Iron Station Savage Masks IC

[InTheMachine]

Calvin
“Sure!” She takes a bite from Calvin’s sundae and grins. “That is soooo good. I love sweets, if you haven’t noticed,” she says, blushing a little. “My father was very restrictive when I was growing up, so I guess this kind of a rebellion against him.”

Raphael
“What the hell, man?!” the first addict yells as his buyer is slammed against the wall. He shuffles back a few steps before he trips and falls over a piece of detritus.

The buyer loses a few teeth from the force of hitting the wall and then loses consciousness, going limp in Raphael’s hand.

“You want drugs?” the pusher asks, pulling a black backpack around to his chest. “Take ‘em! I got money too! Take whatever you want!”

He reaches into the backpack and then smirks at Raphael as he pulls out a Glock. He levels the gun at the hero and fires.

OOC: Raphael takes 13 damage!

[big teej]

The Last Time Someone Shot Me, They Died!

Nightgaunt looks down at the tiny, smoking hole in one of his favorite shirts. He glares at the dealer eyes narrowed, snarling. He steps over the unconscious druggie. "Take whatever I want, huh?" He says. He smiles, and falls over, disintegrating into a squeaking, scrabbling, horde of rats which rush forward and engulf the man. The rats bite and chew and claw and scrabble, working their way into the man's clothes, getting tangled in his hair, biting at his lips and fingers and ears and.... all in all, subjecting the man to a nightmarish experience.

Spoiler: OOC/Mechanics/Whatnot

Show

Roll to become unshaken: 14+2 from undead = 16
Swarm Damage: 16+3=19 (terrifying, but nonlethal) damage!

[InTheMachine]

Raphael
The man screams, tearing at his clothes with one hand and throwing rats off when he can grab one of the squirming rodents. "What the ****! Get offa me!" His finger squeezes the trigger again, sending a shot into the brick wall that ricochets off the concrete next to his buyer.

Eventually, the addict succumbs to the teeth and claws of the tidal wave of rats, collapsing in the alley. His gun clatters to the ground out of his limp hand.

Raphael hears a woman's voice call from the street, "Somebody call the police!"

[HIDA]

Calvin
“Sure!” She takes a bite from Calvin’s sundae and grins. “That is soooo good. I love sweets, if you haven’t noticed,” she says, blushing a little. “My father was very restrictive when I was growing up, so I guess this kind of a rebellion against him.”

"This will definitely stick it to him." Calvin grins after tasting the delicious tart. "That's is really good. This place makes everything in-house so its super-tasty."

After another bite of sundae Calvin's eyes light up. "Once we finish up here, wanna go the Amusement park? It'll be fun!"

[InTheMachine]

Calvin
“You mean Galaway Island?” Yuki asks as she finishes her ice cream. “I’m up for it.”

Before Calvin can, she pays for their desserts. “Okay, let’s head to the island.”

Once outside, Yuki flags down a taxi and the two of them take a ride to the amusement park. Once they arrive, Yuki hops out a stretches. The crowd bustles around and there’s excited screams in the air from the couple of rollercoasters. “Where to first?” Yuki asks.

[PK-Leon]

Dining Room

Louis watches both Calvin and Raphael pass through the dining room silence and notes their respective demeanors. Whatever that was it didn't sound good... He thinks to himself as he runs hand through his black hair.

Stella starts to say something before Raphael leaves, but the words die in her throat as she takes in his expression. She looks at her basically untouched bowl and picks it up, taking it back to the kitchen, emptying it, and putting it in the sink before she comes back and says to Louis. “If anyone needs me, I’ll be in the library. Sorry about… all of this.”

"Hey, I wouldn't worry about it too much. I'd say this is fairly normal us." Louis cranes his neck looking around the diining room and kitchen for Gia and speaks in a hushed voice. "You should see Gia when she get heated." He laughs under his breath but stops abruptly. "Actually... on second thought maybe you shouldn't? Yeah that's probably for the best. Well anyway, if you need anything just ask or let Mimi know and she'll take care of you."

Louis watches Stella leave making sure she heads off in the direction of the library before he begins to take his leave.

A few minutes later, Seraph returns. His hair is wet from a quick shower. “Does somebody care to tell me what the hell happened to our wall?” he asks the group in a tired voice.

"What are you talking about?" Louis says feigning ignorance as he moves down the hall to investigate. "OOOOOH... This hole? Yeah that's news to me too but don't sweat it. I'll figure out what happened and let you know." Louis casts his eyes upward and speaks to an invisible force. "Hey Mimi, you wouldn't happen to know where Ryker is at the moment would you?"

He looks back at Seraph and gives him an exaggerated shrug.

[InTheMachine]

Dining Room
Seraph gazes flatly at Louis, unamused. “Uh huh. Sure Louis.” He sighs, but lets it drop. “Have you seen Amelia? We’re about to head out to visit Aimee at the hospital.”

“Ryker is currently in the gym,” Mimi answers from speakers over head.

Gym
As Louis enters the gym, he finds Ryker on one of the bench presses. He seems to be in the middle of a set; counting the weights on each side, he’s benching just over 400 pounds.

Ryker is shirtless, wearing only black and red gym shorts and black tennis shoes. He completes five more reps with a little bit of effort and racks the bar. With a gusty breath, he sits up, wiping his face with a small gray towel. “Oh hey, Big Man,” he says after spotting Louis. “You lookin’ for me?”

[HIDA]

It's a date?!?!?!?!?

Calvin
“You mean Galaway Island?” Yuki asks as she finishes her ice cream. “I’m up for it.”

Before Calvin can, she pays for their desserts. “Okay, let’s head to the island.”

Once outside, Yuki flags down a taxi and the two of them take a ride to the amusement park. Once they arrive, Yuki hops out a stretches. The crowd bustles around and there’s excited screams in the air from the couple of rollercoasters. “Where to first?” Yuki asks.

"Come on I know just the place." Calvin says, grabbing Yuki's hand and leading her to the Biggest coaster in the park. The two spend the afternoon going on the rides , walking through the haunted maze and house of mirrors. Having cotton candy and funnel cakes they even take a trip on the Carousel and the Ferris wheel right after the sun sets. Calvin smiles at Yuki holding the Giant stuffed White Tiger he won for her from the Ring toss. Before they go, they take a set of pictures in the photo booth.Once they're ready to leave, Calvin calls a cab to take them back into town.

[InTheMachine]

Calvin
Yuki giggles as she gets into the cab and has to really stuff her tiger plushie to get it into the backseat, which means that she had to sit super close to Calvin on the way back to the warehouse. “So… was this a date?”

[HIDA]

Calvin
Yuki giggles as she gets into the cab and has to really stuff her tiger plushie to get it into the backseat, which means that she had to sit super close to Calvin on the way back to the warehouse. “So… was this a date?”

Calvin smiles and puts his head down for a second to hide the warmth rising in his cheeks.

"Yes." he says, still smiling. "Did you have fun?"

[InTheMachine]

Calvin
Yuki takes his hand with a smile. “That was the most fun I’ve had in a long time. Thank you for taking me out.”

The taxi drops the two of them off a block from the warehouse. The night is a little chilly, but the walk warms the two heroes up. “Hey, do you wanna finish off the night with a movie?”

[HIDA]

Calvin
Yuki takes his hand with a smile. “That was the most fun I’ve had in a long time. Thank you for taking me out.”

The taxi drops the two of them off a block from the warehouse. The night is a little chilly, but the walk warms the two heroes up. “Hey, do you wanna finish off the night with a movie?”

"Sounds great! What do you wanna see?" Calvin asked wrapping his arm on her shoulders.

[InTheMachine]

Calvin
“Do you guys have a huge projector in your living room like we do?” Her face flushes. “There’s this new anime movie I was wanting to watch. Do you… like that stuff? It’s fine if you don’t. We can watch something else.”

[HIDA]

Calvin
“Do you guys have a huge projector in your living room like we do?” Her face flushes. “There’s this new anime movie I was wanting to watch. Do you… like that stuff? It’s fine if you don’t. We can watch something else.”

"Yeah! We definitely can! I... might have a manga collection." Calvin says, smiling at her. "I'm sure Mimi can get us set."

[PK-Leon]

Dining Room

Seraph gazes flatly at Louis, unamused. “Uh huh. Sure Louis.” He sighs, but lets it drop. “Have you seen Amelia? We’re about to head out to visit Aimee at the hospital.”

“Ryker is currently in the gym,” Mimi answers from speakers over head.

"Amelia? Check the kitchen. If she's not there then I guess look for Gia, she might know?" Louis glances upwards. "Thanks Mimi!" He says before finding his way to the gym.

Gym

Ryker is shirtless, wearing only black and red gym shorts and black tennis shoes. He completes five more reps with a little bit of effort and racks the bar. With a gusty breath, he sits up, wiping his face with a small gray towel. “Oh hey, Big Man,” he says after spotting Louis. “You lookin’ for me?”

"As a matter of fact, I am." Louis says as he leans against one of the machines in the gym. "Fortunately for me house arrest makes you a very easy man to find."

"I want to start off by saying good work back there in the sewers. If someone told me last last week that I'd be fighting a snake demon I wouldn't have believed it yet here we are. So aside from what's been going on recently, what's your experience in the field look like? I'm gonna go out on a limb here and assume you're no stranger to fighting." He says with knowing smile.

[big teej]

No Such Thing as a Walk in the Park:

The rats scurry around before clumping tightly together and Raphael stands back up. He hooks his thumbs in his belt loops and looks down at the dealer and his buyer. He takes a deep breath and lets it out in a long sigh and runs a hand through his hair before turning his attention to the backpack.

Raphael carefully uses his claws to pluck the backpack from the ground and peeks inside, snagging two baggies of product before throwing the bag back on the dealer. He looks at the baggies, holds them up to the light so he can see them better then shrugs.

He glances up and down the alley for more witnesses and, finding none, flies apart once again, this time rising into the air as a cloud of ravens bound for home.

Back at HQ. He lands on the roof and checks his phone, seeing that he's been wandering around for a good three or four hours. It'd felt like no time at all. He makes his way back inside and towards the command center to enlist Mimi's help in identifying the mystery substance.

[InTheMachine]

Calvin
When Calvin and Yuki enter the living room they find Stella lounging on the couch with a thick book in her hands. She sits up when they come in. “I’ll get out of your way,” she says, shutting her book. The magician gets up and heads through the doors to the command center.

Yuki asks Mimi to find her movie, and then asks Calvin, “Would you like some tea?” She heads to the kitchen to make some, then returns with at least one steaming mug. She gets settled on the couch next to Calvin and asks Mimi to start the movie.

Louis
Ryker gets up from the bench, throwing the towel over one of his shoulders. He grins as Louis praises him. “Thanks. You weren’t too bad yourself.”

He grabs a water bottle next to the bench and takes a quick drink. “Well, you know I’ve been with Southside for about a year. Before that, I was an enforcer for the Rooks. Been part of the gang since I was fourteen, so I had to learn fast or get my *** beat. Jesse's a former M3A fighter, so he taught me everything he thought would be useful.” He pauses, glancing over at the mats a few feet away. “You wanna spar? I’ll even go easy on ya.”

Spoiler: CCM TN 4

Show

Jesse Ortiz aka Blackout has been identified as the leader of the Rooks. He’s a former M3A (Metahuman Mixed Martial Arts) fighter, but gave that up about twenty years ago to create the gang. He uses powerful blasts of electricity in combination with his combat experience to take down anyone who threatens his gang.

Raphael
Holding the drugs up to the light, Raphael sees that it’s a dark red crystalline substance, slightly see-through. As he takes off, some of his corvid eyes spot a police cruiser with blues and reds on headed to where he’d left the two addicts.

Back at the warehouse, Raphael passes through the living room to get to the command center and find Yuki and Calvin snuggled up together watching an anime movie.

As he enters the command center, he finds Stella seated in one of the large comfy chairs around the conference table with a book in front of her. She looks up as the door opens and sees Raphael. Her eyes dart back down to the table. It seems she's unable to meet his gaze. “Did you need this room? I’ll go... find somewhere else to read.”

[big teej]

Homework!?

Raphael walks in front of the TV on his way to the kitchen, where he unfortunately makes quite the ruckus looking through cabinets for the things he wants before returning, walking in front of the TV, and heading into the Command Center with a mundane beverage, a 'capri sun' pouch, and a small sammich.

He looks over at Menagerie when she offers to leave and tilts his head like a dog listening to a high pitched sound. "I didn't know cute villains had homework." He says with a grin. "I don't mind you being in here Stella. Really I don't. I just found something weird and figuring it out is kinda beyond me, so I was gonna get Mimi to help."

He holds up the little red baggies.

"You okay?" He asks with a frown, noticing her lack of eye contact.

[InTheMachine]

Raphael
At his tone, much less frustrated or angry than she'd expected, Stella raises her gaze to meet his. "I thought that you might be mad at me. I'm the reason you got into a fight with Calvin, after all. And when you left you were... very upset."

She looks back down at the thick, ancient book on the table. The pages are worn thin, and the laced binding is beginning to come apart. "I was doing some research on demons. It's a difficult read though. The book's been translated a few times so it doesn't make very much sense in some places, and this translation is in German. I'm only a few chapters in, but it still hasn't even mentioned a demon yet. Hopefully, it picks up soon."

Stella memorizes the page number she was on and closes the book, then gets up and takes a look at the baggies Raphael holds. "Qu'est-ce que c'est?"

Spoiler: Translation

Show

What's this?

[big teej]

Clever Scene:

"No...." Raphael says, drawing it out. "Calvin is the reason I got into a fight with Calvin." He glares at the door to the living room for a moment and then shrugs. "You haven't done anything wrong, least not since you got here, I'm not mad at you." He shakes his head.

Raphael looks at the book intently, trying to make out the cover. "My German's a little rusty, what's the book called?" He asks when she closes it.

He offers the baggies to her. "Not a clue, some kinda new-fangled street drug, s'called 'Nova'. Know anything about it?" He rattles off.

[InTheMachine]

Raphael
"That... makes me feel better," Stella says. "I apologize for presuming."

There isn't any text on the cover of the book that Raphael can make out, only worn red leather. "It's a grimoire, written by a woman named Kishar. The original text was in Sumerian. I pulled it from my mother's personal collection. Also, you speak German? Or was that sarcasm?” she adds with a small quirk of her lips. “Because if you do, that would be very helpful.”

She rolls her wrist and a notebook fades into reality into her open hand. She places it down next to the leather bound book. “I’ve been translating what I could, but like I said, it’s very choppy in places.”

Stella takes the baggies, holding them up to the light. "I never heard of anything like that, and we got a fair amount of drug addicts that came through the clinic," she says, handing them back to Raphael.

[HIDA]

Calvin
When Calvin and Yuki enter the living room they find Stella lounging on the couch with a thick book in her hands. She sits up when they come in. “I’ll get out of your way,” she says, shutting her book. The magician gets up and heads through the doors to the command center.

Yuki asks Mimi to find her movie, and then asks Calvin, “Would you like some tea?” She heads to the kitchen to make some, then returns with at least one steaming mug. She gets settled on the couch next to Calvin and asks Mimi to start the movie.

As Stella gets up to walk out Calvin lifts his hand and let's it fall back down. "Tea sounds great." Calvin says and thanks her when she returns with it. i'm gonna have to talk to Stella... tomorrow. Calvin thinks as he settles in with Yuki.

Spoiler: End of Session Mechanics

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No Bennies to Roll!
Gained Moved Cmon Lucky and acquired a sidekick! See: Bastion, the Steed
Goldheart grew away from the team because some very half-baked event took place and was just supposed to go along with it? Pshhh. and takes influence away from Bloody Mary.
Goldheart Character has gone through changes. Please review here.

[PK-Leon]

Ryker gets up from the bench, throwing the towel over one of his shoulders. He grins as Louis praises him. “Thanks. You weren’t too bad yourself.”

He grabs a water bottle next to the bench and takes a quick drink. “Well, you know I’ve been with Southside for about a year. Before that, I was an enforcer for the Rooks. Been part of the gang since I was fourteen, so I had to learn fast or get my *** beat. Jesse's a former M3A fighter, so he taught me everything he thought would be useful.” He pauses, glancing over at the mats a few feet away. “You wanna spar? I’ll even go easy on ya.”

"The Rooks huh?" Louis asks as a he starts to recall a not so distant memory. He allows a frown to slip through to the surface and tinge his expression but only for a brief moment. Louis' attention immediately returns to the present as does his self assured smile when he refocuses on his line of questions. "How'd you end up getting caught up with those guys anyway?"

"A sparring session?" He considers Ryker's offer for a moment. "Sure, why not? Just promise not to cry when you lose." He says before taking off his shoes and stepping onto the mats.

Spoiler: Mechanics and End of Session

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CCM (Jesse): 10!

Redline gains 3 EXP!
Redline gains 1 EXP from Benny's!
Redline becomes Seasoned

Redline takes "More Power Points" and gains 5 Power Points!

Redline gained Heightened Senses: Perception! (1 Point) (Limitation: Sight -1 Point)
Redline gained Heightened Senses: Low Light Vision! (1 Point)
Redline increases his Uncanny Reflexes! (4 Points)


End Of Session

After his research last night and the teams success during today's mission Redline has definitely grown into his own self image. He was able to conduct a short but fruitful investigation with the help of Mimi which provided direction for the team's next course of action. Redline also served as the team leader during their encounter with Emeric and attempted to play peacemaker when Nightgaunt proposed the idea of helping Menagerie. If that's not hero like then I don't know what is.

Redline shifts his Superior up and his Mundane down!

[big teej]

Questions:

"Kishar, huh... I've got a few spooks I can ask, maybe I can get you a cleaner copy." Raphael shrugs. "As a matter of fact, I do speak, German."

"Me either, and the goons I lifted it from weren't exactly in a position to be forthcoming... I doubt they knew anything anyway." He shrugs again. "Anyway, I thought I'd feed a dose to Mimi and see what she has to say about it." He turns toward the computer and looks around at all the buttons, keys, switches, and screens.

"uh.... Mimi... how do I do...that?" He asks.

[InTheMachine]

Raphael
“That would be amazing if you could find another copy, but I’m sure it will be hard. This book is at least a hundred years old,” Stella says. “I’m not sure how many copies exist.”

“I could analyze it from the lab,” Mimi says. “You could take a small sample with some water and put it in the centrifuge. I have sensors inside that machine.”

[big teej]

YEAAAAAAAAAAAAH:

"I can but try." Raphael offers with a smile and a shrug.

He considers Mimi's words with a frown. "Yeah. I can do that. I've seen C.S.I." He trails off and sets about preparing a sample.

[InTheMachine]

Raphael
Stella follows Raphael into the lab and watches while he prepares the sample and feeds it to the machine.

“Analysis will take about twenty minutes,” Mimi says from the intercom above.

“Do you want to help with me with this passage while we wait for her?” Stella asks, sitting at one of the steel high top tables. She opens the ancient book and her notebook, waiting for Raphael to sit. If he does, she leans closer to him, so that their shoulders touch as she reads and translates the passage she was working on. She occasionally asks Raphael the meaning of a word, if he can make out the faint writing, or his thoughts on the arrangement of a sentence.

Spoiler: Smarts TN 4

Show

This particular passage is about Kishar figuring out the correct ritual for summoning demons. She found out that to summon a high level demon, she needed their name first, so she scoured the library in Ur for names, and eventually she found one. Vytas.

[big teej]

Bookworm:

Raphael nods at Mimi's declaration, then turns his attention to Stella's studies. "You weren't kidding about the condition of this book." He mutters as he glances over the ragged pages. Fortunately, despite the density and inscrutability of the text, it's well within his grasp and he eagerly supplies whatever help she needs as they read along.

He smiles as they read and study, his anger forgotten, for now.

"It looks like names are kinda important.... and this ritual is for... Vytas?" He frowns. "That was..." He looks away, wracking his brain. "That was the name in the circle for the first summoning..." He visibly deflates. "The one we were too late for."

Spoiler: OOC/Mechanics/Whatnot

Show

Smarts Roll: 5

[InTheMachine]

Raphael
Stella's eyes go wide. "So that's the demon that-" her words cut off and it seems like she chokes on the air. She gasps for a moment before slamming her fist down beside the book. "Damn it," she mutters, tears pricking her eyes. "You know how I told you I wanted to talk to you later? I guess now is a good a time as any."

A purple bruise, about the size of a man's thumb, appears on the right side of her throat. "I can't tell you much, or else that will happen again, but... something happened. I met a demon after we met on the balcony of the church." She waits, but no additional bruises appear. "He put some kind of curse on me. I can't talk about him, or the curse chokes me."

Louis
Ryker notices Louis’ frown. “I joined the Rooks because my dad was a piece of ****,” he growls as he slips off his shoes. “He beat me half to death every night he drank, which was pretty much every night. So I got tired of it. I didn’t have anywhere else to go. But Jesse took me in, acted like the dad I wished I had. And maybe it was just because I had powers, ‘cause apparently loyalty doesn’t mean anything to them.” His tone gets more and more venomous with each word.

He gets in a ready stance across from Louis and takes a breath, focusing and getting his anger under control. “But why are you askin’ me about this? Surely you’re not that interested in my **** past.” He leads with a left hook and a few jabs from his right hand, then follows up with a lightning fast kick that catches the side of Louis’ thigh.

OOC: Louis takes 10 damage!

[PK-Leon]

Ryker notices Louis’ frown. “I joined the Rooks because my dad was a piece of ****,” he growls as he slips off his shoes. “He beat me half to death every night he drank, which was pretty much every night. So I got tired of it. I didn’t have anywhere else to go. But Jesse took me in, acted like the dad I wished I had. And maybe it was just because I had powers, ‘cause apparently loyalty doesn’t mean anything to them.” His tone gets more and more venomous with each word.

He gets in a ready stance across from Louis and takes a breath, focusing and getting his anger under control. “But why are you askin’ me about this? Surely you’re not that interested in my **** past.” He leads with a left hook and a few jabs from his right hand, then follows up with a lightning fast kick that catches the side of Louis’ thigh.

Louis squares up across from Ryker and takes an orthodox stance, making sure to keep himself light on his feet. He easily keeps pace with Ryker's initial barrage and starts up his usual banter. "An ex-Rook and a southpaw huh? When it rains it pours I g-"

Ryker's kick closes the distance faster than anticipated and connects solidly but Louis instinctively rolls with the momentum of the strike to soften the blow. He quickly rises to his feet and throws a few probing jabs back at Ryker attempting to gauge his defenses.

"Looks like you were serious about that training under Jesse huh?" A smile still lines his face. "So what else did he teach you? Or was that all you had time to learn before he sold you out?"

Spoiler: Mechanics

Show

Louis spends 1 Benny to soak! 11
Louis soaks 2 wounds! (But I don't the extra success converts into anything?)

Fighting to Hit!: 4

Louis attempts to Provoke Somone (Ryker)! : 13 (I'll take 2 please!)

Louis' objective is twofold. He's currently trying to get under Ryker's skin and distract him from the current sparring session so he can land a decisive hit while attempting to pull out any information about the Rooks Ryker might let slip when his emotions are running high.