Inside 60

[Rebonack]

[Riftline]

Oh Gwen, you dumb monkey's butt. You just made a terrible choice.

"Great!" Maph replies brightly. "So now you're a witch, sworn to me and everything."

Gwen probably won't feel any different as a result of this...

"Now you get to pick out two perks from the list of witch accessories, which are," he gives a little cough. "A flying broom, a familiar, a magical cauldron, a hut with chicken legs, a giant flying mortar with matching pestle, a magic mirror, a never-ending supply of poppet wax, and a never-ending supply of spoooooky herbs!"

Wow!

What selection!

How will Gwen choose?

[Ionbound]

[Riftline]

Gwen swallows, aware of how dumb a choice she made, says "Well...What do they all do?"

[Rebonack]

[Riftline]

"Oh, you know, stuff," Maph'tey replies in an incredibly unhelpful sort of way.

[Ionbound]

[Riftline]

Gwen sighs and mutters, "Why did I feel like that would be useful..." Before eventually arbitrarily deciding, "Alright, the familiar and the mirror."

[Rebonack]

[Riftline]

"Okeydokey! Your witch swag will be delivered to your house at midnight. Later!" Maph replies before darting into Gwen's backpack again and vanishing.

Well.

That was a thing that just happened.

[Ionbound]

[Riftline]

Gwen shrugs, and swallows, her throat dry as she says hoarsely to Pat, "Well...That happened. So...I have to deal with that at some point. You said I could have a third wish? I think I'm going to need it."

[Deathkeeper]

Riftline

Pat crosses her arms, Clearly more than a little annoyed.
"Yeah you bloomin' idiot, you are. Why the hell did you do that? You could have just wished something direct to prevent your family from ever being in danger. This is probably my last chance to get you out of some of that hot water. So, what do you want? I have a suggestion, it's 'actually think this one through.' " she says, clearly not really mad at Gwen so much as she is frustrated.

[Ionbound]

Riftline

Gwen nods and say, "Yeah...But still, it's magic I've already been using. I might as well get more powerful at it. Aaaand I do have an idea. Can I wish for an escape clause? A way to get out of this if I need or want to?"

[Deathkeeper]

Riftline

The look Pat gives is probably one of complete incredulousness. Not just confusion. She is incapable of comprehending what was just said.
"That is probably the worst reasoning for selling your soul I have ever heard. And no, I can't rework a Shee contract. They're more powerful than me, and I can't afford to piss them off, even if I was able of doing it on purpose. Now, I could probably get you out on a technicality. Like, if you wish that you could spontaneously reincarnate when at near death you might be able to beat him to the punch, or if you wish to end up as something that can't have made that deal, which is basically anything not entirely mortal, it will likely invalidate the Pact. Catch my drift?"

[Darkcomet]

[Street Barge Stratus - Casino]

Gurri's peepers will study Noelle's visor, then, and glance occasionally to the bolter in her hand. Once they're close enough to talk without shouting like idiots, Gurri smiles, revealing a mouth full of thick bullet-shaped teeth. "You get messages often, do you? Sorry, lady. It's just the man that spotted me the fare and the barge passes insisted on it."

Despite his smiles and his low tone, Gurri seems nervous. His upper right hand ticks ever so slightly, and his brow furrows harshly. He reaches slowly behind his ear and pulls out a small piece of paper. A wrinkled yellow note. And from it he reads, without taking his eyes off Noelle for too long.

"There's a man coming that calls himself Stones. You need to find him. Union, Vigil, someone."

"He's going to kill all of you."

"Uh," Gurri scratches himself behind his ear. "That's all it says."

Behind Gurri, as he talks, Noelle may begin to sense one of the life signs breaking away from the rest. Unlike Gurri, however, it doesn't walk through the doors - there's a brief sense of it disappearing before it reappears inside the casino, off behind Gurri's right, crouching behind a table. Some sort of teleportation effect, it had to be. It was a nigh instantaneous transfer. And if it couldn't be more obvious, Gurri's nostrils contract, sniffing lightly at the air. Sensing someone.

Irrof, you dumb bastard... Gurri thinks, eyes flicking to the left.

"Oh, come on, all this for that? You must be joking," Noelle says, the eye-rolling almost audible. "Do you have any idea how often we hear that kind of grox**** threat from all the criminals and would-be revolutionaries around here? What makes this any diff-"

Then the teleport happens.

The Major, being attentive to these things while watching out for ambushes (she kinda has to focus to use that life-sense consciously), does indeed notice when something else shows up in here, embedding itself in her vision as a glowing purplish blur. And given that she's expecting a trap...well.

The bolt pistol gets pointed right at where the newcomer is hiding. "Call off your goon before I interrupt this trap of yours with a bolt shell," Noelle threatens, her casual attitude suddenly giving way to a dead-serious, harsh one.

[Street Barge Stratus-Outside]

It may be noted that a Union fighter-gunship is flying around the area. If someone can see that far somehow, it may be noticed that it has no pilot. It's Noelle's, of course.

Evolution Industries Headquarters

Well, that's different. You think there would be a person or two here. Oh well. Marley walks up to the scanning area and waits. All that the scanners are going to find is his cane, and the fact that the two scarves he's wearing are more steel than wool. Unless you count a basket that holds a plate of cookies and some papers a weapon.

Marley was never much of a fighter after all, and after the sixth time he had an explosive blow up in his face he's stopped carrying those.

"Proceed."

The door at the end of the hall packed with scanners opens, into what would appear to be a reception area. This one is about what you'd expect for such a thing, except for all the armed EvSec guards around watching everything, huge blue EI logos adorning the stark white walls and floor in an utter inversion of 'Executive Halley''s usual aesthetics. Stairs and an elevator behind the reception desk seem to lead up. The receptionist looks like a vaguely humanoid, scarcely more than skeletal robot, similar in appearance to a modified EI Guardian Drone. When Marley presumably approaches, it automatically speaks.

"Activating transport system."

A hatch on the floor, concealed beneath the EI logo there, opens, revealing one of those teleporter pads that was seen earlier.

"Marley, Ebenezer. Please step onto the pad to reach the CEO's Office."

DC's buildings are weird.

[Hattish Thing]

Skyscraper:

There's an eerie silence here. It was about 3:00, and the place was always rather busy. On any other day, it'd be business as usual, a bustling place full of workers and technicians. Today, however, the entire buildings is locked down. The phone lines have been cut, the exits locked and guarded. Marciano Louv're has entered the area from under the very skyscraper, having exploited natural caverns beneath the place to form a tunnelway into the place. And so, his goons took the entire building hostage in less than ten minutes. Now, the man appears to be seated on the top floor. It's quite nice up here, full of plenty of glass windows to gaze out at the city through. He's sitting on a large chair, the back of it close against one of the walls. He doesn't bother sitting in one of the couches, for his chair was quite comfortable, and he was far too lazy to get up right now. Many of his elite goons rest in here, along with Bad Touch, his newest addition to the Marcy Team. The man who used to keep this place as a home rests against one of the tables, a bullet in his head. His secretary is alive, but not looking so good.

Many other hostages are littered around the room, and no one dares speak. Marciano himself listens to some song on his earphones, before checking his watch.

The wall message ought to attract plenty here. Now it was just a matter of time...

[Darkcomet]

[Skyscraper]

Immediately, a plethora of high-tech scanning systems begin focusing everything they can bear on the tower in an attempt at discerning the location of any nuclear device present, all the way from orbit. The systems are advanced enough that they should be able to detect a nuclear weapon, especially a fission bomb given the radioactive materials involved. That orbital array the Union's immediate predecessor group launched sure is useful.

Also being scanned for are any signs of anti-teleportation field systems or interphasic interference that would prevent the use of intangibility or other such methods to infiltrate the building. And lifesigns, of course, especially where they are in relation to the nuke.

Yay for blatant spy satellites.

Also fairly immediately, Union forces begin surrounding the skyscraper, patrolling the skies and ground around it. None move in to attack...yet. Especially as their arrival isn't quite instant, being mostly whoever could be scrambled on the shortest notice possible.

[Holy-hunter]

The tall broad shouldered man known as 'Bad Touch' dressed finely in a black suit, silently paces up and down infront of some hostages. Eagerly and patiently waiting for, wanting, for one of them to slip up or get brave, just dying for an excuse.
He fumbles with his new toys, an expensive looking silver watch and an equally shiny heavy revolver.
A wide smile of excitement was stuck permentally to his face since the ordeal had begun, in anticipation the of chaos sure to ensue.

He kept himself within sight of Marcino at all times, or atleast tries to. Playing his first mission safe as not to get carried away and do anything displeasing.

[Quinsar]

Touch of Gold
A small two story building sits in the middle of a rich district, its lights still burning even in the middle of the night. Out front, a gilded sign reads "Touch of Gold: Professional jeweler and enchantress." Inside, a woman works tirelessly, filling orders for her more than eccentric clientele. She is Areisha, the owner and sole worker. She's a short, pale skinned elf woman with beautiful silver hair. Quiet music plays in the store as she works, humming along as she goes.

[WarKitty]

Touch of Gold

A young woman with pale hair and blue eyes walks into the shop. She's got a child completely wrapped up in a sling (at least presumably it's a child) and has on a long loose dark red dress. She waits patiently at the counter to be acknowledged.

[Quinsar]

Touch of Gold

It takes Areisha almost a minute to look up form the very delicate work that she's doing on a ring made out of blue metal. When she finally does look up, she smiles and stands, quickly stepping over towards the counter.

I'm sorry for keeping you waiting. Runes just aren't work that you want to interrupt midway through. Half a rune can do all sorts of unintended things.

She laughs lightly, showing off a pair of long pointed canines.

My name is Areisha, I'm the owner.

Areisha offers her hand.

[WarKitty]

Touch of Gold

The woman takes the hand lightly. My name's Candace, and this is Kulpa. She tugs the sling back a little to reveal a newborn foal, reddish-gold in color, with what appears to be seaweed wrapped around his neck. You do magic jewelry, I heard? I just have a simple request.

[Quinsar]

Touch of Gold

Areisha smiles down at the kelpie.

Oh he's adorable!

She looks back up, still smiling wide.

You'd like to make an order? Of course. Just follow me back to my work desk and we'll get everything sorted out.

She turns and starts back towards where she was working.

[WarKitty]

Touch of Gold

Candace follows, pulling out a pair of cabochons from her bag, one of moonstone and one of moss agate. Could you make these into a pair of linked torques? Something that I could use to make sure my baby is ok while I'm away. It would have to grow and later shapeshift with him, of course.

[Quinsar]

Touch of Gold

Areisha nods and takes a seat, pushing the objects taking up space out of the way. One is a small, finely carved wooden box that's currently open. Inside are an assortment of jeweler's tools and her current project, the blue metal ring which has the beginning of a series of runes etched across its surface. The other is a heavy leather book with a strange series of glyphs embossed on the cover.

Please, do take a seat.

She gestures to the chair across from her with a smile.

That shouldn't be any problem. A simple enchantment, really. Do you know what kind of metal you want the torques made out of?

[WarKitty]

Touch of Gold

Gold with the moonstone for me, silver with the agate for my baby. Candace settles down on the bench. Just then the foal shifts a bit and whickers loudly. Do you mind if I, uh?... she gestures towards her chest and then the foal.

[Quinsar]

Touch of Gold

Oh, no, not at all, go right ahead.

Areisha smiles and pulls open one of the drawers on her desk. She digs around in it for a few moments before taking out two spools of thick wire. One gold, and one silver.

If you don't mind waiting for it I can have it ready for you in fifteen or twenty minutes. If oyu have somewhere can be I can arrange a pick up. We charge for materials, for runes, and for time. For common rare metal wires like silver and gold, we charge twenty gold per worked inch. The rune you're doing is considered basic, and will run you fifty gold per rune, of which there will be two.

As she speaks, Areisha measure and cuts each wire to an equal length. Then, using an awl from her toolbox, she carves a simple rune into the end of each wire. As each rune is finished the wire it is on begins to emit a low humming sound and, as time goes on, seems to heat up and become red hot.

[WarKitty]

Touch of Gold

Nowhere really. Honestly I'm still sort of new to the Nexus - and with a baby no less! Candace settles down and arranges herself, Kulpa happily latching on to nurse. Hungry little critter. Still, it seems a nice enough place so far.

[Quinsar]

Touch of Gold

It's a nice enough place to live if you can deal with the... More eccentric residents.

Areisha started handling the red hot wires with her bendin hands, bending them to shape as easily as if they were pieces of clay.

Where are you staying?

Once she was confident in the necklaces shapes, she pulled a tool from her toolbox and started working on the setting for the gems.

[Cosmic Traveler]

Skyway: business district
The Eldritch creature walks along the road, hover cars cross-crossing the streets and the air above the streets. There was a lot of activities going around, screens displaying news, market stocks and ads. The sidewalks were crowded but The Cosmic Traveler paid no mind, having cast a small spell allowing him to walk through people unhindered, a simple Ghost Walk spell.

In his left hand was an arcane display of lights, figures and runes explaining the layout of the area, basically a magic GPS.
The Traveler kept walking along, heading towards the main area of the district's version of Arkham District's Wallstreet.

[Ionbound]

Riftline

The look Pat gives is probably one of complete incredulousness. Not just confusion. She is incapable of comprehending what was just said.
"That is probably the worst reasoning for selling your soul I have ever heard. And no, I can't rework a Shee contract. They're more powerful than me, and I can't afford to piss them off, even if I was able of doing it on purpose. Now, I could probably get you out on a technicality. Like, if you wish that you could spontaneously reincarnate when at near death you might be able to beat him to the punch, or if you wish to end up as something that can't have made that deal, which is basically anything not entirely mortal, it will likely invalidate the Pact. Catch my drift?"

Riftline

Gwen nods and says, "Yeah, that's what I was asking for. Some way to get out of it, or make it invalid, or something if I need it to end. So...I wish...I wish..." She frowns and says, "Hrm. Not really sure what to wish for here. Any ideas?"

[Deathkeeper]

Riftline

Pat sighs.
"I'm really not supposed to help you like this, but fine. I can close death's door to you, but that will make you undead, which sucks and is not a viable option to spend eternity. Nerves are important. Being something other than mortal will invalidate it, though I'd be extra careful with that. I might be able to give another being a claim on you, which might be better if they're you know, after something other than your soul. Small-time gods are good for that. There's some around Inside if you've seen them. Cos and Spade and Chadwick. No more fae or any demons, got it? Uh, I could just make you flat-out immortal, but that wish never ends well. Or you could wish yourself invisible to Maph, though that might not work. Or you could wish yourself a time machine, but those never work."

[Ionbound]

Riftline

Gwen nods and says, "Alright. Well, I wish, then, that someone benevolent and powerful enough to oppose Maph'tey has a claim to my soul."

[Hattish Thing]

[Skyscraper]

Immediately, a plethora of high-tech scanning systems begin focusing everything they can bear on the tower in an attempt at discerning the location of any nuclear device present, all the way from orbit. The systems are advanced enough that they should be able to detect a nuclear weapon, especially a fission bomb given the radioactive materials involved. That orbital array the Union's immediate predecessor group launched sure is useful.

Also being scanned for are any signs of anti-teleportation field systems or interphasic interference that would prevent the use of intangibility or other such methods to infiltrate the building. And lifesigns, of course, especially where they are in relation to the nuke.

Yay for blatant spy satellites.

Also fairly immediately, Union forces begin surrounding the skyscraper, patrolling the skies and ground around it. None move in to attack...yet. Especially as their arrival isn't quite instant, being mostly whoever could be scrambled on the shortest notice possible.

Nothing can be sensed. It seems the trace of the nuclear weapon has been removed, or is being hidden. It seems a rather odd thing to do, but perhaps the material the suitcase that stores the nuclear device simply repels sensory beams? It's impossible to tell, for Marciano Louv're was rather difficult to predict. There's also a distinct and somewhat alarming lack of anti-teleportation shields around the tower. That's incredibly odd. What kind of supervillain willing to destroy an entire building full of hundreds of innocents would go about this without even setting up anti-teleportation wards? There's even radio silence in the building, none of the goons scattered about the tower willing to talk to eachother just yet. It's almost peacefully quiet. Or at least, it would be if innocents had not already lost their lives to a man threatening the city with a nuclear weapon.

There's nothing going on inside, it seems.

The tall broad shouldered man known as 'Bad Touch' dressed finely in a black suit, silently paces up and down infront of some hostages. Eagerly and patiently waiting for, wanting, for one of them to slip up or get brave, just dying for an excuse.
He fumbles with his new toys, an expensive looking silver watch and an equally shiny heavy revolver.
A wide smile of excitement was stuck permanently to his face since the ordeal had begun, in anticipation the of chaos sure to ensue.

He kept himself within sight of Marciano at all times, or at least tries to. Playing his first mission safe as not to get carried away and do anything displeasing.

Marciano simply raises a hand to Bad Touch, obviously meaning for him to stay quiet for now. He wasn't exactly needed just yet, but he was sure that in time, the creature's skill at, well, killing would prove quite useful. He hadn't called forth the aptly named Ex-Agent, Viper. However, Hades should be somewhere around the room, waiting for what was to occur.

After a bit, a goon comes forward and begins to speak into a small device, his voice magnified for those outside to hear. Marciano didn't want his voice recorded or noticed, after all. Not yet at least. The minion reads off a paper.

"Attention UNION agents and officials, failure to comply to the wishes and orders presented to you here will result in detonation of the nuclear device, so it is suggested that you pay close attention to our demands. Once more, failure to negotiate quickly and efficiently will bring about death and destruction the likes of which have not been seen here before.

I have here a modified nuclear weapon, and if I don't get what I want now, it will be set off. My demands are quite fair, I think you'll find, when balanced against the worth of human lives and the cost of repairing the area.

I want (Extremely Large Sum Of Money) along with the blueprints to VIGIL headquarters, and the Magcave. You will fetch the cash and have an unarmed, non-magical, servant of yours deliver it down.

Play any tricks, and your man dies, along with everyone in the area.

Except me, of course."

[Aric Kale]

Skyscraper

Standing just behind Marciano is the mobster's latest addition to the team.
Hades, a man clad in dark, Grecian-style armor, armed with a sheathed xiphos and further protected with an adamantium shield. Naturally, everything is dark shades of gray or black, including his face paint.

The Union Satellites could pick up on the fact that he has an entirely metal left arm...with some magical capabilities. Huh.

He remains silent for now.