Iron Station Savage Masks IC IV

[PK-Leon]

Coffee Break

The line shuffles forward and Sophia's concentration is broken. Finally at the front of the line, Terrence orders his chicory coffee. The blond Latina puts that in and whatever Sophia orders. Now that they're closer, they can see that her handwritten nametag says Isabelle.

Next in line are Stella and Raphael. As soon as Stella starts to order, the large man behind the counter swings around at the sound of her voice. He comes up behind the cashier and smiles widely at the sorceress and her companions. "Stella! How are you?" he asks.

"Very well," Stella says taking Raphael's hand.

He looks behind them to Louis. "Are... uhh, Derrick and his girlfriend coming by today too?"

The delivery boy shakes his head. "Don't think so. Derrick's got the day off but I guess that could change anytime in theory?"

"Now let's see..." Louis starts as he steps up to the counter and lets his eyes roll across the menu. "I'll have today's special and you to go with it." He says to the Latina with a playful smile, waiting for the slightest of reactions before correcting himself. "I mean, whatever you recommend to go with it."

He reaches for his wallet and pauses in realization. "You guys wouldn't happen to accept National Express or IOUs would you? I'm so caffeine deprived I must've forgot to pick up my wallet after someone decided they wanted to drag me out the front door" He sighs as he feigns shooting daggers at Raphael.

It was a white lie, but the truth would've demanded a more complicated explanation than he wanted to give to the two behind the counter right now. How would you casually explain to someone that you not only have the ability to duplicate yourself but counterfeit money simultaneously?

[Roguewolf]

November 1st
Keith
Maeve grabs her backpack and heads out of the door and heads to the back alley. A few moments later, there's a rush of wind and Maeve bursts into the air, now clad in her hero costume, and quickly catches up to Crowe. She zooms by him and quickly realizes that the West Sider is much slower in the air than she is, so she slows, dropping in beside him about twenty feet away.

"I had our AI connect our comms," she says. "We should be there in ten at this speed. He's right on the edge of West Side's territory."

Crowe sees the rush of wind as Maeve bursts into the air and feels it as she zooms past him.

Holy **** she's fast! I need to get faster at flyin' now too..... He thought as he started seeing her costume. He blushed a bit, glad it was hidden by the hood. If only slightly. It's fitting..... she looks amazin' in that..... He about thought she would have been fae-like in it, and pushed the thought out of his head to focus a bit.

He nods as her voice comes over the comms. "Was about to ask Mimi to do the same. Still curious how he ended up by himself though." He said into the mic. "Oh right, we never got the hero name introduction did we? I go by Crowe like this. And uhhh," He said a bit sheepishly as his voice trailed off. "Your costume is really neat too." He really hoped she couldn't see him blushing at that moment.

"Also, I'm sorry. Trying to work on getting faster at flyin'".

[JoyWonderLove]

Sophia frowned when she overheard the shining star of Team West had forgotten his card, and could already guess why. Seraph and Harbinger trusted him to go out with them last night – despite the danger. He’s probably running on hope and good will now. No wonder he forgot. Wanting to make up for her earlier rudeness, and begin building some team synergy, she interjected casually with a disarming smile.

“Louis, no worries, I’ll spot ya,” she said, her Californian accent clear.

Sophia shot the blonde an apologetic look, and paid for his beverage with her card, quite confident that with AEGIS already covering near every other living expense possible, her monthly budget would look healthy regardless. And all I have to do is protect others. She was getting paid for the very thing she had done for free. With the drink taken care of, she addressed the group.

“Yuki and Drake are gonna join Terry and me soon. Do you three wanna get a big table? It’d help out the waitress.”

Sophia managed to regard Raphael as casually as the rest. He was either some kind of energy vampire, or the terminal victim of an astral parasite turned full blown predator; the true soul long consumed. There was nothing to save there – but the purple inside him meant Stella might not know he was surreptitiously taking from her life force, quiet as a mantis.

So that's a Void entity pretending to be a pet, our occultist on loan, and an astral predator wearing it's last victim like a husk. All in AEGIS. How gnarly are the streets themselves, exactly?

[InTheMachine]

November 1st
John
The angel looks at the papers in John’s hand before pulling a pair of dark brown leather gloves out of one of his pockets and sliding them on. “Wouldn’t want them to catch fire,” he mutters as he takes the papers from John and looks closely at them. After a moment, he looks back up at the magician. “You mind if I accidentally destroy them?”

At John’s go ahead, Harbinger peels off one glove and touches the one labeled with a Z. The paper smokes, but doesn’t ignite. The angel closes his eyes to focus before moving on to the paper labeled N. He’s brief with that one, then touches the one labeled L.

Harbinger grits his teeth as his fingers clamp down on the paper. John can see his eyes darting around behind his closed eyelids for several seconds before he forces himself to release the paper. At his feet, the L paper is quickly consumed by dark fire.

The angel blinks a few times and takes a deep breath, looking down at the ashy remains at the toe of his boot. Harbinger lets put a frustrated sigh, forcing his gaze up to John’s. “My visions are still… jumbled.”

He concentrates for almost a minute, trying to make sense of what he saw. Eventually, he nods. “I saw ‘Matteo’ sitting across the table from a woman. Dark hair, maybe Asian origin. She had some flower tattoos on her shoulder and up her neck. And behind her, there was a demon that looks just like our resident Greater Demon. His horns are little longer though, and his eyes are a different shade of red. They were obviously having some sort of meeting. I didn’t catch much of the conversation though. Too much… noise.”

Keith
“Don’t worry about it,” Maeve says. Her cape flaps around her as she rolls onto her side to look at Crowe while they fly. “I forget that I’m the fastest flier on the team sometimes. My codename’s Zephyr.”

As they get closer to Basin Street, the two of them see a a bright silver sphere of metal about twenty feet across in the middle of the road. A man with bony spikes protruding from his shoulders, back, and forearms punches the sphere, but doesn’t seem to do any damage to it. Standing next to the man with the bone spikes are several other men wearing Rooks colors.

“That’s Marrow,” Zephyr says as they get closer. “What is he doing so far East?”

Spoiler: CCM TN 6

Show

Marrow is second-in-command of the Palisades set of the Rooks. While not one of the Big 4, he’s been with Mire for several years.

He can create new bones that pierce through his skin, and is ridiculously strong.

Ashford’s
Scott’s expression falls a little, but he quickly seems to shake it off. “That’s alright. I was just hoping.”

Izzy gives Louis a playful roll of her eyes before she grins at him. “One Kona and a dark chocolate truffle cake, coming up,” she says. “That’s what I would recommend, delivery boy. I’m sure you’ll like it.”

She glances back at Scott with an unsaid question. The large man looks at the dwindling line and gives her a nod.

The music changes to a funky jazz number as Izzy turns back to Louis. “I could… bring your order personally, if you don’t mind me hanging out for a few minutes.”

[Roguewolf]

November 1st
Keith
“Don’t worry about it,” Maeve says. Her cape flaps around her as she rolls onto her side to look at Crowe while they fly. “I forget that I’m the fastest flier on the team sometimes. My codename’s Zephyr.”

As they get closer to Basin Street, the two of them see a a bright silver sphere of metal about twenty feet across in the middle of the road. A man with bony spikes protruding from his shoulders, back, and forearms punches the sphere, but doesn’t seem to do any damage to it. Standing next to the man with the bone spikes are several other men wearing Rooks colors.

“That’s Marrow,” Zephyr says as they get closer. “What is he doing so far East?”

Spoiler: CCM TN 6

Show

Marrow is second-in-command of the Palisades set of the Rooks. While not one of the Big 4, he’s been with Mire for several years.

He can create new bones that pierce through his skin, and is ridiculously strong.

Keith turns to look at Maeve as she rolls to her side and mirrors it. Cloak of shadows not flapping as much as it should. He really needed to replace it.

He grins. "Zephyr.... Got a nice ring to it. Wind powers?" He chuckles a bit. "In that case, second promise of the day is to eventually be able to try and keep up with ya."

He looks over at the sphere as they get closer and and his eyes go wide. Didn't realize Drake could go that big..... He thought. As she mentioned Marrow, he looked over at her as they got closer.

Spoiler: Sounds sorta Familiar?

Show

CCM Knowledge: 1d6o6-1 1 1d6o6-1 2

"Marrow, huh. Mimi, do we have any info on him that we can use?" He says into the comms not recognizing the name. "Please and thank you!" He shakes his head.

"Glad our AIs gave us a call. Mercury, we're comin' in hot!" He says into the comm thinking Mercury was in range.

[mmdeforrest]

November 1st
John
The angel looks at the papers in John’s hand before pulling a pair of dark brown leather gloves out of one of his pockets and sliding them on. “Wouldn’t want them to catch fire,” he mutters as he takes the papers from John and looks closely at them. After a moment, he looks back up at the magician. “You mind if I accidentally destroy them?”

At John’s go ahead, Harbinger peels off one glove and touches the one labeled with a Z. The paper smokes, but doesn’t ignite. The angel closes his eyes to focus before moving on to the paper labeled N. He’s brief with that one, then touches the one labeled L.

Harbinger grits his teeth as his fingers clamp down on the paper. John can see his eyes darting around behind his closed eyelids for several seconds before he forces himself to release the paper. At his feet, the L paper is quickly consumed by dark fire.

The angel blinks a few times and takes a deep breath, looking down at the ashy remains at the toe of his boot. Harbinger lets put a frustrated sigh, forcing his gaze up to John’s. “My visions are still… jumbled.”

He concentrates for almost a minute, trying to make sense of what he saw. Eventually, he nods. “I saw ‘Matteo’ sitting across the table from a woman. Dark hair, maybe Asian origin. She had some flower tattoos on her shoulder and up her neck. And behind her, there was a demon that looks just like our resident Greater Demon. His horns are little longer though, and his eyes are a different shade of red. They were obviously having some sort of meeting. I didn’t catch much of the conversation though. Too much… noise.”

“It’s impressive that you can access your visions as coherently as you can, given your encounter with the Stone of Vashuuna and the entities we are dealing with,” John replied before he sighed. “I’m sorry to hear they are meeting. The Asian woman, based on all the descriptions we have, is Rin Mochizuki. She has been introducing herself as the heir to the Magatsuhi Empire—which is the titular position that Keith holds. The other demon sounds like Extat Prince Jerek, formerly of Vaskiina-ros—the demon prince who Rizaska Kisharha‘s student Isla had attempted to summon.

“Mimi:” John asked quickly, “were either Isla or Mochizuki’s names among the missing or dead in those reports?”

He turned back to Seraph. “My guess is that Mochizuki has used Jerek’s blood to hybridize Laura and was the unseen figure who summoned Zylas. Given the meeting you have seen, she and the demon possessing Matteo may be trying to reach some kind of accommodation. I had hoped they were at odds with one another. That is a guess, however, based on the connection between Jerek and the Cult of the Red Dawn, which had been identified by Aimee Balinski.

“Given the start time of Vibrato’s thefts, it appears that she is working with Mochizuki rather than the demon possessing Matteo.”

He turned to face Harbinger. “I would like to tell Zylas about this and get his insight, although I will understand if you and Seraph would prefer me not to. I did want to make that explicit as my kay’al obligates me to do so unless you explicitly forbid me from doing so. I would also like to get explicit direction on whether I should reach out to Dr. Riviera, given the current…complications that exist with me regarding East Side.”

John glanced at the puzzle box. “Speaking of which, let me begin to open this while you answer. It takes a moment or two to get to the compartment I needed to access for the particular item I wanted to ask you about.”

[big teej]

Splash Art:

Raphael chokes down a snort at Louis' comment to Izzy.

Before he can get himself under control and offer to cover for 2ouis, the newbie steps up and grabs his friends coffee.

"I think it'd be nice to have a normal sit down and chat for a change. And without any--" Raphael glances at Scott. "--many chaperones listening in."

He gestures for Terrence and Sophia to lead the way to a big enough table for the team and follows with Stella once she's done talking to Sidney's dad.

Despite his outward nonchalance, Raphael seethes at Sophia's intrusiveness. Her lack of response was a mystery. Does she already know? Does she somehow... not care? Then again... based on how agitated she was... maybe she lives on being in the thick of it.

[InTheMachine]

November 1st
Keith
Zephyr taps her nose once as Mimi answers in Keith’s ear, “Marrow is second-in-command of the Palisades set of the Rooks. His records indicate and ability to generate new bone that pierces out from his skin.”

“Be careful,” Mercury says. “I have several civilians in here. A dad and three kids. Marrow was trying to kill them.”

One of the Rooks at Marrow’s back looks up and spots to the two incoming heroes. He quickly lets his companions know, and Marrow looks up into the sky with a scowl. He punches the sphere one last time, making the metal shimmer and shift for a moment before turning his attention fully to the approaching heroes.

Combat Begins!
Kings! Crowe has Initiative!

John
“Me too,” Harbinger admits. He sets the papers down and pulls off his other glove, putting them back into his pocket and rubbing his temple with one hand.

“They are not indicated in the records,” Mimi replies.

“Great,” he says with a grimace. “So we have a Greater Demon more powerful than Zylas, and hasn’t been starved for magic for a year, roaming the streets. Unless there’s some other arrangement going on, by the way he stood at her side, I would guess that he’s contracted to Rin. Which kind of explains how powerful that imploding head curse is.” The angel blinks again. “She didn’t look to be thirty yet, so I don’t think that Rin would have been there for Jerek’s summoning though.”

Harbinger glances down to John’s left hand has he works on the puzzle box. “I think it should be fine to tell Zylas about Jerek. He’s probably the one that revealed Zylas’ true name and got him summoned and captured. I don’t think we’ll need to worry about our resident demon running off to join him.”

“Eidolon hasn’t outright banned you from the base, or given me any restrictions yet, so I don’t see the problem with talking to Dr. Riviera either,” the angel continues. He gives John a knowing wink. “Though I know you’re really just going over there to see Emi. You could just call Dr. Riviera.”

He looks down with interest at the box. “What’cha got there?”

Ashford’s
As they all go to sit at a larger table, the door to the restaurant opens again and Yuki enters. Her eyes sweep the room and settle on Sophia.

At Scott’s greeting, the shapeshifter gives him a small wave and then makes her way over to the table. Her eyes don’t meet the angel’s as she asks, “Do you mind talking with me for a moment?”

If Sophia agrees, Yuki will lead her to an empty corner booth and slide into it.

Spoiler: Notice TN 4

Show

Sophia can see that Yuki looks to be just above the verge of tears.

“First,” Yuki says with a deep bow of her head, “I want to apologize to you. I didn’t realize that you were interested in me and I remained ignorant until Terrence pointed it out to me this morning. It’s very flattering that you think that I’m worthy of your attention and affection, but I am in a relationship with Drake.”

“Second, I need to ask you what you said to Drake when we got off the bus. He wasn’t himself this morning and when I went to talk to him about it, he said not to worry, but I am worried.”

The shapeshifter lifts her eyes just a little to Sophia’s and she can see the apprehension there. “He’s my first boyfriend, and I’m not really sure how to navigate things with him yet.”

[mmdeforrest]

November 1st
John
“Me too,” Harbinger admits. He sets the papers down and pulls off his other glove, putting them back into his pocket and rubbing his temple with one hand.

“They are not indicated in the records,” Mimi replies.

“Great,” he says with a grimace. “So we have a Greater Demon more powerful than Zylas, and hasn’t been starved for magic for a year, roaming the streets. Unless there’s some other arrangement going on, by the way he stood at her side, I would guess that he’s contracted to Rin. Which kind of explains how powerful that imploding head curse is.” The angel blinks again. “She didn’t look to be thirty yet, so I don’t think that Rin would have been there for Jerek’s summoning though.”

Harbinger glances down to John’s left hand has he works on the puzzle box. “I think it should be fine to tell Zylas about Jerek. He’s probably the one that revealed Zylas’ true name and got him summoned and captured. I don’t think we’ll need to worry about our resident demon running off to join him.”

“Eidolon hasn’t outright banned you from the base, or given me any restrictions yet, so I don’t see the problem with talking to Dr. Riviera either,” the angel continues. He gives John a knowing wink. “Though I know you’re really just going over there to see Emi. You could just call Dr. Riviera.”

He looks down with interest at the box. “What’cha got there?”

“Timing is everything,” John says with a wry grin in response to Harbinger’s observation about when he times his trips to East Side then frowns. “Including, it now seems, scheduling visits around dragons and ex boyfriends.

“Well,” he said, turning back to the puzzle box, “the latter isn’t an issue yet. That learning curve starts tomorrow.

“As you know,” he said, appalled to discover that he was unable to keep it simple, “I’ve started work on an Orb of Algazelus. The first of the large diamonds is already being attuned—although I expect that one to fail.”

The small compartment popped open. “Two thousand feet down—well beyond the point where light shone, a diamond glinted at me. This particular diamond. One that fits perfectly in a compartment made in somewhere in or near Cornwall around 1800—plus or minus a decade and a half.”

He withdrew it from its container, turned to Harbinger and half smiled, half frowned as he strove to maintain both eye contact and a level voice.

“I am sure you can guess where this is headed,” he said, succeeding at the former more than he did at the latter.

“Rough diamonds don’t glint. Nothing in the absolute darkness at the bottom of the sea glints unless it is hunting something or trying to send a message.”

Usually about mating, he thought somewhat uncomfortably as he looked down at the diamond in his hand.

“I was hoping you would be willing to take a look. I’m not expecting any spoilers, especially since, as you have said, you see possible futures—ones our actions can change.”

He extended the particular diamond toward Harbinger. “I will understand if you don’t believe you should or feel the need to withhold information based on what you see.

“Mostly what I am looking for is to know if I am crazy or just crazy for her.

“Well,” he added with a timid smile, “more crazy than usual, I guess.”

[Kvard51]

Coffee Break

Louis shakes his head, "Nah, I went to Riverbank on the West side back in high school but that does answer my question. Didn't realize I was talkin' to Briarwood's all-star quarterback." He admits, though the smirk lining his mouth betrays a greater knowledge than what he let on. "I remember seeing you take a pretty nasty helmet-to-helmet at the start of the season. You holding up alright?"


"Speaking of-" Louis starts as he looks to Sophia...

Terrence's brow furrows as a slight frown plays across his face, "Yeah, might want to get that autograph now. It's starting to look like I'm going to end up as Briarwood's Ex All-Star QB. Can't seem to get out of concussion protocol." He trails off as the guy zones out staring at Sophie. "Seems to have that effect on people..." He clears his throat, "Anyway, dude, I'm fine. Nice to meet you, for sure."

“Terry.”

Her phone screen was tilted carefully towards Terrence’s vision, showing him the same guy now ordering at the cashier, only with a pair of goggles covering a winking visage, but his gregarious grin was freely displayed. He was dressed in the garbs of a light manipulator called Redline. The small picture directly attached to his AEGIS email address had the title of Team Lead West beside his name in parenthesis. Same guy that owns the really nice red bike. She wondered exactly how large the pay gap was between her starting position, and Team Leads. It couldn’t be small.

“Louis LeBlance. He’s why Drake showed us around yesterday,” she said, flatly.

[/spoiler]

Terrence turns at the insistence in Sophia's voice. He smacks his palm against his forehead when she shows him Redline. "Of course", he says. "I thought he just came in at the same time as Raphael and Stella. Wonder why he's playing this game instead of just saying 'hi'?"

November 1st
Ashford’s
As they all go to sit at a larger table, the door to the restaurant opens again and Yuki enters. Her eyes sweep the room and settle on Sophia.

At Scott’s greeting, the shapeshifter gives him a small wave and then makes her way over to the table. Her eyes don’t meet the angel’s as she asks, “Do you mind talking with me for a moment?”

Pulling out a chair for Sophia like his Grandmama had taught him, Terrence sits down on her right side. He nods to Raphael and Stella as they sit, and winks at Louis LeBlanc. "Now that we've all met each other, how's everyone doin' today?" he says, blowing on his coffee. "Besides Louis' going nan pou yon ti riz with the newbie this afternoon."

Spoiler: translation

Show

in for a little trickery

He smiles and waves as Yuki comes in, starting to stand until she speaks to Sophia, apprehensiveness written all over her. He watches, a little ill-at-ease, as Sophie follows the shapeshifter to a table over in the corner. "I wonder what that is about. And where's Drake?"...

[Roguewolf]

November 1st
Keith
Zephyr taps her nose once as Mimi answers in Keith’s ear, “Marrow is second-in-command of the Palisades set of the Rooks. His records indicate and ability to generate new bone that pierces out from his skin.”

“Be careful,” Mercury says. “I have several civilians in here. A dad and three kids. Marrow was trying to kill them.”

One of the Rooks at Marrow’s back looks up and spots to the two incoming heroes. He quickly lets his companions know, and Marrow looks up into the sky with a scowl. He punches the sphere one last time, making the metal shimmer and shift for a moment before turning his attention fully to the approaching heroes.

Combat Begins!
Kings! Crowe has Initiative!

Crowe grins as she taps her nose. Guess I was right there! Kinda glad she does those cute signals too.

He then thought it could just be her telling him to focus up. Expected. He nodded as Mimi answered him.

The Palisades? Isn't that where Terrence is from? He would need to talk with the newbie about it later.

"Thank you, Mimi. Wonder if he came lookin' for Augur now." He shrugged. "Yes sir, how long can you hold that sphere?"

Crowe looks on at the Rooks and readies an orb in his palm to blast at Marrow.

He fires it once they get near.

Spoiler: Rolls, Mechanics, OOC

Show

Keith uses his Ranged Attack! Heavy Weapon AP 2.
Shooting: 1d10o10-1 5 1d6o6-1 9
Damage: 5d6o6 16

Crowe sets up to defend Zephyr should she get hit as well.
Defend Someone: 2d6+3 9

OOC: Not sure which option to take yet but will when it resolves. If Zephyr does not believe in Crowe (no idea why she wouldn't) he'll also use "I'll Show Them" from the Scion book.

[InTheMachine]

November 1st
John
Harbinger shakes his head, taking a step away from the diamond so that there can’t be any accidental contact. “John, the futures that I see? They’re usually bad. Almost always. That’s why I try to fix them if I can, and why I don’t tell people about them if I have one where they’re the star of the show. Fate is a fickle mistress. I wouldn’t want to tempt her.”

“Sorry, John,” he says sincerely. A few gray feathers drift to the floor of the magician’s lab as the angel pulls his wings in tight. “You’ll have to figure that one out in your own.”

Keith
Marrow throws an arm up in front of his chest to block the orb of darkness. A few of the bones protruding from his forearm break with the force, but immediately regrow.

The Rook nods to his lackeys and the three of them all raise handguns at start to fire at Crowe and Zephyr. Bullets whiz by the two of them, but none connect as Zephyr raises a hand and a hard gust of wind knocks them off balance. One is knocked headfirst into Mercury’s sphere and goes still.

“Nice trick,” Marrow calls up to them. He raises a fist and aims at Crowe for a moment before a sharpened knuckle bone shoots out and impales the shadowmancer’s gut.

The sphere of liquid metal shudders for a moment before it looses it’s shape and splashes down to the the ground, revealing Mercury and the remains of a car that seems to have most of the metal taken from the body and the engine block.

Mercury grits his teeth and wills the metal coating the road into a blunt crescent shape that smashes into two of the Rooks, leaving them unconscious.

Marrow turns to face the South Sider and gives him a gruesome smile that is filled with sharp teeth. “Came out to play, huh? Good. I’ve been waiting for a good fight.”

The villain rushes toward Mercury with a raised fist. Bones erupt from his hand in all directions, turning it into a mace that he brings down on the South Sider’s shoulder. It crunches into Mercury’s armor, piercing through the metal.

Initiative!
Marrow soaks for 1!
8s… The Rooks go, but they miss!
6s… Zephyr goes and hits all three Rooks, taking out one of them!
4s… Marrow goes and hits Crowe with a raise! He takes 17 damage!
Initiative Resets!
10s… Mercury drops the shield and takes out the other two Rooks!
9s… Marrow goes! He attacks Mercury and causes 1 Wound!
7s… Crowe has Initiative!

[Roguewolf]

November 1st
Keith
Marrow throws an arm up in front of his chest to block the orb of darkness. A few of the bones protruding from his forearm break with the force, but immediately regrow.

The Rook nods to his lackeys and the three of them all raise handguns at start to fire at Crowe and Zephyr. Bullets whiz by the two of them, but none connect as Zephyr raises a hand and a hard gust of wind knocks them off balance. One is knocked headfirst into Mercury’s sphere and goes still.

“Nice trick,” Marrow calls up to them. He raises a fist and aims at Crowe for a moment before a sharpened knuckle bone shoots out and impales the shadowmancer’s gut.

The sphere of liquid metal shudders for a moment before it looses it’s shape and splashes down to the the ground, revealing Mercury and the remains of a car that seems to have most of the metal taken from the body and the engine block.

Mercury grits his teeth and wills the metal coating the road into a blunt crescent shape that smashes into two of the Rooks, leaving them unconscious.

Marrow turns to face the South Sider and gives him a gruesome smile that is filled with sharp teeth. “Came out to play, huh? Good. I’ve been waiting for a good fight.”

The villain rushes toward Mercury with a raised fist. Bones erupt from his hand in all directions, turning it into a mace that he brings down on the South Sider’s shoulder. It crunches into Mercury’s armor, piercing through the metal.

Initiative!
Marrow soaks for 1!
8s… The Rooks go, but they miss!
6s… Zephyr goes and hits all three Rooks, taking out one of them!
4s… Marrow goes and hits Crowe with a raise! He takes 17 damage!
Initiative Resets!
10s… Mercury drops the shield and takes out the other two Rooks!
9s… Marrow goes! He attacks Mercury and causes 1 Wound!
7s… Crowe has Initiative!

Keith smirks and then his grin fades seeing the bones regrow. Of course they just regrow that fast…… He thinks as the lackeys start shooting at them. He is mesmerized by Zephyr’s movements before Marrow’s call gets his attention.

His eyes widen as his gut is impaled by the bone and he falters a moment.

Spoiler: Soak and unshake?

Show

Crowe spends a Benny to Soak!
Soak: 1d8o8-1 4 1d6o6-1 1

Crowe removes wounds and is unshaken!

He grits his teeth as the shadow swirls around his gut. His eyes widen seeing the sphere drop thinking Mercury couldn’t hold it much longer, but grins seeing him take out the other lackeys. They could focus on Marrow now.

Crowe gathers another round of darkness to fire back at him. “That was a pretty good trick too.” He yells with a smirk as he fires back at the villain. But he misses his mark.

Spoiler: Rolls, Mechanics, OOC:

Show

Crowe uses his Ranged Attack! Heavy Weapon AP2.
Shooting: 1d10o10-1 1 1d6o6-1 0

OOC: Orokos giveth, and taketh.

[mmdeforrest]

November 1st
John
Harbinger shakes his head, taking a step away from the diamond so that there can’t be any accidental contact. “John, the futures that I see? They’re usually bad. Almost always. That’s why I try to fix them if I can, and why I don’t tell people about them if I have one where they’re the star of the show. Fate is a fickle mistress. I wouldn’t want to tempt her.”

“Sorry, John,” he says sincerely. A few gray feathers drift to the floor of the magician’s lab as the angel pulls his wings in tight. “You’ll have to figure that one out in your own.”

“Which part: The future or whether I’m more crazy than usual?” John replied good-naturedly as his hand closed around the diamond.

“I’m sorry, Harbinger,” John replied, returning the particular diamond to its compartment. I didn’t realize you were burdened with being the bearer of solely bad news. Had I known, I would not have asked. I’m no more interested in tempting Fate in that manner, either.

“Given my two current rivals,” he joked, turning to Harbinger with a wry smile, “you would probably announce that I would be arriving to London in time for Arthur Pendragon’s return to face Britain’s greatest threat or, worse, that Amr Pendragon’s line has survived and this generation’s Pendragon has come to sue for Emi’s hand.

John grew more serious. “Thanks for the warning.”

He glanced at Harbinger.

“I’m still a rookie when it comes to sensing the correct path to the future and can’t tell the difference between a sign I am on the correct path and when it’s just wishful thinking. Some signs seem to point towards Christmas but I can’t be sure that isn’t just the diamond I’ll be carrying to London as the Orb or whether the particular diamond is supposed to be in tow as well.”

John rolled his eyes. “I could just bring it and try and keep it a secret. That shouldn’t be too difficult with a family of psychics, right?”

[InTheMachine]

November 1st
John
“Both,” Harbinger jokes back with a half smirk. He rubs the back of his neck as John apologizes. “You couldn’t have known. And I will say they’re not always bad. I…” he hesitates, looking up at the magician. “I may have seen something about Christmas. I’m not gonna tell you what. But it was one of the good visions.”

“They can’t read your mind,” Harbinger reminds him. “So it’s just like anyone else trying to surprise their woman. Your secret is safe with me at least. They can’t read me either.”

Keith
Zephyr sends another blast of air down at Marrow, but her aim is slightly off, or she doesn’t want to hit Mercury.

Out of the corner of his eye, Crowe sees something zooming towards Zephyr. It looks like a large bird made of colorful pixels, about the size of a hawk with a sharpened, knife-like beak.

Initiative:
4s… Zephyr goes and she misses!
A new comabant enters! ???’s Initiative has already passed, ??? goes immediately and attacks Zephyr! Crowe’s Defend goes off! He takes 11 damage!
Initiative Resets!
Queens… Crowe has Initiative!

[Roguewolf]

November 1st
Keith
Zephyr sends another blast of air down at Marrow, but her aim is slightly off, or she doesn’t want to hit Mercury.

Out of the corner of his eye, Crowe sees something zooming towards Zephyr. It looks like a large bird made of colorful pixels, about the size of a hawk with a sharpened, knife-like beak.

Initiative:
4s… Zephyr goes and she misses!
A new comabant enters! ???’s Initiative has already passed, ??? goes immediately and attacks Zephyr! Crowe’s Defend goes off! He takes 11 damage!
Initiative Resets!
Queens… Crowe has Initiative!

Crowe's senses go off and he looks to see the bird zooming towards Zephyr, he flies as fast as he can to her blindspot, making use of his shadow to deflect the bird as it i redirected to him. He winces as it is redirected and stops for a moment, stunned by the blow.

"Just in time." He says looking for the new attacker.

Spoiler: Unshake? And Defense Resolution

Show

Crowe clears Guilty Condition!
Spirit: 1d6o6 3 1d6o6 2

"Where the hell did that bird come from?" He glances around.

Spoiler: Notice?

Show

Notice: 1d8o8+2 5 1d6o6+2 6
OOC: 3 and 4 if the perception boost isn't applicable here.

[mmdeforrest]

November 1st
John
“Both,” Harbinger jokes back with a half smirk. He rubs the back of his neck as John apologizes. “You couldn’t have known. And I will say they’re not always bad. I…” he hesitates, looking up at the magician. “I may have seen something about Christmas. I’m not gonna tell you what. But it was one of the good visions.”

“They can’t read your mind,” Harbinger reminds him. “So it’s just like anyone else trying to surprise their woman. Your secret is safe with me at least. They can’t read me either.”

“I guess that only leaves Sidney as a possible source of spoilers. I mean, it isn’t like Emi’s going to be regularly working inside her mind over the next month or two or anything,” John observed. “Thanks for letting me know that something is likely to go right in London. Given the potential dangers in using an Orb, I’m glad to know you aren’t getting a bad feeling about that trip.”

“I’ve never had ‘a woman’ to successfully or fail to surprise,” he admitted a little quietly. “Drake and I have both decided that dealing with demons is much easier than trying to navigate a serious relationship. I guess I can hope to be endearing to Emi in those instances when I err and not tempt her father to melt my brain down for spare parts too often.”

[big teej]

Splash Art Cont:

Raphael sits down with the group and leans forward, resting his elbows on the table, steepling his fingers not quite protectively over his drink.

He looks at Stella long enough for her and anyone else to notice before looking back to Terrence. "My day's been great. No Class, No homework, no Job."

He purses his lips, glancing around. "Well. Kinda."

He picks up his drink "What about the rest of you?" He asks as he takes a sip.

[InTheMachine]

November 1st
John
“Emi’s mostly working to piece together memories though, right? So maybe she won’t be looking into her most recent ones. You can hope at least,” the angel says with a shrug.

“Well, if you do mess up, you’ll just end up old and lonely, like me,” Harbinger says, only half joking. “Women can be… something else. You and Drake are right saying that fighting demons is easier. I’ve been doing this on and off thing with Grace for years—“ he clears his throat, knowing he’s said too much. “Look, you’ll do fine. Emi’s great, and Alistair likes you more than you think he does. Probably.”

Keith
“Thanks for the save,” Zephyr says as she sends blasts of condensed air at the bird. She hits with one, and the bird bursts into a cloud of brightly colored pixels before reforming back into its original shape.

It shrieks and dives at her again, slicing its beak across her shoulder.

Down on the ground, Mercury creates foot long spikes of metal out of his chest, impaling Marrow several times. The villain stumbles back, and several of the holes immediately close over. Marrow raises his fists and peppers Mercury with small, sharp shards of bone, but none seem to make it through the South Sider’s armor.

“You’re tough,” Marrow says. “I’ll give you that much.”

Mercury says nothing back as the liquid metal on the ground swirls around his feet. He sweeps his hands forward and the metal raises like a tidal wave over his shoulders, morphing into hundreds of wickedly curved blades. The wave crashes over Marrow, who laughs as his shredded skin starts to regenerate.

“Crowe,” Mercury says quietly, “I need you to come down and tag team with me. Zephyr, you can handle the bird, right?”

“Yeah, I’m good,” Zephyr answers.

Initiative:
Jacks… Zephyr goes! She wounds ??? but ??? Soaks!
10 of Hearts… ??? goes and shakes Zephyr!
10 of Clubs… Mercury goes and Shakes Marrow
8s… Marrow goes and fails to beat Mercury’s armor
Initiative Resets!
Kings… Mercury goes and Wounds Marrow x3, but Marrow soaks 1!
Jacks… Crowe has Initiative!

[JoyWonderLove]

Sophia stayed silent, herself frowning, contrite, while the other girl spoke opposite. Only when she stopped did Sophia begin. “Yuki, sweetie, I’m really sorry this whole mess has you worried. That’s the very last thing I want for you. Promise.” She leaned forward, looking into her eyes earnestly. Placing her hands plainly on the top of the table between them, her frown remained, but she switched to the other girl’s language in an attempt to make her feel more comfortable with the unfamiliar. It wasn’t much, but Sophia hoped it was a good start.

“First, you of all people shouldn’t be apologizing. You sacrificed hours out of your own evening to make sure the new girl belonged. You could have been doing way more important stuff; like studying, or training, or sleeping. But all that was put aside for a total stranger. One that’s not even on your own team.” Sophia couldn’t decide if she meant Team West or preference wise, but leaned her weight on her right elbow, she propped her cheek comfortably on her raised right fist, head tilted a bit, a smile starting. She put the other girl under a gaze as patient and benign as a stone carved saint. The next Zodiac really was a treasure of a person.

“You cared, Yuki. Gave me attention despite managing whatever chronic stress comes from weekly studying and life threatening situations. So when you mentioned your family was already serving the world, in the very same field I wanted to, after I already knew our powers both go back generations...a really big part of me wanted it all to be fate. Then you mentioned you had already travelled the world like I planned to, and it felt right. Sorta written in the stars.”

Even admitting it, the feeling didn’t go away like so many others, staying subtle but sure. Sophia didn’t know what it meant, just that it ran near parallel to the stronger heartbeat of the legacy she tried to live up to. She resisted the urge to place her arms under the table; to hide away somehow. This was about comforting Yuki, not wearing a mask of the well-adjusted, or anything other than what she was. The acquaintances she would lose meant little compared to the gems she would keep, and she could never have guessed how stalwart Terrence was until she had vomited up the worst of her day on him. Sitting up more, hands flat on the table again, she was unapologetic.

“And I really get how dumb and blind that sounds out loud. Drake said you were just being nice to me earlier, but I hated hearing it. Seriously, it’s not your fault I couldn’t spot the gay girl at a San Fran Pride. Let alone how hard I’m failing to manage symptoms for latent U-HAUL syndrome.” A self-depreciating smirk accompanied the realization she had stumbled across one tarot book too many about twin flames and compatibility. Glancing down at her plain fingernails, they were as filed down and unadorned as she had always kept them for the last three years, but it was starting to feel hopeful. Smirk fading, her chin was titled down slightly in mock reproach towards Yuki.

“So don’t apologize just because I hide being clueless better than you, okay? You really helped me feel at home, and Iron Station needs more people like you.”

Spoiler: Comfort / Support (8)

Show

https://orokos.com/roll/972490

I think an 8 counts as a win?

[InTheMachine]

November 1st
Ashford’s (Sophia)
Yuki nods, but other than that is still in her seat as she listens to Sophia. She gives her a slight, soft smile when she finishes. “That does make me feel better about that part, but you didn’t answer my question about Drake. He’s… a very important person to me. I want to figure out what I can do for him, if I can do anything.”

“It’s taken him a long time to open up to me, and I feel like all the progress that we made in the last two years is… not gone, but… regressed,” she admits.

[mmdeforrest]

November 1st
John
“Emi’s mostly working to piece together memories though, right? So maybe she won’t be looking into her most recent ones. You can hope at least,” the angel says with a shrug.

“Well, if you do mess up, you’ll just end up old and lonely, like me,” Harbinger says, only half joking. “Women can be… something else. You and Drake are right saying that fighting demons is easier. I’ve been doing this on and off thing with Grace for years—“ he clears his throat, knowing he’s said too much. “Look, you’ll do fine. Emi’s great, and Alistair likes you more than you think he does. Probably.”

“She’s a lucky woman,” John said with a small smile. “You can trust my discretion. Well, with everyone but Emi. I may have divulged a couple of thing to her inadvertently.”

Another secret.

“Thanks, Harbinger,” John replied. “It’s the probability, rather than the certainty, that is having me mind my p’s and q’s a little more carefully than I am used to. I’ve been warned once by him to not break Emi’s heart. Let’s hope the encounter with Valèdeir doesn’t get us close to that.

“Which reminds me. Mimi: Can you forward the scans of the blots to Dr. Riviera and ask her if she has time to offer her opinions today? If Dr. Riviera believes a consultation is in order, please coordinate with Nora to see if there is a time when my presence at East Side will not align with Grayson/Valèdeir‘s time there but does align with Emi’s.”

He turned and offered Harbinger a conspiratorial smile. “If, that is, I can conscript the two of you into assisting with my wooing schedule.”

[Roguewolf]

November 1st
Keith
“Thanks for the save,” Zephyr says as she sends blades of condensed air at the bird. She hits with one, and the bird bursts into a cloud of brightly colored pixels before reforming back into its original shape.

It shrieks and dives at her again, slicing its beak across her shoulder.

Down on the ground, Mercury creates foot long spikes of metal out of his chest, impaling Marrow several times. The villain stumbles back, and several of the holes immediately close over. Marrow raises his fists and peppers Mercury with small, sharp shards of bone, but none seem to make it through the South Sider’s armor.

“You’re tough,” Marrow says. “I’ll give you that much.”

Mercury says nothing back as the liquid metal on the ground swirls around his feet. He sweeps his hands forward and the metal raises like a tidal wave over his shoulders, morphing into hundreds of wickedly curved blades. The wave crashes over Marrow, who laughs as his shredded skin starts to regenerate.

“Crowe,” Mercury says quietly, “I need you to come down and tag team with me. Zephyr, you can handle the bird, right?”

“Yeah, I’m good,” Zephyr answers.

Initiative:
Jacks… Zephyr goes! She wounds ??? but ??? Soaks!
10 of Hearts… ??? goes and shakes Zephyr!
10 of Clubs… Mercury goes and Shakes Marrow
8s… Marrow goes and fails to beat Mercury’s armor
Initiative Resets!
Kings… Mercury goes and Wounds Marrow x3, but Marrow soaks 1!
Jacks… Crowe has Initiative!

Crowe nods and grins as Zephyr thanks him. "Anytime!" He responded seeing the air blades get the bird.

It moved too fast for him to read the second round though.

Spoiler: Unshakening

Show

Spirit to Unshake: 1d6o6 4 1d6o6 5

As he heard Mercury over the commlink, and Zephyr's response, he nodded. She was fast, and could dodge it. Marrow needed to go down.

"On my way." He replied moving to go help Mercury.

He zoomed closer about opposite of Mercury as the blade formed at his finger tips and slashes at Marrow.

Spoiler: Rolls, Mechanics, OOC

Show

Crowe uses his Melee Attack, Heavy Weapon AP 2
Fighting: 1d8o8 2 1d6o6 15
OOC: It cost me my last 2 Benny's, but worth it.
Damage: 1d4o4+4d6o6 17
Plays Deadly Blow: Damage up to 34.

Go down, go down, go down, go down. Crowe thought to himself realizing he had made a critical mistake now of jumping into melee much like another someone.

[InTheMachine]

November 1st
John
“More like I’m a lucky man,” Harbinger says softly, more to himself than John. “When I haven’t made her mad or something. Anyway, thanks for the discretion. Emi already knows about it, so don’t worry about her.”

“Scans sent,” Mimi says. “She is currently in a meeting, but I will let you know of her answer once she replies.”

The angel grins back at John. “I’ll see you later. Lemme know if you need anything else, John. I’ll be around West Side most of today,” he says as he makes to leave the magician’s lab.

Keith
Crowe’s blade slices through several protruding bones on Marrow’s back and down deep into the flesh beneath. However, the hero can see the muscle and skin knit back together almost instantly, and then get covered with more yellow-white bone.

Marrow turns, smiling down at Crowe with those sharp teeth. This close, the West Sider can see just how big Marrow is. He stands head and shoulders over Mercury, and looks to be twice as wide.

The Rook’s grabs Crowe by the face with one hand, lifting him up briefly before slamming him down into the asphalt below. Marrow’s other hand turns into the mace of bone again and he goes to crush in Crowe’s chest, but Mercury manages to shoot a chained harpoon with serrated hooks on the end through his forearm. The villain snarls as Mercury pulls him back around to face him again, and releases Crowe’s head from his grasp.

Initiative!
Marrow soaks his wounds!
9s… Marrow regens all his Wounds and attacks Crowe for… lots. Please take a Powerful Blow!
Things happen with Zephyr above!
Initiative resets!
Jacks… Mercury goes and causes 1 Wound on Marrow!
8s… Crowe has Initiative!

[PK-Leon]

Breakfast Club

Terrence's brow furrows as a slight frown plays across his face, "Yeah, might want to get that autograph now. It's starting to look like I'm going to end up as Briarwood's Ex All-Star QB. Can't seem to get out of concussion protocol." He trails off as the guy zones out staring at Sophie. "Seems to have that effect on people..." He clears his throat, "Anyway, dude, I'm fine. Nice to meet you, for sure."

Okay, maybe not the greatest opener but it's still salvageable.

"Likewise, well... officially anyway. I knew I recognized you from somewhere but it took me a little while to make the connection back to our team." He says somewhat amused as he turns back to Terrence. "And try not to worry about it. Your head'll clear up sooner than later. Ironically some practice might be just what you need if you wanna expedite the process."

Scott’s expression falls a little, but he quickly seems to shake it off. “That’s alright. I was just hoping.”

The hero catches the subtle shift in Scott's expression but doesn't press the issue. It was evident that the time spent apart from his daughter was taking a heavy emotional toll on Scott. There had to be a way to make it up to him but reuniting the two on more than a temporary basis seemed nearly impossible, especially when considering everything that West Side was already tasked with.

“Louis, no worries, I’ll spot ya,” she said, her Californian accent clear.

Sophia shot the blonde an apologetic look, and paid for his beverage with her card, quite confident that with AEGIS already covering near every other living expense possible, her monthly budget would look healthy regardless. And all I have to do is protect others. She was getting paid for the very thing she had done for free.

"My hero in shredded denim." Louis replies in surprise as he pretends to swoon on his feet. "I appreciate it. The next one's on me." He promises, casting a friendly smile the angel's way.

With the drink taken care of, she addressed the group.

“Yuki and Drake are gonna join Terry and me soon. Do you three wanna get a big table? It’d help out the waitress.”

"Didn't know we were starting our own breakfast club." He comments lightheartedly at the mention of Yuki and Drake joining the group. "Yeah, let's grab a table. The bigger the better."

Izzy gives Louis a playful roll of her eyes before she grins at him. “One Kona and a dark chocolate truffle cake, coming up,” she says. “That’s what I would recommend, delivery boy. I’m sure you’ll like it.”

She glances back at Scott with an unsaid question. The large man looks at the dwindling line and gives her a nod.

The music changes to a funky jazz number as Izzy turns back to Louis. “I could… bring your order personally, if you don’t mind me hanging out for a few minutes.”

"Have I ever told you that I love the service here?" Louis replies, pairing his compliment with a sincere smile. He nods, "I'd like that a lot actually. And since you took the time to introduce me to your band last night I think it's only fair that you meet my uh..." He pauses, searching for the right substitute. "Club? Let me know if you need any helping bringing out the orders. I'll find us some seats."

Pulling out a chair for Sophia like his Grandmama had taught him, Terrence sits down on her right side. He nods to Raphael and Stella as they sit, and winks at Louis LeBlanc. "Now that we've all met each other, how's everyone doin' today?" he says, blowing on his coffee. "Besides Louis' going nan pou yon ti riz with the newbie this afternoon."

Louis raises a brow at the accusation. "Non embêter here frère." The hero replies with a smile as he finds an open seat can claims a spot adjacent to it.

Spoiler: Translation

Show

"No tricks here brother."

Raphael sits down with the group and leans forward, resting his elbows on the table, steepling his fingers not quite protectively over his drink.

He looks at Stella long enough for her and anyone else to notice before looking back to Terrence. "My day's been great. No Class, No homework, no Job."

He purses his lips, glancing around. "Well. Kinda."

He picks up his drink "What about the rest of you?" He asks as he takes a sip.

"I actually managed to make some more progress on the prototype I've been working on before Raph here insisted we take the Monte Carlo for a spin."

"All that free time and you don't even cook or clean." Louis continues as he looks over at his vagabond adjacent friend and shakes his head with a smile. "I find myself wondering why we keep you around sometimes but then I remember I'd have no one else to play games or destroy public property with." He finishes, his smile growing into a full on grin.

As they all go to sit at a larger table, the door to the restaurant opens again and Yuki enters. Her eyes sweep the room and settle on Sophia.

At Scott’s greeting, the shapeshifter gives him a small wave and then makes her way over to the table. Her eyes don’t meet the angel’s as she asks, “Do you mind talking with me for a moment?”

If Sophia agrees, Yuki will lead her to an empty corner booth and slide into it.

Louis turns his attention to Yuki at her sudden arrival and watches her depart with Sophia just as quickly. "Any idea what that's about?" He asks, looking back to the group. "And where's Drake? Sophia said they'd be coming here together right?"

[Roguewolf]

November 1st
Keith
Crowe’s blade slices through several protruding bones on Marrow’s back and down deep into the flesh beneath. However, the hero can see the muscle and skin knit back together almost instantly, and then get covered with more yellow-white bone.

Marrow turns, smiling down at Crowe with those sharp teeth. This close, the West Sider can see just how big Marrow is. He stands head and shoulders over Mercury, and looks to be twice as wide.

The Rook’s grabs Crowe by the face with one hand, lifting him up briefly before slamming him down into the asphalt below. Marrow’s other hand turns into the mace of bone again and he goes to crush in Crowe’s chest, but Mercury manages to shoot a chained harpoon with serrated hooks on the end through his forearm. The villain snarls as Mercury pulls him back around to face him again, and releases Crowe’s head from his grasp.

Initiative!
Marrow soaks his wounds!
9s… Marrow regens all his Wounds and attacks Crowe for… lots. Please take a Powerful Blow!
Things happen with Zephyr above!
Initiative resets!
Jacks… Mercury goes and causes 1 Wound on Marrow!
8s… Crowe has Initiative!

Crowe finally sees just how big Marrow is as hit flesh knits back together than only one phrase pops into his mind. Oh no..... and it quickly leaves when he sees Marrow's hand come up at him before slamming him into the ground. He coughs up a good amount of blood as he hits the asphalt, saved only by Mercury being a bit fast.

Spoiler: Powerful Blows!

Show

Powerful Blow: 2d6+1 12
OOC: Oh No....
Crowe gives ground and takes two conditions.
Marks Angry and Afraid.

He sees that Zephyr is still high above in the air quickly before getting back up. He leaps back giving ground to the villain and feels his own anger and fear well up inside of him. Fighting this guy is almost impossible!

[mmdeforrest]

West Side Base, 1 November
“Thank you for agreeing to see me a little sooner than usual, Prince Zylas,” Dee said as he entered the room. As much as he wanted to affect the easier tone he had gotten used to using with the greater demon, he could sense the gravity had shifted his tone.

“I wish we could just speak of your latest literary discovery, but I have the results in from the experiments I told you about. Mimi: please project samples Z, L, and N on the screen here.

“As you can see, two of the samples match, which confirms it was the ichor taken from you that fueled the Nova production here in the city. The third sample, the one from the hybrid, does not.

“Harbinger sensed all three samples to confirm my guesses. The other sample is from your brother.

“I believe he is under contract to Rin Mochizuki, an Asian woman who has been introducing herself as the heir to the Magatsuhi Empire. Harbinger saw a vision of him attending her as she spoke with the greater demon we are currently fighting—the one from the House that toppled yours. My guess is that she is the one who summoned you.

“I’m sorry to have to tell you this,” Dee told him sincerely. The betrayal could not be easy to accept.

[JoyWonderLove]

November 1st
Ashford’s (Sophia)
Yuki nods, but other than that is still in her seat as she listens to Sophia. She gives her a slight, soft smile when she finishes. “That does make me feel better about that part, but you didn’t answer my question about Drake. He’s… a very important person to me. I want to figure out what I can do for him, if I can do anything.”

“It’s taken him a long time to open up to me, and I feel like all the progress that we made in the last two years is… not gone, but… regressed,” she admits.

Sophia looked relieved that Yuki was no longer on the verge of tears, that she hadn’t looked uncomfortable at what an uncompromising mess the supposed half celestial was. But that didn’t stop an uncharacteristic quiet when asked again about what was said at the bus stop. Well, Yuki, I maybe advised your iffy boyfriend to kindly go visit the nearest Babeland, and rotate on one of their bestsellers, because you don’t love him. So maybe a little harsh... She ignored the re-emerging guilt she had thought was already purged.

“Of course I didn’t answer. It’s really bad form to burden the soul without nourishing the body. Babe, I’ve never seen anyone half as upset as you that remembered to look after themselves. Have you eaten or even drank anything today?” She considered the girl that had been on the verge of tears not a minute ago very carefully. “I’ve actually got this large hot chocolate coming, heavy on the marshmallows. We could easily share. Think I even paid for a whole cake?” She hadn’t even looked at what she was covering Louis for until it was already done, and the cashier had said it out loud.

Kinda should’ve guessed the guy with the sleek racing bike had really expensive taste...

“Or we’ll order you something better. You can get the longer version of events, if you want. Pick my brain about whatever. I’ve got three years trying to make the entire VIP thing work out. We could figure out the Drake Equation together.” She smiled, but then shrugged. “Unless you’re in a big hurry? Then I can just give you the twitter version of events, and I’ll see you whenever.”

[InTheMachine]

November 1st
Keith
Marrow stomps the ground so hard it cracks the asphalt, making Mercury lose his footing slightly, before bull rushing the South Sider. He slams a bony fist into Mercury’s stomach, stabbing through his armor.

Mercury goes down to one knee as he coughs and gags, unable to get air back into his lungs.

Marrow turns, looking at Crowe. “You scared, kid? You should be,” he says as he backhands the hero. Crowe hits the ground again hard, bouncing off the street. “I’m gonna kill you and I’m gonna kill him—“

Suddenly a sleek black mech about as big as Marrow rockets down from the sky, landing about ten feet away in a rush of hot wind and street debris. Its shadow waver unnaturally as it raises one arm, aiming a machine gun at the villain.

The mech peppers him with bullets and Marrow stumbles back. He grits his teeth before he whistles loudly. The pixel bird above flies back down and explodes in a blinding light.

By the time everyone can see again, Marrow and the bird are gone.

Zephyr lands close to Crowe, helping him into a sitting position. “You okay?” she asks. “I saw you take some hard hits.”

Mercury seems to catch his breath and stands. He nods in appreciation to the mech before heading back over to the mangled car that he’d been protecting before, heedless of the wounds that he’s sustained.

The mech’s shadow stretches and wavers as it stands and forms into the shape of a woman. Darkness seems to drip off of her, revealing a blond dressed in a black bodysuit and a domino mask. She and the mech go into crowd control mode, keeping curious civilians away from the scene.

Initiative!
6s… Marrow goes! He Wounds Mercury x5, but he soaks 2
Initiative resets!
Jokers… Marrow goes again immediately! He attacks Crowe for 37 damage! As he’s out of Bennies, Crowe is Incapacitated! He draws a King thankfully, so he’s Down But Not Out: The hero picks himself up and carries on after the encounter is over.
Kings… Meteor and Penumbra enter the fray! Meteor wounds Marrow x2
Marrow and the bird retreat!
Combat Ends!

John
Zylas, as always, stands at attention in greeting as John enters his dwelling, before relaxing somewhat.

The magician can see several emotions go across the demon’s face as he speaks. His tail twitches once and is still. He seems to take a moment to digest the information before quietly asking, “So that I understand, you believe that my brother gave my True Name to this… Rin? She is the one that summoned me and stole my blood, and they seem to be working with a demon from Urvaan-et?”

He turns away as his anger flares. His tail lashes again as he seethes in silent fury.

Ashford’s
Izzy stops by the table with Louis and Stella’s drinks before briefly heading back to the counter and grabbing an entire sliced chocolate truffle cake, along with small plates and forks for everyone.

She sits next to Louis, smiling at the high octane hero. “Alright I’m here. Who’s all in the… club?”

Back over in the corner, the other barista with glasses stops by Sophia and Yuki’s table, dropping off Sophia’s hot chocolate and a steaming mug of green tea for Yuki.

Spoiler: Sophia- Notice TN 4

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This barista’s name tag says, “Quinn”. Sophia spots several rubber rainbow bracelets around her left wrist.

The shapeshifter looks up at her in surprise, but the barista smiles at her. “Mr. Ashford made it for you. Don’t worry, it’s on the house,” she says, before making her way back to the bar.

“I suppose now that I have a drink, we can go with the longer version,” Yuki says as she blows on her tea. “What’s this ‘Drake Equation’ that you’re talking about?”

[mmdeforrest]

November 1st
John
Zylas, as always, stands at attention in greeting as John enters his dwelling, before relaxing somewhat.

The magician can see several emotions go across the demon’s face as he speaks. His tail twitches once and is still. He seems to take a moment to digest the information before quietly asking, “So that I understand, you believe that my brother gave my True Name to this… Rin? She is the one that summoned me and stole my blood, and they seem to be working with a demon from Urvaan-et?”

He turns away as his anger flares. His tail lashes again as he seethes in silent fury.

“I wish I could claim it were otherwise, Zylas,” Dee replied. “It is possible that your name came from a different source—a name list I am not familiar with, perhaps. I will be speaking with Dr. Riviera later today to see if she can offer any additional insight.

“That she was negotiating with the demon of Urvaan-et is more certain, however. What her plan is for the Stones of Vashuuna, however, remains unclear—as is the path by which your brother ended up under contract to her after he was summoned years ago. Reports are that she was too young to have been a member of the Cult of the Red Dawn at that time.”

He studied Zylas’s back for a moment before asking his next question. “I don’t understand why he would betray you, unless he was somehow compelled. A Spiritrack is a terrible thing, after all.

“Is there anything I can do to help?”