The Maverick Rebellion Of 20XX [IC]

[JNAProductions]

"You're going in hot-the area is not secured, I repeat, not secured-stay on your toes!" Alia tells you just before you step on the teleporter.

You beam up, and in a moment, back down-you're in a small rest stop near the top of Federation City's highway megastructure. You can already see some wreckage-cars pummeled by debris, people bleeding, Reploids in pain... And somehow audible above it all, a mad cackling.

The area, while not fully secured, is for the moment free of hostiles. But you see carriers floating in. You're the first on the scene-what will you do?


OOC Thread (https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?622999-The-Maverick-Rebellion-Of-20XX-OOC&p=24820931#post24820931)

[Hellpyre]

Boris will move to the edge of the rooftop, trying to see who or what is coming in on the carriers. He scans back and forth, keeping an eye on the carriers as he surveys the damage and tries to make out where the damage spread from.

[roll0] for Perception

By the way, if you would rather we follow the naming conventions of the bosses in the games, I can do so, but I recall the lore in the adventure games (as opposed to the original platformers) establishing most of those as code names or call signs, with most Reploids having more human names.

EDIT: Starting with a natural 20 is always a good omen.

[The Outsider]

Rx9 also moves to the edge of the rooftop and scans the carnage before him. As he does so, he instinctively scans for injured civilians, attempting separate them into different levels of harm in order to prioritize who, if anyone, needs immediate attention.

Rolling Medicine to attempt to triage properly: [roll0]

[Luccan]

Leopard moves with the team to the edge and does his own scan for danger, specifically any sign of further environmental dangers


Perception

[roll0]

[JNAProductions]

I just like the name "Shock Leopard". Has a good ring to it.

My goal is not to be unfair or anything, it's just to make a fun game. As part of that, if each of you make your own code-name, within that style, you'll gain Inspiration too!

And Luccan, relatedly, should make a more common name as well.

Boris and Leopard scan for threats, while Rx9 triages the nearby injured. There are two people that require immediate attention, barely clinging on, both non-Reploids. There are half a dozen who don't need immediate attention, but should be flagged for assistance, a mixture of Reploids and not. And there are three who are too far gone-one of them, a Reploid, has their cortex splattered on the ground. Of the other two, non-Reploids, one is already dead, and the other is missing their entire lower half. They won't last long at all.

What the other two see, scanning past the immediate grisly scene, are two things. The first is a chunk of concrete, hanging by a single steel girder that's slowly twisting further and further. The other, a purple-armored figure, manically throwing explosives towards weakened pillars.

All three of you can see the telltale flashes of other Hunters teleporting in, but none near either of those two problems.

[The Outsider]

Rx9 mutters to himself as he observes the wounded. "Fracture... shock... Ooo, zat looks nasty." He moves toward the critically wounded and crouches over one of them. "Internal hemorrhaging, very nasty indeed. Let's see here..." He rummages through his bag before pulling out a small vial full of silver liquid and pouring it down the person's throat.

Rx9 moves towards the injured and casts Spare the Dying on one of them.

[Hellpyre]

"I have eyes on a possible Maverick. Moving in to cut them off now."

Boris will move towards the purple-clad enemy, stopping briefly to transfer some healing to one of the injured humans as he moves by (preference given to anyone pointed out by Rx9, otherwise whoever is closest along the path towards the Maverick. Lay on Hands for one point of healing to stabilize). He pulls out his hammer to get ready as he starts moving in.

If the concrete looks like it could drop onto the injured, Boris will instead call out "I see a possible suspect, but we have a more immediate concern" and point to the girder barely staving off a fresh disaster. He will attempt to move the injured who could survive with medical attention out of the way of the fall, using his Lay on Hands on whoever he can get to that looks most heavily wounded.

[JNAProductions]

The two victims breathe easier-still not hale and hearty, but they'll survive till a proper medical team arrives.

Make an Intelligence check to see if you can ascertain whether or not the girder is in danger of snapping.

If you have an architectural background on your PC, or engineering tool proficiency, or something like that, you may add proficiency.

[Luccan]

Hold on a minute, Boris, the structure isn't secure Leopard takes a measured look at the girder, the rough math going exceptionally fast by most standards, but rather sloppily for a professional engineering Reploid


Engineering [roll0]

[JNAProductions]

Leopard's keen eye and knowledge allow him to quickly appraise the structure. It's not going to last long-you've got maybe a minute before it comes crashing down. There are some people who'd need to be moved out of the way, and it will almost certainly cause more damage on the way down if nothing is done to it.

[The Outsider]

Rx9 gives a small smile of relief as he sees the person stabilize. "It worked! Excellent." He then hears Shock Leopard call out and quickly looks upward to view the structure in question. "...Less excellent," he mutters, then quickly moves to start relocating those in danger.

[JNAProductions]

There are [roll0] living victims underneath the concrete, none of whom are ambulatory.

[The Outsider]

Upon reaching the victims, Rx9 once again rummages around in his bag, which briefly envelops his entire arm. "No... no... here it is!" He pulls out a large beaker filled to the brim with a charcoal-black liquid, uncaps it, and quickly spreads it in and around the endangered area. "Industrial strength lubricant! Should make things easier, yes?"

I cast Grease centered on the area underneath the girder.

[Hellpyre]

Boris flashes a quick smile to Rx9,

"Thanks for the help. Someday I'll figure out how you keep the kitchen sink you call a bag organized."

Once the area is lubricated, he will move in and start dragging the injured out of the area under the concrete. If someone he grabs is too hurt to be moved safely, he will discretely radiate some energy to revitalize them enough that they stay stable.

[Luccan]

Nice thinking, Rex. Lets get these people out of harm's way and get after that maverick. Leopard hurriedly drags more survivors out of the way of the girder. Once they're clear, he takes out the refitted nail gun from his days as a repairbot and loads it up If we hurry we might catch him.

As long as everyone is clear of the potential falling debris, he takes out his Light Crossbow and makes sure it's loaded. Also, I've settled on Leonard Whitlock for a civilian name.

[The Outsider]

Unsure of what to do with the compliments, Rx9 simply smiles awkwardly and moves to assist his teammates with moving the victims out of danger. Once finished, he hefts his bag and moves to follow Shock Leopard towards the Maverick.

[JNAProductions]

Looking down, it seems the people down below have evacuated the highway. There may be someone you can't see-but your best judgement is that you've cleared the area of innocents.

You start laying chase to the bomber, and mere moments after you start, you hear a mighty CRASH as the concrete hits the ground and begins to tumble while falling to pieces.

Move Speeds, everyone. And any movement related abilities, like dashing twice or whatever.

[Hellpyre]

Boris flicks his eyes back and spends a brief moment thankful that there was enough time to protect the citizens. Then he returns his focus to their objective, starting a full run for the mad bomber.

Movement speed of 30ft., dash as an action to cover 60 ft.

[The Outsider]

Rx9 jumps as the girder comes crashing down behind him. In a moment though, his mind returns to the task at hand. As he matches pace with Boris, he muses about possible ways to take down this Maverick while ensuring that he doesn't hurt anyone else.

I take the Dash action to move 60 feet.
Question: would I or my character know about general traits of reploids? Specifically, are they immune to poison or being poisoned as a general rule?

[JNAProductions]

Rx9 jumps as the girder comes crashing down behind him. In a moment though, his mind returns to the task at hand. As he matches pace with Boris, he muses about possible ways to take down this Maverick while ensuring that he doesn't hurt anyone else.

I take the Dash action to move 60 feet.
Question: would I or my character know about general traits of reploids? Specifically, are they immune to poison or being poisoned as a general rule?

They are not. Fluff it how you please, but Reploids enjoy no special resistance to poisons.

You keep pace with the Maverick, but find yourself drawing no nearer, only stopping him from making the distance greater. He's about 500' away right now, and you'll have to figure something out to catch him.

[Luccan]

Leopard points towards the spiraling ramp He's heading down. If we can time it right, I think we can leap and land in front of him. I can slow our fall so we won't be injured. The spots over his body light up as he begins to charge a magnetic pulse to slightly push them against gravity's pull, as he waits for their moment

If I understand correctly, jumping from the top of the ramp should give us the opportunity to get in front of this guy and cut him off. when we get there, I'm ready to jump and cast Feather Fall at what I can best surmise is the "right moment". Let me know if I need to roll for that.

[JNAProductions]

You wait, lurking in the shadows, and as the Maverick comes below your street, you jump.

Shock Leopard, just before you hit the ground, fires the thrusters and grabs you two, letting you land safely. What the- the Maverick lets out, unprepared for the sudden fight.

He's clad in purple armor, with a shoulder cannon and what looks like a child's unicorn backpack full of explosives.

Roll initiative! But also get a surprise round.

Maverick: [roll0]

[Hellpyre]

1d20+1 well, messed that up. I'll roll it in the OOC

Boris will move in to melee range, drawing his weapon and becoming sheathed in a cold blue glow as he menaces the maverick.

"Stop. Surrender yourself and place yourself at the mercy of the law."

Move to close, cast Armor of Agathys as an action, object interaction to draw weapon.

[JNAProductions]

The response is simple. No.

[The Outsider]

Rx9's mechanical heart leaps into his throat as he jumps, and as the pavement rushes up to meet him he briefly wonders if he would've been better off staying in the lab. Then the thrusters fire, and his mind quickly snaps to attention as he sizes up the Maverick.

Hmm. Excellent time to test the nanoinjectors, he thinks, and as he moves back to a safe distance he pulls a small green vial from his bag and slots it into his arm, taking aim at the Maverick and firing.

Rx9 will ready an action to cast Ray of Sickness on the Maverick if it doesn't comply with Boris's instructions, and move 30 feet away from it in the process. cast Ray of Sickness while moving 30 ft away.
Attack: [roll]1d20+5
Goofed that up. Roll is in the OOC

[Luccan]

Wrong answer! Engaging damage reduction measures a white-blue coolant blasts out of a nozzle that emerges from Shock Leopard's wrist, aimed directly at the shoulder with the cannon


Frostbite, save DC 14. Will give disadvantage on the target's next weapon attack roll. [roll0]

Init: [roll1]

[JNAProductions]

Ack! he lets out as the poison slows his body. Despite the inconvenience, he manages to avoid the coolant blast.

Surprise round over.

Regular combat starting, with all three of you before hime.

8 damage taken.

[The Outsider]

"Excellent! The nanobots are attempting to shut down his system, with good results." He frowns. "Not nearly as efficiently as predicted, however. We'll have to fix that." He smiles, then pulls a small vial from his person and hurls it at the Maverick. Let's see if acid exposure helps zhem do the job."

Rx9 casts Acid Splash at the Maverick.
Save: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1] acid.

[Hellpyre]

Boris swings out at the Maverick, seeking to knock out the mad bomber before he can hurt more innocents.

"Then we'll have to take you in the hard way, I'm afraid!"

[roll0] to hit, and I'll add +10 with my channel divinity for a total of 22.
[roll1] for damage from weapon and adding [roll2] radiant from Divine Smite with a 1st-level slot.

[Luccan]

Leopard pulls up the nail gun and fires off a large spike towards the maverick.


[roll0]

[roll1]

[JNAProductions]

The nail scratches the Maverick's armor, but causes no real harm.

He responds by backing up a pace, and launching out two shots from his shoulder cannon against Rx9.

Anyone adjacent, get an AoO.

Then, two shots at Rx9, with disadvantage from poison.

[roll0]
[roll1] Disadvantage
[roll2]

[roll3]
[roll4] Disadvantage
[roll5]

[Hellpyre]

[roll0] to hit
[roll1] for damage
[roll2] in case of crit

Boris will close the gap once more and try to hold the Maverick in place, shouting

"Get down! Stop trying to hurt people!"

[roll3] Athletics to grapple, against target's choice of an Acrobatics or Athletics roll.

Rolling for him: [roll4], plus whatever mod is best for him there.

As an aside, I can't believe in four attack rolls the guy got a nat 20 and two nat 1's. Swingy fighter if ever I've seen one.

[The Outsider]

Rx9 winces as one of the rockets explodes on top of him, fortunately not doing any major damage. He scowls. "Far too close. We'd best keep him sedated." He pulls out another vial, slots it in, aims, and fires.

One last Ray of Sickness for the Maverick.
Attack: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1] poison
Con save against being poisoned: [roll2]
Personally, I'm just glad that I made him avoid a crit. That would have hurt.

[Luccan]

Gah! Hand to hand it is. Leopard approaches and his hand sparks with electricity as he reaches for the Maverick


[roll0]

[roll1]

[JNAProductions]

20+3 (AoO)+8 (Ray)+5 (Grasp)=36

Boris knows his attempt at grappling the Maverick is a poor one, but your foe is paying more attention to his shoulder cannon, which seems to have nearly jammed. What the- he lets out as you manage to get a grip around him, stopping him from moving.

The additional syringe and the electric touch hamper him more, leaving him pretty well hurt. But he's not out yet, as he reaches into the unicorn backpack and throws a bomb in the center of the melee.

Dex save, everyone! DC 12 to entirely avoid [roll0] damage of fire and bludgeoning.

Boris [roll1]
Leopard [roll2]
Rx9 [roll3]
Maverick [roll4]

[The Outsider]

Thankfully, Rx9 saw the blast coming and was able to dive out of the way. As the smoke clears, he sees that Shock Leopard has been hurt and starts to move to heal him. Then, he catches himself. "No, Rx. Remember what zhey told you. Shut down the source of the damage first, then heal the damage." He reaches into his bag, takes careful aim to ensure that Boris is unharmed, then tries to splash the Maverick with a vial of acid.

Rx9 casts Acid Splash. Dex Save: [roll0]

[Luccan]

Leopard shouts in pain from taking the full blast. His own plating starts smoking and sparking. He grits his teeth and rushes in again with an electrified claw Enough! Surrender now!


I don't know if this came up last round, but if Shocking Grasp hits, it prevents the target from taking reactions until the start of the target's next turn

[roll0]

[roll1]

[Hellpyre]

Boris will take another whack at the Maverick, swinging in hard as he holds the enemy fast.


Attack roll [roll0]
Damage roll [roll1]
Crit damage roll if needed [roll2]

[JNAProductions]

Boris' blow bounces off the Maverick's armor.

The Maverick, meanwhile, tries to wriggle free of Boris' grapple.

[roll0] vs [roll1]

He succeeds at breaking out, and starts to dash down the street.

30' down the road, no Disengaging, so AoO ahoy!

[Luccan]

Shock Leopard twitches in surprise as the Maverick turns and runs, but lashes out with his metallic claws at the last possible second

No melee weapons drawn or Warcaster, so it'll have to be claws!
[roll0]

[roll1]

In case of nat 20
[roll2]


He's runnin'! There is a loud *chthunk* sound as he reloads his nail gun and sends another modified nail-bolt flying towards the Maverick's back


[roll3]

[roll4]

[The Outsider]

"Not enough damage from the nanites or the acid to impair motor functions. Truly, a resilient specimen." He moves to follow the Maverick, slinging another vial of acid as he does. "Or perhaps I simply need to find a way to increase concentration for the dosage size."

Another acid splash for the fine gentleman.
Dex save: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1] acid.

[Hellpyre]

[roll0] to attack
[roll1] for damage
[roll2] for crit damage if needed

As the Maverick sprints away, Boris takes a swing at it's fleeing form. Boris charges to catch up to the Maverick, attempting to bull them over and tackles them to the ground.


Move to get next to then, action to attempt to shove prone.

[roll3] Athletics to shove prone,
contested by a [roll4] + whatever mod is better between Athletics and Acrobatics

[JNAProductions]

The Mavericks goes down from Boris' swing, dropping to the ground knocked out. The bombs roll out of the backpack, but you grab them and stop them activating.

You can see various other Hunters helping the injured and chasing down any other Mavericks.

For yourselves, though? Mission accomplished.

[The Outsider]

Now that the Maverick is down, Rx9 rushes over to Shock Leopard. "You're injured! Here, quickly, drink zhis!" He reaches into his bag and shoves into Leopard's hands a flask filled to the brim with a neon-pink liquid that appears to be glowing. He then starts watching him intently, waiting.

[Hellpyre]

Now that the Maverick is unconscious, Boris scans the skies again looking for what those carriers have been up to while the team apprehended the target.

"Anyone have a way to tie down our friend here before he wakes up?"

[roll0] for Perception.

[Luccan]

Now that the Maverick is down, Rx9 rushes over to Shock Leopard. "You're injured! Here, quickly, drink zhis!" He reaches into his bag and shoves into Leopard's hands a flask filled to the brim with a neon-pink liquid that appears to be glowing. He then starts watching him intently, waiting.

Leopard eyes the flask for a moment, then Rx9, before shrugging and downing the mixture. He grimaces I'd work on the taste. He glances over to Boris and holds up his mission pack I have some rope. Don't really need all of it since I can slow our fall if we want to scale down anything.

[The Outsider]

Leopard regains [roll0] HP.

Rx9 lets out a small sigh and relaxes slightly as he sees Leopard begin to heal. "Oh good, it worked." his eyes wander over to the now unconscious Maverick as his comrades begin to tie him up. "...What made him do it, do you think? He had a purpose, I'm sure. So why...?" He trails off.

[JNAProductions]

The carriers are being targeted by Hunter defenses, and the superstructure is being secured. Alia lights up your comms. "I see you got the Maverick that started it. We can't teleport him, so head back to a higher spot and wait for one of our carriers to get you. Good job, team."

You follow the instructions, heading back up the superstructure. Looking at the havoc being caused, you cringe-but the Hunters are handling it. You don't know how many people have been hurt, or even killed, but it could've been so much worse. About ten minutes pass, during which you take some of the Maverick-Capture gear you have and slap it on the purple one's limbs. A carrier-a friendly one-drops down from the sky, and you file in.

As you lift off, the Maverick starts to wake up. Urgh... he lets out, before a small stream of cusses.

[Luccan]

Leopard regains [roll0] HP.

Rx9 lets out a small sigh and relaxes slightly as he sees Leopard begin to heal. "Oh good, it worked." his eyes wander over to the now unconscious Maverick as his comrades begin to tie him up. "...What made him do it, do you think? He had a purpose, I'm sure. So why...?" He trails off.

Leopard finishes binding the Maverick and shrugs Why do Mavericks do anything like this? If you can answer that you'll know something about Reploids even Dr. Cain can't answer


The carriers are being targeted by Hunter defenses, and the superstructure is being secured. Alia lights up your comms. "I see you got the Maverick that started it. We can't teleport him, so head back to a higher spot and wait for one of our carriers to get you. Good job, team."

You follow the instructions, heading back up the superstructure. Looking at the havoc being caused, you cringe-but the Hunters are handling it. You don't know how many people have been hurt, or even killed, but it could've been so much worse. About ten minutes pass, during which you take some of the Maverick-Capture gear you have and slap it on the purple one's limbs. A carrier-a friendly one-drops down from the sky, and you file in.

As you lift off, the Maverick starts to wake up. Urgh... he lets out, before a small stream of cusses.

Leopard gives the Maverick a smug smileThat's not very nice

[JNAProductions]

You hear a quiet chuckle from the pilot at your remark.

The Maverick doesn't seem to notice, busy testing his restraints for any way out.

[The Outsider]

"Goodness, what a specimen. Nanites, industrial cooling agent, and outright brute force, and he still has so much energy." Rx9's eyes narrow slightly in thought as he looks at the Maverick. "Though I'm sure I could stop said energy if I put my mind to it. And without killing him, even!" A slightly unhealthy look enters his eyes as he scans the trussed-up prisoner. "With enough stress to the joints, perhaps...especially with the addition of a caustic agent. Hmm..."

[Hellpyre]

"Careful, we're supposed to be the good guys. Give him an example of proper behavior."

Boris cracks a slight smile as he says this, then continues,

"So make sure to work out how to put him back together before you get to work on breaking him"

[The Outsider]

Rx9 shakes his head and startles slightly, as if just now realizing that he was speaking aloud. "O-oh, yes, of course. I, erm... I wouldn't... that is..." He awkwardly trails off and shifts his gaze to the window. "He's still a person, after all, despite his crimes."

[JNAProductions]

The Maverick resigns himself to being captured, after a good four minutes of attempting to wriggle free.

He stays quiet on the trip back.

Am a bit busy at the moment, so if I don't get a better post up in a day or two, poke me in the OOC.

[JNAProductions]

It's smooth flying, back to Hunter HQ. The Maverick is marched towards the basement, where a holding cell is ready. Alia is there to greet you, on the upper levels. "Good job, Hunters-you might not have gotten much info, but you certainly saved a lot of lives. Let us know anything you didn't want to report from the field, and then get some R&R. I don't think you'll be getting much of that for the near future."

Before you even finish turning around, notifications begin to pop up on Alia's screen. She goes white. "Three-five-eight Mavericks. Hunters-former Hunters. Oh... Oh crap, this is bad. Stay here-let me get more info..."

Names begin to flash onto the screen, followed by spools of text, too fast for anyone with less augments than Alia to read. But the names stay above the reports, long enough for you to read.

A powerful Hunter, if not a well-liked one.
The kind of boss Hunter everyone respected and liked.
A bully, but an effective Hunter.
Dumb as a brick, but loyal to a fault.
Obedient, humble, and a hard worker.
Snooty and cold, but one of the best undersea Hunters.
Okay, this one you saw coming-he always had a sadistic streak a mile wide.
Cunning and vicious.

[Luccan]

Leopard stares at the screens in shock How? So many of our own... he'd been thinking of relaxing, but as he realizes the state of things, he checks his gear again to be ready for another mission. He looks to the others This looks bad. I think we should be ready to go

[The Outsider]

"Zhat is... It can't... I thought zhat going Maverick was a rare occurrence, something horrible but mercifully uncommon. How could so many fall in such a short time, former Hunters no less?" Rx9 stares in shock as the names fly across the screen. "It makes no sense..." He shakes himself out of his shock. "But you're right, we should be ready. Though until I have time to rest and recharge I'm afraid my usefulness will be much diminished."

[Hellpyre]

"I don't...why would...what happened here? This has to be more than chance, but some of those Hunters, er, Mavericks I would have never expected to turn against the good fight."

Boris looks at Alia with a worried frown,

"There has to be something connecting them all. Some...reason for all this, all at once. Storm Eagle would never have gone along with a revolution, right? Someone must be blackmailing...or something..."

Boris trails off. He knows reploids going Maverick is an unpredictable affair, but he's worried that so many being affected at once means someone has caused this deliberately. And if anyone would have whatever vulnerabilities led to this, it would be older, more experimental designs. He worries that he might be next.

[JNAProductions]

"We don't know," she responds. "We'll investigate-but right now, we need to focus on damage control. I'm sending you the basic info on all of them," she continues as her hands fly across the keyboard, "and you need to figure out how you're going to handle this."

Eight Mavericks. Eight choices on where to go, who to fight, and what to do.

You can get more info in the OOC thread, just be specific with what you want to know.

[Luccan]

After reviewing the information, Leopard addresses his allies If Boomer Kuwanger is taking hostages, that should be our first target. What do we know about this jerk's tactics and weapons?

[JNAProductions]

Alia reports "He's capable of teleporting short ranges, pretty much at-will. He has his detachable horns, and he's an expert at moving others around the battlefield. His current location, as best we can tell, is a tower in Metindle. We can get you to the base of the tower, but if you go in soon, we won't know what'll be waiting for you."

[Hellpyre]

"I hate to go in blind, but those people he's grabbed can't afford to have us wait any longer than we have to."

Boris looks at his companions uneasily, and says "On the other hand, I don't know how well we can help out in our current state. I think I can just barely make it through now if he hasn't had time to rig booby traps for us, but it might be better to get some rest while Alia looks for some information for us."

[JNAProductions]

"Understood," Alia nods. "Get some rest-I'll get as much info as I can. Make whatever equipment requests you need before you rest, though."

200 GP limit per person on gear to be requistioned.

It will not roll over, so get whatever you need.

Then... Long Rest, and on to Boomer Kuwanger?

[Luccan]

Having taken the time to recuperate and prepare his equipment (feeling he ultimately needed little, given his own abilities), Shock Leopard takes some time to meet with other hunters in the base and encourage them despite the grim situation. He was confident the team could take care of Boomer Kuwanger without harm coming to any hostages. The bug wouldn't know what hit him. When it is time, Leopard heads to the briefing.

[The Outsider]

"Let's see... Erm... What else will I need..."
Rx9 had been at the requisitions desk for over an hour, agonizing over what he might need to take on Kuwanger. He'd already tested the limits of both the inventory held by the agency and the patience held by the clerk fetching his items, as he requested anything and everything that came to mind. No matter how much he grabbed, though, he felt like he was missing something. Actually, come to think of it, he really felt like he was missing something...
"Ze briefing!" He checked the time, and found that he had less than two minutes to get there. Frantically, he shoved what he'd already requisitioned into his bag, the contents vanishing impossibly before the clerk's eyes, before taking off down the corridor. "Dang it, Rx9, why do you always do zhis..."