[Masks] San Fransapporo: After Dark

[Captain Jak]

Ronin
Conditions: Angry, Damaged, Guilty, Insecure
Potential: 4/5
Gadget: 1

Spoiler: Labels

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• Freak: +0
• Danger: +1
• Savior: +2
• Superior: +1
• Mundane: -1

Spoiler: Moves

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• [X] I'll Show Them: When you defend someone who doesn’t believe in you, you can always take Influence over them, even on a miss.
• [X]All The Best Stuff: You’ve compiled access to caches of equipment and weaponry other supers have hidden in the city. When you access a cache, say whose cache it is. If it’s a hero’s, roll + Savior. If it’s a villain’s, roll + Danger. On a hit, you find a tool or intel useful to your situation; the GM will detail. On a 7-9, you leave evidence that you’ve been here. On a miss, you tripped an alarm and they’re coming; prepare to explain yourself.
• [X]White lies: When you comfort or support someone by telling them lies they want to hear, roll + Savior instead of + Mundane. On any hit, if they open up to you, take Influence over them.
• [X] Always Prepared: When you have a chance to restock your supplies, hold up to 2-gadgets. When you unleash your powers by producing a brand new minor invention or gadget from your supply, spend 1-gadget and roll + Superior. When you reach 0-gadgets, mark a condition.
• [X] Damage: You get an additional condition called Damaged. While marked, take +1 to take a powerful blow. To clear the Damaged condition, you need time, external help, or special equipment or abilities.

Tumbling uncontrollably in the mad rush of water, unable to tell up from down for a long, long moment, Ronin is saved from that uncertainty when she sinks far enough to begin being bounced along the ground as the withdrawing waters drag her in their wake. Her armour is far from sufficiently buoyant to remain above the water’s surface, and while her EM drive is a marvel of reactionless flight technology, it doesn’t have the same effect on the far denser fluid she’s currently immersed in. Her sword is lost, effortlessly disarmed, Chisei seems to be somehow offline, she had no idea where she is or what just happened, her suit is damaged and she’s pretty sure she can feel the beginning of something damp on her left shoulder, and her emotions are all a-roil.

Despite her best efforts, she is beginning to suspect she might not be as on top of things as she’d like to believe.

Cursing, being battered about mercilessly despite the suit’s kinetic shielding blunting the worst of the impacts, and desperately worried over her best friend’s silence, she tries to re-jig the EM drive to get enough purchase on the water to first stabilize her, and hopefully get her to the surface.

Spoiler: CRUNCH

Show

Marking Insecure. Rolling Unleash to try to extract herself from the floodwaters: 9. Effect unstable or temporary.

[DreadPirateH]

Hikari
Conditions: Angry, Hopeless
Potential: 8/5

Spoiler: Labels

Show

• Freak: +1
• Danger: +3
• Savior: -2
• Superior: +2
• Mundane: -1

Spoiler: Moves

Show

• [X] Devil or Angel on My Shoulder: When you provoke a teammate to violent action or drastic measures as your Hero Persona, roll with your Alias Label. When you discourage a teammate from going overboard or making an action they can’t take back as your Alias Persona, roll + your Hero Label.
• [X]Save the Light: When you step in to intervene, help a civilian, or stop a threat roll + your Hero label. On a miss, you’re made to look the fool. Mark a Condition and give ground. On a hit, you’ve got someone’s attention. Use it as an opportunity or provoke them to action. On a 10+ your foe must respond in kind or flee.
• [X]Captain: When you enter battle as a team, add an extra Team to the pool and carry +1 forward if you are the leader.
• [X]Been Reading the Files: You’ve learned about the superhuman world through your mentor’s resources. When you first encounter an important superpowered phenomenon (your call), roll + Superior. On a hit, tell the team one important detail you’ve learned from your studies. The GM will tell you what, if anything, seems different from what you remember. On a 10+, ask the GM a follow-up question; they will answer it honestly. On a miss, the situation is well outside your base of knowledge; the GM will tell you why.

A sequence of panels shows the flooded entryway, followed by shots of Hikari being bodily slammed into the floor, the walls, and seemingly every conceivable obstacle or piece of debris as the current drags her toward the ocean. Blood flows from her smashed face and multiple lacerations, mixing in the turbulent water. Suddenly her progress is arrested as the trailing tail of the scarf wrapped around her waist catches on a piece of exposed rebar, but Hikari's frantic thrashing finds no purchase in the water rushing past her. Still images of Hikari's face fighting desperation are interspersed with panels of a lone cherry tree on a hill against sunset, losing more and more blossoms each time. Hikari's widen in fear as she can no longer suppress the urge to breathe, releasing one last trail of bubbles. Each bubble is filled with a scene from the past - Jin pulling her from the car wreck that killed her parents; Hikari issuing battle orders to A Banditry in a jungle; arguing with Miho in the rain; Hikari pleading on her knees as Jin casts her out from the Weather Report; kicking Polaris out of the helicopter. The final bubble contains the cherry tree, now completely bare.

Hikari's body hangs limply in the water, held in place by her scarf. When the water finally recedes, her waterlogged corpse lies unceremoniously deposited among the debris of the wrecked lobby. One last panel shows Chidori and Honoo resting on the ocean floor, as good as lost forever.

Spoiler: OOC

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Marking Hopeless, per GM instruction. Because apparently you can't just mark Deceased.

[The_Specialist]

Tsunami
Conditions: Angry, Insecure
Potential: 5/5
Gadget: 0
Hold: 1

Spoiler: Labels

Show

• Freak: +1
• Danger: -1
• Savior: +2
• Superior: +3
• Mundane: -2

Spoiler: Moves

Show

• [X] Fireside Chat: When you seek advice from your mentor, roll + the Label they embody. On a hit they will tell you what to do. On a 10+, mark potential if you follow their advice, and take +1 ongoing to follow through. On a 7-9, you get +1 forward to see it through if you do it their way. On a miss, they don’t have time for you because something big has gone down; mark a condition, GM’s choice.
• [X]Be Mindful of Your Surroundings: When you assess the situation before entering into a fight, you may ask one additional question, even on a miss.
• [X]Venting Frustration: When you directly engage while you are Angry, you can roll + the label your mentor denies (Mundane) and clear Angry.
• [X]Before We Get Started: When you take the time to closely observe your opposition before a battle, roll + Savior. On a 10+, hold 3. On a 7-9, hold 2. On a miss, hold 1 and mark a condition. During battle, you can spend your hold 1 for 1 to name a character you observed and...:
  
  • ...redirect their attack to another character or nowhere—into a wall or the sky.
  • ...cross a distance between them and you.
  • ...disarm them.
  • ...ignore all harm to yourself from one of their attacks.
  • ...escape any bindings or restrictions they attempt to place on you.

The flames and percussive shock of Maia’s fists abate, and where the Constellation consumed his vision before, what remains is blurred by a brief but brilliant flash of familiar golden light. Sunburst coming to his rescue once again? Why would anyone question if she is a hero? But it isn’t her voice he hears before the beating abruptly relents, it is one equally familiar but unexpected roaring with rage.

The water lifts his body from the unfinished grave Maia was attempting to build with it, though at first his senses remain clouded and turbulent as the surge. He doesn’t see as Sunburst tries to reach for him, though if he could have, he would have told her she made the right call saving Lyra, and not just out of a guilty conscience. As much as he detested the Constellation, his morals say it’s a good call. The right one.

Tumbling in the receding wave, he finally gets enough of his senses knocked back into him to comprehend enough of the situation to act. The swell of water explodes around Tsunami, the young man launched to the surface. He doesn’t quite ‘fly’ nor does he ‘walk’ either, instead half surfing, skidding, stumbling across the surface of the rolling water as he coughs and sputters and regains some kind of relationship with oxygen and direction.

It’s so much... So much more water than he can immediately fathom. Was this the storm? Was this him?

“Sunburst?!” He calls out fearfully against the storm as he pushes himself into the air with a quickly wilting burst of steam, although he catches the gleam of gold in the distance quickly enough, further away than he expected. His heart skips a beat a second time when he no longer sees the others.

“Xiua!!” Max shouts wildly, his eyes rapidly skimming the dark and roiling surface as it pulls further back out towards the sea. “Xiua!!!” It’s equally as fearful as it is a confirmation of anxious hope when he catches a sign of a more unnatural commotion in the water. With a more energized burst of vapor, Tsunami plunges back into the water, jetting towards the redhead and reaching out to try and get a solid hold before he launches back for the surface.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Rolled 8 for Defend in Max’s effort to rescue Tumult, so going to choose to take Influence over Tumult, and Escalate the situation.

[Razade]

Pool: 3

The waves crashed, the very panels holding woodblock style wave patters for several pages as the Team and their enemies are tossed about, pulled down into the dark currents and spit back out onto the shores of Bear Island there under bruised skies streaked by lightning. Wave after wave tossed and turned the team, pushing them back to shore before dragging them back out into the murk only to slam them back again. When it all seemed as if the constant motion of the waves would not abate, with one final crash the team was deposited at least outside the reach of the drink.

The waves still raged even after the worst subsided, Ronin on the edge and liable to be sucked back down into the drink, Hikari motionless on the flat pavement , Sunburst and Tsunami revealed to have come away from the waves with their prize. Lyra and Tumult seem barely conscious, hacking up ocean water, limp and wrung out. No longer threats. Koto and her remaining men seem to have been washed away, lost in the dark waters beyond HexXxen's lights.

The team however is not so lucky as to have all their enemies gone however. With one final wave Maia surges onto the shore in steaming, sizzling water, panting and heaving vapor as a cherry red glow seems to grow ever brighter in her chest and black lines crawl from her eyes and mouth out along her flesh. Her eyes themselves have gone completely black, twin voids of fury and rage as they fall upon Tsunami. They often use the saying "if looks could kill" as a pithy statement over someone's barely withheld contempt but in this case it's quite literal as flaming beams of light launch from Maia's eyes towards the drenched hero.

Spoiler: OOC

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Tsunami, roll to take a powerful blow.

[Comissar]

Sunburst
Conditions: Guilty, Insecure
Potential: 5/5

Spoiler: Labels

Show

• Danger: -1
• Freak: +2
• Savior: +3
• Superior: +0
• Mundane: -1

Spoiler: Burn and Flares

Show

Held Burn

0

Shielding

You call up a fast protective field to stop a danger. Spend 1 burn to defend someone else from an immediate threat, rolling +Freak instead of +Saviour.

Moat

Spend 1 burn to create a barrier that will hold back threats as long as you keep your attention on it. The GM may call for you to spend another burn if the barrier is threatened by particularly powerful enemies.

Reality Storm

You channel a destructive burst with your powers. Spend 1 burn to directly engage a threat using your powers, rolling +Freak instead of +Danger. If you do, you will cause unwanted collateral damage unless you spend another burn.

Snatch

Spend 1 burn to use your powers to seize any one object up to the size of a person from someone within view.

Moves

Wish I could be - When you comfort or support someone, if you tell them what you most envy about them, you can roll +Freak instead of +Mundane.

Unstoppable - When you smash your way through scenery to get to or get away from something, roll +Danger. On a hit, the world breaks before you, and you get what you want. On a 7-9, choose one: mark a condition, leave something behind, or take something with you. On a miss, you smash through, but leave devestation in your wake or wind up somewhere worse, GM's choice.

Sunburst releases her barrier as the tide looks like it's finally ebbing away, the young hero spilling out onto the courtyard along with the bedraggled Constellation she'd saved. As the last of the water drains out, she rises to her knees, coughing to clear her lungs. As she pushes herself to her feet, she manages to take in the fact that her entire team were here now, albeit they all looked like they needed a moment or two longer to recover from the waters receding than she did. Sunburst doesn't have more than a moment to process the simple presence of her team, though, as Maia emerges from the final wave, the rising steam from the murderous Constellation serving to amplify the sense of threat and scale she gave off.

Maia's intent couldn't be clearer, and that at least made Sunburst's decision making painfully simple. When the attack came, though, it was faster than she could react to. She'd just have to trust that her teammate was ok, though. It was clear that Maia was too dangerous for her to turn her back on, that had to take priority.

Teeth gritted, Sunburst squares up to Maia once her assault finished, the panels framing her with her solidly in between the Constellation and the rest of the bedraggled metahumans in the courtyard. "Ua lava lea!^* If you must fight then fight me!"

Sunburst's remaining light gathers in her fists and, taking a step, throws her hands forward as her power erupts toward Maia.

Spoiler: Translator's Note

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*"That's enough!"

Spoiler: OoC

Show

Sunburst is gonna be spending her last point of Burn to use Reality Storm against Maia, getting a 9 on Discord.

I'll be choosing to impress/frighten/surprise Maia.

[Captain Jak]

Ronin
Conditions: Angry, Damaged, Guilty, Insecure, Hopeless
Potential: 5/5
Gadget: 0

Spoiler: Labels

Show

• Freak: +0
• Danger: +1
• Savior: +2
• Superior: +1
• Mundane: -1

Spoiler: Moves

Show

• [X] I'll Show Them: When you defend someone who doesn’t believe in you, you can always take Influence over them, even on a miss.
• [X]All The Best Stuff: You’ve compiled access to caches of equipment and weaponry other supers have hidden in the city. When you access a cache, say whose cache it is. If it’s a hero’s, roll + Savior. If it’s a villain’s, roll + Danger. On a hit, you find a tool or intel useful to your situation; the GM will detail. On a 7-9, you leave evidence that you’ve been here. On a miss, you tripped an alarm and they’re coming; prepare to explain yourself.
• [X]White lies: When you comfort or support someone by telling them lies they want to hear, roll + Savior instead of + Mundane. On any hit, if they open up to you, take Influence over them.
• [X] Always Prepared: When you have a chance to restock your supplies, hold up to 2-gadgets. When you unleash your powers by producing a brand new minor invention or gadget from your supply, spend 1-gadget and roll + Superior. When you reach 0-gadgets, mark a condition.
• [X] Damage: You get an additional condition called Damaged. While marked, take +1 to take a powerful blow. To clear the Damaged condition, you need time, external help, or special equipment or abilities.

Ronin digs her armoured hands into the ground, water lapping at her insensate legs, just desperately hanging on for a moment to try and avoid being sucked out into the bay again. She’s cold, battered, damaged, and more alone than she should be...but the fight isn’t done yet. Before she can hope to react, the remaining Constellation lashes out at Tsunami with some sort of fire gaze, and she knows she has to do something fast to help out.

With a cry she coaxes another gasp of effect from the EMDrive, sending her skittering across the plaza to crash into Maia’s back as Sunburst unleashes her own attack, jarring the woman and preventing her from reacting properly to the attack.

And in their moment of contact, Ronin pulls a device she has been working on from where it is clamped onto her armour, thankfully not washed away in the wild waters, and slams it onto Maia’s back, activating the energy bond capture system she’s been experimenting with. This had better work.

It has to work.

It has to, because she’s out of tricks and if this doesn’t work, she’s not sure if she’ll be able to be of any more use in this fight….

Spoiler: CRUNCH

Show

Spending 1 Team to boost Sunburst’s roll to a 10.
Always Prepared: Unleashing a capture gadget. Gadget pool reduced to 0, marking Hopeless
Unleash roll on Discord: 5
Marking Potential

[DreadPirateH]

Silk
Conditions: Angry, Hopeless
Potential: 8/5

Spoiler: Labels

Show

• Freak: +1
• Danger: +3
• Savior: -2
• Superior: +2
• Mundane: -1

Spoiler: Moves

Show

• [X] Devil or Angel on My Shoulder: When you provoke a teammate to violent action or drastic measures as your Hero Persona, roll with your Alias Label. When you discourage a teammate from going overboard or making an action they can’t take back as your Alias Persona, roll + your Hero Label.
• [X]Save the Light: When you step in to intervene, help a civilian, or stop a threat roll + your Hero label. On a miss, you’re made to look the fool. Mark a Condition and give ground. On a hit, you’ve got someone’s attention. Use it as an opportunity or provoke them to action. On a 10+ your foe must respond in kind or flee.
• [X]Captain: When you enter battle as a team, add an extra Team to the pool and carry +1 forward if you are the leader.
• [X]Been Reading the Files: You’ve learned about the superhuman world through your mentor’s resources. When you first encounter an important superpowered phenomenon (your call), roll + Superior. On a hit, tell the team one important detail you’ve learned from your studies. The GM will tell you what, if anything, seems different from what you remember. On a 10+, ask the GM a follow-up question; they will answer it honestly. On a miss, the situation is well outside your base of knowledge; the GM will tell you why.

While the others continue their fight against Maia, a sequence of panels show Silk's body lying motionless but her shadow rising to stand. Finally, with hacking coughs, Silk chokes up the water from her lungs. Slowly, she stands to her feet and body and shadow match once more. Her drenched hair is plastered to her head but the red scarf tied around her waist flutters in the wind. With a calculating eye, she surveys the scene, taking it all in. The Yojimbo fighting desperately, Maia steaming and glowing as if she were a woman on fire. One singular thought crowds out all others in her mind.

It's time to end this.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Rolled a 10 to assess the situation. Asking what here is most vulnerable to me and what can I use to end this quickly? Taking a +1 while acting on the answer.

[The_Specialist]

Tsunami
Conditions: Angry, Insecure
Potential: 6/5
Gadget: 0
Hold: 1

Spoiler: Labels

Show

• Freak: +1
• Danger: -1
• Savior: +2
• Superior: +3
• Mundane: -2

Spoiler: Moves

Show

• [X] Fireside Chat: When you seek advice from your mentor, roll + the Label they embody. On a hit they will tell you what to do. On a 10+, mark potential if you follow their advice, and take +1 ongoing to follow through. On a 7-9, you get +1 forward to see it through if you do it their way. On a miss, they don’t have time for you because something big has gone down; mark a condition, GM’s choice.
• [X]Be Mindful of Your Surroundings: When you assess the situation before entering into a fight, you may ask one additional question, even on a miss.
• [X]Venting Frustration: When you directly engage while you are Angry, you can roll + the label your mentor denies (Mundane) and clear Angry.
• [X]Before We Get Started: When you take the time to closely observe your opposition before a battle, roll + Savior. On a 10+, hold 3. On a 7-9, hold 2. On a miss, hold 1 and mark a condition. During battle, you can spend your hold 1 for 1 to name a character you observed and...:
  
  • ...redirect their attack to another character or nowhere—into a wall or the sky.
  • ...cross a distance between them and you.
  • ...disarm them.
  • ...ignore all harm to yourself from one of their attacks.
  • ...escape any bindings or restrictions they attempt to place on you.

Tsunami had barely had time to settle or recover, gingerly setting Tumult down but unable to fully look over him before feeling a prickling along the back of his neck as Maia focuses on him with killing intent. Looking up, he catches her gaze briefly enough to confirm he’s obviously her target. With little time to react, his eyes dart around the immediate area. Grabbing a slab of twisted metal debris, he is able to put it between them and the fiery onslaught just as she unleashes it. Gritting his teeth, he pulls in the remaining water surrounding him, where it starts to fountain against the backside of the makeshift shield to stop it from heating too quickly before Max can wedge it into the cracked tarmac.

Once the improvised shield has become an equally crude barricade now wedged in the ground, Max grabs Tumult again, pulling the other young man over and working him into a sitting position with his back against the shield. Much of Max's outer armour has come undone at this point, so he shucks his jacket as well, quickly draping the latter over the waterlogged redhead. Still no time to talk.

As he stands to find his team mates taking on and distracting Maia, a flutter of red catches his eye and he spies... Hikari. Obviously, it is Hikari. But at the same time, that feels wrong, unfamiliar. And there’s the scarf. Everything about her presence feels at odds with what he knows of her. But then again, he did disobey her orders. He has no idea how she's taken that. He endangered the team, and escalated the situation further still. But it isn’t over yet.

Given that... Hikari... hasn’t made a move to rip him open, he turns away from her for now, and back to the problem at hand. Who knows where the kanabō is now, thankfully there’s still plenty water on the ground. Marching forward toward the fight, he bends down further on one step, hands slapping the wet turf. As he rises, new implements do as well, the rippling shapes appearing something like a shield and lance of water. The ‘shield’ he keeps, the ‘spear’ however he hurls ahead, to meet Maia in the middle of Suburst’s blast.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Rolled 6 for Take a Powerful Blow. Huzzah! Rolled a 11 for Direct Engage. Double Huzzah! Choosing the resist/avoid blows, and create an opportunity for allies.

[Razade]

Pool: 2


Maia, Team: A Mess

Like the wave, everything seems to happen all at once and in the flurry of action Hikari sees it all play out. Maia, alone, is on her last leg like the rest of you and while her powers might be daunting and suddenly stronger than before she's on a ticking clock as the cherry red glow at her center starts to spread further and further. None of the other enemies, and there were quite a number of them, have returned from the waves. The two saved are clearly unconscious but there's no time to take stock of them.

Ronin's gambit fails as the device melts on contact with the Constellation. Whatever it was going to do, simply doesn't happen as wires spark and pop and the device just explodes. The heat itself causes a backdraft around Maia strong enough to send the armored hero flying, Ronin being tossed far off down the road as rain and debris fly about the teen villain. None of that seems to slow the blast of light and water that comes her way however, sending Maia reeling. Not something she expected as the combo hits her in full and she goes bouncing along with Ronin albeit not for long. Black tendrils launch from her open wounds, wrapping about lightpoles and righting the villain as her wounds start to knit shut with the same inky tattoos you're all familiar from Impact and Iron Devil.

"This isn't over..." she howls, her voice growing distorted, flickering and popping like a wet log on a bonfire. Her veins glow more with her inner heat, the glow at her center now an inferno that laps the air with flame. Black streaks run through the blaze, slowly robbing it of its light but doing nothing to its heat or intensity. "Even...even if you beat me, we'll be back." she screams, tucking in herself to focus one, seemingly, final blast to take all of you with her.

Spoiler: Ronin

Show

Mark a Condition

[Comissar]

Sunburst
Conditions: Guilty, Insecure, Angry
Potential: 5/5

Spoiler: Labels

Show

• Danger: -1
• Freak: +2
• Savior: +3
• Superior: +0
• Mundane: -1

Spoiler: Burn and Flares

Show

Held Burn

1

Shielding

You call up a fast protective field to stop a danger. Spend 1 burn to defend someone else from an immediate threat, rolling +Freak instead of +Saviour.

Moat

Spend 1 burn to create a barrier that will hold back threats as long as you keep your attention on it. The GM may call for you to spend another burn if the barrier is threatened by particularly powerful enemies.

Reality Storm

You channel a destructive burst with your powers. Spend 1 burn to directly engage a threat using your powers, rolling +Freak instead of +Danger. If you do, you will cause unwanted collateral damage unless you spend another burn.

Snatch

Spend 1 burn to use your powers to seize any one object up to the size of a person from someone within view.

Moves

Wish I could be - When you comfort or support someone, if you tell them what you most envy about them, you can roll +Freak instead of +Mundane.

Unstoppable - When you smash your way through scenery to get to or get away from something, roll +Danger. On a hit, the world breaks before you, and you get what you want. On a 7-9, choose one: mark a condition, leave something behind, or take something with you. On a miss, you smash through, but leave devestation in your wake or wind up somewhere worse, GM's choice.

Lanuola was at her breaking point. Maia had come at them from nowhere, for no reason, and when she was beaten she didn't even have the decency to stop and surrender. Raw anger bubbled up in her chest, steam rising from her as she began to glow white-hot once again. Fists balled, she screams out "Aisea e te le nofo ai i lalo?"^*

She doesn't wait for a response, Maia had made it abundantly clear that there was nothing to be said, and Sunburst was long past the point of patience. Throwing punch after punch, Sunburst looses a salvo of blasts aimed squarely at the constellation.

Spoiler: OoC

Show

Rolled a 9 to generate Burn, marking Angry and holding 3 Burn, followed by a 7 to Reality Storm, spending 2 of that 3 Burn to avoid collateral.

Sunburst is creating an opportunity for her allies with this attack.

Spoiler: Translator's Note

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* "Why won't you stay down?"

[Captain Jak]

Ronin
Conditions: Angry, Damaged, Guilty, Insecure, Hopeless, Afraid
Potential: 1/5
Gadget: 0

Spoiler: Labels

Show

• Freak: +0
• Danger: +1
• Savior: +2
• Superior: +1
• Mundane: -1

Spoiler: Moves

Show

• [X] I'll Show Them: When you defend someone who doesn’t believe in you, you can always take Influence over them, even on a miss.
• [X]All The Best Stuff: You’ve compiled access to caches of equipment and weaponry other supers have hidden in the city. When you access a cache, say whose cache it is. If it’s a hero’s, roll + Savior. If it’s a villain’s, roll + Danger. On a hit, you find a tool or intel useful to your situation; the GM will detail. On a 7-9, you leave evidence that you’ve been here. On a miss, you tripped an alarm and they’re coming; prepare to explain yourself.
• [X]White lies: When you comfort or support someone by telling them lies they want to hear, roll + Savior instead of + Mundane. On any hit, if they open up to you, take Influence over them.
• [X] Always Prepared: When you have a chance to restock your supplies, hold up to 2-gadgets. When you unleash your powers by producing a brand new minor invention or gadget from your supply, spend 1-gadget and roll + Superior. When you reach 0-gadgets, mark a condition.
• [X] Damage: You get an additional condition called Damaged. While marked, take +1 to take a powerful blow. To clear the Damaged condition, you need time, external help, or special equipment or abilities.
• [X] Aim for the Moon, Land Among the Stars: When a plan you devise fails and you try to correct your mistake, roll + Superior. On a miss there’s no salvaging the situation, expect harsh retribution or one of your teammates has been placed in the line of fire, GM’s choice. On a hit you’ve pulled an iron out of the fire, gain an Opportunity. On a 10+, add a Team to the Pool.

For a long moment Ronin isn’t even aware she’s come to rest, until awareness of her surroundings comes flooding back in. Icy fear grips her as she realises that she’s out of options; nothing that she’s attempted has made a dent, half her systems are damaged or offline, she has no idea what has happened to Chisei, and from what she can make out through a cracked display the Constellation is about to go nuclear.

Gasping – she’s gasping, not sobbing, she doesn’t cry, it’s the damaged helmet display that’s giving a blurred view – she hauls herself to her feet, even if she can’t feel them. As Sunburst’s barrage holds their opponent’s attention she staggers forward, the only one close enough to do anything that might, finally matter.

Throwing her arm about the glowing Constellation, she ignores the heat and energy building up under her nose.

”I’m...sorry,” she tells her teammates, unsure if they will be able to hear her or not; but she has to say the words regardless. She owes them that much.

And hopefully, this will make up for all of her mistakes, the least of which was bringing everyone here to this disastrous encounter. She is so angry with herself, so guilty over what she has done, she has no other options left to her. This, she deserves.


”Sigma. Epsilon. Omega.” The command processes through the dumb operating system, and is accepted. Ronin closes her eyes as the suit’s power source catalyzes, cascades…and catastrophically fails.

Spoiler: CRUNCH

Show

Marking Afraid as per GM.
Directly Engaging Maia: 1
Marking Potential

[DreadPirateH]

Silk
Conditions: Angry, Hopeless
Potential: 8/5

Spoiler: Labels

Show

• Freak: +1
• Danger: +3
• Savior: -2
• Superior: +2
• Mundane: -1

Spoiler: Moves

Show

• [X] Devil or Angel on My Shoulder: When you provoke a teammate to violent action or drastic measures as your Hero Persona, roll with your Alias Label. When you discourage a teammate from going overboard or making an action they can’t take back as your Alias Persona, roll + your Hero Label.
• [X]Save the Light: When you step in to intervene, help a civilian, or stop a threat roll + your Hero label. On a miss, you’re made to look the fool. Mark a Condition and give ground. On a hit, you’ve got someone’s attention. Use it as an opportunity or provoke them to action. On a 10+ your foe must respond in kind or flee.
• [X]Captain: When you enter battle as a team, add an extra Team to the pool and carry +1 forward if you are the leader.
• [X]Been Reading the Files: You’ve learned about the superhuman world through your mentor’s resources. When you first encounter an important superpowered phenomenon (your call), roll + Superior. On a hit, tell the team one important detail you’ve learned from your studies. The GM will tell you what, if anything, seems different from what you remember. On a 10+, ask the GM a follow-up question; they will answer it honestly. On a miss, the situation is well outside your base of knowledge; the GM will tell you why.

The gadgets, the water spears, the punches of light - they don't work. They can't, they're the right solutions to the wrong problem. Attacking Maia's body can't stop the runaway reaction, won't prevent her impending detonation. Not even Ronin's kamikaze attack can end it. It was too late for Maia, her fate was sealed. As for the rest of them...

Let there be Silk.

Unwinding the red scarf from around her waist, Silk wraps one end around each hand like a long red garrote. Then, crossing her arms across her chest like a vampire in a coffin, she falls backwards with her back arched. As her head touches her shadow below her, she falls right through. The panels show her falling upside down through the black, tumbling toward Maia. She emerges at the other end, behind Maia somersaulting over her as gravity reasserts itself, catching the trailing length of scarf around the burning girl's neck. She swings around, propelled by momentum, and lands on solid ground back behind Maia. Yanking the ends of the scarf - hard - she wrenches the wayward Constellation over her shoulder, swinging her into and through an ink-dark shadow on the ground.

Letting one end of the scarf go, she pulls it back through like a suture through a wound. When it emerges from the other end, there is no Maia. Just a wet, dripping scarf. And the faint subsonic pressure wave of an underwater explosion somewhere out at sea.

Silk wrings water from the scarf, looping it loosely around her neck in unmistakable fashion. Pulling out a ribbon, she ties her hair up in her usual high ponytail. The damp black hair hangs limply, like her sodden scarf. Slowly, she makes her way over to the bent and broken Miho as the disarmed and disarmored Ronin crawls away. "You'd better not die. I still have plans for you."

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Rolled a 13 to unleash.

[Captain Jak]

Ronin
Conditions: Angry, Damaged, Guilty, Insecure, Hopeless, Afraid
Potential: 1/5
Gadget: 0

Spoiler: Labels

Show

• Freak: +0
• Danger: +1
• Savior: +2
• Superior: +1
• Mundane: -1

Spoiler: Moves

Show

• [X] I'll Show Them: When you defend someone who doesn’t believe in you, you can always take Influence over them, even on a miss.
• [X]All The Best Stuff: You’ve compiled access to caches of equipment and weaponry other supers have hidden in the city. When you access a cache, say whose cache it is. If it’s a hero’s, roll + Savior. If it’s a villain’s, roll + Danger. On a hit, you find a tool or intel useful to your situation; the GM will detail. On a 7-9, you leave evidence that you’ve been here. On a miss, you tripped an alarm and they’re coming; prepare to explain yourself.
• [X]White lies: When you comfort or support someone by telling them lies they want to hear, roll + Savior instead of + Mundane. On any hit, if they open up to you, take Influence over them.
• [X] Always Prepared: When you have a chance to restock your supplies, hold up to 2-gadgets. When you unleash your powers by producing a brand new minor invention or gadget from your supply, spend 1-gadget and roll + Superior. When you reach 0-gadgets, mark a condition.
• [X] Damage: You get an additional condition called Damaged. While marked, take +1 to take a powerful blow. To clear the Damaged condition, you need time, external help, or special equipment or abilities.
• [X] Aim for the Moon, Land Among the Stars: When a plan you devise fails and you try to correct your mistake, roll + Superior. On a miss there’s no salvaging the situation, expect harsh retribution or one of your teammates has been placed in the line of fire, GM’s choice. On a hit you’ve pulled an iron out of the fire, gain an Opportunity. On a 10+, add a Team to the Pool.

She was alive.

She had never intended to ever have to use the last-ditch self-destruct, but she would have been remiss if she hadn’t included the capability.

And it still hadn’t been enough.

But...she was alive. And out of tricks, out of tech, out of her armour, and mostly out of her mind. A low, panicked keening kept burning in her throat as she scrambled on her elbows, dragging the dead weight of her lower body behind her. Trying to get away, because she had nothing left.

And a shadow fell over her.

With a shriek she rolled over and cowered as Silk delivered her ominous words...no, Hikari.

No.

Silk.

”You...you betrayed us, from the very beginning!” she cried, her heart breaking. It was betrayal by family all over again, and once again she was crawling away in defeat. It all made sudden, horrible sense; why Hikari wasn’t around at times of crucial need to ‘lead’ them, how Silk knew just how to deal with each and every one of them.

They had been set up to fail before they had even gotten started.

With an anguished cry, she rolled over and desperately tried to scramble away on bleeding elbows, fully aware of the futility of her panicked actions but utterly unable to do anything but heed the prodding of her fearful lizard brain that only had one word for her.

Flee.

[The_Specialist]

Tsunami
Conditions: Angry, Insecure
Potential: 6/5
Gadget: 0
Hold: 1

Spoiler: Labels

Show

• Freak: +1
• Danger: -1
• Savior: +2
• Superior: +3
• Mundane: -2

Spoiler: Moves

Show

• [X] Fireside Chat: When you seek advice from your mentor, roll + the Label they embody. On a hit they will tell you what to do. On a 10+, mark potential if you follow their advice, and take +1 ongoing to follow through. On a 7-9, you get +1 forward to see it through if you do it their way. On a miss, they don’t have time for you because something big has gone down; mark a condition, GM’s choice.
• [X]Be Mindful of Your Surroundings: When you assess the situation before entering into a fight, you may ask one additional question, even on a miss.
• [X]Venting Frustration: When you directly engage while you are Angry, you can roll + the label your mentor denies (Mundane) and clear Angry.
• [X]Before We Get Started: When you take the time to closely observe your opposition before a battle, roll + Savior. On a 10+, hold 3. On a 7-9, hold 2. On a miss, hold 1 and mark a condition. During battle, you can spend your hold 1 for 1 to name a character you observed and...:
  
  • ...redirect their attack to another character or nowhere—into a wall or the sky.
  • ...cross a distance between them and you.
  • ...disarm them.
  • ...ignore all harm to yourself from one of their attacks.
  • ...escape any bindings or restrictions they attempt to place on you.

Once again, Max is impressed by Sunburst’s power. It’s getting to be disturbing what hasn’t put Maia down yet, and it’s starting to feel like brute force isn’t the solution, yet she’s not giving them a lot of options. They’re all looking a little haggard too.

But then.... Silk happens. In an elegant but haunting display, she nearly effortlessly, or so it seems, removes Maia from the equation. At first he stares in a mixture of horror and confusion, uncertain if she just outright murdered the Constellation or not. But with the immediate threat removed, his brain does finally has a chance to now wrestle with the fact that... Silk is Hikari. Hikari is Silk. It doesn’t compute, but it seems indisputable still. All the times they’ve run into the slippery ninja run through his head, trying to make sense of it. As she starts to stalk towards Ronin however, something triggers in his brain.

He feels the heartbreak in Ronin’s voice in his own chest. It’s magnified seeing someone he respects and trusts reduced to literal crawling. Protective nature takes over as he sprints towards his fallen team mate, attempting to place himself between her and Silk, a somewhat warning look and staying hand gesture given to the latter. Bending down, he takes hold of one of Ronin’s arms and pulls her up off the ground, drawing her arm around his own shoulders before slipping his other arm under her knees as he lifts her up with ease.

“I don’t... understand what’s happening here...” Max grunts in pained confusion as he stares down Silk, conflicted. “You have a lot to explain... but... not now...” He concludes, given how frantic Miho is to leave, which is absolutely fair. “..Don’t follow us.” He states simply, eyes flickering towards Sunburst and back. “Come on, we’re leaving...” Tsu calls to her, trying to keep his tone even and commanding rather than showing all the hurt and confusion, starting to back away from Silk. Should she show no sign of taking hostile action, he’ll still willingly show her his back and turn away, back towards where he left Tumult. He’s going to have to drag the redhead out of here too.

[Razade]

It's over.

Just like that, all the sound and fury are gone. In the next, the entire coast shakes and not too far out to sea a towering pillar of flame and light erupts. It casts the shore and HexXxen's building in blinding light and then it too vanishes into the storm, into the darkness. Only the sound of rain fills the space between you but like sanity or order or trust the silence doesn't last for long.

Two things happen at once.

The first is the distant sound of a motor rushing closer, a speedboat somehow cresting the wave of the former explosion to come skidding onto the shore. Hikari certainly recognizes her, Ronin possibly too if they're still conscious. In the sparks and carnage of a boat added to the rubble of the fight, a splash page reads Cindersnap with the hero dressed in a smart suit with the Monsoon's logo on the left breast and a katana hanging off her side casually as she walks from the wreckage.

The second, only moments later and on the next two pages is yet another splash intro. The storm in the skies part to reveal the stars above, black clouds pushed back by dazzling light. Across both pages spreads the name Lightbringer at the top and "has arrived" at the bottom in etched lettering. The elder hero has ditched her famous pristine white outfit to something more modern, similar even to the black, forest green and silver of Cindersnap, Lightbringer is dressed in a white suit with gold and black accents.

Both exchange a look before Lightbringer's gaze falls upon the four of you.

"The Yami no Yojimbo are under arrest by my Authority."

The words boom across the panels as her eyes fill with light, hands raised before falling as more beams of light streak down from the sky. The Authority troops are dressed in similarly colored kimono, weapons already drawn as they form a tight circle as perimeter around the blasted shoreline. Cindersnap gives only a despondent look at the four of you before stepping forward and in line with Hikari though keeps silent.

[Comissar]

Sunburst
Conditions: Guilty, Insecure, Angry
Potential: 5/5

Spoiler: Labels

Show

• Danger: -1
• Freak: +2
• Savior: +3
• Superior: +0
• Mundane: -1

Spoiler: Burn and Flares

Show

Held Burn

1

Shielding

You call up a fast protective field to stop a danger. Spend 1 burn to defend someone else from an immediate threat, rolling +Freak instead of +Saviour.

Moat

Spend 1 burn to create a barrier that will hold back threats as long as you keep your attention on it. The GM may call for you to spend another burn if the barrier is threatened by particularly powerful enemies.

Reality Storm

You channel a destructive burst with your powers. Spend 1 burn to directly engage a threat using your powers, rolling +Freak instead of +Danger. If you do, you will cause unwanted collateral damage unless you spend another burn.

Snatch

Spend 1 burn to use your powers to seize any one object up to the size of a person from someone within view.

Moves

Wish I could be - When you comfort or support someone, if you tell them what you most envy about them, you can roll +Freak instead of +Mundane.

Unstoppable - When you smash your way through scenery to get to or get away from something, roll +Danger. On a hit, the world breaks before you, and you get what you want. On a 7-9, choose one: mark a condition, leave something behind, or take something with you. On a miss, you smash through, but leave devestation in your wake or wind up somewhere worse, GM's choice.

The stillness around Lanuola belies the bewilderment she feels at the chaos she just saw unfold in front of her. Miho's kamikaze attempt brought her heart to her throat, Hikari's all too casual reveal that she was actually Silk this whole time opens a pit in her stomach, and Max's flat instruction to just leave made her feel like her back was against the wall. She can't bring herself to speak, to comment, to even act through the entire display. The only things separating her from a statue are her wild eyes darting back and forth between her teammates, her irregular breathing as she fought down her emotions, and the rapid flickering and dancing of light across her skin as she ultimately fails to keep herself level.

Lanuola manages to shake her head at Max's command, "N-no." Though her tone is defiant, her voice shakes as she speaks, "Max, that isn't-"

She doesn't get a chance to finish her statement, being interrupted by the abrupt burst of light from the sky above. Looking up toward the new arrival, she takes a step back with an alarmed expression on her face. The abrupt arrival of authority troops serves as a brutal underscore of how out of her depth she now was. Raising her hands slowly to the sky, she finds her eyes falling on Lightbringer. Quietly, she whispers under her breath, "Faʻamolemole sei ou toe vaʻai i loʻu aiga..."

[Razade]

Issue Three
As Light to Darkness

The cover of Issue 3: Yami no Yojimbo shows the lineup of your team in mugshots. Lion, Moonshadow and Ground Zero are crossed off with thick red paint. Lion has a seal from the U.S government showing his deportation. Moonshadow has M.I.A marked on their picture. Ground Zero, a K.I.A. Tsunami, Ronin, Sunburst and Hikari each are roughed up and dressed in the typical orange jumpsuit of an inmate.

The writing was on the wall when Lightbringer appeared. There was nowhere to run. Even if you were innocent where would you run to? How would you get there and how long would it be until you were caught again? You all know you're innocent here, you know running would jeopardize that. There are some panels of you all being put in cuffs, Cindersnap furiously trying to defend you but to no avail as Lightbringer looms large in each panel she's in. That doesn't mean of course you have to go nicely into that dark good night. Do you struggle? Do you do anything at all when you're piled all together in a prison ship and taken to the mainland?

When the flashbacks, if you wish to relate them, are finished the rest of the opening pages show you being booked with a small summary of events in text boxes before you are placed in individual cells. Eventually you're removed as dawn breaks and the storms pass through. The next few panels focus on each of you.

Hikari is first. Several guards in Authority gear lead you to a small interrogation cell, your scarf confiscated along with any other weapons or tool you might have had the night before. The cell is not empty, an all too familar and not at all pleased face sitting across from the seat set out for you. Jin, the Chickadee. He isn't armed, not that he needs to be, nor is he in his official costume. At the moment he's just a man. A tea pot and two cups are set on the table, the older man finally moving to pour as the door comes to a close. "A disappointing sight. Sit, it seems I must ask you some questions before they'll let you go."

The pages break to Sunburst. Your hands have been bound as have your eyes. A precaution as far as they're concerned from keeping you from blowing anything up with your powers. You can't see where you're being led to but the reader can, a similar hallway and cell awaiting you as the guards lead you by several long and clearly electrified ropes for extra protection. The eyemask breaks once the door to the interrogation room closes. The room, unlike the dank and cold of Hikari's, is illuminated to a harsh degree for at the interrogation table is sat none other than Lightbringer herself. You can feel her power now, now that you're locked in the room with her. She motions coolly to the seat across from her, her eyes almost inhumanly empty of any emotion. "Sit, girl. You have no need to fear, you will be released after you answer some questions." she commands.

The pages move to Ronin who has been stripped of her armor and any other mechanical bits. They've provided as basic as can be locomotion devices, whatever is needed, though made of plastic so still ungainly and not particularly useful for anything but getting around. As the others, Ronin is led off by a cadre of guards to an interrogation room though one more plush and well put together though it seems mostly for the benefit of the person seated at the table rather than Ronin's own comfort. Master Sun sits in a practical throne of pillows, pale and slender in contrast to the many previous appearances of a hale and healthy immortal. "Ah, the Warlord's heiress. Later than I expected." he starts, sitting up to offer a hand. "It is a pleasure to finally make your acquaintance. Face to face at least. I have known of you as I have known about all who conspire and plot under the Heavens. Let this meeting not be in vain? Answer my questions and I can see about pulling some strings, help you with your...silk problem."

Finally the panels shift to Tsunami. Like the rest your armor and weapons have been removed and your holding cell has been particularly hot and dry. So too is the holding cell you're taken too, cuffed in heavy irons. A figure not seen before sits in this interrogation cell, dressed nicely in a suit and tie. His hair is long, silvery and pulled back in a loose pony tail, a cup of coffee on the table still steaming along with three masks: one green, one blue, one red. He looks up when Tsunami passes through the door, offering a smile that is must too quick and much too easy on his face. "Ah, I was wondering how long they'd make me wait. Sit, sit, your bond has been posted but I wanted to talk to you before...well...your friends are in quite the pickle I think but I'm more interested in these." Long fingers tap along the three masks, glowing embers of similar colored light glow in their eye sockets. "Also how you got them, you and your friend, and where the others might be?"

[DreadPirateH]

Silk
Conditions: Angry
Potential: 3/5
Hold: 2

Spoiler: Labels

Show

• Freak: +1
• Danger: +3
• Savior: -1
• Superior: +2
• Mundane: -2

Spoiler: Moves

Show

• [X] Devil or Angel on My Shoulder: When you provoke a teammate to violent action or drastic measures as your Hero Persona, roll + Danger. When you discourage a teammate from going overboard or making an action they can’t take back as your Alias Persona, roll + Superior.
• [X]Been Reading the Files: You’ve learned about the superhuman world through your mentor’s resources. When you first encounter an important superpowered phenomenon (your call), roll + Superior. On a hit, tell the team one important detail you’ve learned from your studies. The GM will tell you what, if anything, seems different from what you remember. On a 10+, ask the GM a follow-up question; they will answer it honestly. On a miss, the situation is well outside your base of knowledge; the GM will tell you why.
• [X]Company Man: When you’re confronted by someone from your past, roll + Danger. On a miss, their presence is upsetting and you must either flee the scene or fall back to your training and comply with their wishes. On a 7-9, you’re shaken. Take -1 against them for the duration of the scene but clear their Influence over you if they have it. On a 10+, clear their Influence and mark Potential or clear a Condition.
• [X]There Will Be Blood: When you scathingly Reject the Influence of a Hero, you may choose to inflict a Condition as if they’d been hit hard even on a miss.
• [X]Aces High: When you enter a dangerous situation with no plan or trick up your sleeve roll + Danger. On a miss you’re truly woefully unprepared. Expect the worst. On a hit, the tools of success are near to hand. Some assembly may be required, the GM will fill in the details. On a 10+, take +1 forward to see yourself through.

Spoiler: Risk and Reward

Show

You’ve been on your own long enough and taken one too many gambles to learn a thing or two. How to repair your gear and stretch resources. How to watch your back when no one else will and how to watch other people’s backs when they think you’re not. Someone’s watching your back too
however, Luck itself. However you conceptualize this being, it’s got you in its pocket. That isn’t always in your favor.

When you begin play you have Influence over Luck and it has Influence over you. The GM acts as Luck’s agent when shifting Labels or using Luck’s Influence on you. Luck cannot lose Influence over you.

Risk/Reward: As long as you have Luck, you may gain 1 Hold per scene to a maximum of 2 and begin your first scene in the first session with 2 Hold. You may spend Hold at any time to reroll a Move. You must take the result of the second roll, even on a miss.

If you should go to 0 Hold at any time, lose Influence over Luck and shift Superior down and another Label up, your choice. You may mark a Condition to regain Influence over Luck. When you regain Influence over Luck, gain 2 Hold.

Ante Up: When you would Reject the Influence of Luck, Ante Up instead. You and Luck’s Agent will roll opposing 2d6. The higher of the two rolls win. If the Player wins, clear a Condition or gain Potential. If Luck’s Agent wins, lose Influence over Luck and mark a Condition.

Fortune Favors: When Luck would gain Influence over another Player, they Hold 1 and may spend it to reroll a move. They must take the second roll, even on a miss. When another Player would gain Influence over Luck, add a Team to the Pool.

As the guards march Silk down the hall, there are interspersed flashback panels, washed out from Lightbringer's overwhelming luminosity.

There are no shadows. Nowhere to run. Nowhere to hide.

No secrets.

Silk smiles.

She's still smiling as the guards frog walk her to the interrogation room. She looks for all the world like a prisoner in a jail. It's not the first time all the world is wrong. The world is often wrong.

"The Yami no Yojimbo are under arrest by my Authority."

Silk laughs.

What authority would that be? An authority that tolerates extortion by supercriminals to maintain a status quo and a power hierarchy. An authority that is as much the author of human misery in San Fransapporo as the villains it so gamely opposes. Her misery. Arrest? This was just theater. And not a single one of them knew that better than her. Heroes? Villains? It doesn't matter in San Fransapporo. So why not...be both?

They arrest her. Slap cuffs on her wrists. Confiscate - what? A scarf? For what? To take her freedom. But who is more free than the person with nothing to lose? Family? Dead. Friends? Please. No secrets. No masks. No shame. Her hands are clean. There was damage, to be sure. The Constellations did a number on things. Koto too. Not to mention the flooding that could only be Tsunami's doing. But what did Silk do? She saved the island. They can look at her with all the fear and hurt and confusion they want. But tonight there was one less villain in the world. So what is there to do...but smile?

The door to the interrogation room swings open. And there goes her smile.

"A disappointing sight. Sit, it seems I must ask you some questions before they'll let you go."

Silk eyes the man warily. Her eyes flick to the chair. She stands still for a panel, pausing long enough for her defiance to register before taking the seat. Her days of taking orders from this man are over. "Ask your questions. Choke on your disappointment."

Spoiler: OOC

Show

For Silk's end of session move, she grows into her own image of herself. She sees herself as the only person who can see through all of the bull**** and actually focus on protecting people. Shifting Savior up (now at -1) and Mundane down (now at -2).

This post marks a change from the Persona Playbook to the Ronin Playbook. A new character sheet will be edited in to my initial character sheet post. As per discussion with the GM, I lose the moves Save the Light and Captain. I spend my overdue advance on the Persona to take Company Man from the Defector playbook, bringing my Potential to 3/5. I lose the Darkness mechanic and gain the Risk and Reward mechanic. My abilities are now Combat and Weapon Training and Shadow Control. I gain the moves There Will Be Blood and Aces High from the Ronin playbook.

This is the first scene in a new session. Per my Risk and Reward mechanic, I have Influence over Luck and Luck has Influence over me. I gain 2 Hold.

I rolled a 10 on Company Man against Jin, who is someone from my past. I clear his Influence over me and clear Hopeless.

[Comissar]

Sunburst
Conditions: Guilty, Insecure, Angry
Potential: 0/5

Spoiler: Labels

Show

• Danger: -1
• Freak: +2
• Savior: +3
• Superior: +0
• Mundane: -1

Spoiler: Burn and Flares

Show

Held Burn

0

Shielding

You call up a fast protective field to stop a danger. Spend 1 burn to defend someone else from an immediate threat, rolling +Freak instead of +Saviour.

Moat

Spend 1 burn to create a barrier that will hold back threats as long as you keep your attention on it. The GM may call for you to spend another burn if the barrier is threatened by particularly powerful enemies.

Reality Storm

You channel a destructive burst with your powers. Spend 1 burn to directly engage a threat using your powers, rolling +Freak instead of +Danger. If you do, you will cause unwanted collateral damage unless you spend another burn.

Snatch

Spend 1 burn to use your powers to seize any one object up to the size of a person from someone within view.

Move

Spend 1 Burn to move to any place you choose within the scene, breaking through or slipping past any restraints in your way. Spend a second burn to move to any place you've previously been.

Overcharge

You channel the full capacity of your incredible powers to overcome an obstacle, reshape your environment, or extend your senses. Spend 2 burn to take a 10+ when you unleash your powers.

Elemental Awareness

Spend 1 Burn and Mark a Condition to open up your mind to the world around you with your powers. You can ask any one question about the world around you and the GM will answer honestly.

Moves

Wish I could be - When you comfort or support someone, if you tell them what you most envy about them, you can roll +Freak instead of +Mundane.

Unstoppable - When you smash your way through scenery to get to or get away from something, roll +Danger. On a hit, the world breaks before you, and you get what you want. On a 7-9, choose one: mark a condition, leave something behind, or take something with you. On a miss, you smash through, but leave devestation in your wake or wind up somewhere worse, GM's choice.

The only indication that focus has been moved over to Sunburst is the small textbox stating her name in an otherwise entirely black panel. Sound effects indicating footsteps begin to intrude on the otherwise black panels. In the third, the view finally pulls back to a third person perspective. Lanuola is shown walking through the spartan corridor being led by a rope held by a guard several feet ahead of her. Her hands are bound in front of her, her eyes are hidden by the mask over them, and her face shows grazes and the start of a bruise. Sepia-tinged flashback panels begin to intrude, filling parts of the background of Lanuola's walk. They show the immediate aftermath of the Authority troops arriving. They close in on her quickly, pinning her to the ground as they force the cuffs and mask on her, ignoring the wordless shout she lets out at the rough handling. The following panels show the isolation she experienced in the following hours, even while in the presence of the rest of her team. With her eyes covered, time loses meaning for Lanuola as she's moved from ship, to waiting room, to prison cell.

Cutting back to the present, Lanuola stumbles to a stop at her guard's barked command. She flinches at the sound of a door opening directly in front of her, tentatively stepping through when instructed to, then flinches for a second time as the door closes behind her. She finds herself abruptly squinting and blinking as the mask covering her eyes finally breaks away. Struggling to take in the severely lit room around her, Lanuola's heart drops through her stomach as she hears her interviewer speak.

"Sit, girl. You have no need to fear, you will be released after you answer some questions."

She manages to focus her eyes on Lightbringer and, were it not for the sheer intensity of the light levels in the chamber, the wild dancing lights in her skin would be telegraphing her fearfulness in no uncertain terms. Her body language still reads fearful, however, as Lanuola takes a half step back, her expression a mix of surprise and alarm. She's slow to follow Lightbringer's instruction, hesitantly taking the seat opposite her.

Trying to swallow the knot of anxiety filling her throat, Lanuola answers Lightbringer, "..." Forcing herself to swallow with a wince, Lanuola manages to ask, "Wh-what, u-uh, wh-what did y-you want to know..?" Her voice is croaky, hoarse from a night spent in tears.

[Captain Jak]

Ronin
Conditions: Angry, Damaged, Guilty, Hopeless, Afraid
Potential: 1/5
Gadget: 0

Spoiler: Labels

Show

• Freak: +0
• Danger: +1
• Savior: +3
• Superior: +0
• Mundane: -1

Spoiler: Moves

Show

• [X] I'll Show Them: When you defend someone who doesn’t believe in you, you can always take Influence over them, even on a miss.
• [X]All The Best Stuff: You’ve compiled access to caches of equipment and weaponry other supers have hidden in the city. When you access a cache, say whose cache it is. If it’s a hero’s, roll + Savior. If it’s a villain’s, roll + Danger. On a hit, you find a tool or intel useful to your situation; the GM will detail. On a 7-9, you leave evidence that you’ve been here. On a miss, you tripped an alarm and they’re coming; prepare to explain yourself.
• [X]White lies: When you comfort or support someone by telling them lies they want to hear, roll + Savior instead of + Mundane. On any hit, if they open up to you, take Influence over them.
• [X] Always Prepared: When you have a chance to restock your supplies, hold up to 2-gadgets. When you unleash your powers by producing a brand new minor invention or gadget from your supply, spend 1-gadget and roll + Superior. When you reach 0-gadgets, mark a condition.
• [X] Damage: You get an additional condition called Damaged. While marked, take +1 to take a powerful blow. To clear the Damaged condition, you need time, external help, or special equipment or abilities.
• [X] Aim for the Moon, Land Among the Stars: When a plan you devise fails and you try to correct your mistake, roll + Superior. On a miss there’s no salvaging the situation, expect harsh retribution or one of your teammates has been placed in the line of fire, GM’s choice. On a hit you’ve pulled an iron out of the fire, gain an Opportunity. On a 10+, add a Team to the Pool.

The hallway is cold, institutional, and faintly grimy. There’s no sign of anyone in it at the moment, but there’s evidence of something coming; there’s a recurring squeak as the panels march on.

Finally, the source of the noise comes into sight, rounding the corner and heading toward one of the interrogation rooms. Miho looks small and shrunken, out of armour and settled in an old and battered wheelchair, one not powered like her usual mode of transportation.

The fact that her wrists are cuffed to the chair’s arms makes usage of the chair more than a little problematic, which is why a hard-faced police matron is the one currently in control of the chair as she pushes it down the hall.

The lack of agency isn’t the best situation to be in, but it doesn’t stress Miho as much as it could have. The removal of the shattered pieces of her armour is actually a comfort, the concrete evidence of her failures a heavy weight that was removed for now.

Her unhesitating willingness to desteoy it in an attempt to forestall the exploding villain had soothed her insecurity that she was too indecisive and inconsequential; when the chips were down, she hadn’t thought twice about putting her very life on the line to try to make a difference. In that, at least, she was sure of who she was.

Wheeled in to face Master Sun, she listens to his words as the police matron withdraws, leaving the two of them alone. She doesn’t bother to point out that she’s hardly in a position to accept the proffered hand, a pit of numbness yawning where her normally acerbic nature should be.

”I am no heir to that man,” she replies finally, her gaze fixed upon the table between them. ”That was made more than abundantly clear when I was broken and ejected from the home I had grown up in. But of course, you have questions.”

Her face lifts, and she meets his gaze with dead eyes.

”Ask.”

Spoiler: CRUNCH

Show

For Ronin’s End of Session Move, she grows into her own image of herself. She’s been forced to admit that she’s not always as clever as she thinks she is, and things can go drastically awry because of it. But when push comes to shove, even if her clever plans come up empty she is confident that she will expend every resource to try to save those who need it. She will do whatever is necessary to be a hero. Shifting Saviour up (now at +3) and Superior down (now at +0)

[Razade]

Pool: 1


Hikari, Jin

Jin's stony disposition remains though a wider frown creases his face. "I have been in countless battles and the tapestry of scars to prove my mettle. The scars you have left have yet to heal. You are a poisoned wound Hikari and those marks you put in me still throb with fire as if they were freshly made." The words are spit more than spoken as Jin leans forward. "This scarf, the charade. The Authority simply thinks of this as a new identity but I know you and I know the petty harlots that put you on your path. You drink their lies like a babe their mother's milk. Drink this, may you choke on it like I choke on your dishonor."

With the back of his hand he pushes the cup of tea towards Hikari, turning his face from her. "Lightbringer thinks you have something she wants. A Repository from some Elemental. She thinks if you taste imprisonment you will sing for your freedom. I did not teach you to be so weak. When they told me they had captured you, I came of my own power to see how far you had fallen. How like a feral beast you are. But a beast will not sing for a master nor will it thank you when let out of its shackles. A beast only knows how to bite a friendly hand, to tear up the peace of domesticated lambs. Do you have what it is Lightbringer seeks?"

Sunburst, Lightbringer

The crying doesn't seem to do much for Lightbringer. The stern woman only remains the statue that she is, motionless like a doll though the soft movement of her chest as she breathes keeps it from growing too uncanny. "You've no need to be frightened. All you have to do is answer my questions truthfully and we will let you go. You're a smart girl, you'll do the right thing I trust. Not like the rest of your team. The disgraced Weather Report girl, The Warlord's spawn, the mongrel." There's a moment where Lightbringer's voice grows...different. Emotional even, in contrast to her generally flat cool tone. She catches herself quickly.

"But we do not need to talk about your friends beyond what they took from the Authority. During your little tussle the other day, the one on the riverside. Your friends came into possession of an artifact of great importance to us. Unjustly. We've confirmed you're the only ones there that could have done so. Where is it Sunburst? Where is the Repository? Tell us that and we'll let you go, you can run off to the Kintsugi or really anywhere else for what it matters to us."

Ronin, Master Sun

Master Sun makes a soft tsking sound, condescending where it might otherwise sound frustrated. "I know how this meeting will go. I've seen the many futures you might hold. I could tell you the Rivers of Fate that will lead you back to the man that broke you. This meeting does not need to go so unkindly, I've seen many that end with us growing quite friendly. Let us steer our ship to that port? You look weak, tired. A swim in the ocean without your legs can bring such a hunger. I can order us some food? Drink? You can tell me about the Hierophant you met in the Monkey's Island while we wait? The others have their way of handling those who would resist us. I have mine. When you have lived so long as me you learn to take cold walls like you not as an impediment but a puzzle. We will try the carrot, as you people say. Speak to me as a friend, Miho, and I'll give you something you want in return yes?"

[The_Specialist]

Tsunami
Conditions: Angry, Insecure
Potential: 6/5
Gadget: 0
Hold: 0

Spoiler: Labels

Show

• Freak: +1
• Danger: -1
• Savior: +2
• Superior: +3
• Mundane: -2

Spoiler: Moves

Show

• [X] Fireside Chat: When you seek advice from your mentor, roll + the Label they embody. On a hit they will tell you what to do. On a 10+, mark potential if you follow their advice, and take +1 ongoing to follow through. On a 7-9, you get +1 forward to see it through if you do it their way. On a miss, they don’t have time for you because something big has gone down; mark a condition, GM’s choice.
• [X]Be Mindful of Your Surroundings: When you assess the situation before entering into a fight, you may ask one additional question, even on a miss.
• [X]Venting Frustration: When you directly engage while you are Angry, you can roll + the label your mentor denies (Mundane) and clear Angry.
• [X]Before We Get Started: When you take the time to closely observe your opposition before a battle, roll + Savior. On a 10+, hold 3. On a 7-9, hold 2. On a miss, hold 1 and mark a condition. During battle, you can spend your hold 1 for 1 to name a character you observed and...:
  
  • ...redirect their attack to another character or nowhere—into a wall or the sky.
  • ...cross a distance between them and you.
  • ...disarm them.
  • ...ignore all harm to yourself from one of their attacks.
  • ...escape any bindings or restrictions they attempt to place on you.

Max never realized how much he detested a dry heat until now. He hasn’t decided whether or not to be flattered that they’ve gone through the effort to try and suppress his capabilities in such a way, or insulted by the perceived implication of what they think he might try. Mostly, he’s just angry, his blood roiling and his stomach twisted with frustration and apprehension, unaware of the state of the rest of his team.

What’s left of them. He still hasn’t fully come to terms with all that happened. His head hurts trying to reconcile Hikari... as Silk. And his heart hurts each time he thinks back to particular interactions and realizes another face was there, unseen. Like the heart to heart they had after the disastrous visit to Monkey Island, only to now realize it was her that had nearly put him in the ground for good. And how he’d never suspected a thing. He'd been worried for her, as she seemed stretched thin, but if someone had suggested Hikari would betray them before now, he might have floored them himself.

He remains silent and stony-faced as he’s escorted to the interrogation room, returning the suited stranger’s smile with little more than an acknowledging glance. Taking a seat heavily, he rests his cuffed hands on the table as he regards the tall man with a severe but guarded stare, offering nothing in the way of greeting or otherwise. His eyes only briefly leave the stranger’s face to follow the trail of steam leaving his beverage before returning, expectant.

While the news that his bond has been posted already does come as a mild surprise, though maybe it shouldn’t, it doesn’t show on his face. His brows start to furrow slightly as the man continues on about his friends being in a pickle, although if it is concern or irritation slipping through is unclear.

Looking to the masks briefly as the man gestures to them, Max finally makes a sound, in the way of a sigh. “I took them from Hannya. Anything you want to know about them you should ask him.” Max explains calmly, albeit with a gruff tone. He leans back, letting his heavy-cuffed hands fall back into his lap as he resumes staring silently with a sense of finality for the conversation already.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

For Tsunami’s end of session move, he grows away from the team. Hikari’s betrayal is an obvious factor. Ronin and Hikari have both acted counter to how he would expect them to; Ronin ‘selfishly’ by ‘forcing’ their hand to go find her in the last scene, and Hikari well... by being Silk. Sunburst has really stepped up and he doesn’t feel he’s given her enough credit in the past, nor treated her with enough sensitivity in particular in the last scene.

Additionally, he both feels as though the team doesn’t trust in him as a leader figure, but also that he hasn’t been acting as a worthy enough leader either. They’ve lost several team mates now, and Max finds himself in a feeling of limbo, not having a clear vision of himself as a hero or his position in the team, nor of the team’s future in general.

Taking Influence over him away from Hikari/Silk.

[Razade]

Pool: 1

The gruff tone only seems to drive the smile further up on the man's face, the bark of a laugh that is far from hiding it's condescension, rings through the interrogation room. "Oh boy, I see why your team's been so successful up to this point. Brains like yours and all. Sadly he was taken in by the Guardians and the Guardians aren't so keen on letting me speak to him. But the Authority doesn't really seem to care if I talk to you so here we are. You, grumpy and frustrated, me...well." He moves a finger to tap on Tsunami's mask before slowly inching it forward with the tip of his finger. "You can tell me, it's just for curiosity's sake. I was supposed to buy a few but the shipment never came in. I think we both know why. You and your little sniper friend and Hannya had a tussle and you took the masks. If you just tell me where the rest are, you can be out of this room in seconds and with your friends in...well...for however long they're being tormented."

[The_Specialist]

Tsunami
Conditions: Angry, Insecure
Potential: 7/5
Gadget: 0
Hold: 0

Spoiler: Labels

Show

• Freak: +1
• Danger: -1
• Savior: +2
• Superior: +3
• Mundane: -2

Spoiler: Moves

Show

• [X] Fireside Chat: When you seek advice from your mentor, roll + the Label they embody. On a hit they will tell you what to do. On a 10+, mark potential if you follow their advice, and take +1 ongoing to follow through. On a 7-9, you get +1 forward to see it through if you do it their way. On a miss, they don’t have time for you because something big has gone down; mark a condition, GM’s choice.
• [X]Be Mindful of Your Surroundings: When you assess the situation before entering into a fight, you may ask one additional question, even on a miss.
• [X]Venting Frustration: When you directly engage while you are Angry, you can roll + the label your mentor denies (Mundane) and clear Angry.
• [X]Before We Get Started: When you take the time to closely observe your opposition before a battle, roll + Savior. On a 10+, hold 3. On a 7-9, hold 2. On a miss, hold 1 and mark a condition. During battle, you can spend your hold 1 for 1 to name a character you observed and...:
  
  • ...redirect their attack to another character or nowhere—into a wall or the sky.
  • ...cross a distance between them and you.
  • ...disarm them.
  • ...ignore all harm to yourself from one of their attacks.
  • ...escape any bindings or restrictions they attempt to place on you.

Max’s features finally start to shift as the stranger speaks again, a scowl deepening the furrow of his brow and twisting his lips into a near snarl of a frown. He manages to keep still where he is seated, however, though his fingers curl into his palms, forming fists. “That sounds like a you problem...” He grunts in response as the stranger laments being unable to interview Hannya for information.

Remaining quiet for the rest of the stranger’s rambling, Max doesn’t even really react to his mask being slid closer to him, only vaguely looking towards the table but not directly at the items on display. There is a pause after the stranger finishes, before another sigh finally escapes as Max leans forward again, staring at the man’s coffee mug sullenly. The steam begins to curl and twirl away more rapidly, as the water in the beverage evaporates in super speed, leaving behind a less than appetizing sludge. He lifts his gaze back to the well dressed stranger, then, still speaking in a brusque manner.

“You said my bond has already been posted. I have no idea who you are. Help me understand why exactly I should care.”

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Rolled a 0 to Pierce the Mask on Suited Stranger Man.

[Captain Jak]

Ronin
Conditions: Angry, Damaged, Guilty, Hopeless, Afraid
Potential: 1/5
Gadget: 0

Spoiler: Labels

Show

• Freak: +0
• Danger: +1
• Savior: +3
• Superior: +0
• Mundane: -1

Spoiler: Moves

Show

• [X] I'll Show Them: When you defend someone who doesn’t believe in you, you can always take Influence over them, even on a miss.
• [X]All The Best Stuff: You’ve compiled access to caches of equipment and weaponry other supers have hidden in the city. When you access a cache, say whose cache it is. If it’s a hero’s, roll + Savior. If it’s a villain’s, roll + Danger. On a hit, you find a tool or intel useful to your situation; the GM will detail. On a 7-9, you leave evidence that you’ve been here. On a miss, you tripped an alarm and they’re coming; prepare to explain yourself.
• [X]White lies: When you comfort or support someone by telling them lies they want to hear, roll + Savior instead of + Mundane. On any hit, if they open up to you, take Influence over them.
• [X] Always Prepared: When you have a chance to restock your supplies, hold up to 2-gadgets. When you unleash your powers by producing a brand new minor invention or gadget from your supply, spend 1-gadget and roll + Superior. When you reach 0-gadgets, mark a condition.
• [X] Damage: You get an additional condition called Damaged. While marked, take +1 to take a powerful blow. To clear the Damaged condition, you need time, external help, or special equipment or abilities.
• [X] Aim for the Moon, Land Among the Stars: When a plan you devise fails and you try to correct your mistake, roll + Superior. On a miss there’s no salvaging the situation, expect harsh retribution or one of your teammates has been placed in the line of fire, GM’s choice. On a hit you’ve pulled an iron out of the fire, gain an Opportunity. On a 10+, add a Team to the Pool.

It’s a long moment before Ronin replies, a noticeable struggle for thoughts to become ordered in her normally agile brain.

”I don’t want anything,” she demures; whether speaking of food and drink, or further is difficult to determine. ”I do not require friendship, but I will answer,” she goes, on, her voice scarcely more than a monotone.

”The Hierophant was huge, ancient, and unnatural,” she replies. ”A creature from beyond our reality and all the more alien for it. It knew things, spoke in riddles, of spells and the City of the Dead. Foolish things, that have no place in an orderly world.” Her prejudices are showing, but she is under far too much strain to attempt to keep an open mind, at this point.

[Comissar]

Sunburst
Conditions: Guilty, Insecure, Angry
Potential: 0/5

Spoiler: Labels

Show

• Danger: -1
• Freak: +2
• Savior: +3
• Superior: +0
• Mundane: -1

Spoiler: Burn and Flares

Show

Held Burn

0

Shielding

You call up a fast protective field to stop a danger. Spend 1 burn to defend someone else from an immediate threat, rolling +Freak instead of +Saviour.

Moat

Spend 1 burn to create a barrier that will hold back threats as long as you keep your attention on it. The GM may call for you to spend another burn if the barrier is threatened by particularly powerful enemies.

Reality Storm

You channel a destructive burst with your powers. Spend 1 burn to directly engage a threat using your powers, rolling +Freak instead of +Danger. If you do, you will cause unwanted collateral damage unless you spend another burn.

Snatch

Spend 1 burn to use your powers to seize any one object up to the size of a person from someone within view.

Move

Spend 1 Burn to move to any place you choose within the scene, breaking through or slipping past any restraints in your way. Spend a second burn to move to any place you've previously been.

Overcharge

You channel the full capacity of your incredible powers to overcome an obstacle, reshape your environment, or extend your senses. Spend 2 burn to take a 10+ when you unleash your powers.

Elemental Awareness

Spend 1 Burn and Mark a Condition to open up your mind to the world around you with your powers. You can ask any one question about the world around you and the GM will answer honestly.

Moves

Wish I could be - When you comfort or support someone, if you tell them what you most envy about them, you can roll +Freak instead of +Mundane.

Unstoppable - When you smash your way through scenery to get to or get away from something, roll +Danger. On a hit, the world breaks before you, and you get what you want. On a 7-9, choose one: mark a condition, leave something behind, or take something with you. On a miss, you smash through, but leave devestation in your wake or wind up somewhere worse, GM's choice.

Lightbringer's assurance that there was nothing to worry about did not, in fact, help Lanuola's nerves in any meaningful way. She nods rapidly, however, at the older woman's statement that she would be free to go if she just answered some questions. She could handle that much. As to Lightbringer's insults of the rest of her team... She was uncomfortably aware that she should be making some kind of comment in their defence, standing up for them in some way. But... Whether it was a product of her tiredness, her past several hours of total isolation, or something deeper she didn't know, but all she could muster was a feeling of numb acknowledgment of knowing who Lightbringer was referring to.

When the topic changes from her team to the events at the dock, Lanuola's stomach drops. Even though it was so recent, it felt like it had been years since the fight that had led her to seeing Lightbringer in the flesh for the first time. Where she'd learned someone had died on their watch, where she watched the older hero execute a villain in cold blood. The reminder was unpleasant to say the least. She found herself wondering if it was deliberate, was Lightbringer trying to intimidate her further? Regardless, she shook her head at the woman's question, her voice still hoarse "I-I don't know wh-where it is." She hesitates, while she didn't know, she knew who did. Would the others be facing Lightbringer anyway? Were they even here with her? Trying to swallow her doubts, she made a decision. "I-I can't help you find it."

[DreadPirateH]

Silk
Conditions: Angry
Potential: 3/5
Hold: 1

Spoiler: Labels

Show

• Freak: +1
• Danger: +3
• Savior: -1
• Superior: +2
• Mundane: -2

Spoiler: Moves

Show

• [X] Devil or Angel on My Shoulder: When you provoke a teammate to violent action or drastic measures as your Hero Persona, roll + Danger. When you discourage a teammate from going overboard or making an action they can’t take back as your Alias Persona, roll + Superior.
• [X]Been Reading the Files: You’ve learned about the superhuman world through your mentor’s resources. When you first encounter an important superpowered phenomenon (your call), roll + Superior. On a hit, tell the team one important detail you’ve learned from your studies. The GM will tell you what, if anything, seems different from what you remember. On a 10+, ask the GM a follow-up question; they will answer it honestly. On a miss, the situation is well outside your base of knowledge; the GM will tell you why.
• [X]Company Man: When you’re confronted by someone from your past, roll + Danger. On a miss, their presence is upsetting and you must either flee the scene or fall back to your training and comply with their wishes. On a 7-9, you’re shaken. Take -1 against them for the duration of the scene but clear their Influence over you if they have it. On a 10+, clear their Influence and mark Potential or clear a Condition.
• [X]There Will Be Blood: When you scathingly Reject the Influence of a Hero, you may choose to inflict a Condition as if they’d been hit hard even on a miss.
• [X]Aces High: When you enter a dangerous situation with no plan or trick up your sleeve roll + Danger. On a miss you’re truly woefully unprepared. Expect the worst. On a hit, the tools of success are near to hand. Some assembly may be required, the GM will fill in the details. On a 10+, take +1 forward to see yourself through.

Spoiler: Risk and Reward

Show

You’ve been on your own long enough and taken one too many gambles to learn a thing or two. How to repair your gear and stretch resources. How to watch your back when no one else will and how to watch other people’s backs when they think you’re not. Someone’s watching your back too
however, Luck itself. However you conceptualize this being, it’s got you in its pocket. That isn’t always in your favor.

When you begin play you have Influence over Luck and it has Influence over you. The GM acts as Luck’s agent when shifting Labels or using Luck’s Influence on you. Luck cannot lose Influence over you.

Risk/Reward: As long as you have Luck, you may gain 1 Hold per scene to a maximum of 2 and begin your first scene in the first session with 2 Hold. You may spend Hold at any time to reroll a Move. You must take the result of the second roll, even on a miss.

If you should go to 0 Hold at any time, lose Influence over Luck and shift Superior down and another Label up, your choice. You may mark a Condition to regain Influence over Luck. When you regain Influence over Luck, gain 2 Hold.

Ante Up: When you would Reject the Influence of Luck, Ante Up instead. You and Luck’s Agent will roll opposing 2d6. The higher of the two rolls win. If the Player wins, clear a Condition or gain Potential. If Luck’s Agent wins, lose Influence over Luck and mark a Condition.

Fortune Favors: When Luck would gain Influence over another Player, they Hold 1 and may spend it to reroll a move. They must take the second roll, even on a miss. When another Player would gain Influence over Luck, add a Team to the Pool.

Silk takes the proffered tea with a sneer, flashing the most sarcastic smile she can muster. Then she tosses back the entire cup in one swig with blatant disrespect for ceremony and propriety as the old man rambles. There's no point in giving him the satisfaction of rising to his insults. It's amazing what a little self-respect will do for you.

After a lengthy preamble, he finally gets to the question. We see a single washed-out flashback panel of Tsunami handing the Repository over to the Smith, and then cut back to Silk's flat answer.

"No."

And, because sometimes she just can't help herself, "If you don't know where it is by now, you're being kept out of the loop. Can't imagine why. You're so much fun to work with."

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Rolled a 2 9 to pierce Jin's mask. Spent one Hold to reroll (per the Ronin playbook Risk/Reward mechanic), bringing me to 1 hold. Asking "What are you really planning?"

[Razade]

Pool: 1


Tsunami

The man heaves a heavy sigh, a hand going up to the bridge of his nose as the coffee starts to evaporate. "You're every bit as stubborn as I was warned about. I'll give you that." He stand slowly with a shrug. "I'd hope you'd want to return stolen goods to their rightful owner but maybe that's not you. I'm more than happy for you to keep those three, if it means anything to you. A professional courtesy. If you ever feel motivated to let me in on your little hiding spot." With a flick of his wrist he produces a business card, moving to place it in front of Tsunami before making his way to the door. "Before I go." he offers, turning slowly on his heel to face the sullen hero. "I think I was supposed to ask about some silly trinket. So consider me asking about that, a repository or some such. Far be it from me to weigh in on that but Lightbringer is a scary customer and one does wonder why she's asking you when she already has Impact to ask. You don't know where it is now anymore than Impact does or what poor sod she gave it to. I'd have thought the Authority would look for it in the library at Karakuri Town...but no one really wants to go there so I can't blame them really. I wouldn't go there myself, not alone or with a group and I certainly wouldn't wait to do it on a full moon. They say that's when the dead walk the street. Spooky stuff. Guess that's us then." He gives a knock on the door, it swinging open for him to leave as several guards move in after.

They're far from gentle but they remove the bindings from Tsunami and lead him out to the waiting room. The rest of the team, if they are still here, aren't to be seen but several people are waiting. One is Cindersnap, looking anxious though when she spots Tsunami at least for a moment it wavers. Several marked with A Banditry symbols pressed on their heather gray uniforms sit opposite and beside them a withered, short old woman. All look annoyed as well though with the man walking off out the door...that's probably a fair thing to feel. "Oi, we waitin' for your friends boy or you coming home?" the old woman says as she stands, cane tapping the ground as she gets her balance. "Didn't slap these people around to wait around for hours."


Ronin

"Everyone wants something but if you're not willing to play the game then I suppose we'll get to the final gambit." Master Sun opines, drinking in the rest of the answer with rapt attention. "Ah if only we lived in such a world. Alas the Heavens and the Earth are out of alignment and Chaos rules such that even my predictions come difficult in these twilight days. One more question, if you'll permit me. This City of the Dead it spoke of. Is this somewhere beyond our realm or somewhere close to home do you think?"


Sunburst

Lightbringer's face shows little emotion, though a wrinkle at the corner of her glowing eyes shows some level of annoyance? Perhaps something close. "You can, girl. One of your friends knows of its location. We are certain of that. The outsider, The Smith's boy. If you wish to help your friends you will march out of this room right now, find them, beg them, plead with them, whatever it takes to do the right thing. We are here to protect this city, to overthrow the Warlords and bring peace to our citizens and that includes you, girl. You are either with us or against us. Do not make the wrong choice."

With a wave of her hand the doors to the room swing open as several Authority members come to undo any lasting bindings placed on Sunburst before escorting her to the waiting room. Tsunami, and the collection mentioned above, are already there though as soon as the old woman sees the state Sunburst is in she moves to take her hand. She's cut off however by an already up and moving Cindersnap who throws herself between the two of you as she takes you into a big hug.

Hikari

Jin, regardless of the dishonor shown, seems to accept the answer with a curt nod. The venomous words that follow finally provoke something out of the old swordsman however, a flash of emotions pierce the usual calm stern facade. The sound of thunder rumbles around the room as he brings his hand down on the table strongly enough to shake it and the floor beneath, cups flying in all directions. "So help me there are days I wish I had not taken you in Hikari." he spits and for just that brief moment there is almost regret, a flash of knowing the words were spoken in anger and not in truth but it's only that brief moment before the stern facade is back up. "I am trying to protect you, Hikari. From Lightbringer. From the Storm King and the Coven and you. Most of all I am trying to protect you from you, you foolish hateful child. If only you would have listened to me, if only you'd been what I was molding you to be you would not be here. You would have been safe. But this is the path you have chosen and I am infected by your foolishness. One cannot stop a boulder as it moves down the mountainside. You are free to go, I have placed my neck on the headsman's block for you this day and set ourselves against this foe you will have to fight." With a wave of a hand he dismisses you, the door swinging open though Jin makes no move to leave.

The waiting room you're led to is getting quite crowded, only moments before Sunburst consumed in a hug by Cindersnap though when she sees you she (and with Lan in tow) becomes a heat seeking missile as she tries to pull you into the hug alongside your estwhile companion.

[The_Specialist]

Tsunami
Conditions: Angry, Insecure
Potential: 7/5
Gadget: 0
Hold: 0

Spoiler: Labels

Show

• Freak: +1
• Danger: -1
• Savior: +2
• Superior: +3
• Mundane: -2

Spoiler: Moves

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• [X] Fireside Chat: When you seek advice from your mentor, roll + the Label they embody. On a hit they will tell you what to do. On a 10+, mark potential if you follow their advice, and take +1 ongoing to follow through. On a 7-9, you get +1 forward to see it through if you do it their way. On a miss, they don’t have time for you because something big has gone down; mark a condition, GM’s choice.
• [X]Be Mindful of Your Surroundings: When you assess the situation before entering into a fight, you may ask one additional question, even on a miss.
• [X]Venting Frustration: When you directly engage while you are Angry, you can roll + the label your mentor denies (Mundane) and clear Angry.
• [X]Before We Get Started: When you take the time to closely observe your opposition before a battle, roll + Savior. On a 10+, hold 3. On a 7-9, hold 2. On a miss, hold 1 and mark a condition. During battle, you can spend your hold 1 for 1 to name a character you observed and...:
  
  • ...redirect their attack to another character or nowhere—into a wall or the sky.
  • ...cross a distance between them and you.
  • ...disarm them.
  • ...ignore all harm to yourself from one of their attacks.
  • ...escape any bindings or restrictions they attempt to place on you.

He’s in no particular mood to deal with anyone, and while usually he’s not quite so petty, briefly, Max does feel a sort of sour satisfaction when the Stranger stands up already and seems to surrender to irritation. However, when the man continues and implies that he is the rightful owner of the masks (or at least representing them) Max can’t help being curious, despite his best efforts not to be. Also slightly irritated; if the man could have just given that information up front, he might have been more inclined to answer. But probably not.

He’s perhaps a little embarrassed as well; he never did think to try and find out the origin of the masks. At the time of their acquisition there’d been too much heat, and he and Tumult, two nobodies as far as he was aware at the time, had wanted nothing more to do with the situation than get out before the cops showed up or worse. He hadn’t particularly known what he was doing yet, back then. Clearly he still didn’t.

Max isn’t willing to take the man’s words completely at face value, even if he is interested in the implications. He has a sick feeling in his stomach still, a mantra echoing at the back of his mind, not to trust anyone outside the team. A flutter of silk flashes across his thoughts. Maybe, best not to trust… anyone.

At the very least, he doesn’t immediately try and trash the business card that is set in front of him. Or maybe he is waiting for the Stranger to leave. The emblem on the card catches his attention however, and he turns his head a little sharply to look at the Suited Man again, just as the stranger turns back around instead of leaving at the last moment, which also surprises him but shouldn’t. It does show slightly on his face.

Max’s brows knit further as he listens more closely this time, confused at first as the man seems to ramble on, but catching on by the end. Library at Karakuri Town. Full moon. He’s not sure what the man’s angle is exactly, or how he knows so much, and were it not for the clue on the business card he’d be more suspecting of a trap. Instead, he just gives a subtle nod to the Stranger as he leaves for real this time, before growing stiff as the guards return.

Despite the less than kind treatment, Max restrains himself and holds onto his anger, refusing to lash out or give them more reason to do anything worse to him or his team. His expression is certainly scathing though, as he’s led out to the waiting room. Cindersnap and the A Banditry ilk are given little acknowledgement, especially when he spots the withered old woman amongst those present. Hazel eyes fly wide as his face openly shows his full surprise this time, with a mix of relief and shame thrown in.

“B-Baasan!” He blurts out, quickly moving over to her. A hand hovers near her, as if prepared to help, but also seeming at odds with doing so, or implying she would need help, even if the old woman does look fairly frail. He should have known who would post his bail, although the Suited Stranger’s business card had given him pause. Max’s face continues to twist as he fights to hide the flood of emotions, embarrassment and relief intensified. There are so many things he wants to tell her, and ask her, now since they last spoke, and given the way their last conversation ended, he’s almost genuinely surprised she came for him. Again, he shouldn’t be, should he…?

“Baasan… you shouldn’t have to be here.” He speaks a little more ‘calmly’, but his face has deepened with a visible shade of red. He feels a painful twist in his chest as she asks if he’s coming ‘home’, knowing what she’s really asking, or at least believing he does. Max shakes his head discreetly to try and clear it, as he feels his eyes begin to sting with a mix of emotions; tears of frustration, he’d say. Nothing has gone right, and they’ve lost so much. He has no strong plan. He’s not even sure if he still has a team. But… he’s still not ready to surrender. “I… would like to wait for my friends. If they are still here. Thank you… for coming.” Max finishes, staring a little intently at the old woman. “Can we-...?” He begins to ask, before the commotion of others arriving cuts him off.

[Comissar]

Sunburst
Conditions: Guilty, Insecure, Angry
Potential: 0/5

Spoiler: Labels

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• Danger: -1
• Freak: +2
• Savior: +3
• Superior: +0
• Mundane: -1

Spoiler: Burn and Flares

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Held Burn

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Shielding

You call up a fast protective field to stop a danger. Spend 1 burn to defend someone else from an immediate threat, rolling +Freak instead of +Saviour.

Moat

Spend 1 burn to create a barrier that will hold back threats as long as you keep your attention on it. The GM may call for you to spend another burn if the barrier is threatened by particularly powerful enemies.

Reality Storm

You channel a destructive burst with your powers. Spend 1 burn to directly engage a threat using your powers, rolling +Freak instead of +Danger. If you do, you will cause unwanted collateral damage unless you spend another burn.

Snatch

Spend 1 burn to use your powers to seize any one object up to the size of a person from someone within view.

Move

Spend 1 Burn to move to any place you choose within the scene, breaking through or slipping past any restraints in your way. Spend a second burn to move to any place you've previously been.

Overcharge

You channel the full capacity of your incredible powers to overcome an obstacle, reshape your environment, or extend your senses. Spend 2 burn to take a 10+ when you unleash your powers.

Elemental Awareness

Spend 1 Burn and Mark a Condition to open up your mind to the world around you with your powers. You can ask any one question about the world around you and the GM will answer honestly.

Moves

Wish I could be - When you comfort or support someone, if you tell them what you most envy about them, you can roll +Freak instead of +Mundane.

Unstoppable - When you smash your way through scenery to get to or get away from something, roll +Danger. On a hit, the world breaks before you, and you get what you want. On a 7-9, choose one: mark a condition, leave something behind, or take something with you. On a miss, you smash through, but leave devestation in your wake or wind up somewhere worse, GM's choice.

Lanuola finds her heart in her throat as Lightbringer expresses her displeasure at her answer. The silencing discomfort is joined by a wrenching in her chest as Lightbringer goes on to claim to fight for peace and justice. This time she knew she wanted to say something, but her voice simply would not come. She flinches at the sound of the door opening behind her, turning her head with fear in her eyes as the two guards move quickly toward her. She starts to flinch as away as they reach for her, belatedly realising their intent as they take hold of the cuffs and bindings around her hands. She can't shake her uncertainty, however, as they work to unbind her hands, ripples and flashes of light flickering across her skin just barely visible in the brilliant chamber. Rubbing at her wrists as she's prompted up to her feet again, she gives Lightbringer a last glance before she's taken down the corridor.

With no frame of reference of where she was or where she was going, her imagination begins to war with her rational mind. It couldn't be another cell, surely. She'd have been blinded again if it were, wouldn't she..? Was she being allowed to leave? Could she dare to hope that? She shot one of her escorts a furtive glance, daring to look at the uniformed woman for scarcely a few moments. The guard's face was unreadable. Looking forward again, she tried to fall back on some of the anxiety exercises that she'd been taught over the years, doing her best to just steady her breathing.

And then they were at the waiting room. Her guards left her in a room of strangers. No, not just strangers, she spotted Max. She only had a brief sight of him turning his attention toward her arrival before one of the strangers swept toward her. She starts to flinch back before finding herself embraced in an unexpected hug. She's still for several moments, struggling to process the whiplash of everything that had happened to her in the past twelve hours and to now find herself being given comfort. Her vision rapidly starts to blur, and then the dam breaks. She hadn't thought she'd had tears left after the night before, and she didn't even know this woman. But it didn't matter as she found herself breaking down in fits of sobs in the stranger's arms, clutching at her back and burying her head into the woman's shoulder as she returned the embrace.