Shades of Grey IC

[GameOfChampions]

Shades of Grey

The warehouse is not the run down ugly squat building that any of you were expecting when you arrived. Set deep within the Arts & Warehouse district of New Orleans the warehouse is one of the many being converted into hipster businesses and homes. This particular warehouse is brick painted a jaunty light blue to match the river only a few short blocks away with a redone industrial metal roof in a gunmetal grey. Large bay windows on the both the ground floor and the upper two levels though the upper level windows have a subtle tint to them to stop any view to the inside. The front door is locked but the side door is able to be unlocked with a four number code.

The inside bottom floor is a tasteful open concept store space, it was closed now but it seemed like it had been a vintage furniture store from the few pieces of inventory languishing under some plastic sheets. There are two staircases at the back of the store level leading to the upper levels where you had been asked to meet the writer of your letter. The staircases open into a large open loft style living area tastefully decorated an eggshell white with a living area, large kitchen island, and state of the art kitchen. Everything fully furnished with top of the line furniture and appliances.

Among the couches and chairs of the living room all of you gather, there is no sign of the writer as it seems that the random collection of people
there are just as confused. As soon as everyone gathers around the living room the large tv screen turns on, showing only a black screen with a white circle that starts to throb in time with the voice coming out of it.

"Now that everyone is here I can begin. I'm glad you all decided to take up my invitation, don't worry all your secrets are safe with me and you don't need to worry about anyone else tracking you down the same way... I'm unique in that manner. Now the details are all in the packets hidden under the chairs and couches, you can all read at your leisure, but the meat of the proposition is that I am looking to back the creation of a new cape group in New Orleans.'

There is a pause for a moment for anyone to grab the packets before continuing.

'Now I'm not doing this out of the good of my heart, I am going to take advantage of the arrival of a new cape group on scene in my own way and of course I would request that you do three missions for me when I request them. Obviously they would not be without compensation of course. Now if this leads to a business relationship in the future where I can reach out to you for such things I would not be opposed to that.

In return I will provide this buildings deed for your use, whatever that would be. A starting budget of ten thousand dollars. And a well paying mission with some hints on where a local bounty is and a fee on top of that. I would place no constraints on you, if you want to become vigilantes or heroes you can, join the underworld, or the growing ranks of the local bounty hunters.

If the answer is no then you can leave here with some of the cash left here for the starting budget and no hard feelings. If your interested in splashing onto the cape scene and making your mark then I can assure you this is the way to go. I'll expect the mission to be accomplished by the end of the week. Good day my friends.'

Spoiler: Starting Point

Show

All five of you received letters either in New Orleans or the surrounding areas. The letter contained the instructions to get to the warehouse and more importantly all contained both your real names but a piece of background information such as an old school or friend or family member. You can all make the choice of what it is.

The packets in the warehouse all contain a bunch of information, and one of them contains the money/deed. The mission outlined in the packet is a few hints of the location of Jumper who has quite a large bounty. The packet outlines that Jumper has been seen several times in the southern section of the Bywater District and the personal information of two of his goons. The other piece of information is that one of the pieces of gear he has is a tinker gear on his chest that automatically teleports him to the paired location if vitals start to suffer.

[Zelphas]

The tall figure shrouded completely in darkness refuses to sit, pacing back and forth with the clomp of heavy boots. His form is further shrouded by wisps of shadow and darkness which seem to wave around his torso in a random array, making him seem larger than he is, and the face seems oddly deformed; almost certainly a mask, but of what type is impossible to see in its shadowy shape. The figure stops dead in his tracks when the voice begins speaking, remaining silent and utterly still while it gives its sales pitch.

Inside, Stefan strangles back a bout of hysterical laughter. Here it is, here it has to be; all his running, and yet he makes it across this massive country only to find his real name and his mother's phone number in a card waiting for him. He should just walk out the door, just keep running, get as far away again. West, this time, or east. Just get away, keep going, forever.

But he just barely made it into town the night before, and he spent all his money on the bus fare. And this person--whoever he/she/they/it is--found him once...

"Scheisse," Funhouse speaks aloud, the internally curses himself for letting so much slip. He will need to catch this person alone, to get them to agree to remove all record of Stefan from wherever they found him. Until then, he'll just have to keep himself and his past hidden as much as possible from these people... which probably isn't helped by swearing in German. "Scheisse," he says again, sounding more resigned than anything else, waiting for the others to react to their new 'job offer'.

[JbeJ275]

"Well, this was by far the weirdest and least pleasant job interview I'm ever done. Anyone have any stories to top it?" Comes a voice from a spot at the back of the room that had been empty moments previously. Standing there was a young man, perhaps 6' 1", in a fully body black and blue wetsuit, a bulky set of goggles resting on their head above a black facemask with a fanged mouth decal on the front.

The man takes a few steps forwards, before pulling out a file from one of the hidden pouches.

"Look, I don't know what this is, but if nothing else I think we can all agree that Jumper is trouble and it'd be dumb not to try and take him out. I don't know why this weirdo didn't just hand these files to the PRT, I imagine it's not for the best reason. Still, I don't think saying 'go on be some sort of team' is gonna start anything other than a fight. So let's learn a little more. You're name, what the PRT call you know and what you want to be. I'm Tigershark, I'm technically an illegal vigilante but I want to figure out how to make things work out as a hero."

[JNAProductions]

Sarah came in her normal outfit. A skirt and a t-shirt, both old and faded. There might've been a logo on the shirt once, but it's lost to time.

"I get that," she says to the wetsuit-dressed man. "But at the same time, the official 'hero' groups don't always do what's best. I mean, if whoever," she adds with a wave to the screen, "that is was able to find all this out, why couldn't the Protectorate? And..." she stops herself. $10,000, even split five ways, is a lot of money.

She stands up, and paces a little. "I think we should at least talk a little first. See what's what."

[3SecondCultist]

The cape in the hoodie and sneakers doesn't exactly strike an imposing figure, and yet they speak up without hesitation. A simple cut-cloth mask covers her face, but it's obvious by her frame that she's female, and what little skin is showing underneath her getup clearly marks her out as someone of color. Her arms are crossed and she leans against the central pillar of the open-concept loft in a pose that seems relaxed.

"I don't know what I was thought this was gonna be, but this wasn't it." She shrugs. "Not that I'm complaining, sounds like fun! So we take on three missions for the TV there, and then... what? Sounds like a real opportunity we've got here. Speaking of, who are all of you? Never heard of you folks on the local scene before."

In truth, Charlie's hair is tightly bound beneath her hood, and she is doing her best to keep her breathing level. In the few weeks it's been since she first went out to test her powers, this is the closest she's actually gotten to real capes. None of them really look like the figures she's come to know from the news - not the Two, the local Protectorate capes, and even some of the villain teams in town. And the TV said new, which means that despite the fact that she's probably the worst-dressed one here, she is in good company.

She hopes. Taking money for some jobs from a shady voice is probably not a great idea but... when you're looking for a new purpose in life, it's hard to say no when one falls in your lap.

[Let'sGetKraken]

Miles steps into the light of the room, the last to do so.

The envelope had been amusing, of course, and alarming - though not dramatically so. Whoever set this up had seriously overestimated how much Miles cared for his grandparents. They'd picked the wrong stick to threaten him with - but exactly the right carrot. No point revealing that, however. Let them think that their leverage would be anything more than an inconvenience.

Miles looks around disdainfully at his would-be compatriots. Two of them aren't even in costume. Thinkers, perhaps? Even so, unless they intend to stay completely removed from combat they'll need significant upgrades if they want to be taken seriously. The other two seem a little better - though one of them looks more like an amateur surfer than a would-be cape. The one totally shrouded in darkness seems intimidating enough; at least one of the others was taking their professional reputation seriously.

"You can call me Fracture. You won't have heard of me. Not interested in heroics or tying women to train tracks, but building a reputation and getting paid through the nose to do it? That sounds like a deal worth taking. But I agree with... Tigershark, was it? If I'm risking my neck I'm going to want to know I'm not working with total amateurs. So I want assurances that these two," Miles says, nodding towards the two women dressed in civilian clothes, "won't freeze or **** up the moment we engage with Jumper."

[3SecondCultist]

Charlie wants to wipe the sweat from her face, but that won't send the right message right now. Instead, she lays a hand on her hip after hearing Fracture's piece.

"Excuse me. Just because not all of us have the cash to go all GI: Joe, doesn't mean that we're automatically going to sh*t the bed with this. Don't go judging books."

[JNAProductions]

Sarah looks at Fracture. She looks hard at him. And, unbeknownst to him, she's rooting around. Observing the darkness inside him.

Suddenly, he feels a sense of vertigo-he goes to lean on the chair he's near, just to have a sense of something solid, but it scooches with his weight and he feels like he's falling, falling, falling... Helpless in gravity's cruel clutches.

Outside his mind, all that's happening is Fracture is grabbing the chair and it slid a little. But it's possible to see his muscles bulging-he's got the chair in a death grip. Sarah keeps looking at him. "Hey-you okay?" she asks, with just the slightest hint of mockery. "You freezing up there?"

She lets go of the darkness in him. He snaps back to reality. He's standing on the ground. It's the first floor of a warehouse.

[Let'sGetKraken]

Fear - that primal fear of falling, of being literally out of your depth - strikes Miles out of nowhere. It takes him a few seconds for that feeling to ebb, but he knows it will linger. He turns a baleful gaze - piercing green eyes visible through the transparent lenses - at the woman who presumably tampered with his mind. When he speaks, his voice is distorted slightly by the filtration system built into his full-face mask.

"Congratulations, you have powers. You wouldn't be here if you didn't. I just want assurances that no one else in this 'crew' is going to freeze up and get one of us killed. Neither of you have costumes or introduced yourselves with aliases. You seem painfully new to this and it's perfectly justifiable to test that assumption."

He pauses. Her pushing back was a natural test of authority in response to his very reasonable challenge, but best to set the boundaries now. He couldn't let anyone walk over him if he wanted their collective respect.

"And mess with my head again and I will tear off your arm."

[JbeJ275]

"See like I said, don't know what kind of thinker invited us here if they couldn't see this happening. Now Fracture, you're right that we need to figure out how experienced everyone is, but you can do that without being as much of an ******* as possible about it. And you.... " He says turning to Sarah. "So you've got a power you can use without hospitalising people, that's good, but if just did some master ****, people treat that a lot more seriously than pulling a gun on them, they kind of have to. Can't start breaking it out every time someone's an *******. Now no-one is gonna blame anyone if they walk out the room right now, but if you stay, everyone at least tries to be civil. You got that?

[Zelphas]

Stefan has been spending the last five seconds in a fifty-second mental freakout (his mirror of movement doesn't slow down thought, as he discovered that first horrible time, and he's taken to using it occasionally in quieter moments to allow himself to think), but he comes out of it when the anguish in the room spikes up a notch or two suddenly, from an unexpected source--the most obviously competent of the capes, who might be under a mental effect from another one? Instinctively, he takes in the anguish and stores it for later, though he wonders if the artificiality of the effect will interact with his powers in some way.

"I agree; using our powers purposefully on one another without consent and threats of dismemberment are both... not useful, if we are going to be working together," Funhouse says aloud, his voice carrying no trace of an accent. He has worked very hard to make it so, first to avoid teasing, and then to avoid notice. "I will have enough trouble not catching any of you accidentally, if I am honest."

After a moment's consideration, Stefan releases a slight sigh and activates a mirror of darkness over himself, reversing its effect. They'll see soon enough anyway. The red-painted steel-toed boots squeak slightly as he shifts his weight, causing the revealed ripped fabric of his special overcoat to shift and sway in the air. faded, patched gloves in a multitude of colors flex slightly at his sides in an uncontrolled twitch. The clown mask, dirty and slightly warped, twists to look around at the rest of the capes gathered there.

Stefan inhales, preparing himself to speak while also drawing in any small spikes of anguish that his appearance just caused. "I have taken to calling myself 'Funhouse', while working. I can do... a variety of things with the laws of physics, given enough time and room."

[3SecondCultist]

While she has to admit to a bit of amusement at seeing Fracture taken down a peg, Charlie finds herself nodding along with Tigershark. Giving attitude is one thing, using powers on someone else or giving out threats is something else. Tigershark, though? Seriously? And those goggles look like he's going to a swim meet. She smothers the smile behind her cloth mask as she looks down at her own getup; she's not exactly intimidating in her fit right now. Best not to play it too confident when she doesn't even have a cape name yet.

"He's got a point, we -" But she stops talking the second it becomes clear that the shadow-clad man is taking the floor. She frowns at his comment about catching them. Does he have some kind of aura power? Shakers, that's what they're called, she thinks back to her intro to parahuman classes.

"Uhhhh," Charlie starts eloquently when Funhouse reveals his true costume, her previous thoughts forgotten. Tigershark was starting to look pretty good right about now. "So you're, like, a killer clown? Are you allowed to do that, legally?"

[JNAProductions]

Sarah's face hardens a moment... But then softens. "Yeah. Sorry," she says to Fracture. "I just... Just don't like that attitude. But actually doing that was uncalled for."

She takes a moment to collect herself. She should know she's on edge, with the voice from the screen having brought up Daisha. But that's not a reason to be cruel. Looking at Fracture, she doesn't exactly smile, but tries her best to appear friendly. "I won't do it again. We should try to work together-not be at each others' throats. I've got a costume, but I'm just not really used to wearing it yet."

"Before we really get started, does anyone want to leave?" Sarah asks. "Like the voice said, no harm, no foul. But whoever stays behind... We're gonna need to trust each other. Maybe not be friends, but comrades, allies, at least." When no one leaves, she nods. "I guess I'll explain what I can do, briefly. I can feel emotions in other people-mostly the negative stuff. Fear, anger, desire, that kind of thing. I can influence it-make it come to the fore, like I did with Fracture, or even take it out. If I take it out... I take it in myself. But I can use those emotions to heal others-I don't know how bad injuries I can deal with, but it doesn't really work on sickness. Just injuries."

[3SecondCultist]

Charlie lets out a nervous chuckle when Sarah demonstrates her powers. "Super dark," she says before her brain can catch up and tell her not to. "So you suck up trauma? How do you… deal with that, long term? Healing is neat, though, should come in handy."

When it comes time for her turn, the hooded teenager sashays off of the pillar, doing a bit of a stretch in one of the many open spaces of the loft; legs first, then bending over to get her arms and back. She doesn't bother to ask anyone to make any room - there's no need. Before she starts, Charlie takes a long breath to steady herself. This is gonna work.

"My whole thing's got a few moving parts," the girl announces to the gathered capes. "You'll see the rest later, but basically…" she disappears from sight.

"I'm -" she stands right behind Funhouse, the source of her voice changing instantly. She is there for a fraction of a heartbeat before vanishing again.

"a -" Tigershark this time. There is an unmistakable bounce to Charlie's step, a rhythm only she can hear.

"time -" Now it's Fracture's turn. Those with sharp ears pick up on the fact that while Charlie is moving locations, her speech doesn't sound quite continuous, as though she is choreographing her words.

"thief." She concludes her journey beside Sarah, at the exact spot she began to use her power. The entire demonstration takes less than five seconds from start to finish. She resists the urge to bow. This isn't a cheer competition, idiot.

[Let'sGetKraken]

He's about to make a half-apology to the Master with emotion-fueled healing powers - useful, that - when the figure in darkness steps forward.

Oh no.

What have I gotten myself into?

It's all Miles can do not to visibly wince. Branding and image are the most important weapons a cape can yield. A professional reputation can make all the difference in how other capes approach you. True, being underestimated can be advantageous - but being taken seriously can end fights before they even begin. No one is going to go toe-to-to with Alexandria enters the scene, and part of her reputation comes from looking the part.

And they have a goddamn clown.

Miles distractedly watches the other cape - as of yet unnamed - demonstrate their abilities, glad things didn't escalate. Maybe I can convince him to stick with the shadow-aura things. Or... clowns can be scary, right? We could use this, play up the menace....

It takes him a minute to notice that the other three are looking to him. Are they afraid he'll pick another fight? No, right, power demonstrations. Miles clears his throat, a raspy noise distorted by the filter on his full-face mask.

"I won't demonstrate now, but when I'm hit hard enough, I can make... copies of myself. Illusions. Completely insubstantial, can't interact with the environment, up to a cap of three. If I tag one of you with them, they can split into further copies of you - only the one. I call them mirages. They shatter when hit, and each one destroyed like this makes me stronger up to a hard limit, at which point it would probably take a tank to get me out of the fight."

"So far, I've found they make for great distractions and if we can string things out and I'm careful about the hits I take, I can be a real menace."

He turns to face Tigershark. "And what do you do?"

[JbeJ275]

At that statement tigershark vanished into this air, with the sound of distant winds following a few seconds later. For a while he remained absent, then reappeared about five seconds later a step in front of where he began. His re-entry is accompanied by a sudden blast of aid, throwing back hair and tossing paper.


“I can hit harder than that if I hide in the air for longer. But I didn’t think I should start with the destructive stuff, and I can hide in earth or water for slightly different results. It's got good utility, but I don't want to start bombing too hard anywhere we don't control the space.”

[JNAProductions]

Sarah nods. "This is, I guess, our building. For now. So let's not mess it up yet."

She takes another look at the information they were given. "We can start with Jumper. We've got his location, or at least a place he frequents. But we need a plan-rushing in like idiots won't end well. We'd need a way to separate him from his chestpiece, or a way to catch him without dropping his vitals. Neither of which seems like it'll be easy. I figure stealing some time might help with that-can you affect people when you're... Um, time shifted? Or whatever you call it?"

[Zelphas]

"I did not think legality would be an issue; are clowns... illegal, somewhere?" Funhouse replies to the woman with the hood, slightly confused. He takes in another bout of light anguish, surprised again at its source; the confident one. He doesn't seem fearful; what is causing his consternation?

He nods to the other woman as she explains her skills. "My power also deals with emotional turmoil--angst, or anguish," he comments. "My control seems less refined, however; I can sense levels of anguish, but not the separate emotions. I use others' anguish to fuel my powers, and... clowns seem to be a common phobia," Funhouse explains, shrugging.

Ideas of a plan are somewhat new to Stefan, but not unpleasant. "My powers are somewhat fixed in place after I work with them," he explains slightly more, still not willing to fully spell out his abilities if he doesn't have to. "If I am able to prepare a chokepoint beforehand, I can slow Jumper down by a significant amount, but only temporarily. There is little I can do to deal with his chest piece; I doubt that a store-bought taser or two will have much effect upon Tinker technology." Funhouse shakes his wrists, causing the two tasers he had hidden up his sleeves to slide into his palms, where he displays them for a moment before stowing them away again.

[GameOfChampions]

The New Orleans Times-Picayune Morning Edition

Hero Destruction in the Streets!

Late last night a cape fight erupted among the new homes being built among the Treme district. Habitat had shipped in a massive shipment of resources to the new homes districts that they were building there and this shipment was meant to bring the higher end resources needed to finish over a two hundred homes.

The shipment had arrived in the last legs of their journey and the security teams must have been caught napping. Two capes attacked the convoy, one was recognized as city regular Jumper with several of his cohorts while the other was an unknown cape. The unknown cape was a wolf the size of a minivan that shrugged of firearms and rammed on of the trucks hard enough to flip it. A pack of wolves then swarmed the site, dragging off large quantities of materials as Jumper and his cohorts started doing the same with teleporter technology.

Security forces, including capes, and local capes responded to the scene and a fight broke out.

The PRT has released a statement clarifying what occurred after the fight started. A Habitat security team that consisted of Blowback and a highly trained team of ex-soldiers responded from the security van they had been trailing the convoy in. Blowback started to use his shields to absorb the force from falling materials, overturned trucks, and charging Wolves and blasting out beams to start taking down the cohorts and slowing down the massive wolf. The Habitat security team started to take down the attacking pack of wolves and a few of the Jumper cohorts.

A few short minutes into the fight Slate responded to the fight as well. The local hero joined the fight and started throwing around broken asphalt of the street. He took the fight to the massive wolf and managed to push it into one of the houses being rebuilt before he launches a massive chunk of asphalt at the support structures. The house collapsed on both the wolf and one of Jumpers cohorts, trapping both though Slate seemed unaware of the women. Slate left the scene there and went to fight Jumper, he ripped a massive chunk of asphalt off the road which caused the cab of the truck to collapse into the sewer beneath. The trucker inside was unconscious and the cab of the truck started to flood from the waters, causing the trucker to start drowning.

Slate, Blowback, and the security team fought off the rest of the attackers, leaving a quarter of the convoy stolen and another quarter damaged. Both the women working for Jumper and the truck driver died during the fight and Slate fled the scene. It is unknown if Slate is being held responsible for the deaths or the damage caused, the PRT have yet to issue a statement only that they want to speak to Slate regarding the incident.

The vigilante has a history of property damage and toeing the sides of the law but has also been instrumental in bringing in several villainous capes. Habitat has issued another bounty for Slate, this one much higher then the last though it is unknown if the bounty is supported by the city or PRT.


Rose Bowl Fever

The Rose Bowl is coming to New Orleans! Football fans shall rejoice to learn that the most coveted and oldest bowl tournament is the country is being held at the Caesars Superdome. The 97th Rose Bowl! The Wisconsin Badgers and the TCU Horned Frogs. The Superdome is being renovated to accommodate the massive numbers that are expected. The game is expecting over Ninety thousand attendees all paying hundreds of dollars for tickets.

Wisconsin started their season by sweeping their nonconference slate, with wins over UNLV in Las Vegas, San Jose State, Arizona State, and Austin Peay at home. However, a loss in their conference opener against Michigan State put a dampener on their season. The Badgers would recover and win seven consecutive games, including a win over then-No. 1 Ohio State and a win in Iowa City over a ranked Iowa squad.

The Horned Frogs finished the regular season with a perfect 12–0 record, winning eight conference games and the Mountain West Conference title. The Frogs had completed their second consecutive perfect regular season, and are making their sixth consecutive bowl appearance.

New Orleans fans eagerly await the showdown and the betting has started with the Horned Frogs taking a strong advantage among the odds makers.


Sandcastles in the Sand

The Time-Picayunne has an exclusive interview with new Protectorate hero Sandstorm! Our reporter Wendy Johnson joins Sandstorm for a day on the beach as the hero takes an elementary school class to see the ocean and learn the art of making sandcastles. We learn the art of the sandcastle from the greatest of masters, what Sandstorm likes to do on his lazy Sundays, and what its like joining a new team.

---

The city is a mass of emotions as news of the deaths start to make news, protests both online and in person start to get organized as everything comes out. Cries for Slate to turn himself in start to erupt and news stories about the Vigilante murderer start to gain state wide attention and further.

The city searches for questions regarding the mysterious wolf figure that had attacked as well. A bounty is issued for their arrest but without a name or group affiliation it is a crap shoot as to where to start the search.

The city is wide open for research, preparation, and more for any capes just starting out.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Players can start a new scene with any downtime actions they wish to take in the week leading up or start planning a way of attack for Jumper if that is the route they want to go.

There will be 3 downtime actions for the team total between game start and the Jumper time window and a single personal downtime action. Make your choices on what to do and do a quick scene!

[JNAProductions]

Near the end of the meeting, Sarah asks for some way to stay in contact. "I can understand if you don't feel comfortable giving out your phone number or something," she says, "but we gotta do something."

Not too long after, with whatever group communication method they went with, she sets a meeting time. Let's try to get together again and figure out how we can work together, she texts. I got access to a college's gym and stuff like that-technically I can only bring one guest, but I asked and they don't really care as long as everyone behaves.

[JbeJ275]

"Smart." Let's do it." Is his only response to Sarah's request. "But I don't know how a Gym will deal with a bunch of internal explosions, lets find a spot outside the city to test out more overt powers after, I can guide you there. In the meantime I'm gonna go check out Jumper's home turf, see what we can put together from that."

After hearing out any final comments and exchanging information Tigershark again disappears from reality, this time air-walking to the roof and down to another street from there.

----------------------------------------------------------

Later, Lewis moving through the half flooded streets of Bywater, partially as a feelgood bit of welfare checking in, but also trading a backpack full of fresh water canteens and well preserved food for stories from the locals about Jumper's activity, where he comes from where he goes, the fights he won and the fights he ran away from.

[3SecondCultist]

First Meeting

"Not really... my power has some limits. Probably best I show you all if and when we meet up not in this place. I'm working on it." Charlie bounces on and off her heels with evident nervous energy. This is the first time she's really shown her powers to people - not counting some randoms who she stole some minutes from in the streets. She doesn't go into too much more detail, and it soon becomes clear that even though they have a vague outline of a plan - get close, get Jumper's gear, take him down - nobody is leaping up with a ton of further ideas. Say something else.

Thankfully Sarah chimes in, so Charlie isn't the first one to talk. "I'll give you all my number. Was gonna get an upgrade for my phone anyway, this one I can use for finesse and stuff. Just call me 'C' for now; don't have a cape name yet. I guess I'm working on that too." She nods with Tigershark's comment though - a gym is busy at pretty much all hours, so they won't get the privacy they need to do any training.

"I think I can find a place," the girl says eventually.


The Grind, Part I

If there's one place that Charlie feels uncomfortable these days, it's an abandoned building. Still, it's the closest thing they have to anonymous and they kind of need that if they're going to be doing what they need to do. Her Pa's contacts in the music industry aren't always the cleanest types, and she thinks this building might have been hot once upon a time, but there hasn't been any attention on it since those coke busts two years ago. It was all over the news.

Lightning doesn't strike in the same place twice, usually. She's seen enough cop shows to know that if a building on the sketchy edge of town is featured in a big arrest, it goes cold even after the noise is gone. Thugs are too afraid to sling here, and once they're sure there's not much going on, police won't come around too much either.

Charlie only has to freeze time long enough to get herself up to the second story, crawl through an open window, slip inside, and then come back to the moment so she can unlock the doors from there. When she does, the rest of the crew sees that she's added some basic elbow and knee pads to her ensemble as well as a pair of thick gloves. She's also carrying a small backpack behind her, which jingles slightly as she moves.

"We cool with this place, then?" The building is empty, the kind you don't see much outside of TV. Just a big room with some concrete pillars, no ground-floor windows, and a high ceiling. "Who wants to get started?"

[Zelphas]

First Meeting

The conversation about phone numbers and messaging immediately sets Stefan on edge. "I do not own a phone," he says quickly; only half a lie, since he hasn't picked up a new burner phone in New Orleans yet. "Leave a note here, and I will find it and go from there; I will plan to check in here at least once a day."

The Grind, Part I

Funhouse walks into the warehouse without really having much of a reaction to it; he's helped build and tear down worse in the past two years. In fact... he makes a note of the place as a possible bolt hole or sleeping space; the second story windows are open, and it's only a bit of tricky maneuvering to get himself up there with his mirrors.

"I have a curiosity that may be worth discovering," he says in response to C's question, forming a mirror roughly halfway between himself and the other cape with a small effort. Another moment invests the invisible plane with the power to slow movement. "If you are willing, run towards me, and then activate your ability when you notice something out of place. I am interested to hear your thoughts on the matter."

Tools of Discretion

This job--chasing down Jumper, working with a group--is completely different from anything "Adam Steinmann" has done since he first took on that name two years ago. It has a high payoff, but the risk (physical and otherwise) is balanced accordingly. The truth is, in the end, that Stefan didn't just run from this job because at least a part of him is tired of constant flight.

But that doesn't mean that he's completely abandoned his desire to stay hidden and out of the way. Learning a little bit more about Jumper has thrown his own tools--or, to be more honest, his lack of tools--into much sharper focus, but that isn't something that he can rectify by himself. He needs a Tinker, and Tinkers cost money.

Money is something he has--well, a little bit, now, since the job started. He's used to living on a lot less, so he can spend quite a bit of his payout on updated tools. What he's looking for, more than a price, is discretion; a Tinker who talks about their customers puts them in danger, and a Tinker who's in the spotlight themselves can spread that spotlight to others. And so, "Adam" begins making quiet, careful inquiries, seeing if he can find any lead to a Tinker that might be able to do some work for him--quickly, efficiently, and most of all quietly.

[GameOfChampions]

The Grind, Part I

The large abandoned warehouse is fairly empty when Charlie comes upon it. There were a few homeless people hanging around the site but a couple of bucks or a few beers and they are easily convinced of your lie of needing a place for an up and coming grunge band to practice. The one or two that seem a little interested in sticking around to hear some music clear off when you drop a few names you overheard from your father talking about the music industry.

The warehouse itself was in pretty rough shape from the last time you had heard about it. Large amounts of trash, drug debris, and filth litter through the warehouse. However its so large it isn't hard to find spots to sit or stand without being among it all. The few windows in the warehouse, that are all all broken, are placed high on what would be the second story of the tall walls.

As everyone starts to stroll in the warehouse and get to practicing they find themselves getting a little more familiar with each others powers. Learning the bare basics of what each of you do does is a large step forward. Practicing being effected by Funhouse mirrors, adjusting to C and Tigershark 'teleporting' to random spots on the field, Fracture mirages and increasing powers, and Sarah's orbs and healing.

Spoiler: OOC

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Group Training has gone up by 1.

Tools of Discretion

Everyone has heard about Tinkers, everyone and their mother has heard of the wonders... and the expense. Within New Orleans it is not hard to determine that there are a few Tinkers around and the groups that have access to the tech.

'Adam' is able to determine that the Protectorate obviously has access to Tinker tech with their massive organization but also that they will provide small pieces of Tinker tech to local heroes that have proven to work beside them and follow their ethos if not their exact methods. The Carollo family is rumored to have a powerful tinker keyed towards their family theme.

In the independent or solo range you don't tend to find many tinkers but asking around the city has shown that Jumper has very successfully been operating as a solo tinker in the city but he does not tend to share his tech outside of his group of henchmen. The last, and what you can determine to be the best, option is the Toybox contingent sent to the city.

The Toybox contingent is small but they seem to have access to the rest of their organization though any gear they make themselves would be sold cheaper then gear they ship in to sell and the maintenance. Adam is able to chat with a knowledgeable bartender in the downtown district who said that several people have come in claiming that they recently made a big purchase of some rare tinker tech.

However you are no able to locate an exact location to buy any Tinker tech. The rogue and villain tainkers tend to work through secret channels extended to the powerful, the rich, or the stubborn.

Spoiler: OOC

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1 of 2 Gather Knowledges needed to locate Toybox.

Poking Around

The more damaged districts of Bywater are happy to trade information for supplies as your pack of water and food quickly dwindles, making Lewis many new friends happy to share a word with a stranger helping them feed their children. When the questioning comes to Jumper specifically the smiles get a little more strained, no one wants to piss off the local villain.

There are some though that either don't care or dislike the audacious Tinker. One mother of two starts chatting with you as you hand out some clean water to them.

"That Jumper ******* ruined our entire backyard one night! He just teleported in with two of his idiot henchmen and whatever they used caused a bunch of damage when they appeared. Then he started running towards the waterfront towards the bridge to the lower Ninth and the Mississippi River."

Spoiler: OOC

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Group Gather Information partly completed.
- Jumper went towards the South-East area of Bywater after a rough teleport.

[GameOfChampions]

The Jump

The group spent the week spreading their intelligence gathering throughout all of Bywater. What starts with Lewis doing some casual information gathering among some of the neighborhoods expands further. Stephen and Charlie spread throughout some of the cafes and hangout spots of the district, talking to the bored younger folks and gathering the gossip about Jumper. Miles attends some of the local banks and well off businesses pretending to be a possible investor hesitant on investing in groups that are so close to a renowned villain.

Once the group has narrowed down the area to the neighborhood of run down apartment blocks and warehouses under the large bridge connecting Bywater to the Lower Ninth District Sarah makes her move. The anxious Sarah plied her power for two days just travelling around the area using her emotion sense power to get a feel for the specific emotions of the pedestrians. The rest of the group spends the days calling in fake 911 calls throughout the area or finding brawls or shoplifters and reporting them so Sarah can sense the emotions of the people around her when they hear the sirens or see the police in the area.

Many have the standard sets of emotions, worry, fear, relief, vindication, hatred. However the emotion sensor finds a few that have more heightened emotions at the sight, paranoia, split second worries of betrayal, heightened fear and worry. It takes some trial and error, as well as the accidental stumbling upon of a crack house, but eventually you all manage to locate a set of 3 large warehouses that seem to be connected by tunnels underneath are located and determined to be Jumpers hideout. None of you see the tinker in particular but you are able to identify two of Jumpers henchmen from the bounty pictures coming and going. Additionally once while you were watching you saw a flash of light from the central warehouse and then several henchmen return from where ever they were in the city.

You all manage to note that the doors and windows are highly secure, the windows unable to be opened and the doors solid steel with two step security systems to enter. A pin number to enter and a fingerprint scanner. Its hard to get an exact number but there seems to be around a dozen to fifteen henchmen coming and going from the warehouses.

---

Jumper sighed as he watched another on of his bros drop a piece of machinery "Yo Keith! Man I told you its some heavy ****! You gotta two man those bigger pieces."

The beefy young man in his twenties just waves a hand and continues to struggle alone with the machinery despite a couple other similar bodied men offer to help, Keith just grunts and waves them away with jerky head motions. The other guys good naturedly rib him as is their style, lines like "Come on don't be a little bitch!" and "I bet your gonna drop it again you *****!" sound as they encourage their co-worker.

Jumper just pinches the bridge of his nose again.

The guys were great. They were his bros, his amigos, his partners in crime. They always had his back whether it was throwing hands with some fool who had stepped to him in highschool, an idiot cop who thought they could stop his heists, or spotting him at the gym when his guns started juicing. They were the only reason he didn't go crazy in highschool, too many pulls on his time. Girls, schoolwork, parents, work, making college connections, and insinuating himself with every clique and group in the damn hellhole. His boys were there for him and when it became too much and he snapped like a month old protein bar left at the bottom of a locker they picked him up. They joined him in becoming Jumper, not just Chad.

... but man they were dumb. The only reason they hadn't been failing highschool was cheating off his work and tests combined with being the main part of their district winning football seniors team. Keith could calculate the perfect angle to take out a runners legs and dislocate the leg enough that there was no permanent damage but they wouldn't run for at last a month. Brett could drop a football, basketball, baseball, or grenade literally anywhere he wanted no matter the angle within 100m. Then there was Kyle who could move a car about town like it was a hotwheel but couldn't spell the word camshaft.

Oh well. It's not like they were the brains of the operation. That was his job. Jumper hefts the large wrench in his hand as goes back to connecting the two large pieces, he had been working on this for machine for months now. All of his recent heists had been focused toward gathering either the rare materials needed or valuable materials that could be sold for parts. Once this was done though he'd be running this damn swamp of a town!

The ability to give anyone he gives a receiver to teleport to anyplace with the coverage by his machine would allow him to rule this city! He would attract more capes to his cause with the ability to never worry about capture again!

He slots the piece into place and cranks the bolts in tight. This was his time and no one could stop him now!

[JbeJ275]

Tiger shark presses his hand into the earth in the alley they're currently scouting out, perhaps sixty metres from the warehouses and tunnels. He looks at the others and speaks up.

"If we're really doing this, I can make my way into the tunnel connecting them, take his by surprise from there, maybe try to hide any movement gear they have on them before he jumps. Can you got go in the front to contain him if I snatch his kit?"

[Zelphas]

Funhouse crouches down in the alley as well, unsure of his place in the operation once more. He's dealt with minor muggers and other thugs, sure, but this... too late now, he supposes.

"I can attempt to enter through a window, if we would prefer that," he suggests. "Lots of noise, rather obvious... I would prefer that someone be able to draw fire from me as soon as possible, though, since I am by no means bulletproof."

[Let'sGetKraken]

Fracture nods. He'd tuned out for a minute. Sloppy. They had a clear mission, no time to get distracted.

"I can go through the window first, before Funhouse - I can take small arms fire without too much damage. I work best on the front lines anyhow. Take three minutes to go through the tunnel, for anyone going - I'll go in and get his attention. Priority is disabling Jumper's gear ASAP."

Fracture draws his combat baton and sets a (silent) timer on his phone.

[GameOfChampions]

As the group of you plan your dynamic entry into the world of Capes a few of you break off to go check out a couple of the closer warehouses built in the same style. There are no guided tours but through peaking into the warehouses and sneaking in you can all figure out there seems to be a basic layout to the local warehouses.

The warehouses you checked out are two stories tall with a grid work of metal walkways in the top half and a few steep stairs/ladders leading up to them at the 4 corners of the warehouse. The warehouse is open concept with the only blocked off areas being a large bathroom in the south west side of the warehouse and an office in the north west side. Both have windows leading to the outside. The warehouses you looked at have a mixture of crates and containers making impromptu walls.

Finally you note that the warehouses have a roof window to let in sun dead center at the top of the warehouse.

[JNAProductions]

Sarah, finding a point where she can remain hidden, casts her mind out. She moves as needed, always staying out of sight of anyone if possible, and tries to gauge who's here, how many, and what she can use against them, if need be.