cursing the traffic he encountered on the way, and the light that slowed his driving.

Driving recklessly, possibly drawing attention from anyone in the area [roll0] Drive roll to see if anything catastrophic happens.

OOC: I started Murky's day in the mid morning.. i'm Presuming it's around noon for me at this point.

[The_Lonely_d12]

Davan

Taking a deep breath at the news, Davan takes a quick moment to think through what little of the situation he knows so far, and then begins to speak again.

"Okay. I'm reasonably sure I can get into the building. I can jump fairly high, and I can blast small parts of the walls to get inside if I can't from here. Now, what I'm worried about is getting the people trapped inside back down. I can jump across to the building over there if I need to, but I don't know how well I can do it if I'm carrying a person. Also, I'm nimble, but I'm not fireproof, so a spare suit will help matters, a mask as well if you have one. Now, is there any kind of plan as is to get the people out? Any method I can work with? I don't know if there's any kind of equipment you use for this, if there's any kind of .

what i wouldn't give to be able to fly at a time like this.

"That reminds me. I heard something about other people like me registering with the city, can any of them be contacted? Someone who can fly, for example. The fire's only on the third floor so far?

OoC:Davan has more than enough common sense to not rush into the situation without any knowledge, so he'll wait until he has a good idea of the situation. For that matter, I want to clarify something-again I know.
1 If I'm holding on to someone, how far would I be able to jump? I haven't really needed to consider this sort of action before, so...
Also, how big is the building? How many floors, what sort of material is it (thick concrete, steel and glass, drywall, etc.)?

[Wiz]

Pulse

The flying mutate hears a distant siren and sees that a building on the southside seems to be putting out smoke. He turns his glider to head that direction. As he gets closer he sees the fire is burning on the third floor and seems to be threatening some individuals he can see on the higher floors. He brings his glider down to a lower level looking for the fire chief's car. He spots the man in charge and slowly flies down to ground level, shutting off his flier as he lands. "Greetings, Chief. I'm Pulse. May I assist?"

[dfpiii]

Professor Dark aka Paragon

"I'm a scientist," Dark says. "I don't make assumptions; I have theories, which I adapt as new information is presented. It's how we scientists avoid admitting when we're wrong".

"I have never met a villain. Who can say if others would apply the term to me? I have been conspicuously promoted over many, no doubt gifted, men. Perhaps they would label me as such. I make a point of not tipping when I receive poor service and I am doubtless the arch enemy of many a Massachusetts waitress. But if you were interested in whether I planned to blast you with my death ray and then disscet you - I can assure you biology isn't my bag".

After a moment's thought he added, "And the trigger on my death ray keeps jamming my fingers. It's really quite dangerous".

"My calling is teaching and that's what I'm doing. I have no direct ambitions in the arena of super heroism - but perhaps you can help me with something and indirectly we can help others".

"I told my staff this morning that I was setting up a research team to look into these emerging issues of super powers. How would you like to be a part of that? All entirely above board and carefully documented. You could participate either as yourself or in any costume you cared to rent. At first I'd want to test this sensory perception of yours to see if we could find out what it is you're picking up on, then the physics behind your flying would be fascinating to explore. The people at the hospital will be taking blood and skin samples like there's no tomorrow, but, as I said, that kind of thing doesn't interest me".

"Of course as well as a subject you are ideally placed to locate additional subjects and ask them to take part. All strictly voluntary, of course".

"We could probably pay you something for your time and, if you did eventually decide to tell me who you are, I could guarantee some sort of extra credit towards whatever you're studying. And the exact nature of this could also remain anonymous - I think I can swing that".

Professor Dark leans across his desk. "You can help us all understand, so that when and if we encounter one of your villains, we are better prepared to deal with them".

[evisiron]

Nosferatu

Nosferatu pauses for a few seconds in thought before answering.

"No. I cannot. I am sorry. While such information would surely help each of us, as well as this new community and the world as a whole, but studying my powers you may find how to stop or undo them. Even if you would not use such information, you cannot guarantee that the infor mation will not fall into the wrong hands."
Nosferatu sags a little at the decision he has made.

"I apoligise. Hopefully the 'good' supers can stop any of these 'villains' before any serious damage is done. Hmm... if your confidence in your powers is well placed, you should give the super hero thing a try. Here, this is my mobile phone number. Call me if any new developments occur with the research, or you need some 'vampire' related assistance. Do you have a number I can call if I have a change of heart about the research?"
Nosferatu hands over another otherwise blank card with his number on it, and awaits a response.

[Wiz]

Excerpt from the research journal of Dr. Harold Smith...

Why has my attitude changed toward helping others? I am smarter than I was, does that mean an increase in intelligence is accompanied by a corresponding increase in altruism? This doesn’t make a lot of sense, and it certainly doesn’t fit in with our basic assumptions about intelligence or the selfish gene theory. The most difficult thing is for a mind to evaluate itself, but perhaps since I am a good deal smarter than I was, I may be able to evaluate my old self and compare it with who I am now.

Philosophically, I was a scientist and an agnostic. I was a clever man with little or no interest in spirituality. I was a talented technician with a better eye to application than theory, this made my work valuable to a number of people, but I never paused to consider the larger implications of things I’ve worked on. I tended to be something of a control freak, into ruling my own little world, but with no interest in running the world as a whole… far too much responsibility for my taste. I was into reading fiction, movies, puzzles, gaming, LARP, SCA, reenactment… anything to take me away from my world and insert myself into a world of my choosing. I stopped work for the large corporations to gain more freedom for myself, rather than because I was against what they stood for or how they treated people.

I remember almost everything I’ve ever read, seen or done. At least, I seem to do so with far greater clarity than I ever had before. The world seems a much more challenging puzzle than any I faced in media. I used to love the crossword, Sudoku, Chess… all seem ludicrously easy and boring now. I still have no desire to be part of academia. Theoretical science seems like it might be more interesting now, but I’ve no desire to deal with the politics of that situation. Perhaps its because I’ve grown I feel compelled to challenge myself against others who may have undergone a similar growth?

I still don’t know what is what with spirituality, but I do have a glimmering that it might contain the most interesting questions of all. In our intuition might be found the questions that science can’t and for the most part doesn’t even pretend to be able to answer. The main reason for the change, though, is that I have felt an epiphany… an intuition about life. I used to think that life had no inherent meaning, no purpose, and it didn’t matter what we did. Now I feel that if that original thought was true, that if nothing we do matters… then the only thing that does matter, is what we do.

[dfpiii]

Professor Dark aka Paragon

"Well, that is regrettable. Should you wish to contact me, the RIT switchboard will be able to find me," Professor Dark replied. "I'll keep your card just in case, but as I said I have no plans to get involved in anything".

"And unless you do actually save the world in the interim, I expect you to complete all the assignments I set in your class," he says, his manner friendly but firm. "Now, if you'll excuse me - as you can see I have a lot of rather mundane work to do".

((Geez3r - as Dark was heading into the city, any chance he's around the fire?))

[evisiron]

Professor Dark aka Paragon

"Well, that is regrettable. Should you wish to contact me, the RIT switchboard will be able to find me," Professor Dark replied. "I'll keep your card just in case, but as I said I have no plans to get involved in anything".

"And unless you do actually save the world in the interim, I expect you to complete all the assignments I set in your class," he says, his manner friendly but firm. "Now, if you'll excuse me - as you can see I have a lot of rather mundane work to do".

((Geez3r - as Dark was heading into the city, any chance he's around the fire?))

Nosferatu

"Okay. But keep in mind, no matter how much you plan not to get involved in anything, things have a tendency to get you involved. Give me a shout if anything goes down."

With that, Nosferatu rolls backwards out of the window, doing a small flip before catching himself in flight before hitting the ground. He skims around at ground level to make it less obvious where he is taking off from, then soars into the sky. After getting past the tops of the buildings, he looks around. A black column of smoke is reaching into the sky from a large building.

"Hero rule #64: You are always needed anywhere that involves column of smoke and sirens"

With a smirk, he flys as fast as he can towards the fire.

After a few minutes, he swoops into range of the building. He notices the telltale smoke of Pulse's glider. He seems to be talking to the chief. Nosferatu yells to him:

"PULSE, WHATS THE SITUATION?"

After a brief second to scan the building as well as listen to any calls for help, Nosferatu readies his baseball bat and plunges into the building, smashing his way through windows and doors, looking for any trapped survivors.

Okay, first off, I am not sure whole time thing works, but for this I am assuming I reach the building just after Pulse and Draven. Of course, I dont know Draven is there. In the rush, I have not scanned for powers. So rolls.

Spotting survivors: 21 http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=1385786
Hearing calls for help: 17 http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=1385788
Smashing obstacles (only damage I assume?): 11 http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=1385796

Assuming that several people are spotted, Nosferatu will head to the area with the thickest smoke or densest fire. I suddenly realise flight, DR6 and not needing to breathe are designed for fire rescue!

[blennus]

Fauntleroy and “The Man”

Fauntleroy dreamed. His pleasant slumber was filled as always with the characters from different games that he took part in often, he being the noble dwarven paladin, out to save a sexy drow woman in need of aid, and sink’me what a drow! As he took the drow woman in his arms in a deep embrace he suddenly he felt a dark power descend which seemed like it was crushing the life out of him. He struggled as the powerful force tried to drown him out of reality, but it was in vain as the darkness soon swallowed him.

“The Man” awoke, as he felt the power call out to him yet again. As the words of power were uttered, he rose from the depths and took his rightful place in the real world. As he brushed aside the miniscule fool, he opened his eyes and noticed that the cretin called Fauntleroy had slept in yet again. It was already nearly noon, and he had an appointment he could not afford to miss. He called up Angie to pick him up so that he could make his preparations. First stop, the costume supply shop for a divine outfit befitting his totally sexiness.

Summary:
Shop for clothes, including a nice flashy cape.

[geez3r]

Reaper/Joe/Thug

"D-Train is a seriously bad dude. He's like 6'6" 280lbs and he's got dis deep blue suit; we get our name from dat suit right dere. He's got like this wicked scar on his right cheek where he was shot, and he got a lot mo on his chest man, and he ain't never gone to a doc for 1 of em. He got a shaved head, and brown eyes. I seen him break a dude's neck wit only 1 hand and cap some punk from 4 blocks away. And he's got connections every which way man. He keeps his word man, better than any man I ever seen. He got a place in the north, but he usually hangs with us down at the south end.
Now fo the second one, I only heard rumors so far. From what I heard, each of the 3 gangs got like 2 or 3 dudes that were in the blast, but I ain't know what their powers are, or even if it true or not."

Andrew/Vox Populi

You get in the elevator, wait a moment as it goes up the floors, listening to really cheesy music all the while. When the doors finally open, you step out onto the 21st floor and make your way down to the conference room. When you enter the room you see several other people already gathered. The Mayor, who is seated at the end of the table opposite the door; points at one of the empty seats as you enter and when you sit down he says "Now that we're all gathered, I'll introduce everyone before we get to the business at hand. On my right is Dr. David Nerros, Director of Internal Affairs at Balchem. On my left is Charles Forthwind, CEO of Forthwind shipping. On Nerros' right is Dr. James T. Wilson, head doctor and founder of St. Pauls. On Forthwins's left is Robert Jones the Police commissioner. On the left of the commisoner is Walter Niles, from the NSA. On Dr. Wilson’s right is Bruce Heleck, from the FBI. On the right of Mr. Heleck is Lieutenant General Brian Kerrigan. And our newest entry, seated to the left of Mr. Niles is Anthony Sellars Director of Public Works and the Interior.
In front of each of you is a security contract. Signing it forbids you to ever even hint at the contents of this meeting to another sentient being so long as you live; signing it however is the only way you will be allowed to remain in this meeting. Sign the contracts now or get out.” Everyone gathered signs the contracts, and I’m going to assume you do too because of the sheer importance of this meeting.

After signing the Mayor then continues "The purpose of this meeting is two-fold. Firstly, we are all to share whatever information we have gathered on the chemical, the cause of the explosion and those affected by the chemical. Secondly, we are to determine what information should become available to the public. Are there any questions before we continue?"

Davan/Pulse/Nosferatu - The fire

{If you are carrying someone, their weight adds to your carrying capacity and if that pushes you into a medium or heavy load, you take the corresponding encumberence penalty to your Jump checks.}

Davan - The fireman reaches onto a fire truck and pulls out a jacket and a helmet w/ mask. "We don't have a spare of anything else so use this carefully. We usually try to put the fire out, while getting people out of the building using ladders. Our ladders can only reach to about the 6th floor, so if we gave you a boost with the ladders and you got on the 7th and 8th floors cleared out, that would be a great help. We don't have a way to contact anyone else yet."

Pulse - "If you can, fly up to the higher floors and get anyone out who's trapped out of there, or at least tell us how many there are."

Nosferatu - You crash through a 6th story window, narrowly avoiding some flames. In a corner of the room is a small girl cowering in the corner.

Legion

The guard(s) put their hands up in a sign of surrender.

Murky

As you speed through town you leave an accident or two in your wake. You're about 10 minutes away from your destination when you hear a siren and see a pair of flashing lights in your rear view mirror.

Paragon

{You are about 8-9 blocks away from the fire, but you won't notice it unless you're airborne and/or on roof tops.

Flaunterboy - The Man

After waiting a bit, Angie comes by and has found the perfect place to do some shopping: Miguel's. A hyper trendy clothing store specializing in the eccentric and custom.

[Xerxes Shadow]

Joe turned to Reaper again. "He does certainly sound like, to use the more primitive expression, one bad dude. I'd rather not get my neck broken." He suddenly realized he had been developing his speech in the last couple of hours; it seemed his now-genius intellect had started taking a more overt effect. "I have a few more questions. Firstly, I want the address of the hangout. Also, a nice description of how many people are usually there, and how much firepower they usually have. And last, I want your name."

[dfpiii]

Professor Dark aka Paragon

Professor Dark exits the cab and enters a cafe. He notices a number of other people with newspapers describing the events of yesterday. Now is the time to buy shares in print media, he muses.

He settles down in a booth and orders lunch.

((Any chance of him overhearing a TV news broadcast, etc. about the fire?))

[Glawackus]

Andrew/Vox Populi

Andrew is surprised to see Nerros here, and nods to him. He puts up a hand in greeting at the mention of his name, and shakes his head to indicate he has no questions.
Let's see how this plays out before we start asking anything, he thinks.

[evisiron]

Nosferatu

"Don't be afraid. I am with the Fire Department: Flying Division. Lets get you out of here, shall we?"

With a blanced approach of speed and care, I move to the girl and try to scoop her up.

If successful, I will head back out the way I came (shielding the girl from the flames with my body as much as possible) and fly to the ground as close to medical personnel as I can. Before they take over, I ask her:

"Do you know if anyone else is in the building?"

Geez3r, if any rolls are needed here, feel free to make them and apply the results

[Wiz]

Pulse

Pulse nods and jumps back on his flyer, switching it on. He rises into the air slowly at first then faster as he rises to the higher floors. He slowly circles the building, moving at half-speed and looking in the windows as he goes. He will keep track of anyone that he sees (or feels through his senses). If anyone seems in immediate distress or trouble, he will examine the situation, and if safe, break in through the window and ferry that person to the ground before resuming his search pattern. If anyone passes within his sensory range and seems to be moving, he will particularly note what metal objects they seem to be wearing as a particular magnetic pattern, so that he might pick them up again if they stray into an area where they can't be seen (because of smoke) or if they get buried in rubble somehow.

[The_Lonely_d12]

Davan

Davan nods, and removes the majority of his equipment, reasoning that it would get in the way and weigh him down as he puts on the coat.

"I'm going to need to leave most of this here...it doesn't weigh much, but every bit counts. Go ahead and extend the ladder up as far as it will go, I'll get in from there.

(assuming this is done)

Davan ascends the ladder, looks for the best point of entry, and leaps to the building.

OoC:Leaving behind bow and arrows, quiver, and 10 shuriken. Okay, so I probably don't really need to do this, but check to jump to building, no penalty for lack of running start=34) (http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=1392052). Also, I'm assuming there are windows of some kind big enough for me to get in, I'll blast one if I have to to get in. I'll end up searching for people inside, and looking for the best way to get them down-if need be, might end up jumping them across to the other building.

If there aren't any windows, I'll spend some time making some.

Oh, and just in case:balance check (1d20+14=23) (http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=1392055)

[Tar Palantir]

The Reaper listens patiently to the thug, then says, "In addition to answering these questions, there is one more thing. I assume you want to leave here alive. If I decide to let you live, you will never tell a soul you have ever seen me, or you will see me again, and I will be the last thing you ever see. Simple enough?"

[Nelphine]

Murky

'Blast! Why aren't the cops out doing things like fighting crime and solving world hunger??' Murky pulls over and tucks the crowbar underneath the car seat. He might be allowed to carry it but it probably won't look good anyway. His shirt hides the pistol, but.. his whole car is freaking grey. Oh well.

'Hey! I'm a superhero now.. I wonder if that means I don't have to pay tickets.'

He waits for the police to approach.. hopefully Forthwind is too busy to notice one cargo handler missing work.

[PlasticSoldier]

#1 finished yet?Soon.
Okay.
Orig turns to the guards and the fake guard and says "You two leave your guns and keys here and then go to the bathroom where the other guy is. Mimic take my keys and what they drop and try to open the teller drawers." He then waits the infinitesimal amount of time needed for a response before escorting the guards into the bathroom and standing in its open doorway.

Once #1 cuts through the door he'll take his drill out into the hallway, drill open any unopened teller drawers and then head down to the Deposit Room Door and look around for weak spots.

[geez3r]

Joe/Reaper/Thug

The thug answers "The address is 1422 Nextal Lane. It's an "abandoned" warehouse near the port. There's like 10-20 guys in der all the time, and they're all packin'. My name be Taikwon-Dog yo, and I no enough to keep my trap shut man." {credit goes to my friend for the sheer horribleness of this name. Call him TK-Dog if you want something slightly less horrible}

Paragon

*flips coin*

From the T.V. you hear "We now have some breaking news. A residential building in the northeaster section of the city is on fire. The fire is apparently on the 3rd or 4th floor and several people are trapped in the floors above. Fire fighters are already on the scene. We have unconfirmed reports of mutants on the scene reportedly aiding in the rescue effort. We will have more on this story as it develops.
*looks to another camera*
Good news for egg lovers..." {cookie to first one who gets the reference}

Andrew/Vox Populi

{there is quite a bit to be said here, so I'll move on for the time being. If I forget to edit this part in, yell at me.}

Dr. Nerros nervously nods back, apparently his nerves haven't changed much during the night. The Mayor looks around for a moment to see if anyone has any questions, when no one says anything, he nods at Dr. Wilson, who begins to speak in quite frankly the most commanding voice you have ever heard, especially from someone with such a small frame. "What we are dealing with here is unprecedented in every sense of the word. After collecting various samples from all patients who allowed us, which was well over 40, we have determined a few key points. The mutagen that was released by the explosion is incredibly unstable and decays to a harmless base form in mere moments.

We have determined that the mutations created by these chemicals is directly related to at least 3 criteria. Firstly, how close the individual was to ground zero and subsequently how "pure" of a form the mutagen they were exposed to. Secondly, the environment they were in at the time of exposure. Finally, the personality of the person affected.

For example, one of our patients, Erica..." Dr. Wilson places a picture of a smiling girl that looks much like a dryad onto the table "...was close to ground zero and had one of the purest forms of the mutagen in her system. The abilities she was granted..." Dr. Wilson produces more pictures featuring an orange poodle, a blue lion and of course a green rabbit "...we believe, are as they are for 2 reasons. At the time of exposer, Erica was on hallucinogenic drugs, in her personal case, distorting reality with vibrant colors, and she is a self professed animal lover.

We have been trying to reverse engineer the original mutagen from the samples we've acquired, but it has been so far a fruitless effort. Then again, because Balchem has finally..." Wilson shoots a glare at Nerros at this word "... submitted some information about the chemical in the warehouse it might be easier.

Reactions?"


THE FIRE - Nosferatu/Pulse/Davan/RPFD

A small crowd has started to gather outside the building, watching the events unfolding.

Nosferatu - The girl holds on tight as you scoop her up. Two things happen as you fly out of the window and back down to the ground. Firstly, you notice that it's a bit harder to keep afloat with the girl's additional weight, but after a quick adjustment you're flying away as quick as ever. Secondly, that second of adjustment cost you a bit as flames lick you leg, though you prevent the girl from taking harm {1 fire damage}. As you fly back to ground, a few medics on the scene wave you over, while a few cheers and a bit of clapping can be heard from the crowd. When you set the girl down, she says "Old Miss Wentin is trapped, she's next door and she's in a wheel chair. Please help her Superman."

Pulse - I'll do this in parts:
3rd floor: 3 people - these people look as if they are in the most immediate danger, as the fire is on their floor. 1 person in their mid-20's looks to be in a bad spot because he can't open the window. So I assume you save this guy before resuming your search. The fire department is in the process of getting the other 2 (who were in the same room) down.
4th floor: 5 people - all different rooms
5th floor: 4 people - 2 and 2
6th floor: 7 people - 2, 3, 1, 1 (not including the one Nos got)
7th floor: 8 people - 4, 3, 1
8th floor: None

Davan - You easily make it to the building's 4th floor, and subsequently spring from window to window trying to find people. You finally come across a room where there is a toddler trying to open the window, and an older woman (you assume toddler's mother) who is pinned beneath a rather large dresser.

Murky

As the police officer steps out of his car, it takes a large amount of self control to not laugh at his beer belly. He swaggers up to the car and knocks on you window, chewing on an apparently very large piece of gum. "So cheif... I got two questions for ya. Firsta, where's the fire? And secondly, what the hell's up with your paint job? You some kinda anti-hippie freak?"

Legion

The guards go quietly. You can't open the drawers with the keys they have. You manage to open the teller drawers with the drill however. All together, there's about $5,000-$7,000 cash in the drawers. When you head down to the Deposit area, the weakest points on it appear to be the hinges, or the lock itself.

[PlasticSoldier]

Legion

Pleased with the success so-far Guard Clone walks over to the bathroom doorway Orig. is standing guard at and says just loud enough for the guards to hear but not loud enough to sound weird "Okay Steve, hurry up I can't hold this form forever, Steve-O pointing at Orig. as he says the last word. "doesn't know how long he can mind control this guy and he's definately going to be pissed when he gets control back. I'm gonna go rip out those stupid pens the bank chains down. Oh also it's dangerous to go alone take this." lobbing the guards keys to Drill Clone as he finishes the sentence.

Orig. waves bye to Guard Clone and says to his prisoners "Hey, do you guys have any bleach, cleaning stuff or for that matter any kind of chemicals that would make CSI's job harder?"

#1 tries to drill through the hinges and if he's succesful makes a quick guess about the number of boxes and uses the keys on the security room.

Summary:
Guard is going to rip off the chained down pens where the tellers work.
Orig. asks the guards if they have any cleaning stuff.
#1 drills through door, and uses the keys to get in the securty room.

Edit: If it's not obvious Guard Clone took the money.

[The_Lonely_d12]

Davan

Finally found someone. What could I expect, though...I can't see through walls after all. I'm not superman. *snrk*

Inwardly grinning at this thought, Davan takes a moment to consider the best way to get inside. Deciding to get the toddler away from the window first, he says to the child

"Kid, step back from the window, okay? Go stand by your mommy."

He checks the window, trying to raise it up. Considering that doing this from the outside is fairly difficult under most circumstances, he takes off his jacket, wraps it around his fist and checks that the child is clear, then bashing the window open to gain access. Entering inside, he quickly says to the woman

"Don't worry, I'm here to help."

and rushes to her aid.

So then, I'm going to try and muscle the chest off of the woman, and try to get them both to safety. Here's the question...about how much do they weigh...and which floor am I on? Trying to think of the safest way to get them down...if need be I should be able to jump down with the both of them, but I dunno how well that will work. If I can feasibly get them to the ladder, that would be splendid.
Anyways, if I need it, here's a Strength Check (21) (http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=1395652) to get the chest off of her, and a Jump Check (45) (http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=1395655)-minus whatever penalties I may accrue for encumbrance.
If I see one of the two flying heros, I'll call one of them to help get the victims down.

[Wiz]

Pulse

Riding his glider down to ground level, Pulse locates the Chief and relates what he's seen. "I assume the flying person crashing through windows must be relatively fireproof. Since I'm not, I'll start on the top floor and begin ferrying people down or across to the next roof, and I'll work my way down and he can work his way up." He turns his glider, slowly climbing back up to the seventh floor and working his way toward the room that had four people.

[ChronicLunacy]

Kid Zeus
The Fire

Those at the scene of the fire, unless occupied with saving lives and currently inside of the building, would suddenly hear a mighty clap of thunder roll over their heads. Coming into view over the tops of the buildings across the street flew what could be assumed was another of the mutants. He seemed to be carried aloft by the sizzling aura of electricity that sparked and popped all around him, sort of floating with his feet pointed more or less at the ground with his arms outspread.

The figure, like many of the other mutants, wore a costume. It seemed to be a black bodysuit of some sort with royal blue stripes running down his flanks and the outsides of his legs from the armpits, as well as from his shoulders down the tops of his arms. His face was obscured by a black half-mask that covered everything but his mouth and lower jaw. His eyes glowed bluish-white and sparked with barely contained power.

All this, but those that got a good look at him could swear that he wasn't more than twenty years old. He was a little on the wiry side, definitely no Superman, and every once in a while he would have a little hiccup in his flight pattern and fall for a foot or two, as if he was still just getting the hang of it. Still, this didn't stop him from soaring straight to the building and in through Davan's window.

Once inside, the electric aura around his body died down, though his eyes still glowed softly. Despite not being too strong himself, he ran immediately to the felled bookcase and helped as much as he could getting it off of the woman. If and when Davan looked up, he'd smile fiercely and quip, "Looks like you could use a hand!"

[evisiron]

Nosferatu - The girl holds on tight as you scoop her up. Two things happen as you fly out of the window and back down to the ground. Firstly, you notice that it's a bit harder to keep afloat with the girl's additional weight, but after a quick adjustment you're flying away as quick as ever. Secondly, that second of adjustment cost you a bit as flames lick you leg, though you prevent the girl from taking harm {1 fire damage}. As you fly back to ground, a few medics on the scene wave you over, while a few cheers and a bit of clapping can be heard from the crowd. When you set the girl down, she says "Old Miss Wentin is trapped, she's next door and she's in a wheel chair. Please help her Superman."




Nosferatu

Nosferatu listens intently to the girl, before spinning and running back towards the building. It takes a force of will not to comment about the 'Superman' remark, but such things could wait until after the people were safe.

As he builds up speed across the ground, he stumble slightly, only now registering the burn on his leg.

"Guess I'm not exactly fire proof. Still - they are up there and at least I can heal"

Nosferatu scans for the area he was before, and flies up towards it. Entering the window he came in through before, he begins to look for the old lady.

[If she is in the room like the girl said: Nosferatu battered through the door, keeping his body to the side in case of one of those blasts mentioned in 'fire safety lessons'. A dark plume of smoke lurches out of the doorway. Nosferatu is thankful that he needs not breathe, but worries for the old lady. A brief scan of the room reveals her to be sitting in the corner, seemingly unconscious. Still, she seems to be wearing an oxygen mask and is still breathing. Nosferatu checks over the oxygen tanks, and slides it to an area where the fire has not reached yet. It would be unfortunate if it were to explode right here. Nosferatu carefully scoops the old lady from the wheelchair, and attempts to leave the way he came in. However, this time he is ready for the weight increase and reaches the ground beside the paramedics.

While patting out the patches of clothing that caught fire, he asks the girl:

"Is that her?"

Once again, make any rolls that are needed and apply the results. I have written the 'ideal result' of what should happen, but anyone reading should know that this may changed by geez3r depending on the dice rolls.

[harmonictempest]

Robert Blain/Gust
Day 2

And tomorrow is another day. :-)
You realize you're probably going to fall flat on your face the first time you face a robber, don't you?
Shut up.
Finishing off the carton of eggs and second box of cereal, Robert sat for a moment to ponder his next move. Err, this part always seem to get taken care of in the movies - guess it won't be so easy here. I could fly up and patrol, but that seems more for an already-established guy. Huh.
Well, hmm, lessee, newspaper. Bank robbed, jewel thieves dead, gang members cut up, mayor attacked, mutant in question already out of custody -- damn. Guess I should spent less of yesterday practicing and more out on the street. Oh well, too late now. Patrolling wouldn't find me much except old ladies with their cats stuck up in a tree, anyway. I guess...I guess for now I'll just go to work. There's no real rush to figure things out, anyway.
Waiting on the metro with the normal crowds of commuters was...interesting, like returning to a too-small shell. Robert kept wondering how many of them were, like him, trying to keep a normal routine despite having new secrets of their own. At work, the feeling deepened and worsened. The untidy cubicle and the spreadsheet he was editing data into seemed increasingly pointless as the morning wore on. This is just dumb, he thought after a while. I can't keep my mind off of it, and I have a sick day I can use, anyway. I need to figure this out first.

He makes his way toward the bathrooms, then ducks into the elevator bank and rides all the way to the top. Feeling the wind on his face and sensing its eddies swirling around the building as he came out onto the roof was like being released from a pile of smothering blankets. He enjoys the sensation for a moment, idly shifting his focus here and there and listening to the conversations of those on the street below. Then he concentrates, feeling the air around him explode in a swirling pillar and lifting him slightly off the ground. The dust and leaves and assorted trash on the roof fly away from him as he feels the change to Gust take hold. Holding out his hand, he notes with satisfaction that what he was last wearing as Gust is still in order ("Damn if that doesn't make for a convenient quick-change..."). He then takes to the air and begins to fly back toward the park from the day before, when the pillar of smoke from downtown catches his eye.
"Well, the criminals may not be prowling the streets at this time of day, but I guess I won't be totally useless until nightfall." Frowning with nervousness, he flies in the direction of the fire.

At the fire: A white-robed figure* flies silently over the nearest building and hovers for a moment, surveying the situation, frowning slightly. He is a tall, thin man with a crossbow slung over one shoulder. He has blond-and-white streaked hair past his ears, and ice-blue eyes, and what seems to be a constant small breeze around him, no matter the weather. He hovers in front of the building for a moment, then approaches the lowest floor on which he can see flames and goes inside, breaking a window with his fist to do so.

*my avatar, more or less. :-)

OOC:First, he's going to listen and see if he can hear anyone calling for help inside. (Listen +19, Super Hearing allows hearing things 10 times further away and detecting when I'm within 30 feet of someone) If all the people he hears seem to be above the burning areas for the moment, and if the fire is still only on the third floor, then he'll enter the nearest third-floor window (Unarmed Attack to break window) and move through the floor room-by-room, forcing the air out of each one at a time with Air Mastery to stop the blaze (can control 20-foot cube). If he finds anyone on that floor during this, he'll stop to fly them down to the street and return as quickly as possible.

PP usage:
Form Shifting = 2 PP
Flight = 2 activation, +1 for about 10 minutes of flight so far
I'll calculate any Blast of Wind and Air Mastery PP he uses as it comes up.

70/75 PP

[Raven T.]

Alex

The lunch went as it always did. He had a knack for picking up the young talent that often went overlooked. Treating them with fairness, nurturing their creative juices, and rewarding excellent service were his hallmarks. A couple of the folks were fresh out of school in May. It would be an easier sell to them than a group of established men and women who have families to care for. Some of what he had planned...well, when one makes enemies, they always go for the family to "send a message."

As the meal wound down, he nodded to the men at the doorway. Another part of their arrangement with the cafe was they installed soundproofing within the small room the table was in. Alex stood up and took stock. Twelve others were here today. That made him lucky 13. Alex smirked some at the thought.

"Ladies and gentlemen," he started. The room almost instantly got quiet. His presence had been imposing before and commanded respect, but this was something new entirely. "I have called you here to thank you for your service over the last several years. Some of you have been with me since I started here, others of you have come on board at my own behest. All of you have satisfied me and, in many cases, you've impressed me with your ingenuity and tenacity.

"I would like to propose a business venture with the twelve of you. Before I go further, though, I must ask for your understanding. What I am going to propose may seem predatory, unseemly, or otherwise vicious. If you would not like to be associated with it, you are permitted to leave now with no fear of reprisal from me or anyone else in this room."

[DaftSkunk]

Nathaniel
In the morning, 2 day
As Nath opened his eyes, he gave off a moan that could easily come from some zombie-horror movie and quickly closed the eyes again.
Laying still on his bed, he tried to get a thought through the still throbbing headache.
After a few moments, he noticed that it wasn´t as bad as yesterday, and that it even was better than when he awakened. Encouraged by this, he got up in one rush, to prevent falling asleep again, yawned, and looked at the clock on the wall, which didn´t seem right.

Tilting his head from side to side, he tried to figure out what was wrong, until he noticed that it and the pictures were...hanging to low.
Holy !
He thought, and then looked down himself, trying to wrap his mind around the fact that he was floating in the air.
This has to be a dream...maybe the headache dismissed my brain?
As he tried to clear his mind and find a way to get back to ground, his body easily descents to the floor and he stumples in the kitchen, where he makes himself some bread and a glass of water to get his head clear, with which he walks to a window.

Looking outside, to all the people down at the street, he doesn´t feel his spirit rasing, as it always did.
Ugh, don´t they see it?..or know it? or realise it? So many cars, so much garbage...didn´t that one guy told me a week ago the consequences of living careless? And even i just...forgot it...as does everyone...
He sighs and raises the glass to drink, stopping as he feels something stirring inside of him. Like a third arm he just noticed he concentrates on the water, opening his eyes in shock as the liquid´s surfaces changes and a small “tentacle” comes up, connectd to the main-mass.

After only seconds his concentration shatters, mostly by pure shock, and the water drops back into his glass.
How?...oh…ah..no…I didn´t even came in contact with that stuff when we arrived at the scene..…but I wonder if the other guys did.. mutate too?..
He speaks out loud, trying to understand what had happened.

The next houre he makes coffee, takes a shower, basically he tryies to really wake up, and in the process of making coffee, notices that he has the same feeling he had about the water, about the fire the gas herd produces.
The last shock that he suffered from this morning was the one he got when he looked into the mirror in his bathroom, seeing his normal face, white, kind-of-good-looking, but not his normal eyes. Instead of the light blue he had seen the last 24 Years he looked into a mirror, his left eye was dark, oceanlike blue and the right one was brimstone red.

Well I guess I could get used to all of this.. he mutters to himself and searches through his clothes to find the right things for his “sight-seeing” flight.

The fire
(I guess he sees the smoke column too, as he takes off in the eastern district)

Nathaniel flies to the column like a drunken bird, as he isn´t really used to this sort of travel, and therefore never gets the right amount of power.

As he arrives at the building, he stops, slowly drifting up and down like a leaf in the wind.
He wears black woolen mantle, which is open, but should disguise most of his body.
For his face, he wears a red scarf, drawn over his nose, and black oval sunglasses, to hide his blonde hair, he wears a black bandana from an old pirate costume.

I…should and I could help them, but why don´t I want to?..I mean, this is the reason why i became a fireman and now..He mutters to himself, the last part not speaking out aloud:I am, disgusted, by the thought of helping, i don´t want to see them die..but i want them to help themselves.
These thoughts rushing through his head, he keeps looking down at the burning building, trying to figure out his weird feelings.

[Glawackus]

AndrewVox Populi

"Well, thank God for the fact that it decayed so quickly," Andrew says, leaning forward and folding his hands on the table. "Is there any way to reverse these...powers? Dampen, detect, or cure them? I'm sorry if I'm getting ahead of myself, but I think you're all familiar with the attack at the press conference yesterday. If it hadn't been for a few of our..more altruistic citizens, the city would be in far greater danger right now."

[The_Lonely_d12]

Davan

(to the newcomer)

"That depends, can you fly this kid out of here? I'm not sure if I can carry the both of them out of here safely.

OoC:Same as my last, but with just the woman. And, gonna go back in afterwards.

[ChronicLunacy]

Kid Zeus


Davan

(to the newcomer)

"That depends, can you fly this kid out of here? I'm not sure if I can carry the both of them out of here safely.

"No problem, dude." the newcomer nodded, his eyes sizzling with power for a moment. Then he turned and picked up the toddler, cradling him against his chest. "Come on, little buddy, we're going to go for a ride, okay? Don't worry about mommy, my friend's going to bring her down soon!" he comforted the kid as he went to the window. It was a good thing the toddler was short and everyone was staying low to the ground, or the smoke might have gotten him already. The costumed teenager coughed a few times in the smoke before bailing out the window with the toddler.

They freefalled for half a second before a harmless field of energy wrapped them up again and curled around them, jumping out several times to spark against the power lines and street lights and other high, metal objects. He slowed his descent and made it to the ground with several running steps to bring himself to a halt in front of a firefighter. He dumped the toddler in the man's arms and took right back off again, giving the building a once-over to see where he was needed most.

[Xerxes Shadow]

"Okay, then, Mr. Taikwon Dog, that'll be all." Joe used his swords to slash the ropes, but they wouldn't go through. "Stupid dried blood. I'll be right back." He came back about ten minutes later with the swords squeaky clean and cut the ropes. "Go free, Mr. Dog. And if you tell anyone where you were, you'll end up like your two friends that were with you... lying dead in an alley, becoming nothing but a minor headline the next day."

[DaftSkunk]

Nathaniel

After watching the other mutants rescuing people a little, Nathaniel slowly flies over to the building on the other side of the street and lands on the edge of the roof, where he stays, watching the area.

Seems as if i everyone is being rescued.
He mutters cold.
I even think i know why i hesitated.
He thinks calmly, looking at the burning building and the humans.
They should not receive help. After all, its probably theyre own fault. As are most catastrophies. Damn, when they are "safe" again, most will forget this happened, and repeat it, and repeat it and repeat it, again and again and again. And this here? That is only the small scale. War, Death, Plagues and Hate, all these things happen because mankind is unable to remember its faults.

Thinking this, jumping from one conclusion to another, Nathaniels fists clench, and his bad mood builds itselve up, until he almost flies down to finish the job the flames can´t.
But only almost. Shaking his head a little, he pulls himself together.
What the hell? Thinking about attacking probably innocents. But still, i am right...on another scale.

Holding that thought, he flies down to the burning building, trying to extinquish the flames at the lower floors, moving upwards from there.
If it is possible, Nath hovers outside of the rooms and use his power from there, but if he needs to see every flame (I don´t know, i rather be save than sorry, and say he needs to) he will enter a window on the third floor, smashing it by using the fire in the room for a burst.

(OOC:PP cost ect)

4PP activation, +3PP first round, either crushing the fire and then wiping out all flames, or just whiping out all flames from outside.
Good night.

[Tar Palantir]

The Reaper

The Reaper wanders across the room, looking out the window, and notices a pillar of smoke in the distance. "A fire..." he says, mostly to himself but loud enough that Joe can hear him. "I can help them." He turns back to Joe, speaking loudly and with authority. "I am going to see if there is anything I can do to help. If anyone tries to capture me, I can always escape into the shadows. There are people there who need my help. Do not follow me. You can be tracked far more easily than I can, and I don't want my safe house compromised. If you leave, don't come back. I'll find you if I wish to speak with you. Until we meet again." With this last statment, he leaps into the shadows, his mind filled with the screams of dying children.

He arrived quickly despite the daylight, and remained hidden from the prying eyes of civilians and other supers while he surveyed the situation. Several supers were already on the scene, helping those trapped inside to safety. A room on the seventh floor looked inviting, a window opening onto a darkened room beyond. Calling upon his powers, he leapt through the shadows to that room and emerged from his shadow meld. Still moving stealthily and sticking to the shadows, he made his way through the floor, finally finding a room with a lone child in it, sobbing gently. He moved forward slowly, speaking soft, "Don't be afraid, little one. Today is not your day to die, if I have anything to say about it." Looking around briefly for a way to damp his frightening touch, his eyes fell upon a colorful blanket. He tied it securly around his neck and arms, then walked to the window. "Grab on," he said, and as soon as the child had a firm grasp he leapt out of the window, using his claws to grasp tightly the wall of the adjacent building. Luckily, the distance was short, and the building was on the shaded side, blocking the sun's killing rays. He carried the child to the second to last level of the fire escape, setting him down there, just below the line of sunlight. He tore of a brightly colored piece of the blanket and gave it to the child, saying, "If you can, climb the stairs to the roof, and wave that blanket as high as you can, so that one of the other heroes can see you. When they come, tell them it was the Reaper who rescued you." Without another word, he melds into the shadows and reenters the building, looking for anyone else to save.


Make any necessary checks, geez3r, noting the +20 to Hide checks from the shadows. Even the floors on flame will have abundant shadows, so with care the Reaper should be able to always be in shadow.

[Xerxes Shadow]

With Reaper gone, Joe turned his attention back to the thug. "Mr. Dog, I'd like you to stay here for a moment more." He rummaged around the apartment, looking for a camera.

ROLLS: Search 17. (http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=1397003) If he finds a camera, he will photograph the thug, leave, and check his email for any replies to the poster search. If not, he'll just go check his email. With either outcome, he'll drop the thug off at a police station with strict orders to 'fess up (Intimidate 19) (http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=1397008) or the Reaper will come for him.

[dfpiii]

Professor Dark aka Paragon

Professor Dark orders his sandwich to go.

Unfamiliar with the city, it is a short cab ride near to his destination, where the traffic is halted and trucks are in disarray across the street. He walks through a growing throng of citizens gazing skywards and does likewise.

He watches the "super heroes" arrive like a swarm, by rooftop, by wing, by means fabulous and diverse. The specatcularly costumed and the more mundanely attired ferry and flit those trapped to the street or to other buildings.

"Inspired," he says quietly to himself.

Should anyone wish to catch super heroes in a net, all that is necessary is something common and mundane. Without a thought they throw themselves into harm's way. It isn't even a particularly large fire, but it provides a vital lesson.

Professor Dark continues his observations of the super heroes who arrive at the scene, noting with studious carefulness every mannerism and physical trait, while leaning against a wall and eating his sandwich. At the same time he is watching the crowd - aware that if anyone had staged this event, they would be doing exactly the same thing he was. And possibly, of course, this was only stage one of some trap.

[geez3r]

THE FIRE - Nosferatu/Pulse/Davan/Kid Zeus/Gust/Nathaniel/Paragon/Reaper oh and the fire department, you know, the guys trained and equipped to handle a situation like this


{seriously, this has got to be the weirdest thing the people in the crowd have ever seen. You know if you guys want some action, just say the magic words "I go on patrol" then again, it makes it pretty easy for me}

The fire department has successfully rescued the 2 remaining people on the 3rd floor, and are now focusing their efforts on putting out the fire, while the rest of you fly about.

The crowd has gotten progressively louder, and a lot of muttering can be heard as the people talk to each other, pointing a Super or two as they fly about.

Nos - The girls nods smiling and says "thank you"

Pulse - When you reach the window and look in, you are able to see the 4 people right away. Three of them (you guess to the the parents and a young child) are sleeping together in a bed, in a way that suggests that the kid snuck into the bed last night. About 7' away from the bed is a crib with a baby in it. They are either all dead, or still asleep.

Davan - You easily get the dresser off of the woman {who weighs 140}. When you scoop her up, you kind of get the feeling that you should be able to absorb the impact of the fall pretty easily (seeing as how you can ignore 110ft worth of falling damage and it's a 50ft fall)

Kid Zeus - A guy on the far end of the 4th floor looks to be in a bit of a jam, he's got the window pried open, with his head sticking out, but smoke is pouring out as well, and he's coughing quite a bit.

Gust - There are fire fighters on the north and east sides of the building, trying to quench the flames, and you decide to enter the south side of the building, smashing through a window as you go. You easily extinguish the flames with your powers, however you realize something: No air in the room = no air for you to breathe, enjoy holding your breath.

Nathaniel - It's a pretty large fire, so it'll take you more than 1 try, but you snuff out all the flames in 1 room quite easily.

Paragon - You see a man with short black hair, dressed in business attire, in an alleyway leaning against the wall with his arms crossed looking at the scene in a way quite similar to your own. He doesn't appear to notice you.

Reaper - You bamf the kid to safety, and successfully slink back into the building. Your going is a little slow because of how smoke filled the place is. You eventually find quite a disturbing sight however. Inside one of the rooms, you find a single old man in the room, which smells like gasoline, giggling to himself with the words "BURN" and "FIRE" scrawled on the walls.

Legion

The chain pens lay at your feet, free of their tyrannical masters at long last.

The prisoners reply that they have nothing of the sort, an independent company does the cleaning on the weekends.

The drilling is mind numbingly loud, and progress is slow, but about half an hour later, the door falls in, granting you entry to the Deposit room.

Andrew/Vox Populi

Dr. Wilson replies "We are currently unsure if any... "mundane" cure exists, but some of our patients have exhibited the ability to directly manipulate the mutations of the other patients, sometimes nullifying them, other times absorbing them temporarily, with varying degrees of success. So we know for sure that it is possible to divorce a patient from their mutations, at least temporarily without causing them undue harm. I believe that if we are able to determine the exact properties the base mutagen then we will have made great strides in developing a cure. Unfortunately, I have great experience in these matters and my gut tells me that this will take at least 6 months of thorough research and experimentation, and that is if we get a miracle. Anything more you would like to add Mr. Sellars?"

Joe

{I'll roll a d10: 1-5 there's a camera, 6-10 no camera}
1d10=5 (http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=1397419)
Yay camera. You snap the thug's photo and drop him off at the Police HQ and return to your place without much of a hassle {Unless you feel like playing fireman :smallwink: }

When you check your email, you have one message.
Sender: [email protected]
Subject: Posted offer

hey, i saw ur message,a dn i like thoguht tat we cud hlp u. wut did u have in mind? how much does it like pay and stuff 2.

byes

[email protected]

[Wiz]

Pulse

If there is no trace of smoke or fire in the room, I will use my power to bend out the metal holding the window in place, letting it pop inward (where it might shatter on the floor or not). I will then land my craft inside, switching off the engine and call out to the people. If they wake, I will explain about the fire, if not, I will go over to check on them.

[Xerxes Shadow]

"Loud sigh," said Joe as he typed a response.

Sender- [email protected]
Subject- RE: Posted offer

Meet me a block west of the burning building (you know, the one with all the mutants around it?) at 5:00 PM tomorrow. We'll discuss payment there. And the job. I'll be the one in the trenchcoat, with the swords strapped across my back. If you come early, I'll be the one dropping from five stories up.

-Katana

"She sounds like an idiot, but I guess she's the only reply... good thing I have this picture. I think I'll look for Laura now. Why am I talking to myself?" He stepped away from the computer, hitting SEND at the same time, and flipped open his cell phone. He called the hospital, and waited for a few minutes while he was on hold. He asked the receptionist if someone named Laura Smith was staying there, to get a response of...

[ChronicLunacy]

Kid Zeus

The costumed avenger, in all his teenage might, hovered by the guy's window, holding an arm up as if to keep the smoke out of his face. He coughed a few times, knowing that it was probably a hundred times worse for the man inside, as he had to practically hang out of his apartment to find a tiny bit of fresh air.

"Now, sir, I need you to grab a hold of my hand and think happy thoughts!" he coughed, but managed a good-natured grin anyway, despite the situation.

When the man was able to climb out the window, Kid Zeus grabbed him by clasping each forearm and sort of dragged him out, lowering him to the ground before he lost his grip.

At strength 10, I can drag about 200, I believe. So unless the man is overweight he should be able to keep hold until they're on the ground. If I need to, I'll do a strength check/spend action points. Just let me know.

[Tar Palantir]

The Reaper moves forward cautiously, slightly confused. "Are you insane, old man?" he asks, ready to leap into action if needed. He appeared to be a harmless old man, but there was no telling what powers he might have.

[Raven T.]

Alex

Three of the older members rise, thank Alex for the meal, and ask to be excused. Absentmindedly, he waves them off. Those who do not have the stomach for this shouldn't be here in the first place. That brings them down to ten.

Clearing his throat, he eyes down all those who remain. It was make or break time. As he speaks, he also talks with his hands and eyes, quite animated.

Suggested listening: Mars, Bringer of War by Gustav Holst


"Now that the preliminaries are out of the way, I will get down to the heart of the matter. I'm sure that you have all, in one form or another, seen and heard about the events of late. These events have created a shift in the balance of power. I have done some independent research into this matter and have learned that there is more than meets the eye to these events. Two companies are responsible and it is our duty as the new guard to make sure their business practices are brought to light, exposing their avarice, their corruption, and their blatant disregard for people and property.

"Thanks in part to the failures of both Forthwind Shipping and the chemical's manufacturer Balchem, we sit upon the cusp of a new phase of mankind's development. Those currently in power, set in their ways, will NOT be able to adapt quickly enough to meet the demands. We can...no, we WILL. Do you dream of being in control of your own destiny? Do you loathe the corporate culture that does not reward the ingenious and crafty? The time is now for you to rise up and take a stand; to live your life for yourselves. I do not speak of mindless greed; just the opposite. Money is a tool. I speak of raw power.

"With the winds of change blowing as they have begun to, ambition will win the day. You have all shown me, time and time again, that you have the drive, ambition, and tenacity that I look for in the people I trust. Know this: I would not have asked you here if I did not trust you all implicitly. I am formulating a plan. If you are willing to work under me as you do now, then I am offering you a position of great power. Yes, you will still have to answer to me, but have I ever let you down?" Alex pauses a moment, both to catch his breath and let the gravity of the situation sink in. Murmurings streamed from the assembled nine as they discussed matters amongst themselves.

"I propose we form our own corporation. An investment firm to start out with; I know you tend to put the bonuses you get from me to good work in the market and you live comfortably. We will pool our resources and begin catering to this new group of mutated people. Rumors are circulating that one is looking to open a bar for others of his kind." His kind; we are nothing alike. "It will give us some base capital while we build a greater business. Forthwind and Balchem are on their way out; we shall seize their assets when they are at their weakest, rebuild, and control this new substance for our very own!"

An aura of darkness seemed to surround him as he launched into the end of his speech. "Ladies and gentlemen, we have the opportunity here to achieve everything you could ever dream of, to obtain power beyond your wildest dreams. Evolution teaches us that only the strongest and fittest will survive while the weak cattle are left behind and slaughtered. Strength of will and mind shall reign supreme. Rewards for success will continue to become greater and greater as our power grows. We may have to do some ugly things to get there, but I swear to you, I will do everything in my power to permit us to do this as legally as possible. Join with me here, and we will RUN THIS WORLD! What say you?!" The power...the raw potential that the mutagen had unleashed within his system fueled his ambition further. His eyes were alight with a passionate flame. His aura crackled a dark red and black. This was his time; these were his men and women. There'll be no one...NO ONE to stop them.

[evisiron]

Nosferatu
Nosferatu quickly flicks a thumbs up towards the small girl. Pulling down the mask to reveal a toothy grin may not be the ideal gesture at this time...

Once again turning to the building, Nosferatu assesses the situation, notices the various Supers moving around the building, and the number of people who still seem to be calling for help.

He leaps into the air once again.

"This may take a while..."

I am setting Nosferatu onto 'autopilot', rushing to which ever area seems to be the trickest for the Breathers to reach and saving as many people as he can. I will break the cycle if he notices something dramatic happen (such as half the building falling) or if I decide to change actions. Feel free to make rolls as needed.

[The_Lonely_d12]

Davan

Leaving the woman in the care of the firefighters, Davan glances back up at the building, apparently just now noticing the plethora of supers running amok saving people.

Wow...I figured there'd be one or two others...but this is a bit more than that, isn't it?

Readjusting the material effectively serving as a mask so that it sat properly covering from his nose and down, Davan leaps back into the fray, looking for any others trapped.

OoC:Lather, rinse, and repeat: same as before, getting in, getting the trapped peoples, getting out. Unless I run into something more challenging

[DaftSkunk]

Nathaniel
(Just writing how Nath will proceed)

...Using his power to extinguish all flames he can, aslong as he doesn´t move too far into the building.
Then, ignoring any survivors or people who need to be rescued, he will fly out again, one floor up, and do the same thing there.

(Thats the plan....but what happens?)

[harmonictempest]

Gust

{No worries. I knew that would happen, though Gust didn't - Super intelligent, he's not.}

Looks like most of the people are already safe. Might as well focus on getting that fire put out. That and not getting made into an honorary fireman later.
Gust spends a moment connecting his focus to the breeze around him, making sure that he can adequately control it. Then he floats down in front of a window and, smashing it, enters. As soon as he does, the air in the room begins to gust around rapidly, most of it exiting by the window. As the breeze kicks up and the air leaves the room, Gust smiles broadly for a second at his success...
...only to double over a second later. Freakin'...shoulda thought of that. Well, I did expect to make a mistake - least it wasn't dropping someone off a building or something. Looking around he sees the fire completely extinguished in this room, and slowly and carefully allows the air to seep back in through the window, hoping it isn't still hot enough for the fire to reignite. Then he moves on through the floor, continuing with a little more caution now. He tries to exclude the immediate area around himself from the effect he's creating, to leave myself some breathing room. Heh.

If it works...Pleased with his success, Gust walks at a steady pace through the building, extinguishing each room he enters in turn. The immediate area around him continues to swirl with a small breeze, but the vacuum surrounds that, and the flames do not reach him.
If it doesn't...Damn. Gust shifts the shape of the vacuum to a curved 10-foot thick wall just in front of him, which he carefully pushes forward ahead of him as he goes through the apartments. That's better.
PP usage:Previously: 70/75
Flight: ended
Air Mastery: 4 to activate, 3 to maintain per round.

63/75

[geez3r]

The Fire - not writing out everyone again

The fire itself is quickly being extinguished, with the combined effots of the FD and 2 mutants.

Pulse - You successfully pop the window out, a noxious smell greats you nose. {Fortitude save DC 21, counted as a poison}

Kid Zeus - You might not have the strongest grip, but this guy clings to you for dear life. You make it to the ground pretty easily, though you are unable to .
Rules for flight (which damn near everyone here should familiarize themselves with)
You can lift only yourself and 100 pounds of additional weight, regardless of your Strength score. At 25 pounds over your maximum weight, your speed is reduced by 25% and you can no longer ascend. At 50 pounds over, your speed is reduced by 50%, and you descend at a speed of 20 feet per round, though you can still move laterally. At 75 pounds, your speed is reduced by 75%, and you descend at 60 feet per round but can still move laterally. At 100 pounds or more over your maximum load, you fall like a stone, incurring any and all damage or other effects that would normally occur when falling from a great height.

Reaper - The man lets out a wicked cackle. "Eeeeheheheheheeee. The pot's calling the kettle black now is he? No saner to I than you, are us, yet we know, oh yes we know. We and I await our fiery matron, come join you." {Sense Motive DC 0 to realize this guy's a wack}

Nosferatu - WEEEEEEEEEE. auto pilot. You'll save someone every 30 seconds or so.

Davan - If it's alright with you, I'll put you on the same auto pilot as Nos.

Nathaniel/Gust - The pair of you go from room to room extinguishing flames. Eventually the pair of you open doors in the same hallway, looking at one another.

Joe

Later on that day, you get this response {I'm writing it now so I don't forget}
Sender: [email protected]
Subject: RE: RE: Posted offer

okays, ill b there just try not 2 keep me waitng 4 2 long K?

byes

[email protected]

Phone call: "Hold on a second deary, let me check.... Nope, our records show that no one of that name is here. Should she be?"

Alex

{Paragon has competition}

[Wiz]

Pulse

As he's moving past the window that he popped in (he wouldn't be trying to rain panes of glass on the firemen below), the smell from inside hits him (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=3587413&posted=1#post3587413).

He dives in an attempt to avoid the noxious fumes.

ooc: That would be a fail... only a natural 19 or 20 would have done it.

[Glawackus]

Andrew/Vox Populi
"Not at this time, doctor, thank you for that information."

Sellars leans back in his chair and waits for more information.

[dfpiii]

Professor Dark aka Paragon

Professor Dark scans the growing numbers of rescued people, watching to see if anyone is severely injured, or if it's just minor cuts and bruises.

[PlasticSoldier]

"Alright then, all 3 of you into the Deposit Box Room and go help out my friend with the security room." Orig. says to the guards before walking up the stairs into the hallway and going over to Guard "Take a few hundred dollars and go walk over to the liquor store and buy up a few gallons of grain alcohol.". After Guard Clone leaves Orig. then starts opening up the office doors and looking inside. #1 (hereafter referred to as Drill Clone) opens up the security room and motions for one of the guards to come in, before saying to them "Ok, how do I turn off the cameras and destroy their tapes?".

[Tar Palantir]

The Reaper

The Reaper moves forward, impatient with this nutjob. He wouldn't kill him if it could be helped, but he shouldn't be wandering free where he could be a danger to himself or others, particularly if he started the fire. His eyes darting around the room, they fell on a window with large, heavy drapes on the sides. He ripped one of the drapes down and leapt at the man, trying to wrap him in the cloth.


Don't know what kind of check, make whatever necessary rolls.

[DaftSkunk]

Nathaniel

Having put out all flames in the apartment, Nath opens the door to the allway, looking up and down, mentally reaching out to extinguish the fires raging there.

He halts with his action, as he (i guess...if DM says eventually, it happens. or?) as he notices the figure in white.

Doesn´t look like a victim, i wonder if he can do the same as me, or maybe he is fire-proof and looks for survivors?

Trying not to get too distrubed* through Gusts appearance, Nath keeps wipping out the fire around him**.
If it works he then shifts his attention to Gust.
Hello..I do´t think we´re in the right position to talk, so how about this: If you can extinguish flames, go that way.
Nath says as he points down the hallway.
And i go the other way, or if you just...i don´t know,
can´t, you follow me?

If it does not work. He just trys to keep them at bay and then talks to Gust.

*+**
*(Just to be sure, concentration check:smallsmile: [roll0])
**(10-10-10 foot, or so)

[harmonictempest]

Gust

Humming slightly to himself, and his listening partly blocked by the whistling winds around him, Gust wasn't prepared to open the door and run into someone else. Coming out into the dark, smoke-filled hallway, he stared for a split second, coming quickly to when the other figure began to cough. Oh, sorry - sucking out the air puts out the fire, but it's not that friendly to people either. He quickly extends the vacuum area into two thick walls which he pushes 10 feet in both directions down the hallway*. That should give us a little space for now. Looking at the man in black and red, and seeing the flames flicker at his beckoning, a sudden suspicion seized him. You're not the one who started this fire, are you?



* Looks like this, in case anyone cares:

~~~~~~~~~~ 1 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
xx xx
~~~~~~~~~~ 2 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1 = Mr. Fireman
2 = Gust
xx = vacuum area

[DaftSkunk]

Nathaniel

(mmh, okay, forget the post from before :smallamused: )

Pulling the scarf tighter around his lower face, Nath shakes his head.
Of course not! If i were, why would i try to put it out now?!
He shouts agressive, towards Gust.
Then, shaking his head again, this time calmer, he speaks on.
Listen, i just saw the smoke, and now try to put my skills to work. Same as you do, i think. So, how about we split up to get this done more quickly?

[harmonictempest]

Gust


Of course not! If i were, why would i try to put it out now?!

Listen, i just saw the smoke, and now try to put my skills to work. Same as you do, i think. So, how about we split up to get this done more quickly?

With a second look, Gust sees the flames dying down around the man, and the honest annoyance on his face. Of course - sorry. It looks like we can both take care of ourselves - splitting up sounds like a smart idea. As he turns to walk down the hall, he looks back over his shoulder. I'm uh, I'm Gust, by the way. He then continues down the hallway, smoke eddying madly around him as he continues to put the fire out.

[Xerxes Shadow]

"Thank ****ing God," said Joe as he hung up. He called Laura this time, waiting for her to pick up, and...

[geez3r]

The few glowing embers on the third floor

Pulse - The sickening smell overwhelms you, and you are barely able to avoid puking all over the firemen below you. {You are now nauseated (Nauseated creatures are unable to attack, cast spells, concentrate on spells, or do anything else requiring attention. The only action such a character can take is a single move action per turn) and you take 1 Con damage.}

Paragon - Most injuries are smoke inhalation, one person has second degree burns, but he appears to have gotten it the worst.

Reaper - {grapple check}
1. Roll to hit: 1d20+6=23 (http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=1398766) you do and the guy is flat-footed so he doesn't get an AoO
2. grapple check (1d20+6=26) (http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=1398772) natural friggen 20, so I'm not bothering with his opposed roll because he has a strength penalty
3. Muffled noises from the.... curtain....
4. I remember that you have Vulnerability to Sunlight, and you just ripped the curtain off the window, so you take a -6 to everything, which currently doesn't matter because you rolled so well, but you do take 6 damage from the sun.
5. Because of the grapple, you are now occupying the same square as the guy, meaning your touch activated powers may accidentally go off so you need to make a DC 15 Ref save reflex save (1d20+7=14) (http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=1398784) which you do not, so
6. Old guy attempts DC 18 Will save Will save (1d20+6=9) (http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=1398791) which he fails
7. I need spot and listen checks from those in the general area to a) see if they can spot Reaper through the window wrestling with an old man and B) see if they hear Reaper wrestling with old man

Legion

The guards go obediently into the Deposit room. The guard you bring into the security room looks over the control board, pulling out a pair of spectacles so he can see better. He then goes "aha" and points at a row of switches "These ones here ought to do it. See?" He flicks one of the switches and one of the screens displaying what the camera sees goes blank. He then goes over to a large cabinet looking door, and inside are what appear to be out 14 VCR's, one of which has the red light turned off. He pushes a button the machine and out pops a standard VHS tape "It's that easy."

Liquor store - You load up on booze and bring in to the counter, staggering under the weight, when you start throwing money on the counter the clerk jokingly says "Hehe, if I didn't know better, I'd say you just robbed the bank." as she rings up your purchase.

Joe/ Laura

"Oh hey honey. How's everything going, you know other than the weird stuff in the news?"

[Tar Palantir]

The Reaper moves swiftly, trying to knock the man unconscious without badly injuring him. He strikes at him with the side of his claw, holding back to avoid causing any real harm.


Attack with claws, -4 to attack to deal nonlethal damage.

[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]

Any other rolls as needed, I just like rolling my own attacks so I can feel important :smallwink:

[Wiz]

Pulse

The conquering hero settles down to ground level in a wobbly spiral, gasping and shuddering. When a fireman rushes up, he raises his hand, "On the eight floor... a family of four... some kind of gas... don't know if they are alive..."

[ChronicLunacy]

Kid Zeus

The teenaged superhero took to hovering past windows in the attempt to find any more victims, his arms aching after lifting the full weight of a grown man from a window. He debated throwing a lightning bolt through one of the floors, hoping the resulting thunderclap would just blow out the flames, but just as quickly nixed it. Something like that would probably have done nothing but more damage. So, he just kept his eyes and ears open for anyone he could help.


Does he spot the Reaper? Dun dun DUN!
Spot: 1d20+4=20 (http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=1399020)
Listen: 1d20+4=19 (http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=1399017)

[Raven T.]

Alex

The room had gotten deathly silent. He had given impassioned speeches before, but this time...was it fear or awe that held their tongues? Alex's face returned to his normal, impassive look as they slowly began discussing things. It was a good sign that they weren't just falling down at his feet; that would indicate this meeting had the opposite affect on them than he intended.

After several moments, a woman stood up from near the middle of the table. "Alex, I do not know if I speak for the others, but I must tell you this. You gave me a chance when no one else would. You've shown me the utmost patience and kindness in learning the ropes. I will follow you, sir, because I know you would not steer us wrong." It was Ms. Swenson. She had been fresh out of college when he brought her up from a position that had absolutely no room for advancement. Her potential would have been wasted and she would have quit in bitter resentment.

He smiled more as more of them muttered to the affirmative. Excellent. "We will keep in touch, my allies. You will be contacted when I have more information. I implore you, for the sake of us all, these words never leave our group.

"I've arranged for us to have the rest of the afternoon off. Go, enjoy the rest of the day, and I will see you tomorrow morning." Alex rose, paid the bill, tipped well, and headed out for the day. He decided to walk part of the way home; after all, it is such a nice day...

[PlasticSoldier]

Guard Clone makes a slight chuckle at the irony before saying with a smirk"Well since I work at one it wouldn't be that hard." then he'll walk back to the bank and set all the beer down in the office that was drilled through.

Meanwhile Drill Clone motions the guard out before turning off all the switches for the cameras, taking out the Videos and crushing them with the rifle butt. He then goes into the Deposit area and starts to drill through the ox nearest the security room.

Orig. finishes searching through the offices and makes mental notes of anything that he comes across before heading down to the deposit room, making the guards stand in a corner, and standing in the Deposit Room-Hallway doorway or atleast whatever wasn't ripped off the walls.

[The_Lonely_d12]

Davan

Davan continues searching for victims, having made a couple trips already.

This isn't particularly challenging to do, is it? I mean, sure...if I was dealing directly with the fire it might be, but there's really nothing I can do there.


OoC:Spot and listen rolls (1d20+7=16, 1d20+10=21) (http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=1399107)

[DaftSkunk]

Nathaniel

Nice to meet you, i ehm, don´t really have name..or at least, not that kind of name..
Looking a bit puzzled, Nath goes the other way, trying to put out all flames he sees.

[harmonictempest]

Gust

Listen checks:To hear Reaper and old man: [roll0]

To hear Pulse talking to the chief: [roll1]

Reaper and Pulse are about equidistant vertically from where I am on the third floor. According to Super Hearing, "You can accurately hear things up to 5 times further away than usual, per level of this power." So that in addition to the actual Listen check, I guess.

[dfpiii]

Professor Dark aka Paragon

[roll0]
[roll1]

Strangely... disappointed... by the success of the heroes in dealing with the fire, Dark moves, seemingly wandering through the crowd.

He pulls out his mobile phone and dials the number of his home phone, which rings through to the answering machine.

"Hey, it's me," Dark says. "You will not believe what just happened. I'm having lunch and I hear on the news there's like a building fire just a couple blocks away... Can you hear me? I said can you - hang on, that kinda answers my question..."

Dark presses the phone to one ear and his finger to the other. He fights his way through the crowd to a quiet spot at the mouth of an alley.

"So, this building was on fire and suddenly, in like a couple minutes, there are like four or five of these super hero dudes. They're jumping through the air, flying, lightning's just flying off this one guy - seriously, it was so cool... No, turn on a TV man, there are like three crews down here..."

"...I told you - can you see me?" Dark asks and waves his arm in the air. "No, wait, all the cameras are pointed at the building. Hey - I could get autographs from these guys and sell them on eBay... Do you know what any of their names are?"

"...Yeah, right," he says with a laugh. "They've all got contacts in a costume store... Levels in craft: costume? Dude, you play too much D&D... Ok, cool, I'll catch you later buddy".

Dark - the tall, youthful, blonde and otherwise bright-eyed and jocktacular - presses end on his call and then proceeds to snap a few shots of heroes while sporting a broad, stupified grin. After a moment he appears to notice the guy with dark hair for the first time.

"Hey," he says with an acknowledging jerk of his head. "This is wild, right? I mean, did you ever think you'd actually see people flying around like without jet packs or something? I mean except for that one guy who actually does have a kind of jet pack - and who totally looks like he's going to hurl. Dude! Hey, I totally think you could make money from these guys' autographs. D' you know what any of them are called? I'd kinda feel like a douche asking - hey, can and I have your autograph, and by the way, who are you?"

I rock!

[Nelphine]

Murky

Sitting in his depressing grey car, Murky came to realize that the cops were not in fact chasing him. Even as he was screaming dangerously down the street, the victim of wild animal attacks, and probably causing accidents, his life was grey. No one really noticed him.

Murky shifted in his seat again. The light really bothered his eyes. Maybe he could hide from it. Maybe there was something that could bring colour back to his world.

'The Pizzazo Art Gallery.' A sign across the street caught his attention. He could see some very bizarre paintings in the window, but the gallery looked closed. "Probably shut down from all the happenings around here. It's too bad.. I bet a few good paintings would last longer than my cheap junk. Nice and dark in there too."

Without thinking, Murky used his third arm to hold up his jacket against the light in his car, trying to block as much as possible. He grabbed magazines and old package wrappers and stuck them in the windows. It was getting darker in here. "But still not as dark as in that gallery. And my car is still colourless." Having affixed everything haphazardly to the windows, Murky let his arms fall - and jumped out of the car to a large shadow from a billboard overhead, and then across the street into the Gallery.

[/spoiler] Shadowmeld 3 pp, Jump [/roll]1d20+30[/roll] to the shadow [/roll]1d20+30[/roll] across the street. If further jumps would be needed (the street is wider 35' or so) I'll take a longer route, with more jumps. [/spoiler]

Murky looks about the room. Very little light was entering, but there's enough for him. "Hello!" Not waiting for an answer, Murky heads towards the paintings; most of the ones in the gallery are covered to protect from dust while the gallery is closed. Everything is dark, black and grey, or white.

[blennus]

“The Man”

“No, definitely no!” It was the twelfth costume he had tried on, but none could project the image of sexiness and awesomeness personified. Spandex? Too Cliché. A Tux? Too formal. Spiky Leather? Too Punk. An Elvis suit? Too retro. Golfing pants? Heaven forbid! Polyester? You can’t be serious?! He was getting more and more frustrated with the store, until finally at the end of the rack in the back room, he found the stuff of dreams. Nice juicy dreams. It looked like something lifted out of the cover of a romance novel, with its white brocaded silk shirt that was open halfway down his breast, its form fitting dark pants that highlighted his sexy calves and buttocks in their full glory, its velvety cape that he could twirl in a dramatic gesture, its dark wide-brim hat that added mystery and sexiness, and its pair of black supple leather boots that went halfway up his calf for style. All he needed now was a rose to stick in his teeth. Perfect! Any woman would melt in his arms just by looking at him. It was a match made in heaven.

He turned to the tailor “How much. I must have this outfit!”

Summary: Buy a costume resembling something from a tacky romance novel.

[evisiron]

Nosferatu

Listen/ Spot checks:
Listen for Reaper: 8+2= 10 http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=1400151
Spot Reaper: 17+4 = 21 http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=1400156

Hear Pulse (about gas rooom and family): 19+2 = 21 http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=1400158

[Xerxes Shadow]

"Hurrah, you're okay!" said Joe. "Or at least, you're not at the hospital. Were you anywhere near the explosion?"

((DM Question: should I be RPing her responses, since she's my Dependent, or should you be?))

[geez3r]

The "Fire" (which is basically out at this point)

Reaper - You smack the crap out of the old guy, and your Cause Fear power goes off again, putting him down to frightened, making him do his best to run away from you while screaming, but he's unconscious so that part doesn't matter. At least until the police question him and the only thing he can relate to them is the sheer unending terror the Reaper imposed upon him while beating him.

Pulse - The fireman hurries off saying something into a radio. In a moment, 4 fire fighters storm into the building newly equipped with improved gas masks and a weird device.

Kid Zeus - You spot a few more people in trouble but nothing else out of the ordinary.

Davan - Similar lack of noticing the Reaper.

Gust - From a few floors above you, you hear a bit of a scuffle and then a dull thwap, and from outside you hear someone say something about possible dead people on the 8th floor.

Nos - Nada.

Paragon - From your phone, a cold voice, barely louder than a whisper says "Oh no my friend; the question is: who are you? And you should drop the act. A person of your standing shouldn't be acting like that. It's not professional." The man in the alley just smirks at you.

Murky

The cop freaks when your third arm appears and jump back in fright. It looks like he's going for a gun or something, but he is left standing awkwardly when the magazine falls away and no one is in the car anymore. There are only a few people in the gallery and most of them are far too important to talk to you.

The Man

The lean male tailor comes out of the closet, where he was storing your discarded outfits, saying in an extravagant manner "Oh yes you must! Darling you look absolutely gorgeous! No charge dear. OOooooohhhh, no charge at all." {Subtle, aren't I?}

Legion

Things go as planned, and the guards obedient as ever stand where you direct them, though they start looking a little ashamed at themselves when you take about $10k out of the first box; though none of them look like they want to take on 3 of the same guy with guns.

DM roll you don't need to know the purpose of: 1d20+8=18 (http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=1400648)

Alex

DM roll you don't need to know the purpose of: 1d4=1 (http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=1400650) Yep, a nice day.

Joe

{When you bring her into a plot line, you can basically declare her actions, within reason. She obviously won't drive a bus into a building because you told her to. In the case that she gets dragged into the plot line by some other force (IE: Me), which will happen at some point or another, I'll decide her responses and actions, though you will still be able to influence them. And to nip it in the butt right now:}

"No honey, I wasn't anywhere near that dreadful place, thankfully." {Dependents don't have super powers, like ever. You can take over control of the convo now.}


Andrew/Vox Populi

"Very well." says Wilson "I believe Mr. Nerros here can shead some light on the chemical and the explosion; can't you Mr. Nerros?" says Wilson in an icy tone.

"Well uhhh... uhhhh..." begins Nerros before gulping, and getting his voice readied again "One of the barrels at the sight had a partial chemical formula that we are not familiar with, but uhhh... the legible bit said 'C46O16N6Pb6' " the guys from the FBI and NSA shift a little in their seats "We believe that this chemical was not stored properly because Forthwind delivered it to the wrong spot. And-"

Forthwind interrupts him saying "By law, your people have to check the shipments as soon as they are off the boat to ensure that they are transported to the proper facility to prevent this sort of thing from happening. Don't try to blame us for your mistake." What catches you off guard is how slowly Forthwind says all this. When most people get agitated they tend to talk faster, not Forthwind.

{If you wish to jump in and say anything...}

[Tar Palantir]

The Reaper glances quickly around the room, finally finding a sheet of paper and a pen. He scrawls a quick note, slightly clumsily due to his claws. It reads:

To Whom It May Concern,

I believe this man may have been responsible for the fire. He is clearly insane and appears to be something of a pyro. For his own safety, I incapacitated him and left him here for you to find. Please, don't try to follow me; you stand no chance of finding me unless I want you to. To set the record straight, I did not kidnap that lunatic psychiatrist, she freed me, and I have reason to believe she may be far more dangerous than I ever was. Also, in case they haven't been found yet, there is a young child on one of the adjacent roofs who needs rescuing; I couldn't take her to the street for obvious reasons. Make sure she is alright, if she has not yet been rescued. Once again, I ask that you not tryto follow me. All I want is to be left in peace and given a chance to atone for my crimes.

The Reaper

He ties the drape quickly but firmly, sticks the note in a fold of the drape, clearly visible, and then shouts as loudly as possible, "Up here! Quickly!" He then immediately melds into the shadows and leaves the building, leaping through the shadows out of the building and traveling swiftly away from the scene, on a roundabout route back to his house, confident that he had done his part to help those who needed him.

[ChronicLunacy]

Kid Zeus

The teenage superhero busied himself with rescuing the last of the victims of the blaze. He kept to lighter people, including women and children, while leaving the heavier loads to one of the other fifty mutants flying or jumping around. The firefighters seemed to be making headway into putting the blaze out, along with something inside the building snuffing fires from room to room that he couldn't quite make out through the smoke. Eventually, he just hovered to the roof of a nearby fire truck and rested, watching the scene come to a close with the other victims, most or all with blankets wrapped around them staring at what had happened to their home.

Why does it say there are fourteen pages when my post is the last one I see? It's on page 13. Every time I click the link to page 14 it brings me back to the top of 13. Weird.

[Raven T.]

(Curses, no fool trying to jump me?:smalltongue: )

Alex

Recent events have weighed heavily on his mind. Things were set into motion, but the problem is now that he has no way to access Balchem's archives, as it is almost certain they've been locked down by government agencies...and government computers are very tough nuts to crack. There had to be another way to get the information he needed.

Now seemed like as good a time as any to check in with the word on the street. He silently dialed Judy's voicemail and left the following message:

It's Alex. If you've found anything, meet me at the main library by 4pm. I will be waiting eagerly and you will be compensated for your time and effort.

With that out of the way, he continued to walk, his mind racing....

She always was good at sticking her nose places where others didn't want it. I know she'll come through for me. Even if it takes more time, Rome wasn't built in a day.

But I must strike soon. Vulnerabilities are closing by the second. Go rip someone's throat out! Kill! Kill! Slaughter the lot of them for all the people they have killed!

No, that is not my way. Every day is a new opportunity and every moment provides valuable insight. Rushing into something like this will earn me a public brand as a creature to be hated. That CANNOT happen under any circumstances. I need the public's trust, support, and love to win this game. Let the shortsighted have their day in the sun; planning, patience, and perseverance will win the day.

Awww, come on! Lemme throttle one of them! Just a little one; no one will find out. We can make it look like a hanging!

Alex shook his head. Murder was not something he had ever wanted to do before. It would take time, meditation, and other factors just to sort this new wild card out. All he could do is keep the new...thing...at bay.

[Wiz]

Pulse

After his nausea passes (it probably hit him twice as hard, but only for half as long as most people), Pulse looks up and watches the firemen rushing into the building. "I think I can leave now, the real heroes are on the job and it looks like they've got everything well covered." He nods to the fire chief and gets on his glider again, switching on the fake engine and lifting slowly off, spiraling upward and heading away from the building. "I hope the information I gave them helped, and I hope that none of the mutates gets in the fire department's way." He chuckles to himself, "Well, at least a lot showed up who seem interested in helping, rather than harming others. I wonder how many will hang around now, looking for recognition..." He flies away, but still feels a bit woozy in the pit of his stomach. "I think I'd better get home and get some food and rest, geez, is it only a little past noon?"

[The_Snark]

Judith

Waking up is almost unreal for Judith. Wakefulness comes slowly, in stages, and finally, she gets up, swinging her legs off the couch groggily to go begin making toast for two while she enjoys the sensation of simultanously remaining in bed with her eyes closed. As her head clears, though, she realizes something is wrong. She opens her eyes.

And sees herself, lying next to her—feels someone roll over next to her—damnit! Again!? She opens her eyes yet again, and yes, there she was, looking at herself—looking at herself look at herself—

She rolls out of bed to stop having to do that; in the 'kitchen', the sheer oddness of it has nearly made her drop a plate.

Breakfast that morning is an odd affair, with the table and the kitchen being used in shifts. She's slept in, but she won't be too late for work. I can say it's been a stressful couple days, and I won't be stretching the truth at all. The first of her to get up—first part of her?—is also the first to leave, heading for her job as a cashier. It's a relief; two of her in the same flat she'd gotten accustomed to, but three felt crowded, as well as more than a bit weird. Since as it turns out, she didn't make quite enough for herself, she toasts another pair of slices while she gets up. I am, she thinks dryly, Domestic Girl. Capable of making the bed and cooking breakfast at the same time! Whatever else this is doing, I'm getting better at multitasking.

She goes out again, this time for something more exciting (Hah!): the Rainport City Library, to find out more about Balchem's competition. She's not expecting to find information of the sort she really needs, of course, but knowing more about the other corporations—where they were centered, what they specialized in—would help her know where to look next. If she were really lucky, she thinks wryly, the newspaper archives might even have a mention of the thefts, but she doubts it. Alex is probably a better source for that sort of thing.

And at home, she finds herself with nothing much to do. That's all right with her, as she has quite enough on her plate anyway; she settles in. She didn't get calls about missing property very often, since there weren't all that many people nearby who could afford to hire anyone and people who didn't live nearby could rely on the police, but with the new events, she has a feeling crime will either rise sharply... or start falling.

Alex's call, of course, comes in the twenty minutes she took to go grocery shopping. With a mutter about Murphy's Law, Judith decides to wait until 4; better to discuss this in person than over the phone.

So... I suppose the skill needed for this would be Research? Judith is looking for library information on Jene Co., Lerricks, and Wellside Chemicals. Specifically, she'll browse business encyclopaedias, search for relevant magazine articles from scientific and business magazines, and search through the newspaper archives to see if any of those corporations has been mentioned in the news in the past few years. Research: [roll0]

Other: wait for Alex/other callers, have normal life.

[Xerxes Shadow]

((Yeah, I know they don't, but it'd be wierd if he didn't ask. "Hey, let's completely ignore the news of the milennium." Also, is she allowed to be useful?))

"Good, because I wasn't either," said Joe, fibbing uncontrollably.
"Yes you were, don't try to lie to me!"
"Crap. Well, what do you think about it?"
"It depends. Are you purple and furry? My aunt Celia is..."
"No, I'm mostly the same. But, I did team up with a horrible serial killer and kidnap a gang member as he killed two others in order to sneak into organized crime and take down the child-killer Margeret Fritz, and I'm currently in contact with someone who claims to be a witch who's going to hopefully transform me into Taikwon Dog." Best to get all the bad stuff out of the way at once.
"You WHAT?!" Joe breifly explained the days' events to her, leaving out the part with the shotgun and illegal gun trafficking.
"...and that's what happened," he finished an hour later.
"Wow, that's a long story. I have to go, because my phone's running out of batteries, but I'll call you later, okay? Maybe we can go to dinner or something tommorrow."
"Sorry, I'm booked tommorrow. That's when I'm busting up D-Train's place."
"Oh, right. Well, we should hang out sometime this week. See ya!" She hung up, so Joe hung up. As he realized he once again had nothing to do, he decided to head over to the fire and try to find Reaper.

As he leaped the scene of the crime, Joe whistled loudly. He had seen bigger fires, but there were quite a few people there... before he went in, he noticed an all-too-familiar bulge suddenly leaping in and out of shadows. "There he is!" Joe gave chase, losing Reaper halfway to the safe house. He entered the building like a normal person and went up to knock on Reaper's door. "Man, he was thorough with the no-light thing. He even got the peephole!" *knock knock knock.*

[PlasticSoldier]

Guard Clone finishing up with the last part of the plan besides the actual theft and (obviously) escaping walks down the hallway shows the beer to Orig., after getting a nod from me he sets the beer down in the hallway, goes into the office that was drilled through, turns off the lights, crawls out the hole, and then gets the sledgehammer and spraypaint from the back of the truck. He then goes into the bathroom turns on the sink faucets, and using the sledgehammer tries to beat the faucet spout so that it's water goes directly onto the ground and therefore, no water is wasted down the drain, he then smashes the stalldoor for the one he hid in earlier. Once this is done he walks out to the hallway sets down the hammer and begins writing the message on the hallway walls.


Message for bank:
Ha.

Message for customers with sentimental property stolen:
Oops, we tried to skip obviously sentimental stuff but if you have something
sentimental get it added to the police report and we'll get our hands on it
within a few weeks. Abusers of the system will be shot. Repeatedly.

Message for Cleanup Crew:
Sorry, for the mess.

Messages unrelated to the robbery:
Carbon-Arc lights are really bright and can also blind attackers. They can be made from household materials, I think there was a How-To article on this in Popular Mechanics back around 2004-08.
Because of the nature of and firepower involved in Superpower fights we the Villain and Hero communities should draft some
Rules Of Engagement if any heroes want to negotiate with us simply announce a time and location on TV or something and we'll try to be there.
Also it would be helpful if there was a truly anonymous way for us to negotiate without fighting off the cops every time someone considers a Heel-Face turn.
Also if anyone makes a TV / movie about mutants you will die a horrible death if you intentionally warp the theme so you don't have to pay us royalties. This is not included because I want TV producers to give me money it's included because being a bastard is the least excusable thing I can think of.

Signed,

Legion




( Note: I'm including the "message for" stuff)

Orig. takes the 10,000$ from the box and puts it in the hallway along with the cash register money in the same spot as the sledge hammer. Then he goes back to the Deposit Room drags a guard into the security room and tells them to turn off the silent alarms at the teller places. Then he'll go back to ferrying loot up to the pile.

Drill Clone continues drilling through more boxes and then has Orig. take up what he finds, like Guard wrote in the message Drill Clone & Orig will leave behind obviously sentimental stuff.

[blennus]

“The Man”

He graciously bowed, and thanked the tailor “You are far too kind. Your help will not be forgotten. I have the utmost respect for your skills, and will steer any business your direction. Again I thank you. Now if you will excuse me, I have business to attend to.” He twirled about and gracefully glided towards the exit, and re-entered his limo. Yeesh! He didn't think that even guys would start hitting on him. Ah well, that's the price one pays for being such a drop-dead sexy hunk of meat.

“Hand me the list will you Angie, and dial up the number of the first investor on the list.”
“Got it. First person on the list is a Mr. Alex Catham.”
He picked up his cell phone as it rang. “Hello? This is “The Man”. You may remember me from the talk that I gave at the Press Conference yesterday. Yes, well I was wondering if Mr. Catham is in. He’s out for the day? Well let him know that I called about a potential investment. Yes I’d like to make an appointment. Sounds great. I’ll be there.”

“Well who’s next. Mr. Clark Smithson?” Dialing up the office number he again started talking to another secretary. After six names, none of which were in, finally there was a potential backer that was in the office at the time, and that “The Man” was welcome to come over. He quickly told Angie to start up the limo and head on over to the business sector. Apparently this Ms. Yamashima was a successful investor that had a reputation for investing locally, though Angie didn't specify whether this also applied to small startup businesses.

He pondered on what he planned to say. Most likely these investors would not be mutants so appealing to that would not likely work too horribly well, though from the size of the quarantine area if they were locals it was entirely possible that one of their friends or family would be. He would have to gauge their reaction to the entire mutant situation and adjust his approach depending on each investor’s reaction. However even if an appeal to help mutants didn’t work, as these potential investors seemed to be successful businessmen they might be persuaded by long term financial gains. As he further pondered on what to say, Angie parked the limo in front of a large office building.
“This is it boss.”

Summary: Sets up appointment to meet with Alex, along with six of the investors on the list. Then arrives at offices of Ms. Yamashima.

[harmonictempest]

Gust

As Gust walks through the building, quietly enjoying the rather cinematic effect of flames dying down in his wake, he'd been tuning out the myriad voices and sounds of people outside: police cars, excited chattering of pedestrians, car horns a block away, the scritch of the police chief taking notes by his car, the cell phone in the next building with the La Cucaracha ring tone, and so forth, all in the same way you tune out the sensation of your shoes against your feet. As he paused at the end of a hallway to rest a moment and survey his work, however, something was wrong, and he froze for a moment, trying to figure out what it was. Then he heard it again - a dull bump and a thud from overheard, and not the thunk of something falling to the floor or the now-familiar sounds of of heroes breaking windows, but that specific thwap of something (or someone) being thrown to the floor. Either someone's having to break through a door, or there's fighting upstairs, Gust thought, and in either case, I should be there.

Opening and exiting the window at the end of the hallway, he saw the man with the jet pack mutter his goodbyes to the police and fly shakily off over a building. Ah, that voice - I just heard him saying something about poison, and possibly dead victims on the top floor. I guess he must have gotten a whiff of the poison; looks like it's less dangerous than nauseating, and it must be gaseous for him to have gotten affected so easily. Good, then it won't be a problem for me. (Huh...for an engine that can lift someone up like that, it certainly isn't putting out much exhaust).

Right, the building. Better check out that noise. Without actually turning, Gust soars upwards into a large, lazy flip with a half-twist that brings him facing the right direction. He finds the area nearest where he heard the sound, and either takes the nearest entrance or breaks through another window (I should find a less destructive way of doing this...). Just before he enters, he hears someone shout "Up here! Quickly!", but sees no one when he gets into the room.

((Assuming he finds the room, and before anyone else does))
Gust surveys the room in a glance - the gasoline smell, the writing on the walls, and of course, the note in the curtains and the unconscious old man wrapped in a curtain on the floor. Someone thought he needed to be restrained. Huh, a note from the Reaper - I'd be quite the hero if this fire turned out to be his fault. But his note seems true enough ((is it even possible to Sense Motive on a note??)) - this crime is not his style. There would be many dead, including this man, and probably a boastful note, if his attack on the mayor is typical. No, it makes much more sense that he is right, and this man is a much more likely subject.

Tucking the note into his robe, Gust carefully picks up the old man and flies down to the street, slightly annoyed that the added weight makes flying harder. He finds the police officer he heard earlier writing on his notepad, and sets the man down in front of him, speaking in clipped, slightly diffident sentences. "I found this man tied up like this in a room with writing on the walls and smelling of gasoline. It seems likely that he started the fire. Someone else subdued him before I got there. From the note he left, it seems to have been the Reaper, who claims to be doing good. I believe him, as this is not like the Reaper's other crimes."

Without waiting for an answer, he hands over the note and soars straight up. Unless something to prevent it has happened in the meantime, he'll fly up to the 8th floor, and without entering, get all of the gas outside (straight up and dispersed, if possible), while replacing it with fresh air from outside. After that, he'll enter the room carefully, looking first and making sure he's surrounded by fresher air from outside. He looks around the room, seeing what is to be seen.

((I covered a lot of ground, so I can change any of this if events have changed to make it impossible))

[The_Lonely_d12]

Davan

Davan searches around one last bit for any other trapped people, finding none not already being saved by one of the firemen or one of the several other supers.

My, that was...not quite unfulfilling, but I can't say it was entirely enjoyable. At the least, I do know now about how well I can jump...or fall for that matter.

Jumping down to the street, he grins to himself as he picks up the equipment he left behind, and walks over to the fireman he talked to.

It was a bit of a rush, I have to admit...jumping down from the seventh story. I think I could even go further without hurting myself, if I'm careful about it. There's a definite limit to how far I can go up though, that's for sure. I'm glad there was plenty of things to rebound off of. All in all, it was nice to get some sort of real use for all this, though it's not quite what I had in mind. Ah well, a little impromptu training never hurt anyone...

Taking off the firecoat and handing it back, he says
"Here's the coat you lent me back,...thanks again."

Realizing he didn't really have anything else to say, he waves and turns away, walking away.

My, that was awkward. Heh. Hmm...I wonder if any of these guys have time to stop and chat...I'd kinda like to get some perspective on the others...see what they can do.

He sees, among several other supers, an interesting character looking suspiciously like a star from a vampire movie setting down from flight.

...interesting. Well, to each their own, eh?

Calling out to the vampire lookalike, Davan says

"Oi! You there...that's a nice ability there...flying, that is. Nice choice on the costume, though the vampire in the daylight thing is somehow less believable than the 'flying thing.'

And an awkward situation becomes more so one. Impressive.

"Anyways, I haven't met any other of us 'super' people before...well...just now. Got a couple minutes or so to spare?"

OoC:So, yeah...just trying at the moment to actually meet one of the other characters. I'll re-write this if I have to, if Nosferatu would rather leave immediately or something like that.

[dfpiii]

Professor Dark aka Paragon

Professor Dark stops randomly snapping the heroes. In the length of three breaths his whole body language and posture changes, and something is sloughed away; in the spider-like bursting of something large from a smaller skin.

Professor Lachlan Dark looks directly at the alley skulker and a smile creeps across his face. Dark moves without direct equivalent in the animal kingdom; with languid confidence overlaying physical power. He crosses the alley in a few strides and is now within an arm's length.

Of all those things which his mind can encompass, none is fear. As Paragon, Dark may wear impressive armour, but it is the man who is bulletproof; who wears the mantle of his power like the raiment of a king. And his eyes...

...sparkle with interest.

"Professor Lachlan Dark," he says, extending his hand. There is no trace of his former tone. "Tell me, was that remote technopathy, ventriloquism or a psychic intrusion?"

[evisiron]

Nosferatu

After a few minutes of gliding about, Nosferatu is satisfied that everything is as safe as it will get. He moves a few more circuits, trying to detect as many powers as possible. At least later on he can tell who was here, and might get an insight to what kind of powers are about. After a few blasts of concentration with this, Nosferatu feels a little drained and sets down on a patch of street a bit away from the crowd. He spends a moment checking to make sure none of him is still on fire. He notes with annoyance that there is a whole burnt through a trouser leg. Thankfully, the flesh underneath has healed and looks as good as new.

"Great. I am the great Scouting food tradition. Burnt on the outside, still twitching in the middle."

As he comtemplates his relative lack of sewing skills, he hears a voice call out to him:

"Oi! You there...that's a nice ability there...flying, that is. Nice choice on the costume, though the vampire in the daylight thing is somehow less believable than the 'flying thing.' Anyways, I haven't met any other of us 'super' people before...well...just now. Got a couple minutes or so to spare?"

Nosferatu spins around to face the voice. The minor singe marks and reek of smoke radiate from the person, but he seems to have faired much better against the fire than Nosferatu.

"Never heard of a daywalker? Strong enough to resist the sunlight, and beyond the need to drink blood?"

Nosferatu smiles under the mask, and the rest of his body language follows the friendly tone of the message.


"It is good to meet another super who is willing to risk life and limb to help people out. Hopefully we did some good, and didn't just get in the fire departments way. And yeah, I think we should talk. In fact, we should probably try and get everyone together to discuss these new events... If you can, meet me on top of that building. *points to one beside the previously burning building* Oh, and I am Nosferatu. We can talk more up there"


Nosferatu waits for a reply. After hearing from the newcomer, he will move to any of the fire trucks which have a megaphone on them (or if someone is holding one) and pick it up.

"I'll bring this right back..."

Flicking on the megaphone, Nosferatu glides into the air and speaks to the local area:

"To any of the other well meaning people affected by the blast who may have helped against the fire: If you wish to discuss these recent events, our powers, or our duty in the future (any anything else), head to the top of *that* building. We shall meet there."

After speaking, Nosferatu flies up towards the roof himself. He checks to make sure the person he spoke to before can make it up.

geez3r, feel free to flip a coin as to whether this is the roof with the little girl on it

[DaftSkunk]

Nathaniel

Having put out most fire on "his side" of the third floor, Nathaniel walks around looking for Gust while quietly complaining to himself. Wonderful, i´m not only starting to go crazy, i also smell like i´ve been climbing down chimneys.
Can´t decide which is worse.

Eventually, he leaves the building through the next open (or destroyed) window.
As he is flying up (and away) from the mess, he hears Nosferatus gathering call.
Hovering over one of the nearby rooftops, he looks over the other rooftops, searching for the one who defines damning these poor crea....these people, as "well-meaning".

I should probably go there too. I wonder if other people changed as i did. In the inside. But theyre probably too scared to talk about it. And i wouldn´t talk, it scares me too. I guess it won´t hurt me talking to them.

Spotting Nosferatu (and Davan i guess) at another roof, he slowly flies over the street, ignoring the crowd.
But i probably need a "hero" name. Eventhough
I wouldn´t want to do this as a living. Point is, i don´t even think that i want to put out fires without my powers as a living.But to start some and induce change.

With a silent sigh behind his scarf, he lands at the other roof, whispering I really need a shrink. to himself.

Hello, my name is Tim for this..meeting.
He greets them/him calmly.

[Tar Palantir]

The Reaper, having arrived back at his apartment, heard Joe at the door. He quickly unlocked the door and led him inside, closing and locking the door behind him. He said, "So, have you discovered anything new, or do you just want to move in so you can save on rent?" His voice sounds distant, as his thoughts are on the little girl he saved. Weighed against all those he had killed, it seemed such a little thing, but somehow, he knew, it was much more than that. It was a sign that he was not the animal he once had been, and certainly not what he had been before the accident. Then he had been a...he had...he could not remember. He could see the faces, and he knew he had killed them, but the details eluded him.

This was disturbing. First he could not remember his name, now there was almost nothing. He tried to recall what had happened right before the accident. He had been near the warehouse, trying to find...something. No, someone. Or was someone trying to find him? His tenuous hold on his previous life broke, and there was nothing. Only the faces. He could see them now in his mind, even as he saw Joe standing in front of him.They stared at him, begging, pleading with him. He had killed them all. They were dead because of him. H felt himself losing himself in the sea of faces, losing himself in their accusing stares. He felt like he would die of shame.

Then he remembered. The girl. He had saved the girl. He used this thought like a talisman against the insanity, that one face standing against all the others. He would not give himself up to madness, not again. He would not rest until the faces of the dead were outnumbered ten fold by those who were alive because of him.

With an effort of will, he wrenched himself back to the present. He said to Joe, "Whatever it is, speak quickly. I have little enough time to waste it in idle chatter." So little time...how long would he live? How much time would he have to right his wrongs? He did not know how much time he had, and so he had no time at all.

[Wiz]

Pulse

Spiraling slowly upward, Pulse hears Nosferatu's call to meet atop the building. He ponders for a moment, then shrugs and turns back toward the meeting site. He pulls out an energy bar and quickly munches it down, replacing his scarf before coming in for a somewhat shaky landing. Dismounting from the glider, he turns off the engine and looks around. The only other access to the roof seems to be a metal fire door, he nods to himself, realizing that he can insure their privacy from news media who try to come up the stairs. He walks over to the group of heroes standing there. "Greetings, I'm called Pulse."

[Raven T.]

Alex

Before getting to the library, his cell starts ringing. He wasn't expecting any calls and, if this was Judy, he would make sure she would only discuss this in person; it's too easy to trace said calls and it was nowhere near time to tip his hand.

"You've got Alex...Yes, good afternoon, Mrs. Smethfield, is there a problem at the office?...Did he leave a number?...Uh, huh...Well, thank you for forwarding this to me; expect a little something extra in your paycheck."

Hanging up, he thought for a moment. So, the rumors are true. This boorish creature wishes to open a mutant club. Well, now it's time to make my move. I will have to make sure I can acquire controlling stake in this venture. Let us begin.

Alex dialed up the number that had been left. "Good afternoon, is this the number where I can reach "The Man...busy, well this is Alex Catham and I'd like to set up an appointment to discuss this investment he is looking for...is he free at 5pm this evening?...Uh, huh...tell him to meet me at Frank's on the east side...I already have a standing reservation there...uh, huh...hope to see you there."

Exxxxxxcellent...

[ChronicLunacy]

"To any of the other well meaning people affected by the blast who may have helped against the fire: If you wish to discuss these recent events, our powers, or our duty in the future (any anything else), head to the top of *that* building. We shall meet there."

After speaking, Nosferatu flies up towards the roof himself. He checks to make sure the person he spoke to before can make it up.


Kid Zeus, hanging out atop the fire truck attempting to learn how to breathe again after smoke inhalation, looked up when Nosferatu started his announcement on the loudspeaker. Seeing a few other mutants/super heroes making their way towards the rooftop that Nosferatu had pointed out, he decided to do the same. What was Thor without the Avengers, right? He had the opportunity to get on the ground floor of something really cool if they decided to all save the world together.

He coughed a few more times and stood up, spreading his arms to his sides. Bolts of electricity spatted onto the roof of the truck and sizzled up the ladders as he took to the air, that aura of lightning crackling all around him in a rather impressive display. It made him smile when people watched him do it, seeing the awe on their faces was priceless...made him feel like the superhero he wanted to be.

Alighting on the rooftop with the other(s) that had gathered there after the fire, Kid Zeus suddenly found himself the youngest of the assembled. He frowned for a moment and straightened to his full height. There had to be some other teenagers that had been affected, right? When was he going to meet some? But he pushed those thoughts aside and introduced himself.

"Call me Kid Zeus." he said with a smile, his eyes brightening their glow for a moment to sizzle with power. "Nice to meet all of you."

[Xerxes Shadow]

"I figured you'd be back by now," said Joe, leaving out that Reaper could be tracked. Better to save that in case he needed it. "I have a plan.

"I've contacted someone who claims to be a witch now who can hopefully rearrange our appearances. I also stole your camera and took a picture of our friend Taikwon Dog after you left, and gave him to the proper authorities. At four thirty tommorrow, we're going to a corner near the site of the fire. Since there'll still be a crowd there, we won't be overheard. She will change our appearances- I'll be Dog, and you... er... some hoodlum-looking character. We'll enter D-Train's hangout and ask about the higher levels of crime. If they think something's up, we move closer, un-morph, and threaten him at various sharp object-point. We ask him what he knows about Fritz. Any holes that you can think of?"

[Tar Palantir]

The Reaper answers, "The main problem that I see is the fact that the slightest exposure to sunlight will cause the flesh to peel from my bones. I would prefer to follow you in, melding into the shadows. It takes a keen eye to spot me when I am standing in shadows, and when I am actually melded I am completely invisible. A warehouse is bound to have enough shadows for me to get in along side you, and when the fighting starts you can shoot out some of the lights so I have room to manuever. The only other problem I can see is that we would have to trust this witch person, but if she doesn't have to disguise me, she will be far less suspicious, as I am still current a wanted fugitive and you aren't. What do you think?"

OOC:

Joe, just to let you know, when Shadow Melded the Reaper is invisible. We'll say that when he was leaving the fire, he wasn't melded, just running in the shadows. For future reference, though, he can't be seen when melded.

[The_Lonely_d12]

Davan

Nosferatu? Wasn't that an old black-and-white movie?


At the comment concerning "daywalkers," and the words that follow, Davan grins a little, and mentions "Oh yeah, I've seen that movie. Good stuff. And yeah, about the fire, what's life without challenging yourself a bit? I get bored when I plateau, you know. I'll meet you up there."

Turning away and walking towards the building, Davan gathers himself mentally and begins the ascent, leaping from one fortuitously protruding section to another, spryly leaping off each edge and climbing higher, while hearing Nosferatu's megaphone-driven address.

I'm going to both take a wild guess and fervently hope that isn't his real name...and I really don't want to give my own either. It doesn't make much sense to go around with a mask and hood, and then give out your name willy-nilly, now does it? What could I use for a name, then? I don't want one that sounds stupid, now do I? Hmm...no, not that. I guess I could use...no, that's completely idiotic. Maybe...hell, I don't know. I'll figure something out.

With that thought, he makes it up to the top, already seeing others ascending, or having beaten him to the top. He Greets the others already there or following him up, albeit a little noncommittally, still searching for a name. When Nosferatu finally ascends, Davan introduces himself thusly:
"So anyways, yeah. For the moment...ah, call me Zhang. Sure, it sounds kinda weird, but I really don't want to throw around my real name, and I haven't really thought of having one until a few moments ago. It's short for a certain style I practice."

[evisiron]

OOC: Due to the intricacies of forum posting, it may be a little strange on how this is timed. So, to avoid that, I am running under the assumption that everyone can get to the roof within a few minutes, and Nosferatu will wait until it looks like everyone is there. So if you want to be involved, just post a 'Hi' message and we can assume you where there since the start of the conversation.

Nosferatu

Nosferatu takes a moment to look around the group, studying their faces, letting the various ‘tastes’ flood over his skin.

“Greetings, all of you. First off, for those of you who have not met me, I am Nosferatu. I gained these powers from the chemical explosion that occurred the other night. I am stronger and more resilient than before, and have gained the power of flight. Seeing the fire, I felt my powers could be put to use saving people’s lives.
I feel I can assume by your being here and involvement, many of you feel the same. And indeed, it appears that our powers could be put to good use in helping people, especially if we do not work alone.
But in these days of uncertainty, there is also a danger to our kind. The cause of the explosion has yet to be decided, and these days, foul play could always be expected. I do not know how far the information on this incident has spread. However, when the world knows of us, the consequences could be worrying. There is a chance fearful ‘unaffected’ could group together and try and destroy us. A government could try and weaponise us, to fight their battles.
The affected who do not feel the need to help others may also be a danger. I am sure you have heard news of the Reaper. I fear that such a character may realize that we are the only ones who can truly challenge him, and would try to find and kill us, one by one, until he remains unopposed. We cannot let this happen.”

Nosferatu pauses for a moment, looking into the eyes of the people listening, each changed in unique ways by the circumstances of the last few days. After a few seconds to let the information sink in, Nosferatu speaks again.

“I therefore propose that we band together. United, we have a better chance to do good in the world. United, we can protect ourselves against those that would do us harm. United… we have a chance.
Now, I am in no position to tell you all what to do. But I for one would rather know that should a SWAT team or insane super track me down and drag me into the night, I would not disappear without a trace. Others would take arms alongside me to defend against this threat. If I burst into a burning building to save people, and get pinned by falling debris, others would hear my call for help instead of my charred bones being found by a team of inspectors the next day.
You are all individuals. You all have your own opinions. But if you feel that forming a group is a good or bad idea, make yourself heard now.”

When he finishes speaking, Nosferatu raises his arms to the group, motioning that others should speak.

[Wiz]

Pulse

The big-nosed man in the black hat and face-covering red scarf nods. "There are advantages, certainly, to forming a group. It's perhaps a bit harder to come up with the best way to do it. We barely know each other, so how would loyalty to this group be judged or even enforced. I have no desire to be part of a group, for example, that becomes violently opposed to civil or military authorities."

[DaftSkunk]

Nathaniel

Pushing the black sunglasses a little higher up the nose, Nath listens to Nosferatus speech and Puls´s comment:

While ignoring the possibility of just keeping the head down, and therefore avoiding all these dangers, i have a question.

What should this group do?
Because, putting out fires...thats what the firemen do.
Catching criminals? Thats the police.
Patrol the sky to mess in the work of the officials?
That would be us, no?
Even though the idea is flashy and charming, it won´t work.

[ChronicLunacy]

Nathaniel

Pushing the black sunglasses a little higher up the nose, Nath listens to Nosferatus speech and Puls´s comment:

While ignoring the possibility of just keeping the head down, and therefore avoiding all these dangers, i have a question.

What should this group do?
Because, putting out fires...thats what the firemen do.
Catching criminals? Thats the police.
Patrol the sky to mess in the work of the officials?
That would be us, no?
Even though the idea is flashy and charming, it won´t work.

"No one said you had to join up, dude." Kid Zeus said, crossing his arms over his chest. "I mean, no offense to the police but where were they when teenage girls are getting raped down the street from my house? I'm probably the biggest fan of law enforcement you'll ever meet, but I also know that even the police need help sometimes. Even policemen have trouble with the gangs and stuff around here. We can help fill that niche, do some real good!" he frowned, staring down Nathaniel. "What would you have us do anyway? We have these powers for a reason! It's our duty to use them to help."

"So you take your negativity and do your own thing. I, for one, think it's a great idea. There's bound to be a few things no single one of us could handle. As a team we'll be more effective, we can do more in a shorter amount of time, really hit 'em hard." he grinned. "Besides, aren't the police registering people like us who want to do the very same thing we're doing? It's not like they're stopping us, right? The police are glad for the help."

[Wiz]

Pulse

Pulse nods, "And there is dealing with our kind... mutates affected by the chemical, who's powers make them difficult for the police to stop. I think the incident at the Mayor's speech illustrates that usefulness."

[Xerxes Shadow]

"Right, forgot about that. Anyway, I've arranged to meet the woman at 5 PM tommorrow, so we'll get there a half-hour early! And I'm now off to... somewhere." With that, Joe turned and left the building, jumping around the city and looking for anything noteworthy, particularly in alleyways and seedy corners. As long as the fire was still occupied, there might be more criminal activity going on, what with the sudden lesser amount of heroes around.

[The_Lonely_d12]

Davan

Davan listens to the different points each speaker has brought up so far, and decides he might as well put in his own opinions. As he speaks, he ends up unconsciously emphasizing his words with gestures.

"Personally, I'm loth to register with the police, military, or the government. I don't like the idea of someone deciding that all of us mutants are potentially dangerous, and deciding that the greater good requires us to be "disappeared." I also don't really care for being used as a weapon by said organizations, both of which are more likely to happen with registration-along with time and the eventual paranoia of the mass public, among other things. I'm not an especially big fan of the police anyways. I've spent a good amount of time outside the country where the police aren't any better than your general gang, so I'm sure that doesn't help. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm for the law, and for government. I don't like dealing with red tape, and with endless rounds of asking "may I" for every action, when waiting to do so is dangerous. I suppose that sounds more like vigilantism, but this is how I feel.

That being said, I agree with the point I heard a moment ago: a good majority of crime can be and should be stopped by the police. I don't have to like them to understand that they are necessary. But some of you have brought up excellent points...there come situations where other superpowered people will end up wantonly slaughtering, or blowing up buildings, or holding the mayor hostage, etc. This isn't something that any normal person will be able to deal with, and as many bad people probably got affected by this as good people. We shouldn't overexert efforts trying to take care of relatively small time things when problems arise. Saving trapped people in a burning building the fire brigade has difficulty accessing? Great stuff. Spending all of your time searching up and down the back alleys for a purse-snatching to occur? Very nice of you, but we can't stop everything.

We have to be able to concentrate on the bigger fish more than the little, though I hate saying it. Hell, I'm guilty of that myself. Last night I was roaming the streets, and stopped a snatch-and-grab. But, if I hadn't been doing that, maybe I would have been able to stop one of the murders, or have caught that bank robber..."

[Wiz]

Pulse

Pulse frowns, "Good points, but then again if we had a large group of heroes we could have them patrolling different parts of town. Sure, some will get purse-snatchers, others might catch the guy who's gutting burglars and writing "P" on them with their own blood. But if we have some kind of association, we can spread are efforts where they seem the most needed."

[evisiron]

Nosferatu

Nosferatu listen to the various points, nodding in agreement when needed. There a variety of opinions, which was to be expected. Thankfully no-one has reacted violently to such an idea.

“It is good to hear the opinions of everyone. If you are willing to firm a group, we can decide the specifics. I propose an organization that has a loose connection with the law system, in that by agreeing to operate within the law (and not butchering the crooks) they will be a little more lenient with the vigilante rules. I think they would be more trustful of us working as a group, as we could police our own behavior if needed. Also, the link between each of use does not need to be set in the same way as a police force. We can choice to have a grouping that keeps in contact, but does not always stick together. This would mean we could still lead our normal lives, but could access each other when there is need. Or, we could form an actual group and fight as a team (or several teams) and organise the likes of patrols. This is a little less flexible, but would allows to learn to work better together. In any case, we would start by laying down Founding Principles. This would set the direction of the group, and we could discuss and refine them. As a starting point, I put forth the following:
1. Help protect the innocent
2. Abide the law (as long as it does not conflict with the first rule)
3. Help others in the group (as long as it does not conflict with the first 2 rules)
Ah, the laws of robotics set a fine framework, right? In any case, we can tweak and refine these as needed. And I am glad to hear the criticisms of this idea. If we can address problems now, there will be much less hassle in the future.”
Nosferatu moves to indicate Nathaniel.

“And to address your concern, I understand that this is rather risky. If you do not want to be placed in danger, no-one will force you to join. If you, or anyone else, would rather go your own way, you are welcome to leave. And in regards to the usefulness of this group, others have already spoken attesting to what we can achieve. In times before an organised fire department was set up, all you could do was to rely on the help of other people. The people who wanted to help despite the risk became organizing, forming the fire department similar to what we know today. Organised professionals. I believe this is the first step towards doing the same thing.”

[Tar Palantir]

The Reaper

The Reaper watches Joe leave, still slightly distracted, but quickly coming under control. He hated this interminable waiting, with nothing to distract him from his thoughts. He decided to go back to the fire, to see what was going on. Better than standing around alone with the faces of the dead.

After a few minutes of shadow travel, the Reaper arrived to find a large group of heroes gathered on a rooftop. There were no sounds of fighting, so they were probably having a meeting, disussing the fire or something. Suddenly it hit him that every one of them probably thought of him as a villain and a murderer. The sheer wait of that fear and hatred threatened to crush what small goodness he had kindled within himself. If he doesn't do something now, he will devolve back into what he was. And so, he climbs the shadowed side of the building and transports himself to the side of the fire door, which is cast in enough shadow for him to flee if necessary. He emerges and speaks.

"First of all, please don't kill me," he says. "I am here because I want to help, and I fear that if I continue to be hunted like an animal, I will become the animal I once was again. All I ask is a chance. I am not the man I once was, and certainly not the beast you all saw. Please, give me my chance." He waits with baited breath, ready to flee if they try to attack him.

[Wiz]

Pulse

Pulse turns and looks at the shadowy form of the Reaper. "So... now you want a chance. Very well, a chance to do what, exactly?" He doesn't reach for his guns, but his posture indicates he's only a moment away from that, should this be some kind of trick.

[Tar Palantir]

The Reaper, relaxing slightly when they did not immediately attack him, says, "All I ask is that you allow me to help you. I want a clean slate, a chance to prove that I am a murderer no longer. I wish to be treated no different than any of the rest of you, despite what I have done. Believe me when I say that no punishment you or anyone else could inflict on me would be equal to that in my own mind. In my mind I see their faces, all those I have killed, and I know if I do not do something to redeem myself I shall go mad." He pauses, speaking quietly now, "I cannot even remember my own name. All I can remember are the faces of the dead. Give me a chance to prove myself, that's all I ask."

[ChronicLunacy]

Kid Zeus

When the Reaper suddenly showed up, Kid Zeus exclaimed, "Jesus Christ!" and brought both of his hands up. He didn't attack, but his hands were suddenly wreathed in a corona of popping, crackling lightning that threw the entire scene into relief from the light it produced, like a strobe in a dance club

"Are you kidding me, man?! There's no way I'm going to trust you! You're a murderer! You think that's something we'll just look past?" he growled, balling his hands into fists as the energy buzzed around them, a couple of bolts striking the floor with an angry zzzzpok!.

[geez3r]

The Fire/ meeting

Gust - Stuff goes as planned, when you enter the room on the 8th floor, nothing really looks amiss. Everything looks like a normal bed room, and nothing appears to be out of place, except for the fact that it is deathly quiet. You don't need to inspect the bodies, you just know that they are dead.

Paragon - Even as your own posture changes, so does the other man's. He uncrosses his arms, stops leaning on the wall in favor of his own two legs, and the smirk on his face becomes even more pronounced. The change is pronounced. The man simply reeks of horrible, devastating power, the will to use it to crush all of the insignificant pests that infest this world, and above all, he would delight in inflicting that carnage on the world. He reaches out with his own hand and grasps it firmly... it feels as if you have just taken hold of the left hand of God. "Tell me Professor Dark, why must it be only one of those choices?"

Alex

{Interesting... very interesting...}

Judith

Results of your research:

Jene Co. - Has the most revenue of the 3 companies. It is mostly a whole sale company, producing chemicals that other companies then use to create their products. Their biggest consumers are businesses that make cleaning supplies. Based in the mid-West.

Lerrick's - Gets many government grants, on average it's products are the cheapest of the 3. It specializes in the production of acids and bases mostly. They are also known however, to have frequent problems with unions due to unsafe conditions and/or pay issues. Based in the south-west.

Wellside - The largest product line out of the three. It's sales and profits are erratic because of that. Many of the CEO's quit within a year. It basically tries to do too much. Based in the south east.

Joe

{She can be kind of useful, but not overly so. Like anything over a DC 15, she can't do}

Legion

The guards are a calm as ever and turn off the silent alarms and all that mess. However, as you are ferrying loot up to the hallway, you notice a SUV pull into the bank parking lot, and 3 people get out. They appear to be joking and conversing with one another, and they are wearing guard uniforms.

The Man

When you enter the office building, you get a great many odd looks. People aren't exactly sure why you're here. The office rooms are well furnished and decorated though, giving off the impression of sophistication. When you declare your purpose to visiting the main receptionist informs you that you need to go to the top floor where Ms. Yamashima's office is. Ms. Yamashima's secretary says "You will need to wait out here for a moment, Ms. Yamashima is with another client and will see you shortly."

[Wiz]

Pulse

Pulse throws up his cape, blocking out the harsh light of Kid Zeus' corona. "Wait!" He glances over to see if Reaper has fled or not, regardless, he will spare a glance at Kid Zeus. "If we can settle the matter of this man's troubled spirit, murderer or not... should... we... not... try!?!"

[PlasticSoldier]

Drill Clone turns the drill off. and turns to the guards "What would you guards normally do in this situation?". Meanwhile Orig. thinks
Guard Clone go stall the guards I'll be there in a sec. Guard Clone holsters his pistol and walks out to the main lobby casually nodding to the new guards. Orig. runs down the stairs and gets the .22 from Drill, leaaving behind his pistol and walks to the top of the staircase, before crouching and sneaking into the office they drilled through.





[roll0]<- I'm including the ten from the alter form thing.
[roll1][roll2]

[evisiron]

Nosferatu

Nosferatu's eyes widen at the appearance of the Reaper. Instinctively his senses are empowered and he 'tastes' the smoothering darkness of the Reaper. It reeks of fear, and the burning acidic sweat that stings a preys eyes as it flees a predator.

Detect power: 2 rounds.

He pauses for a moment. Most people seem to be ready to attack, but have held themselves back. This is a delicate situation. While the Reaper has not moved to attack anyone, he has already shown his hand regarding his motives. Attacking the Mayor was pretty public. That isnt so bad, and he-WAIT! Did he say murderer?!

"'Murderer No Longer'? You mean you have killed people? Requesting a chance to redeem yourself is all well and good, but we are not the ones who should be making such a judgement. Hand yourself into the authorities, and go though the process of fair trial. If you are found innocent, or cured of whatever insanity held you at the time, society can accept you and welcome your attempts to right any wrongs. Serve your time if need be. However, until then, your are a criminal who has the potential to be danger to others, and must be stopped.

Hand yourself over, and eventually be free again, or spend the rest of your life hunted in the shadows. The choice is yours."

Nosferatu stares at the shadow crouching in the small area of shade. A blast of lightning from this kid Zeus or a road flare from Pulse would rob the Reaper of the darkness he seems to cling to. Nosferatu tenses, ready to spring into action if one of them tries it.

Readying action to attack the Reaper (non lethal) if anyone else either attacks or illuminates him, or he springs to attack someone else

[harmonictempest]

Gust

((Can I get a check of some sort to see how possible it is that this (the gas) is from the fire, or what it might be?))

Dead. All of them. Weren't fast enough this time. I'd be more worried, but that last guy who was in here looked better already by the time he flew off, so I don't think it could be that deadly. Still...was this the fault of the fire, or is there some other reason?

Fully alert now, Gust continues out of the room into the rest of the apartment, looking for...something that will make this make sense. First the crazy old pyromaniac, now this - how could they be related? I don't have any ideas right now, but I'll know it if I see it. He continues the wind effect he brought into the room with him, making sure he won't accidentally run into any more pockets of gas.

It's gotten quieter out there - wonder if I'm the last one in the building? Gust pauses for a moment to listen more carefully before continuing.

((He'll search the rest of the apartment, then the rest of the floor, eyes peeled and looking for anything else that doesn't seem to belong. Here's hoping he doesn't miss the meeting.))

Listen check to see if I hear Nosferatu's announcement/the meeting/anything else outside, and how much I hear:
[roll0], plus whatever ad hoc bonuses Super Hearing gives.

[DaftSkunk]

Nathaniel aka Tim for this...meeting

At the Reapers arrival, Nath steps back, preparing to fly off, but as the Reaper doesn´t attack them head on, Nath listens to what he, then Pulse, then Kid Zeus, then Pulse, and then Nosferatu have to say.

Looking to Nosferatu Nathaniel nods approvingly.
You are right, very right. And you He slightly raises his right hand to indicate Kid Zeus.
should come down. Then with a little nod to Reaper he goes on.
Reaper, you should follow Nosferatus...advice and turn yourselve in. Right now would be a good time.
There is nothing we can do for you, or where we can use youre help.

Shifting a little in unease because of the reapers aura (you have a fear aura or?) Nath carefully watches Reaper, and with a few sideglances, Kid Zeus.

[ChronicLunacy]

Kid Zeus


Pulse

Pulse throws up his cape, blocking out the harsh light of Kid Zeus' corona. "Wait!" He glances over to see if Reaper has fled or not, regardless, he will spare a glance at Kid Zeus. "If we can settle the matter of this man's troubled spirit, murderer or not... should... we... not... try!?!"

"He can settle his troubled spirit all he wants when he's locked up with the other crazies, but right now all I see is a murderer who needs to be brought to justice before he can hurt any more people! I saw stuff about him on the news, man! Do you have any idea what kind of body count this monster's racked up?! I don't care if he's gone straight or not. He needs to be put on trial for what he's done!" Kid Zeus exclaimed, still looking straight at Reaper unless Pulse's cape blocked the way. "If he wants to turn himself in that's fine, but if not it's our responsibility to do it for him."

[Raven T.]

Alex

Flashback: February 16, 2005

A cold winter's chill tore through his coat and Alex shivered stoically. He always carried his head high, even in the worst circumstances. It gave the image of a man who's too high and mighty to care about the rest of the world...or the image of a man who cuts his path through life, by force, if necessary. He had already put his books aside and was heading to a late lunch with some friends at this new cafe that had just gone in about half a mile off campus.

"Survived another day at the grindstone, eh?" It was Greg, one of the guys he was going to meet. Greg was the most carefree of the group, though he was no slouch when it came to his schoolwork.

"No worse than any other day, I suppose. The professors have yet to give me an opportunity to shine the way I know I can. Alex smiled and patted Greg on the back firmly.

"Maybe they just are not aware that you have talent. You know the old saying, 'you gotta spend money to make money.'" Rachel had snuck up behind them. She had known Alex from some events back in high school...at one point, he had wanted to date her, but she had been seeing some moron (isn't that always the way?) They hadn't kept in touch much after that, but were reconnecting now in college.

"I can appreciate that, but I'm not going to show off. It will cause me to become singled out to my 'enemies.' I know there are those out there who would like to discredit me and ruin my life right now; I made the mistake of tipping my hand already." This was only a half-truth. He didn't know for certain if there was anyone out there plotting his downfall, but it certainly made him sound more impressive than he was.

"You shouldn't be so concerned with what might happen. Life is about the here and now. Tomorrow may never come for any of us. Relax; the day's work is over and now it is time for play.

The trio smiled and laughed as another blast of cold air whipped around them. Francine would already be there; she got out of classes earlier than they did. These were the moments Alex relished the most: good friends, good talk, and potential good food.

Two years later, Greg was shot and killed walking home from his internship. The killer got away scot free, having never been found.

[Nelphine]

Murky

Ignoring the other people in the art gallery, Murky stalks around the gallery. He reaches out and touches art objects carefully, not disturbing them, just enough to see the grey start to spread from his touch.

As each item flashes grey, he growls and moves on.

"Nothing retains colour! Why?! I must have some way of bringing joy back to my life. I must have something. I'm not going back to work; too many missing friends, for too many unexplained reasons. Too much grey! The world is black and white! Cool dark and terrifying brightness! Why is there so much grey??!!" He screams the last words at the other people in the gallery, and vanishes back into the shadows. Trying to stay a normal person just won't work for him.

Flitting back across the street, he returns to his car to see what the police have been doing in his absence.

[/Spoiler] 3 pp to meld back into the invisibility of shadow. Jump checks are d20+30 if you want to roll to ensure I can get back to my car in the safety and concealment of shadows. [/Spoiler]

[Tar Palantir]

The Reaper

The Reaper begins to tense at Kid Zeus's actions, but forces himself to calm down. These people were not his enemies. He spoke first to Nosferatu, "Yes, I have killed people. I killed many in my former life, but I cannot remember anything beyond that fact. Since my transformation, I have begun losing memories of my past life, and now all that I have left are the faces of the dead. I cannot even remember how I killed them, only that I did. It is difficult to say how many, but I know it was enough to be hundreds, but not enough to be thousands. Three, four hundred? I am not sure. After my mutation, it becomes more clear. Counting two thieves, I have killed forty five people since I transformed, forty two of them the first night. As for turning myself in, what would happen if I turned myself in today? I would either be found sane and executed, or found insane and locked up in an institution, where I would have nothing left to me but the memories of the dead slowly eating away at my sanity. I have been given a chance many do not get, a chance to redeem myself, and I will not so lightly toss it aside. If I had not escaped from the hospital last night, there would be one more little girl in the icy grip of death this day. How many lives could I yet save if I was imprisoned? At the very least, if I turn myself in in the future when I have proven my change of character, I might have my time lessened for services rendered, or at least have done some good before my incarceration."

"As for you," he says, looking at Kid Zeus, "If I was the animal I was before you would already be dead, but now I pity you for the anger in your heart. I tell you now with perfect sincerity that I will never harm an innocent being for the rest of my life. If you do not believe me, then strike me down. I will not defend myself. Know what it feels like to kill one defenseless person, and imagine the agony of having killed hundreds. My life is an endless abyss of grief. If you find yourself a fitting judge, then send me to the hell where I have sent so many others. Hell is nothing next to this." He stands still his hands at his sides, torn between a desire for redemption and a longing for the sweet release of death.

[Wiz]

Pulse

Pulse looks at the Reaper, "You have vowed never to kill again... the man who I fought before, who gutted that cop wouldn't do that. By the way, Larry's fine, you didn't succeed in killing him." He steps toward Reaper, holding up his empty hands, "If you don't think the standard courts would deal fairly with you will you submit yourself to the Mayor's examination and summary judgement? If you're willing to try that, I'll be your escort."

[Glawackus]

Andrew/Vox Populi

"Now hold on just a minute here." Sellars leans back in his chair and makes a steeple with his fingers.


Sorry about the lack of posting, I missed that anything else had gone on in the meeting. :smalleek:
Can I make a Profession(lawyer) check on what Forthwind just said? Something does seem fishy.
if so
[roll0]

[Tar Palantir]

The Reaper nods, relieved that someone, it seems, trusts him. He answers, "That seems fair enough. Before we leave, there is a small girl on one of the nearby roofs who needs to be rescued. I got her out of the fire but couldn't get her to the street. If one of the fliers will go and make sure she is alright, then I am willing to leave immediately. We would have to stay to the back alleys, out of the sunlight, for obvious reasons."

[ChronicLunacy]

Kid Zeus

"RrrrAgh! You think that excuses you?!" the teenager growled, swiping his hand through the air and leaving a trail of energy behind it. "You say you've changed yet you keep killing people! You said you killed two thieves. What makes you judge, jury, and executioner, huh?" he forced himself to stand up straight and bring his hands down to his sides, the energy slowly dissipating. "I should fry you right now for what you've done but I'm not like you. I don't kill people for any reason."

Kid Zeus took a step closer to Reaper, obviously fighting between fear and anger of the shrouded monster he saw before him. "You just stay away from me, Reaper. Stay away from me or I'll light you up like a Christmas tree, you understand?" Then he was suddenly surrounded by a nimbus of energy and he floated off the roof towards the one the Reaper had indicated in order to get the little girl to her parents.

[Wiz]

Pulse

Pulse raises his cloak, "Here's a shadow to join with... that should be enough trust even for you, you may ride under my cloak til we get where we are going. And we'll be walking." He pulls a strange looking device from his belt, points it at the glider and with a couple of beeps and flashing lights the glider folds itself up into a compact case. He looks over at Nosferatu, "Could you check on the girl he spoke of? And we can all meet again tomorrow where you and I were going to do some sparring."

[Tar Palantir]

The Reaper ducks under Pulse's cloak, melding into the shadows. He does his best to ignore Kid Zeus's words, but still they echo in his mind. He was becoming more skilled with his powers now, he could pull his punches against ordinary people like the old man or those thugs, but what if he had to stop another super, like Fritz or the one who had killed Bolt's sister? If he tried to pull his punches they would easily kill him. What would he do? He shook his head. He would cross that bridge when he got to it. For now, he would worry about the mayor and his ad hoc trial.

[evisiron]

Nosferatu

Nosferatu's forehead creases with thought as the words from Reaper draw a different reaction from the people present.

"Pulse: You agree to escort him to the mayor in the belief we will render a fair verdict. But if this is not the case, and the mayor decides the Reaper should die for his crimes, will you put one of your bullets through his head?
However, if the mayor does believe the Reaper should live, he could prove valuable to protecting the city. Criminals may smile while they are dragged away by police if they have a network in place that can get them out scot free. The Reaper could illict a much more fearful reputation from his past alone. He need not kill again, but may save others through the fear he can create.

If he is willing, he could join us, although due to his reputation it would have to be within a somewhat secretive capacity. At a later date, people may accept that he is with us, as long as they believe we are holding the leash.

But know this Reaper: If this is all a ploy, and you use the opportunity to harm an innocent, I doubt that there is a single person here who will rest until you are held up to the sunlight to burn.

And Pulse, I do not believe anyone should be travelling with the Reaper alone. I shall accompany you to the Mayors office. Kid Zeus, would you be able to help the girl on the rooftop?

As for everyone else, if you are able we will try to meet again in the abandonned quarry over on the West side of town, at noon. If you meet others who are likely to want to help, make sure they know where to go. Until then, be careful. Anyone else who wants to accompany the Reaper to the Mayors office is welcome to join us."

Nosferatu looks around the group again. Within this group there is such a potential for good or evil in the world. Suddenly his manner becomes much more relaxed.

"Oh, and a golden banana sticker for anyone who comes up with a good name for this new group. I think Justice League might already be taken..."

"Ok Pulse, lets go. Hmm, wouldn't it have been better to snap down your glider at street level instead of the rooftop?" :smallbiggrin:

[Wiz]

Pulse

Pulse listens to Nosferatu, then nods. "All right, check on the girl please, then join me down below. I'll be finding some police officers to convey us to they mayor." He goes over to pick up his case. He turns and tips his hat to the others. "Til tomorrow, my friends." He walks over to the fire door and pulls out the same device (which for all the world looks like Dr. Who's sonic screwdriver) and points it at the lock. He triggers another button, and there is a clicking noise from the lock and the door swings open.

Taking 10 on disable device for 25, if for some reason the lock would be higher DC than that... then where's the rest of the roof security. :)
Pulse walks down the stairs til he gets to ground level and walks out among the fire brigade still here, looking around for police he spots a couple who are keeping the crowds back. He walks over to them, "Excuse me, officer, I'm Pulse, and I need someone to convey me to the mayor and call ahead. I have the escaped and self-proclaimed former supervillain Reaper with me. Reaper has placed himself in my custody, and he is willing to turn himself in and accept they mayor's judgement of his crimes and whatever punishment his honor lays forth. I suggest we call ahead so that the mayor can provide whatever security he feels will make him the most comfortable."

[evisiron]

Nosferatu

Nosferatu nods to pulse. In retrospect, perhaps having the guy seething with electricity may not be the safest, even if his intentions are good.

Kicking off into the air, and glides over to the building across the gap. There is still the stench of smoke hanging in the air. Watching the Pulse until he goes into the door, Nosferatu then looks for the girl. After a few seconds, a small girl can be seen lazily chasing some pigeons on the roof.
Kid Zeus has already set down, but Nosferatu calls out to him.

"Hey, just to check, can you carry people without electrocuting them? This would be a terrible time to find out one way or another."
(If 'no':)


"Come on. Time to get you back to the ground. I am sure these pigeons will relish their predator leaving the area too."

Nosferatu grins, and gently scoops the girl up. With extreme care, he hops off the building and drifts back to ground level. During the slow flight, he asks

"How did you get up there anyway?"

Reaching the ground, he sets the girl down beside a police officer. A quick scan around reveals Pulse also standing in the area, and so Nosferatu strides over to him. It looks like he has been talking to the police, making arrangements no doubt.

(if 'yes':)

Nosferatu listens to Kid Zeus. He watches as he picks up the child, and brings her safetly to the ground. Kid Zeus seems pretty young. Hopefully he can face whatever trials lay ahead.

Realissing he should be ground-side, Nosferatu flicks into the air, and drops beside Pulse. It looks like he has been talking to the police, making arrangements no doubt.

"Come on Pulse. I am sure they can keep us outside if they need to get anything else sorted. Hey, why the sudden compulsion to walk anyway?"

[ChronicLunacy]

Nosferatu nods to pulse. In retrospect, perhaps having the guy seething with electricity may not be the safest, even if his intentions are good.

Kicking off into the air, and glides over to the building across the gap. There is still the stench of smoke hanging in the air. Watching the Pulse until he goes into the door, Nosferatu then looks for the girl. After a few seconds, a small girl can be seen lazily chasing some pigeons on the roof.
Kid Zeus has already set down, but Nosferatu calls out to him.

"Hey, just to check, can you carry people without electrocuting them? This would be a terrible time to find out one way or another."

Kid Zeus looked up as Nosferatu joined him on the roof. He had the little girl in his arms and she was watching as the lightning bolts zapped around her, completely unharmed. "It's mostly just for effect when I'm flying. I have to put some effort into it if I want to actually hurt anyone. The light show's sort of a side effect, like my eyes." he explained as he began to levitate again. With the girl's low weight he could carry her easily while retaining control over his flight. He grinned at her when she found out she was flying. He'd had the same reaction.



Nosferatu listens to Kid Zeus. He watches as he picks up the child, and brings her safetly to the ground. Kid Zeus seems pretty young. Hopefully he can face whatever trials lay ahead.

Realizing he should be ground-side, Nosferatu flicks into the air, and drops beside Pulse. It looks like he has been talking to the police, making arrangements no doubt.

"Come on Pulse. I am sure they can keep us outside if they need to get anything else sorted. Hey, why the sudden compulsion to walk anyway?"

Kid Zeus brought himself and the little girl holding onto his neck safely down to the pavement, smiling for the cameras if any of the news vans no doubt on the scene started shoving microphones and such in his face, but refused to answer any questions. Instead, he politely excused himself and took right back off. He regained the roof where everyone was meeting just long enough to make sure of where they were meeting later, then said his goodbyes and set off yet again.

His destination was the police department, mostly to register his superhero identity so it was legal for him to do what he'd been doing and also to check up on other matters the police might want the mutants to handle.

[Wiz]

Pulse

Pulse is standing there when Nosferatu lands beside him. "Come on Pulse. I am sure they can keep us outside if they need to get anything else sorted. Hey, why the sudden compulsion to walk anyway?" Pulse raises an eyebrow in confusion, then shakes his head. "I'm sorry, I thought it would have been obvious... when I fly, my cloak splays out all over the place, and since the fire trucks are shining lights up this way it might have made things tenuous for our tenebrous acquaintance."

[evisiron]

Nosferatu

"Ah, one of the many costs paid in order to look dramatic by having a billowing cloak. Just be careful not to fly near jet engines or moving machinery with that thing, ok? I can already see the headlines: "Hero sucked into own glider by cape". Still, it has proven kind of useful this time. Hmm. Would it be worth catching a cab or something? Walking the streets may be an invitation for some vengeful murder victum family member to try and take Reaper themselves."

Nosferatu pauses for a minute, before looking into the shadowed alcove below the cloak.

"Hey Reap, just so we don't accidently remove you from existence or something, how does your power work? Do you blend with the shadows or just hide in them?"

Nosferatu looks around, making sure there is a fair distance between themselves and seeing if any of the other supers decided to tag along.

"By the way, the little girl was there as promised. Maybe there is hope for the Reaper. Hmm, it does not look like the Kid Zeus is going to try anything either. Perhaps the streets are safe to walk once again!"

Nosferatu walks easily. Since meeting the other heroes, even with the interruption from Reaper, it feels as if a great lift has been lifted. He is not alone.

[The_Lonely_d12]

Davan

Sighing lightly as events unfold and superheroes leave, Davan thinks to himself

This is certainly turning sour, isn't it? The way this is going, it's going to tear apart before anything useful ever gets done. Oh well, it can't be helped...So that's this Reaper that was in the news, eh? I don't know if he's just crazy, or if he actually is trying to repent, though the two certainly aren't mutually exclusive, are they? It's a good thing he left though...that kid is too hotheaded to trust, probably can't see the big picture.

Walking away from the diminishing crowd, Davan walks to the lip of the building, and lightly steps off, tumbling in mid-air and landing without any apparent injury.

A few of them look like they can handle themselves, but it's not something you can easily tell by looking at someone, 'less they're showing off for the world to see. I wonder if it will be a waste of time meeting up with them again...the way they're talking, it'll lead to forcing us all to register and kowtow to the powers that be. I'll not be a pawn. Ah, I've got nothing better to do yet, something might turn up before then.

He looks around at the various persons milling about, and sets off further into the city, humming quietly as he strolls along.

What time is it anyways? It'd almost be nice if one of those classic "comic book villains" would come along soon, this is turning out to be a bit less than entertaining. I can't improve if I have nothing to work against.

[dfpiii]

The Fire/ meeting

Paragon - Even as your own posture changes, so does the other man's. He uncrosses his arms, stops leaning on the wall in favor of his own two legs, and the smirk on his face becomes even more pronounced. The change is pronounced. The man simply reeks of horrible, devastating power, the will to use it to crush all of the insignificant pests that infest this world, and above all, he would delight in inflicting that carnage on the world. He reaches out with his own hand and grasps it firmly... it feels as if you have just taken hold of the left hand of God. "Tell me Professor Dark, why must it be only one of those choices?"

Professor Dark aka Paragon

"It does not have to be any of them," Dark replies. He appreciates the aura of this stranger. What potent malevolence. Of course if he can sense it then anyone can - is this why you're watching from the alley? And why just watch? Was this fire your doing or did you - like me - come simply to observe?

Curiosity and the instinct for self-preservation compete. This man is a perfect definition of dangerous... and powerful. But perhaps not risky. With clearly aligned motivation comes clear behaviour. Dark has a grasp of physics which must surely be peerless and he knows that even apparent chaos is predictable, that all matter and energy obey discrete laws; laws which do not simply describe forces, but enable their being.

A passage comes unbidden to his mind from Salman Rushdie's The Satanic Verses:

How does newness come into the world? How is it born?
Of what fusions, translations, conjoinings is it made?
How does it survive, extreme and dangerous as it is? What compromises, what deals, what betrayals of its secret nature most it make to stave off the wrecking crew, the exterminating angel, the guillotine?

Dark stays, but not by virtue of his intellectual curiosity. That same feeling which came to him for the first time only a few days ago, like an old lover who knew all his ways and means. Like creeping death and chemical addiction. Beneath the guilt and fear of his ordinary and inconsequential existence, beneath that mammalian brain enticing his race to eat itself fat and bloated, beneath even the reptilian instinct-ancestry that drives men to murder and to screw.

In the deep primal pit of his mind was the grasping darkness of boundless ambition: perfect greed: the brotherless devourer of stars.

Oh, stare far into me and find your reflection! If I could sup your power but by your heart's blood, I should smash the world to find that one unbreakable shard to cut life from you.

Professor Dark pulls back his hand and gives an involuntary gasp, staggered as much by power lust within himself as the power flowing out of this wicked deity.

"...It does not have to be," he repeats shakily, but continues with a growing restoration of confidence and resolve. "Mutants - and having no other basis I would presume you are such - have hitherto displayed powers which are individual and distinct. Fire, shadow, gigantism and so forth. Two or more distinct powers manifesting in an individual I have not yet observed. Further, of those who were present at the explosion - and here I make no assumptions about you - those closest to the blast were extensively mutated and possibly, had any of them survived, they would display multiple powers".

"So, if you'll allow me to make an attempt at a most cursory classification; if you are capable of more than one of those things I mentioned, you would have to fall into one of four categories. 1) You are not a mutant. 2) You are not a mutant who was exposed to the chemical in the same way I was. 3) You are a mutant who has received a higher dosage, or were otherwise more receptive to the chemical, than most of those mutants who have been observed and you thus display multiple powers. 4) You have a single power which allows you to duplicate the functions of other powers - being able to manipulate energy in general, for example, or the ability to duplicate or absorb the powers of others".

"But you can tell me more than I can guess, if you are so inclined. Such as... what are you going to do now?"

[blennus]

“The Man”

As he sat down to wait his cell phone rang.
“Boss, one of the investors called about an appointment at 5 this evening. I told him you’ll be there. K?”
“That will be fine. Which one?”
“Umm, let me see… Mr. Alexander Catham.”
“Sounds great. Call me if anything else comes up.”

He looked around the office, and noted the lavish furniture. It seemed this Ms. Yamashima was doing quite well for herself. He had heard that she was recently divorced, and wondered if her current financial state of affairs was a result of sucking her ex dry. In any case since she was not taken, she could be open to more… persuasive means. While he preferred blonds to Asians women, depending on the rest of Ms. Yamashima’s “assets”, he was willing to give her a chance. He really did prefer voluptuous women and the Asians he had met so far lacked in that department, but there was always the slim chance that she had a generous share of “tracts of land”. Of course if worse came to worst, he could just excuse himself if she tried to throw herself at him. Perhaps even one of his powers might come in handy, though he didn’t know what they might be. Not getting any money for an investment was much more preferable to sleeping with an ugly woman.
As he sat considering his options, an older businessman left Ms Yamashima’s office and he was invited in.
He gracefully strode in and flourish a bow saying “Ms. Yamashima I…” As he looked up he faltered for a second. He saw a very tall, rather plump woman with red hair and green eyes in her mid thirties. Not exactly what he had been expecting. Unfortunately she was a flat as a washboard, and her face wasn’t all that great either. But despite her appearances, she stood in a manner that radiated with confidence of a woman who was very experienced in business. She gave the aura of a person who took no bull, and wasn’t afraid to dish out the pain. This meant a drastic change of plans.
“Umm. Ms. Yamashima I presume? I don’t mean to pry, but you don’t seem very…”
“Japanese? What gave it away, my height or my white pearly teeth? Har. If you must know, my ex was Hawaiian. Anyways, enough small talk. Obviously you didn’t come here for a friendly chat. Let us get down to business. Sit.”
The Man’s mind raced. As she wasn’t trying to jump him, it was entirely possible that she was lesbian, butch by the look of it. But if so why did she marry? Money? Questions tumbled through his mind. But of course none of the answers would really help him at this time. It seemed that he would have to turn to a more straight forward approach.
“Ms. Yamashima, I am sure you know of the new mutant population that is emerging. Now it seems to me that it would be wise to cater to this emerging trend. The financial possibilities are endless. I am sure you know that economic profits are greatest for those that are bold enough to test the new waters of emerging new markets. I propose a bar, a gathering place where these new mutants can feel comfortable. Now why should I be the proprietor of such an establishment you may ask? Some mutants may be paranoid of government monitoring, but since I myself am one of them there is likely to be much more trust. This is why I ask you to invest in this business opportunity of a lifetime!”

Summary: Persuade Ms. Yamashima to invest.


Diplomacy: [roll0]

[Tar Palantir]

The Reaper

The Reaper emerges briefly from the shadows, remaining conceaaled under Pulse's cloak. He says, "When simply in the shadows, like now, they simply make me harder to see. When melded like I was a moment ago, I physically join the shadows. I can't affect or be affected by the outside world, but any light will force me out of the shadows. I can't speak while in that form either, or at least you can't hear me, so save any other questions for after we arrive." He then reenters the shadows and vanishes again.


OOC: I'm assuming that I can see and hear while shadow merged, since the power doesn't say that I can't, only that I "cannot affect the outside world in any way." Otherwise, how would I know where I was going? :smallbiggrin:

[Raven T.]

Alex

Alex entered the library silently, nodding politely at anyone acknowledged him as he walked back into the stacks. News articles, trade magazines, or anything else that might prove to be interesting. He was looking for specifics, not general information. He also grabbed a couple books on organic chemistry, the potential for human evolution, and other such information.

Taking what he can find, he settles down near a window and fires up his laptop again. Since Balchem's site was locked down, he decided to go for other corporation's sites. Mayhapse the secret lay with them.

Since the forum roller doesn't like me much, I'll be doing all my rolls from Invisible Castle in this order:
Search (for the books)
Investigate (said books)
Computer Use (to find his way around the internet and circumvent security)
Gather Information (books and online)
Knowledge (Business, then Current Events)

14, 17, 23, 17, 18, 21 (http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=1404986)

[evisiron]

Nathaniel

As Nosferatu and the other Mutants head off, Nathaniel slowly rises into the air and flys at a rather slow speed to the new meetinggrounds, ignoring the world below him completly.

His head heavy with with each other competing thoughts and motives, he eventually arrives at the quarry, where he instinctivly starts to search the area for anything useful to his powers or other mutants who arrived before him.

Then, standing and wating or moving to the other mutants, only two thoughts remain in his mind:
This is not the right way, the world and its people need to be changed.
After this, i am so going to a psychologist, i´m as crazy as the Reaper.

OOC:
Just FYI, we are meeting 'tomorrow' at noon. Of course, you may just want to be early...

[Wiz]

Pulse

Pulse stands there, keeping his cloak down. He looks at Nosferatu, "We won't be taking a cab... these officers are arranging for our transport." He stands waiting while the two officers confer and radio their superiors for instruction.

[geez3r]

Fire/Meeting

Gust - {You have a hard time catching normal conversation and make out only handful of words, but any time someone raises their voice, you can hear them pretty easily} You search the apartment, and basically find nothing out of place. As far as you can tell, the only thing wrong with the apartment is that the people in there are dead. The front door is even locked from the inside. However, one thing you find that might be the cause is a metal pipe that runs up the side of the wall. You find a small leak in the pipe and you smell smoke from it. Assuming you still venture out into the floor, you mind the rooms to be empty and you hear some fireman thudding up the stairs a few floors below.

Pulse- The officer looks dumbstruck for a moment before he hurries over to a squad car and gets on the radio. A few minutes later he comes back saying "The Mayor is currently in a very important meeting, and cannot be disturbed. So in the mean time, member of the National Guard will transport the Reaper to a holding facility they made just West of town in case anything like this happened. They'll be here shortly."

Davan - {All in due time}

Paragon - The man relaxes a bit, and he no longer seems quite as intimidating, but he now looks impressed. "I was right about you. Just as you are right about me, I do indeed fall into one of those 4 categories. As for what I will do now..." he reaches into a coat pocket and pulls out an ebony pocket watch, and looks at it for a moment "...I shall remain here for a few moments and see if all of the dominoes fall. What happens next depends on what happens first."

Legion

One of the guards sees you and waves at you in an exaggerated manner. They apparently don't see anything amiss because they keep walking up to you. When they get in earshot, one of them yells "Yo Frank. Quittin time. Where's John and Mark?"

Murky

You find your car deserted, with hastily scrawled speeding ticket on the dashboard. However, you don't have to pay the ticket because the officer did not know who you were.

Andrew/Vox Populi

Forthwind looks at you with a puzzled expression for a moment before a look of realization spreads across his face. "Oh right, you don't know. It's true that's not illegal by any state or federal law, it does however violate the terms of our contract." He digs in his suitcase for a moment before pulling out a document. "He's a copy of our contract with Balchem. We added that specific stipulation because of Balchem's less than squeaky clean record. Look through it if you so wish."

Kid Zeus

You make your way over to police HQ fairly quickly. About 15-20 something minutes after you left the fire scene. The police, now quite familiar with random supers falling out of the sky, quickly point you in the direction of the registration office.

The Man

Ms. Yamashima leans back in her chair, with her fingers crossed contemplating your offer. "The thing about your idea is that there is a great deal of risk involved. The mutant population is as far as we know, very limited. So our target audience is a few hundred people. These are also people who have abilities basically beyond all of our perceptions of reality. To insure a building where all of our regular clients can explode things with their mind would be extraordinarily costly, especially because many of them can't control their powers. So I ask you, why should I fund this venture of yours?"

Alex
{Fricken highly skilled and competent players... making me fill in plot holes :smalltongue:}

Info Dump:
Balchem has a pretty poor track record. After a particularly bad scandal where several of it's workers died, Forthwind stopped doing business with them. It was only within the past 2 years that the two have started doing business together. Balchem's profits have been declining lately, mostly due to more emphasis on asset acquisition, though not necessarily in a legal manner. Andrew Langely, Director of Internal Affairs for Balchem stepped down from his position about 1 month ago. Dr. David Nerros was appointed to his position and was hired from outside the company. He has yet to be seen publicly. Teh internets (<-intentional) are ablaze with the news from Rainport and the Reaper's attack on the Mayor is being looped on many news stations, some of them leaving out the part where he gets stomped into the ground. Some military forces are already in Rainport, though most of the forces being deployed to enforce martial law will be there in the nest 24-48 hours. Many of the online scientific journals you find on the internet are trying desperately to figure out how these events are even possible because by all accounts (even those you find the library) say that something on this grand of a scale should not be possible. Period.




Whew. That took a while. Let me know if I missed anyone.

[Xerxes Shadow]

((You didn't tell me what I saw, so I'll make something up.))

As Joe landed on a particularly low-rising building, he looked down into its alleyway and spotted a couple of small-time muggers harrassing a middle-aged man. They were wearing the same colors that D-Train's posse apparently wore, judging from Taikwon Dog's clothing, so he figured it might come out interesting. He dropped between the two and their victim, trenchcoat trailing behind Batman-style. He landed with a hard *smack* and pushed his glasses up on his nose. "Hello, gentlemen," he said, drawing his swords and charging the first one.

Attacks- [roll0] and [roll1]
Damage- [roll2] and [roll3]

EDIT: ((Sweet, I know how to make rolls now!))

[Glawackus]

Andrew/Vox Populi

"I'll be sure to go through it later," Andrew says. "Where were we again? Sorry to get off track. I'm well aware of how little time we have."

[Tar Palantir]

The Reaper

The Reaper, hearing the man talking about a holding cell, emerged from the shadows. Staying under Pulse's cloak, out of the sunlight, he said, "No lights. I'm tired of being held in places where I'm completely helpless should anyone decide to try and harm me. I am coming of my own free will. I just wish to be able to leave should anything...unexpected happen. I am not a popular person these days." Having said his piece, he remelds with the shadows and awaits his fate.

[Raven T.]

Alex

Nothing new, to be honest. This Nerros might be an interesting person to lean on, but if he has not been seen publicly during his tenure, he's likely locked down tightly by either Balchem's PR people or a government agency considering this recent event. I would suspect that Balchem is working closely with the government to clean this whole mess up so they don't go out of business. What would it take to slaughter the board of directors, one at a time, until they gave up their controlling stake in the company...to me...NO! Let's do this through the legal avenues or we may find ourselves in the same position as the current fops.

Martial law?! THAT FOOL! If I ever get a tentacle around his skinny throat, I'll sear his flesh slowly in the sun! He'll beg and plead to just die, but he won't...I'll break him into the perfect lapdog... Revenge burned like a fire deep in his chest. The actions of oafish creatures would NOT keep him from his new world order. NOTHING would stop him.

But this must be done delicately. Sweet words, a charismatic face, and promises of a brighter tomorrow work better than the fist of a tyrant. The most reviled dictator of the last century knew it; if he hadn't tried to ethnically cleanse the world, he might have succeeded in taking it over.

But enough about dead rulers and their shortsighted plans. All we must do is bide our time. Lay low; keep under the radar. Play the role of the patient predator. Yes, we will go for the throat when it is most vulnerable and usher in our order before anyone can react. Yes....

A smirk creeps over his face as he sates his emotions. The cold efficiency that had served him well these last several years would always keep the fire of revenge at bay.

But the Reaper...he would PAY!

[evisiron]

Nosferatu

Nosferatu looks around, and leans into towards Pulse, ensuring none of the officers are within earshot.

"For a situation like this? They already have cells for holding mutants... This does not sound right. Assuming they starting building at the explosions they would have no way of getting something together that quickly. And thats if they started right away!

Normally I would say Reaper should put some trust in if he truly seeks redemption, but this whole situation seems wrong. If you still decide to hop into whatever tank they provide, I will stay in the outside, in case anything goes wrong...

But we should really consider heading our own route. This reeks of a trap!"

[Wiz]

Pulse

Pulse frowns, listening to the police officer, then the Reaper from beneath his cloak, and from Nosferatu. "The Reaper in good faith put himself into my custody, officer, so if the only way for him to see the mayor is at this... 'holding facility,' then you will have to put us both in it until the mayor can see him." He looks at Nosferatu, "You don't have to come along, but I don't think it's a trap... and if for some reason it is, it is doubtful the facility could hold both I and Reaper together. More than likely it's just a room with completely ambient lighting. I actually suggested that to the police myself when Reaper first was on the loose."

[PlasticSoldier]

Guard Clone looks at the guards and says "Oh, John is in the bathroom & Mark is just walking around. We'll finish up in a few minutes so you guys can just go ahead.



[Roll=Bluff]1d20+14[roll]
[roll0]

[Nelphine]

Murky

"Huh. Didn't even bother to wait around and see what was going on. Cops must be really busy.."

Murky hops in his aging car, and gets ready to drive off.

~He knew it was a bad idea to be at this particular pawn shop. Everyone knew it was a bad idea to be in this particular pawn shop. Edgar's pawn shop had some really bad people working for it, and was reputed to have dealings with the Neo-Mafia.
Of course, he was moving into the south side of the city. He couldn't afford it anywhere else. And the south side not only had the Neo-Mafia, it had the Suits and the Lost Angels. So living there, he was going to buy a gun.
And the Neo-Mafia were the biggest gun dealers around.

So here he was. At Edgar's pawn shop. So.. it was time. He went in.
The place seemed normal.. it seemed like a pawn shop. It had TV's and paintings and music and rings and jewellery (god he'd never seen so much gold and silver!) The guy behind the counter, well he didn't LOOK that crazy.. maybe..
Murky walked up to the counter "I'm looking for something to make sure I'm safe.. something a little more proactive than an alarm system. Something I can take with me." He looked around to make sure no one else was watching. And with that he dropped 2000$ on the counter in large bills.

Less than 20 minutes later he walked out of the pawn shop with a handgun, and a bullet proof jacket. What else happened in that time, he could never remember.

2 years later, the warehouse exploded. He still had never used either item.~

"Whoa... what the heck am I doing?"
Murky realized, he'd been roving around town all day.
First he randomly tried to find criminals at bars, tried to subtly convince bartenders to give him leads and fought off rabid animals.
He snuck into an art gallery, which he'd never even THOUGHT of doing before. And he'd shown off some of his newfound abilities to the very people he didn't want to control him.

This wasn't working.

If he was going to do something, he had to do it. And stick with it.

And he wanted to make things right. People who sold guns to other people on very short notice, those people were not right.

"That's it. I'm going to actually do something. And stick with it. The people need to see that bad guys can get what's coming to them too. They shouldn't have to live in fear every day just because they live in the south side." Murky guns up his engine, and starts driving towards Edgar's Pawn Shop. And this time he was careful. Getting the police's attention wasn't going to do anyone any good. So he stops at red lights, signals, and drives the limit, all the way to the pawn shop. Hopefully it was open. His car clock was broken and he had no idea what time it was anymore. The sun hurt too much for him to figure it out by looking up.

[The_Snark]

Judith

Judy puts aside the business journal with a shrug—the replacement three years ago of CEO John Wiltonham III of Wellside Corp., while doubtless interesting to those in the field, wasn't really of any concern to her. Not unless the corporation's losses were due to such consistent theft that they couldn't break even, and that would have been a lot more obvious than even a desperate corporation like Balchem might be willing to be.

She thinks about heading back over to the newspaper archives, but decides against it. The actual thefts weren't likely to have happened in Rainport, and were equally unlikely to have made it to national headlines. Balchem had managed to cover up until now, and that meant whoever had been orchestrating it was at least competent. Instead, she goes back to the computer terminals; maybe searching for news in cities where they had assets would yield better luck. Too bad Alex wasn't here...

... and as if thinking of him causes him to appear, there he is as she passes by a chair in between two sets of shelves, laptop perched on the low table in front of him. Well, well well. That was convenient. She slips up silently behind the chair, a grin blooming on her face.

"Alex!" she says cheerfully, leaning forward and folding her arms on the chair beside him. "Long time no see. How's your day been going, then?"

[blennus]

“The Man”

“Indeed, risk is part of any venture. However you can be assured that there will be minimal risk here. Firstly while it is true that the current extent of the mutant population is no known, this bar won’t be for mutants only. While there will be a Mutant only room, for those that wish to be alone, there will be a larger bar area for both mutants and humans. I thought that this would be expedient if non-mutants were to want mutant company, for various reasons. It would be a great place to find just the right mutant to take a temporary job. Think of how much easier it would be to hire a hulking large mutant for a construction job if you knew exactly where to go. Now I would expect corporations to pay extra to have access to such talent, so that is another source of potential income. Of course all investors will be able to enter free of charge. Now from my estimate, there would likely be as many human customers as mutants. Indeed at the grand opening I expect there to be far more humans than mutants, due to the great public interest. And this is actually preferable, the reasons for which I will get to later.”
“Secondly, even if there are only one hundred mutants, if we can get them to be regular customers that alone can provide quite a profit. A normal bar can turn a tidy profit with a relatively small dedicated customer base. In this case, due to the costs that you have mentioned, we would need a larger number but I assure you there are more than enough in the city.”
“Thirdly while the initial insurance premiums may be costly, I believe that over time as we gain the trust of the public the premiums will drop. Why is that you say, well there are several reasons. First of all, I plan on either constructing the building out of extra strong materials, or finding such place to buy or rent. Now this will obviously cost more, but this is simply the safest way to insure the safety of your investment. This will also decrease the need for costly repairs. Additionally I intend to hire mutants to protect and act as bouncers. To this end a mutant that can incapacitate without causing undue harm would be most beneficial. In that regard the most powerful mutant would of course be yours truly” he wags his eyebrows. “My powerful personality is enough to intimidate and quell even the most violent villain. Also once the mutant customers come to like and enjoy the new bar built ‘just for them’ I can expect that they will proactively work to protect my bar from interlopers that would try to destroy, what has to them, become a second home.”
“Fourthly, I would like to address your concern regarding mutants that are unable to control their powers. Indeed it would not be right to let a mutant that isn’t ‘housebroken’ inside to mess up the day for the remaining customers. However on the other hand to exclude them entirely would be cruel, not to mention a loss of revenue. Therefore I have devised a system where mutants that do have problems can be trained or otherwise assisted in learning to control their powers. This would take place in a courtyard away from the main building for safety reasons, but not so far to be a hassle.”
Fifthly, advertising will be a snap, as the new mutant sensation is on everyone’s mind. Think of the great publicity. It should be quite easy to get this as a top news story. In fact I have a few connections in the media myself, that will be quite useful. I can also assure you that your contribution will be well publicized.”
“Now as I have said before , this will be a great place for mutants to not only meet and associate with other mutants, but a place for them to re-integrate with humanity. The changes wrought upon us have greatly changed us Ms. Yamashima, and I believe that this is the best way for us to not only serve a better place in society, but also to remove any possible contention between ourselves and human kind. We need to better our relations before more like ‘The Reaper’ are to appear. Indeed that is exactly why I want there to be many non-mutants. They will be invaluable in helping the mutant community find its place humanity. Your contribution Ms. Yamashima will be lauded with great esteem and as an action with great foresight.”

Another roll if necessary:
Diplomacy: [roll0] (added super style bonus)

[evisiron]

Nosferatu

Nosferatu listens to Pulse and nods his head.

"Yeah, well, you never know who would add electrified walls to an 'ambient light room' just in case. And I dont really know how useful you would be if they stripped you of your gadgets..."

A brief flicker of memory regarding how Pulse 'tasted' flashes through Nosferatu's mind, and so he adds:

"... though I am sure you have something else up you sleeve for such an occasion"

"Hmm... any sort of transport will take at least a few minutes to get here. Can you wait up while I go grab something?"

[OOC: Ignore following if Pulse presents reason to stay]

Flying directly up to get lost in the sun, Nosferatu then plummets down and zig zags back to his apartment. Making sure he is not seen, he picks up his Katana, ditches the baseball bat, dons his armour (uses the facilities), and heads back to where Pulse should be waiting. Spotting his ally, he drops beside Pulse. Holding the sword in the light, Nosferatu grins and says

"Just in case"

[harmonictempest]

Gust

Pausing, Gust hears a raised voice from a nearby roof.
“Greetings, all of you. First off, for those of you who have not met me, I am Nosferatu. I gained these powers from the chemical..."
Sounds like the Boy Scouts of the super crowd are staging their first meeting. Bet they're making a club or some silly thing like that - good thing I'm still busy in here, or they might bug me to join them. I mean, I'm glad they're helping people, but I'd much rather not have to worry about getting along and talking with a bunch of other supers. He continues perusing the apartment, keeping half an ear on the meeting outside in case there are any interesting developments. He enters the living room, noticing immediately the scuffs on the carpet in front of the television, the seat nearest the door that had the most wear and tear, and the scattered toys near the playpen. Just right for a family with small kids...

He continues, hearing from the roof
"Jesus Christ! Are you kidding me, man?! There's no way I'm going to trust you! You're a murderer! You think that's something we'll just look past?"
Heh, from that reaction, I wonder if the Reaper dropped by, or just someone at least as scary as him. I guess he meant what he said in that note if he's showing up there. Wonder how he did that? Maybe I should go tell them that the Reaper caught the guy who's probably responsible for this fire. Or at least tell that kid that he doesn't need to be so angry just to cover his fear of the guy.
((I admit freely that this last observation is a bit of a stretch, but is exactly the kind of "reading" Gust would be able to do with the tone of someone's voice (plus it's hopefully not meta-gaming, since it was never stated anywhere, right?). If Chronic doesn't agree that it's true, or if other people object, I'll take it down in a heartbeat.))

As Gust went back to searching the apartment, he heard the teenager continue speaking loudly and angrily, and other quieter, calmer voices, probably reasoning with him.
Strange, thought Gust as he finished searching the apartment. The only thing at all out of place is that pipe. A gas leak could have poisoned them! ...but gas isn't nauseating, and the jetpack dude definitely looked like he was about to hurl. This is just WEIRD - something is wrong here. It's bugging me like crazy, and I can't figure out why. Dammit, this is frustrating. He raises his hand to punch the wall in his frustration, but abruptly halts himself. Remember what happened last time, dude.
He steps into the hall to check out the rest of the floor, but even listening briefly reveals that no one else is up here - or if they are, they're just as dead as this family. He does hear the firemen a few floors below, and they sound like they're coming up. What do they want up here? And what will they think if they find me here - with the gas gone, I'll look a lot more suspicious. I'd better find a safe vantage point.

As he moves back out of the hallway, the hunger pangs that he has been steadily ignoring the last hour growl with renewed force in his stomach, causing him to nearly double over. DagGONE it - I ate two boxes of cereal and a dozen eggs for breakfast, and it's barely midafternoon! Grr...well, at least the family won't be needing the stuff in the fridge any more. He runs into the kitchen and scoops up the first few things he can find - a few packages of lunch meat, a bag of carrots, and a jar of pickles, and stuffing them into the pockets of his robe as best he can, he makes for the window.
Reaching it, he lifts off briefly and alights on the corner of the roof across the way, such that he can see easily into the window of the room without being too noticeable. As he steps out of the window, he hears the first voice raised again.
"As for everyone else, if you are able we will try to meet again in the abandonned quarry over on the West side of town, at noon. If you meet others..."
He watches the motley crew of supers begin to break up, and realizes he must have just missed the end of the meeting. Oh well...but then again, no great loss. It might be interesting to see why the Reaper is going to the Mayor's office, and what the Mayor thinks. Hmm...nahh, I'd just say somethin' dumb or get in the way. Besides, I want to see what the firemen are up to in that top floor. He pulls out the jar of pickles and begins to munch them (mm, dill!). As he eats, he listens carefully, observing the remnants of the scene around the building, while listening as carefully as he can for the firemen in the building.

Note to self: Bring the Powerbars next time. They fit in a pockets better than a pickle jar.

((I figure I'll exit the building right about the time the meeting ends, but if not, I can change things. I'd probably be able to match up Nos and Kid Zeus with their voices fairly easily, since they were being the loudest. I'll be sitting on the corner of the building, seeing and hearing as much as I can while keeping an eye on the window I just exited.))

[Raven T.]

Alex

Having been distracted by various things online, he hadn't heard Judy walk up. His eyes had glazed over slightly from gust being distracted in general. "Long time? We just had dinner last night." Alex chuckles some and smiles a little darkly. "I know I asked you to look into the events surrounding the incident on Saturday night and I intend to pay you well depending on what you found. However, I have also found something interesting that you may or may not know. I would suggest you get yourself prepared; they are bringing in a lot of National Guard troops. Martial law is about to become a reality here. Thanks to the foolish actions of this 'Reaper,' the city may very well become locked down. Mutants will be forced to either go into hiding or be subject to the whims of a world that doesn't understand them. It's possible that we may be experiencing Nazi Germany all over again.

"The internet is abuzz with stories about Rainport and our newest citizens. Of course, they fear what they do not understand, but it is painfully obvious that anyone who has been affected by the explosion, registering with the government or not, should prepare for prejudice, hatred, and other such mistrust." Alex lounged some in his chair, exuding confidence and concern over these new events. Mutant or not, he wanted to make sure that Judy was prepared for the coming storm. She was...is a good friend.

[evisiron]

Nosferatu

Nosferatu stands in the same spot, glancing around, keeping a keen ear out for the roar of engines or the call to action that is a gun being cocked. When none of these things are heard, he turns to Pulse.

"Hey, you seem pretty handy at making gadgets. Is there any chance you could modify my sword a bit? Get a decent current running through it or something, taser style? Not right now of course, but later on, when things are a bit quieter. Or make up some kind of communication system for the group if we successfully start. Cell phones are great, but might not be the best for this situation."

[Wiz]

Pulse

Pulse shrugs, "You never know, I might be able to come up with something." He looks around, "Are you sure you want to come along? You never know, once the Mayor feels he has Reaper in a safe place, he may take his time about showing up... not that I intend to let him keep us hanging forever or anything."

[DaftSkunk]

Nathaniel

After Nosferatu and Pulse leave the building with the Reaper, Nathaniel qickly flys up and leaves in the direction of his apartment.
He then descents in an ally near it and takes of his scarf and bandana, leaving the glasses in place.

Walking though the door, he throughs the heavy coat into a corner and while having heavy thoughts, making himself some coffee.

While drinking the first cup, he starts his PC, looking through the news and trying to distract himself from the conclusions his mind draws.

[The_Snark]

Judith

Jude rolls her eyes with a grin at his reply—that was the point, of course. Her smile fades rapidly as he talks, though. "Are you sure? About the martial law, I mean?" She comes around the side of his chair, sitting across from him.

"I can understand sending in the National Guard. If some lunatic started running around wreaking havoc in the streets, they'd want more than just the police about to stop it, especially if they meant what they said about vigilantism." She didn't think that was about to stop, regardless of whether they stuck to the Mayor's statements. Too many idiot superhero comics giving people ideas. Government-controlled teams of people with superhuman abilities weren't something people would trust easily, either; the influence of comics and books again. Damned if you do, damned if you don't. "But martial law? That's a step further... Who's implementing that? Did the mayor request it, or did the feds step in on their own?" Her mind races. Martial law'd be unpopular, so... damn, he's right. If they do place the city under martial law, they'll have to make sure there's enough fear of mutants to go around to justify their actions. Won't even take very much work, most likely... Even implying that the situation is dangerous is sure to set off someone, and with everyone walking about on edge, there's almost sure to be an incident. And that's a best-case scenario, assuming they don't try to enforce registration. They can't do this! They can, of course, and she knows it. What little acclimation she'd built up to the changes in her life evaporates.

[dfpiii]

Professor Dark aka Paragon

It all started with Schrodinger, of course. Schrodinger and his damn cat. You put a cat in a sealed box with some kind of death machine operated by a seemingly random rate of atomic decay. As a result of this being an entirely contained experiment, and in accordance with certain supposed laws of physics, the cat being alive or dead was determined when you opened the box.

What laymen tended not to understand was that Schrodinger, in the very obscure and dry way of physicists, had been joking. The notion that the state of being of the cat was determined by the opening of the box was patent nonsense. It illustrated perfectly that quantum mechanics, as it was understood at the time, simply did not scale-up and had no effect whatsoever on cats or any other household pets.

Despite this, a succession of physicists made careers out of extending this notion of quantum mechanics on a large scale to postulate the existence of many, perhaps infinitely many, non-communicative parallel universes. Each one created - seemingly out of nothing at all - whenever a photon passed through a hole.

Today about half of the working and teaching physicists in the world (more or less than half depending on where you asked the question), all of whom in Dark's opinion had read too much science fiction and not nearly enough science, believed in the many worlds theory.

Dark had a different view. He believed in ultimate certainty, that while the present was unknowable to varying degrees, the past could, eventually, be determined. This meant that there was only one past and that infinite possible futures would eventually resolve themselves into it - in fact the exact opposite of many worlds.

So far he had failed to argue this persuasively, but it was on his to do list. Under having the toilets fixed.

As he watched this strange, nameless individual, the unknowable present and the potential future distilled into the certain past. This man checked his watch, while Dark waited for events to become clear.

((A long post to say Dark does nothing? Well... yeah, but you're read it now and you can't unread it)).

[Raven T.]

Alex

Alex shows her the webpages stating that troops were being mobilized. "I wouldn't joke about something this serious. They'll lock down the city, the country, and possibly, the world. 'Normal' humans are already terrified; the Reaper is all over YouTube. The actions of this one...well, it is not my place to pass judgment on him at this stage. Before you showed up, I saw that the rumor mill says he's back in custody, for good or for evil.

"My best advice to you is to keep your ears open at all times. Keep up to date on all news relating to these events...for your own safety. We have a minimum of twenty-four hours before this place is going to look like a demilitarized zone. I...I just want to see you safe. This could be our Inquisition; people may accuse their neighbors of being mutants and they are likely not to get a fair shake in court. It matters little to them.

"The storm approaches. Humans are attempting to snuff my kind out. We have seen what lengths mankind will go to remove what it perceives as a blight. I intend to fight against these forces of tyranny and oppression. It may take a while, but a solid foundation must be set up before any change can be affected." Alex spoke with complete sincerity. He liked Judy; she had been there to pick up the pieces he had fallen to after Greg was shot and made him human again. Of course, she had her quirks and had been an accomplished cat burgler years ago.

But that was the past; this was now. She is a good friend...and very useful to him now. She would be worth her weight in gold if she could keep her nose clean and her ears to the ground. "Now, do you have anything for me?"

[ChronicLunacy]

Kid Zeus

Kid Zeus sets out to do all the required paperwork at the police station in order to make his superantics legal.


Will you be using your powers while costumed or in a civilian identity?

The teenager looked up at that, raising an eyebrow, then down at his costume. You'd think they could just take a picture or something. Ah well..., we'll write "costume".


What is your name and/or alias?

"Kid Zeus" he immediately wrote down with a flourish, adding a little stylized lightning bolt at the end just because he wanted to. No need to get the family involved by writing in his real name. Besides...he knew half these cops growing up...no reason to get them on his case.


What are your powers?

Um...

He thought about it for a moment. Just what were his powers exactly? Did they want some sort of scientific description or would they appreciate the simple bare bones observation? He shrugged and wrote down, "Electricity manipulation/flight."


What do you plan on doing with your powers?

"Protect the innocent." There, he thought, another easy one.


Do you have any police, military and/or medical training?

Did having a father on the force count as training? He decided to remain on the safe side and just wrote, "Nope".


Do you have a criminal record?

Ha! Asking a police officer's son if he had a criminal record. Right...the answer to that one was a resounding "Negative."


Are you interested in receiving Police training?

Now this one was a bit harder... Did he want to learn how to fire a gun or negotiate a hostage situation or something? Eh...he didn't really need guns or like them at all. Hand to hand combat training maybe... He jotted down, "Sure" after some consideration, then handed the forms back to the officer at the desk.

"So, what's next?" he asked.

[The_Lonely_d12]

Davan

Davan paces along the streets, clearly spoiling for some action.

Bah, there's nothing happening now, with the reaper turning himself in and everyone leaving. No hoodlums breaking into stores, no crazy mutants holding buildings hostage...I almost wonder if I would have to cause something to happen myself to get anything out of these powers. Then again, I don't want to go to jail...they might actually have something that could keep me there, for one.

Glaring up and down the alleyways, Davan continues patrolling the area.

OoC:Is there any chance I come across Joe and the thugs?

[evisiron]

Pulse

Pulse shrugs, "You never know, I might be able to come up with something." He looks around, "Are you sure you want to come along? You never know, once the Mayor feels he has Reaper in a safe place, he may take his time about showing up... not that I intend to let him keep us hanging forever or anything."


Nosferatu

Nosferatu listens to Pulse, and thoughtfully considers it for a few seconds.

"Yeah. I will come along. If you are right and it all runs smoothly, the worst case is that I have wasted some time. However, if this IS all a setup and I dont come along, the worst case involves a picture of your corpse on the front page tomorrow, along with news that Reaper has been weaponised for use against the nations enemies.

So, yeah, I will tag along."

Nosferatu seems to relax a bit again, and he becomes more optimistic as he shifts the conversation to a more pleasant topic.

"So, lets discuss what kind of gizmos we could (theoretically) fit into this sword..."

[Tar Palantir]

The Reaper

The Reaper, merged with the darkest depths of the shadows, probed once more into his mind, this time denying the faces of the dead in search of everything else. His past, his identity, his very being, was now lost in the depths of the shadows. He delved deeper and deeper into his mind, and he found something that he had not seen before. A part of his mind that felt like the purest incarnation of the shadows. He felt it and somehow knew what it was, and it gave him courage, but it also provoked questions. It was undoubtedly from the explosion, but it had not been there before. Did that mean that he would continue to mutate for the rest of his life. What about the other mutants? Would they develop new abilities as well? Would this become a deadly arms race where the only victor was death? Who could say? He would use this new power like all of the others, and try to right the wrongs he had done. As to the future, he would meet that when it came.

OOC: An entire post for my level up IC. Pretty interesting, at least to me.

[evisiron]

Nosferatu

Nosferatu pauses briefly in his ream of ideas regarding the sword upgrades, his ears perked to the air.

"Did you hear that?! I could have sworn I just heard someone go 'Ding'...

Oh well. Anyway, about the acid tip..."

OOC: Sorry, had to :smallbiggrin:

[Wiz]

Pulse

Pulse chuckles, "It's not enough that it's really sharp and can cut through people really well?"

[evisiron]

Nosferatu

Nosferatu recoils slightly as if struck, before snapping back with an angry response, voice strained in an attempt not to shout.

"Hey, I don't what you think of me, or any assumption that I am some bloodthirsty killer. The only reason I carry this blade is because I can use it in a totally non lethal way. I do not seek to be able to 'cut through people' better, or at all if I can avoid it. An electrical pulse would be better for stunning people, and put them down before someone gets hurt. An acidic tip or stronger alloy would help if someone starts blowing stuff up from a tank or giant robot, and I have to get through that armour fast. I am here to save people, not kill them!"

Nosferatu seems to catch himself before continuing the rant. Placing a calming hand on his forehead, he inhales deeply once, then releases the breath. He does not take a second breath.

[Wiz]

Pulse

Pulse looks calmly at Nosferatu throughout his response. Then when the armored vampire with the samurai sword has obviously finished, he nods once. "So... tell you what, I promise not to put myself forward as team comedian, and maybe you should consider avoiding the post of team diplomat?"

[The_Snark]

Judith

She grimaces. "I... I'll do that. Thanks." They really were going to do it, then, although she had some hope it wouldn't be as bad as Alex thought. Not everyone would display hatred and fear, surely—the other mutants at the conference had been either helpful or comical. Our kind, Alex. Not just yours. Guiltily, she wonders if she ought to tell him, but again, she can't quite figure out how to begin. Perhaps later...

"Actually, yes," she says, her thoughts returning to what she'd found out last night—although her good mood doesn't return with it. "Balchem doesn't even know what this stuff was. It was something they'd gotten from another company; apparently, they've been trying everything they can to find some breaking new product, including theft from other leading companies." She keeps her voice low, glancing about instinctively to make sure nobody was listening in. "Unfortunately, whatever chemical caused the blast wasn't stable at room temperatures, and nobody bothered to tell the shipping company. Stolen property, of course, so they wanted to keep it low-profile." She shrugs, with a twisted grimace. "Funny how that worked out for them. But with the government investigating what this chemical might have been, Balchem ought to be in pretty hot water right about now if it doesn't cover up fast. You'd know better than I would how they'll try to do that, probably."

She pauses, then continues in a hushed tone. "So... what is it you're planning to do, Alex? Not just about Balchem. This martial law..." She looks uneasy. "How do you mean, fight it?" She had an inkling Alex didn't mean organizing protests.

[Raven T.]

Alex

"Thanks to recent events, I doubt coverup is possible. Everything I have found about them is, like I mentioned before, talking about how they've been buying up the little fish in the pond, often at great losses to themselves. I would imagine shareholders are none too happy right now. If I could get in on the ground floor...buy up their stock as they try to dump it..." His voice trails off some as he loses himself in that thought. Another avenue to victory. He just had to hope he could gain controlling stake that way. "Not stable at room temperature and Forthwind was not notified? I wonder if Balchem knew; this could be some sort of industrial revenge. Too bad for them that it backfired. Now I wish I had payed closer attention to my organic chemistry classes. I am curious, though, as to your source, but I will not force you to reveal him or her.

"As to what I'm going to do, well...." Alex leaned back and tented his fingers some. "Have you been looking at the news? There was a fire today; big apartment building. It was a siren song for the superpowered dogooders in our fair city. There are at least half a dozen active superheroes now, aside from those who have faded away since the Reaper incident. If they could be persuaded and shown how the military wants to lock us down, remove our freedom, and otherwise keep us in check, they should do it all. Let those with a desire to be more public be so. As for myself, I intend to lobby for the rights of mutants. If nothing else, it will endear me to the populace for both sides. I'm not obviously affected by the blast, so regular people will not feel threatened and mutants, well...if my fears are accurate and these events do go down, anyone willing to take a stand for them can likely become a hero to the heroes.

"I have a meeting with that...creature who gave a big speech after the Reaper attack about an investment opportunity. Rumors are that he wants to open a mutant bar. What better way to get my face out in public as a mutant supporter, as well as make money on the side?" It was a lot easier to calm the storm of revenge and powerhungry emotions with Judy around. Yes, he wanted power, but he wasn't about to do overtly criminal things to get it. Murder was right out; even the greatest killers get caught eventually.

[evisiron]

Pulse

Pulse looks calmly at Nosferatu throughout his response. Then when the armored vampire with the samurai sword has obviously finished, he nods once. "So... tell you what, I promise not to put myself forward as team comedian, and maybe you should consider avoiding the post of team diplomat?"

Nosferatu

There is a brief second where nothing happens, then all then tension seems to stream from Nosferatu's body. He gives a hearty chuckle, stares skyward for a second and looks back at Pulse.

"No deal. I have demonstrated my affinity for megaphone diplomacy and it would be monstrous to rob the world of your dry wit."

Nosferatu shifts back into his normal style of conversation, trying to act as if the outburst never occured.

"By the way, do we have a game plan in case the human waste should hit the fan? I was just going to knock out anyone with a weapon pointed at me, find you guys, and fly out of there; but if you have something better, I would rather hear it in advance."

[Wiz]

Pulse

Pulse frowns (or at least you think he does, it's hard to tell beneath his scarf, but his eyes seem to frown). "Actually, other than the idea that, considering the lack of time they've had to create their 'holding facility,' it seems unlikely that any one cell could be specific enough to hold two mutates... I haven't come up with any particular plan. I'd rather not have to think of a plan, because that means they are going to be unreasonable, and set themselves against us. I hope that the people in charge aren't unintelligent enough to start something like that, nevertheless, I do not doubt that I can come up with a plan quickly enough, should it be required."

[evisiron]

Nosferatu

"Its not so much the worry that they have a cell that would hold two specific mutates. I worry that they have a cell that could hold 'anything'. Even then, a decent cell could easily be aguemented by ambient lighting (for our friend here) or a shot of tranqualisers for anyone else. When something is heat proof it cant be too hard to make it electrity proof and ice proof too.

I admire your optimism that they wont be that stupid. Nothing says reasonable thinking like "Hey! We brought you a super powered serial killer! He tried to kill you before, remember? Yeah, we have been keeping an eye on him. He is in this patch of shadow... I think. Little rascal might have got loose again."

Still, I always prefer to have an idea of what to do than think on my feet. Well, I guess I wont think on my feet so much now that I am airborne so much of the time"

Nosferatu grins, reveling in the pun delivered with the elegance and grace of a drunken hippo on ice. Things are not nearly as entertaining is everyone is serious all the time.

[Wiz]

Pulse

Pulse nods, "I suppose we shall see... on the whole, I have a positive feeling about the Rainport PD. I'm just not sure about these national guard forces... particularly the military commanders who've probably been flown in from the Pentagon with about a half-hour's briefing..."

[evisiron]

Nosferatu

"Agreed. I am sure the PD have heard about us helping out around the fire and the such, and know that we are not hostile. Either that, or they are not paid enough to risk a fight.

But military personnel... it would be Target Assessments and potential threat analysis. Plus our abilies likely sets us above their years of training and experience. Thats gotta sting.

Hmmm...
Just a heads up, if they shoot me in the head or whatever, and I survive, I will probably play dead. I seem pretty resilient, but I don't know exactly how well this souped up healing works. So, if it does all go to hell, I would appreciate it if you dragged my 'corpse' out of there. Hopefully I will wake up. Oh, and Reaper. If that happens, try to stick with us. I doubt people will hesistate to use lethal force if they see you going solo. And please avoid killing anyone, no matter how bad it gets. I don't suppose you can dull those claws of yours? Maybe we shoud go buy some of those wee rubber snubs you can get for cat claws..."

With the last statement his hand thoughtfully reaches to his chin. Of course, he is still wearing a mask, so he strokes the area a beard would normally occupy.

[Wiz]

Pulse

Pulse nods, "Anything I should be especially aware of... remove silver bullets for healing, watch for garlic oil in the wounds, etc...?" He looks at you, "I know you're not a real vampire, but this mutagen seems to have partly worked on people's state of mind. I take it you were interested in vampires, so do you have any of their particular weaknesses?"

[evisiron]

Nosferatu

"Good question. Well, its pretty obvious that sunlight does not do much, though you would not believe how hard it was to test that one out... As for garlic, I didn't notice anything odd when near places where garlic was being prepared. I have not eaten any since I don't like garlic too much anyway. Then again, maybe it has to be in its distilled form to have an effect. Silver... I have not tested yet. If someone is willing to invest the capital to buy enough silver to melt into a bullet and then shoot it at me, congrats to them, but I won't use up that kind of money. Running water: Nothing odd yet, but not many large scale rivers in the centre of the city. Holy water - Have not tried yet. The Cross... seen a few around town, but maybe a priest has to wield it or something.

So, short answer: I don't know.

Though if the situation comes up where someone is threatening me with a clove of garlic, please don't correct them. It's so much funnier when villains think they have the upper hand.

Of course, the over the top stuff if as expected. It is unlikely that I would find having a stake shoved through my heart or my head cut off with a shovel very pleasant.

So, how about you? Anything I should know about - power or weakness wise? It would be better to know now than hand you an apple later to find out your powers made you deadly allergic. Though with all your metal gadgets, perhaps you would prefer a Snapple"

Nosferatu smiles at the last comment. However, the discussion has set him considering his weaknesses. He hadn't really tried too many. Then again, when you are looking for something that will kill you, being successful is not as fun as it should be.

[OOC: I assume that by 2014 everyone reads xkcd, and has seen this one at least: http://xkcd.com/18/ ]

[Wiz]

Pulse

Pulse shakes his head, "No particular weaknesses, or at least nothing, I've noticed; save for a rather fast metabolism. I guess that goes with the whole brain power boost, which makes sense considering what we know about the evolution of the human brain."

[The_Snark]

Judith

Judy considers. "Not any sort of revenge, I don't think. I suppose nobody bothered to check what temperature the chemical should have been stored at, or they didn't anticipate such a volatile reaction. They can't cover their intentions up, of course, but I imagine they'll try to bury any evidence of the thefts pretty deep. The paper shredders will be busy," she quips. "I know what you mean about the chemistry classes, but I have the feeling it wouldn't have helped us out any. I doubt even the professionals really know what's going on here."

"I did hear something about a fire, actually. So people showed up?" She half-shakes her head. "What is it about this that suddenly makes people want to help? They could have been firefighters if they'd been concerned. I suppose it's just that it's less work now that they don't have to learn." She wonders whether she ought to be elated or disenheartened at that insight. People would freely help others out—but only if it wouldn't cost them much time or effort. "Well... hopefully, that will help out. If public opinion doesn't turn against mutants, the politicians will think twice about taking... any sort of action," she finishes lamely. She didn't really want to think about what they might try doing if the tides of public opinion should turn the other way. And who can tell, really, before it happens? It's like someone's dammed up a river, and we're waiting to see whether the water simply flows right over it or bursts out somewhere else. And as anyone who has ever attempted to dam a small creek at a beach knows, no dam is perfect.

"Are you going to try to contact any of those other... heroes, then?" It still struck her as a foolish thing to say. People talked about heroes in books and news reports; you didn't use the word in real life. "To warn them, and try to make sure they don't do anything to frighten people? Stopping fires can't really garner objections, but vigilantism, or anything that even might infringe on constitutional rights... that's the sort of thing that will get people riled up, and in a way worse than random lunatics like that Reaper."

[evisiron]

Nosferatu

"That with greater frontal lobe activity the blood flow and energy consumer are increased - right?

Have you considered carrying some snack cakes or energy drinks around with you?

I remember you saying about having some kind of magnetic pulse radar. I suppose anything stronger would cause small metallic objects to stick to you, in an amusing fashion. Coins or..."

Trailing off, Nosferatu slips the metal d10 from his pocket. He ponders it for a minute, then decides against flicking it at Pulse. It would make one of the people involved look foolish regardless of outcome.

"...stuff"

[Raven T.]

Alex

"Our 'esteemed' mayor has already explained the penalty for vigilantism; I suspect that most of the people who showed up registered. However, THAT is a completely different can of worms. For now, it's voluntary, but what will happen down the road at this rate? You see what kind of a slippery slope we sit on as far as these events are concerned. Gods know I don't want to rile up the people. Human stampedes tend to be far more deadly than those started by any other animal. Fear is the antithesis of everything I'm trying to do here."

Alex rose from his seat and stood close to Judy before pressing a small roll of bills into her hand. "Thank you...for everything."

[Wiz]

Pulse

Pulse reaches into his pocket and pulls out a high protein energy bar. "Yes, I did think of that." He frowns, "I didn't do to well on the fire though... that poor family on the top floor. I opened the window and the gas hit me... I think they were all probably dead, since they were lying in that for who knows how long, and weren't moving." He sighs, "I guess that despite our advantages, we can't do everything."

[The_Snark]

Judy

Jude draws back her hand as if to fend off the bills. "It's fine, Alex. I can manage. It's not as if this isn't of any concern to me, either." You can't, you know. You're eating for two—three now. And taking on more work for yourself at the same time? It had better pay something...

I'll manage, she thinks firmly to herself. Worst comes to worst, I'll... The thought trails off—she doesn't know. Whatever I do, it'll be something useful, not asking for charity from friends. And nothing illegal. I'm well out of that, and I intend to stay that way. Maybe there's some way I can put a second body to use. "Where do I come into this, then?" she asks, partly to try to distract herself from the question of her finances and partly to try to distract Alex from the same thing. "I was here to check up on Balchem's competition to see who they might have been acquiring items from, but none of them are local. I'm not sure I can really get anywhere that way."

[evisiron]

Nosferatu

"I..didn't know a family had died in there. It looked like the professional teams had reached the whole building, so stopped to call the meeting.
But you are right. We can't do everything. We can't save everyone. But that does not mean we should not help anyone. I know thats not what you were saying, but some of the problems raised in that meeting are still bouncing around my head.

Any idea what the gas was? Ah, but the fire fighters should have breathing gear anyway.

Hey, before a forget about it, you never gave me that-"

Nosferatu stops, remembering the figure hidden from the light beneath that cloak.

"-thing you said you would lend me. You know, just in case?"

[geez3r]

Joe
{To speed things up, I rolled your initiative too, not that you would complain.}

Your first attack lands a glancing blow against the enemy as he dodges mostly out of the way, and he dodges your second attack fairly well. The thugs fall back into fighting stances, and they look genuinely pleased. "Boss'll be pleased when we bring you in." says the one you attacked. From the way they're standing, and they way they're reacting to you suddenly dropped down with swords drawn, you draw two conclusions. 1) They can fight. 2) They've got orders to kick the crap out of you, or Supers in general. {You won initiative so go again}

DM Rolls:

Initiative (1d20+2=17) (http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=1411100)
Initiative Striker B (1d20+2=18) (http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=1411104)
Joe Initiative vs. Strikers (1d20+7=27) (http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=1411117)



Andrew/Vox Populi

"No problem at all. Especially because all that we know about the chemical or explosion itself has already been said, which is a rather depressing point."

Lieutenant General Brian Kerrigan then speaks up "Which means it's time we discuss the mutants themselves and how we deal with them. Currently my men are under orders to not fire unless a mutant instigates a fight against non-combatants at which point, they are to stop them by whatever means necessary, preferably non-lethal measures. So Doc, Commissioner, what are we dealing with here?"

The Commissioner says "Dr. Wilson and myself have compared notes and the list of "abilities" is quite staggering. We found the following abilities among those affected: {To save space, he lists every power listed in the pdf minus all the gadget and item powers, along with spellcasting and psionics}."

Pulse/Nosferatu/Reaper

{Okay, you’ve had enough dialouge, time for me to muck it up}
It’s about this point that you see one of those Army Hummers round the corner and pull up along side of you. As far as you can see (or sense) there’s only one guy in the truck, and he’s driving. He gets out and salutes the two of you ”Pulse and Nosferatu Sir. I am corporal Green. I am here to transport the two of you along with the Reaper to our holding facility immediately. Please step into the vehicle…. And could you inform of the Reaper’s whereabouts?” He says the last part a little nervuously and looks about a bit.

Legion

”Sure no problem. How are the kids doing?”

murky

{If you want a battle map, that’ll take a little time, so I’ll have to put that up at a later date, if just a description is fine, then have at it}

The Pawn shop is only like 20feet wide, and like 35ft deep. There’s a 5’x10’ counter by the door (lower left hand corner of the shop). There’s 2 tables in the center of the store with a collection of clothes on them. The walls are decorated with the bigger ticket items like guitars and even a grandfather clock. The far wall has a great number of shelves, which contain all the odds and ends. All of the jewlery is on the counter. No one besides the shop keeper is there. It’s the same guy who was there 2 years ago.

The Man

Ms. Yamashima smirks, “I was only making sure you weren’t just a pretty face. You’ve got a deal.”
{I mean seriously. Fricken 2 diplomacy checks about 40}

Gust

You hear the occasional bit of Pulse and Nos’s conversation, but not enough to really know what they’re talking about. The fireman eventually come up, and you hear a few curses and moans of grief for the dead family. You hear a few mentions of “readings” which come back negative. You hear them spread out through the apartment, apparently searching for something.

Kid Zeus

That’s about it. You’re free to go.

Davan

1 coin flip later: Yes, there is in fact a very good chance that you find Joe. So good infact that you can go ahead and roll initiative.

Paragon

The man checks his watch one final time after being silent for a few minutes. He sighs and puts the watch away. To no one in particular he says “What a pity. I had hoped at least one would have the sense… Ah well. Proffessor Dark, it really has been a pleasure. I would tell you my name, except I believe you’ve already guessed it. Oh and do try to cover your ears, the last domino tends to be the loudest.” With that he takes a few steps down the alleyway, before disappearing like smoke in the wind. The building you have been watching for the past few minutes then explodes.

This was not an accidental explosion, not by any means. It was too well organized and well placed. It is wasn't so horrifying, you would be impressed by the skill involved. There appears to be a pillar of explosives in the center of the building. Each successive floor is blown upwards from the explosions forming a sort of steeple shape. From start to finish, it takes exactly 8 seconds for the building to be complete rubble. If anyone was inside, they are most assuredly dead with the floors above them forming gruesomely efficient coffins. There is not a mark on any of the adjacent buildings, but the explosion itself can be felt for 2 blocks and heard for 8.


{I think I may have missed someone, if I did, let me know.}

[evisiron]

Nosferatu

Nosferatu looks at corporal Green, arms open in a friendly gesture.

"Well, thats interesting. You see-"

*WHA-THOOOOOOM*

The rest of Nosferatu's sentence is cut off by the deafening explosion.

Nosferatu tries to brace himself against the force of the blast, but is too late, and is forced to the ground. He rolls as he lands, and flicks back onto his feet to see the previously burning building crumble into the ground. People scream as dust fills the air and debris starts raining down onto what remains of the crowd gathered to witness the earlier events. Still stunned for a few seconds, Nosferatu waits for his hearing to return and the dust to clear a little before looking around.

A brief check is made to see if Pulse is still standing, and that Reaper is still secure. When that is completed he bounds towards the rubble, checking for survivors who may be trapped, and helping wherever possible (such as lifting chunks of rubble off people).

As people start to move around get organised, Nosferatu shouts:

"Does anyone know what the hell just happened?!"

[ChronicLunacy]

Kid Zeus

Kid Zeus frowned. He kind of half-expected them to throw up a lightning bolt symbol with a spotlight for him or tell him about a laundry list of crimes he could go look into or bad guys he could drag in, but no go. Instead, he just gave the world-weary cop at the desk a little mock salute and walked back outside, holding a hand over his mouth so his half-mask wouldn't give him away when he noticed a couple of his late father's friends walk by.

Man...coming by the police station was going to be a little more work than he thought it would. Maybe he should have just gotten a police radio and wore it on his back, he thought with a small frown. Outside he let himself get lifted on the currents of raw electricity that ran through the nearby power lines, feeling the rushing energy buzz through him harmlessly and buoy him with invisible wings. Then, using the power lines, above and below ground, he flew off down the street at about roof level for a two or three story building. He kept the ambient power display down somewhat so he'd be a little harder to notice, the only bolts he created sizzling down to touch the power lines he was flying over every now and then.

He figured if the police weren't going to give him something to keep busy with he'd pull a page out of his old superhero comics and go "patrolling" for bad guys. If he buzzed down to the seedier part of town he'd no doubt find someone breaking the law, even at this time of day. If not, well, then he had some homework to catch up on. He sighed in exasperation at the thought. All this happening and he still had to go to school once the weekend was through.

OOC:
Kid Zeus is out on patrol looking for bad guys, whether it'd be the existing ones Joe found or another group entirely. Out of curiosity, what day is it? I just assumed it was the weekend since he wasn't in school, but he could just as easily be skipping if it's a week day.

[Wiz]

Pulse

Pulse looks at Corporal Green and says, "He is currently melded with the shadows..."

*WHA-THOOOOOOM*

Pulse looks up at the exploding building, his brow furrowing. "Interesting..."

His eyes suddenly widen. "Oh my..."

[Nelphine]

Murky

Murky walks into the pawn shop, still it's same misleading demeanor as always. Nothing about it is obviously illegal, and yet there it is. Edgar's Pawn Shop, owned by the Neo-Mafia, and a front for gun running.

And the guy behind the counter! Still that same nondescript self, that somehow just didn't look right. Dang person. Probably sold 3 guns to teenagers last week alone. Well that was over. Now was the time for the criminal world to get what was coming to them.

Murky stalks up to the desk, third arm totally hidden, and pulls his gun out, although not aiming it anywhere in particular. "Hey man! This thing is awesome! I scared off some guy last night, but he threatened to come back with more.. I was wondering if you had anything bigger?"

As he talks Murky looks around to see if he can spot anybody inside or outside that might see what's going on; and any exits besides the front door that anyone else might come out of.

[harmonictempest]

Gust

The jar of pickles is quickly emptied, and the lunch meat follows it. As the hunger passes, Gust feels a strange urge to kick his heels against the edge of the ledge he's sitting on. I made a difference, and I...was awesome! This is a pretty sweet deal, actually. His usual petty everyday worries are nowhere to be found. I am worth something now, and I'm gonna make everything I can of this. Man...I should get an iPod or something, give myself a bit of personal soundtrack for times like this. The nagging feeling of uncertainty and wrongness about the apartment building passes as well. If the fireman are getting negative readings too, I can't I shouldn't blame myself too much for not figuring it out. After all, I put out half the fire by myself, right?

Deciding to save the carrots for later, Gust stretches and lifts off without bothering to stand up. Barely a moment after he does so, reveling as always in the feeling of flight, the building across from him explodes. Gust reacts immediately, but is still thrown back some feet by the shock of the explosion. "Damn. Damndamndamndamndamn." The second he regains control of his flight, he swoops as quickly as possible back to the building, arriving barely a split second after the last chunk of rubble hits the ground.