[M&M 3e] Second Chances

[Zelphas]

Lily

Spoiler: Crunch

Show

Razorbeast's Dodge: (1d20+2)[9]
Will Save: (1d20+2)[10]

Close Combat vs Lily: (1d20+4)[11] DC 27 Damage if it hits.
Grab Check: (1d20+7)[10]

The spiked beast seems heavily affected by these particular spores, blinking up at you sleepily. "Fairy?" the beast mumbles, reaching up a paw lazily towards you.

On top of the women's tower you see what looks like the Great Danton landing and surveying the scene. Moments later, two police helicopters arrive, their loudspeakers ordering all prisoners to fall prone and place their hands on their heads. Linda, hearing all this, begins to make that high-pitched grating once more, the ground trembling all around her.

You here a growl from underneath you. Looking down, the spores seem to be wearing off; already, the beast seems to be attempting to come after you.

Howard

As you run, you see a fourth dot suddenly appear from the sky, falling straight down onto the hills below you before bounding once more into the air. watching its arc, you can see that it's going to land very nearby.

A shadow suddenly covers you, and you look behind to see the huge metal cylinder that contained Doctor Proxy's gas careening towards you, a massive hole blown through one side. it's coming down too quickly for you to dodge, it seems; the dull grey container comes down...

There's an impression of movement, faster than you can believe, and a glimpse of a face, horribly melted and distorted, like hot wax; and suddenly standing in front of you is a giant of a man, even bigger than Calvin's new form. A massive, misshapen face peers down at you--different from the melted face glimpsed before, but no less horrendously ugly--and you recognize the features of Freakshow, the black sheep of the Mesa City Variety Show, currently in his Elephant Man form.

"PRISONER?" the giant booms, holding the metal cylinder up in one slab-like hand as though it weighs nothing. "PRISONERS ARE TO BE IN PRISON. WHY ARE NOT IN PRISON?"

Nate

The central smudge in the sky grows rapidly larger and more defined, resolving itself into a tall man in a tuxedo, a top hat, and a black-and-red cape, flying with no obvious propulsion besides a trail of glittering silver light. The figure lights upon the top of the women's guard tower nearby, and you recognize him as unmistakably the Great Danton, Mesa City's foremost hero.

The Great Danton barely spares a glance at you, surveying the carnage below with a grim expression. If you attempt to speak, he holds up a hand imperiously. "Just stay where you are and stay silent, prisoner," he states in a voice meant to carry across a large auditorium. "You shall be dealt with after this mess is sorted."

Michael

Your blow rips a massive gash in the side of the cylinder, expelling all of its remaining gas in a blast over you and careening off of the wall. The woman in your arms coughs and shifts, but does not awaken.

The container sails towards a figure you can barely make out as Howard Silvers, running away from the wall; just before it would hit him, it stops with a clang, lifted up by--is that Freakshow? A moment later, the Great Danton sails over the wall and lands on the women's guard tower, next to the kid Nate Stone. In a few more seconds, two helicopters you can now see bearing the insignia of the Mesa City Police Department fly up, blasting a message through their loudspeakers: "All prisoners are to drop to the ground and place their hands on the back of their heads. All prisoners are to--Oh, God..." the message falters for a moment, as the helicopters reach the wall and the people within get their first view of the carnage inside. The message quickly resumes, however. "All prisoners are to drop to the ground and place their hands on the back of their heads. All prisoners...

Elizabeth

A few seconds into your calm breathing, you begin to feel lightness creeping slowly back into your being once more. A few seconds later, a figure you know from posters as the Great Danton lands on top of the women's guard tower, followed seconds later by two Mesa City Police Department helicopters, blaring the same message over and over: "All prisoners are to drop to the ground and place their hands on the back of their heads. All prisoners...

[PalusAbel]

At last the cavalry arrives... Elizabeth quietly complies with the directive. She sees no point in resisting. She and the other... survivors would certainly be questioned, so making a sound now would only invite censure at best. Elizabeth does find some comfort in her body returning to normal; the cement she lays upon may already be cracked, but her jumpsuit prevents any real scrapes. The sound of the helicopters' chopping propellers and blaring sirens encourages her to simply close her eyes and wait for what will come next. It is not as though she has any other choice.

[Arcran]

"Woah big guy," Howard says, putting his hands up and slowly backing away from the behemoth. "Did you see what was going on in there? There was a giant spiked monster trying to kill me. I was just trying to get far away from him, not escape, I swear. Here, just take me back," Howard pleads, not particularly wanting to be killed by Freakshow for attempting to escape. He knew a lot of the hero's bad reputation came from his looks, but still. He was hideous, huge and apparently not that bright. Fear was the appropriate response.

[Quellian-dyrae]

"Um," Lily murmured. The threat of the spiky creature, the concern that Linda would do something that got herself hurt, the chaos of the other prisoners, the sudden arrival of the heroes and blaring message of the helicopters, and of course, the continuing, overwhelming smells all around her was making it difficult to think. She shook her head vigorously, more to clear it than anything, although in the process it kept up the pollen cloud that was falling over the spiky creature.

Everything was too intense, too fast, too confusing. But with iron will, she forced herself to think clearly and come up with a coherent plan of action. Spiky was the most significant threat, but her pollen seemed to be having some effect. It could hopefully delay him. The superheroes were unlikely to cause her as much potential harm, but if she disobeyed there could be consequences. Last thing she wanted was to get her sentence extended. She couldn't trust them to recognize the extenuating circumstances. And, technically, while lying face-first on the ground with her hands behind her head would leave her somewhat more vulnerable, her powers meant she could defend herself from that position better than most, being able to smell all around her and, well, having her hands be right by what was apparently her primary weapon.

"Just follow me, Linda," she said soothingly to her friend, and then added a much louder yell of "Help!" for the benefit of the heroes as she flew about fifty feet away from the spiky creature to land face-down on the ground, hands behind her head.

Spoiler

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Move Action: Dazed.

Standard Action: Concentrate on Induce Slumber. This is concentrating on the previous effect, not initiating it again, so I believe it doesn't receive a new Dodge check, just a new DC 18 Will check to resist.

Extra Effort - Additional Action: Fly away from Spiky and land Prone.

Current Status: Prone, Fatigued.

[Anubis Dread]

Michael cursed under his breath. So much for escaping... unless he tried to fight everyone here. The Great Danton was here, it might be worth it just to hit him in that stupid face at least once. But there was no need to rush. He had power now. He could bust out of his cell with ease whenever he wanted. There was no reason not to wait for a better opportunity.

Not happy about it, Michael dropped down onto the wall.

[TooManySecrets]

"Right. Silent. This is me being silent. As a mouse."

The Great Denton was one of the greatest superheroes in the city and Nate was a convenience store clerk turned felon. Talking back to him was the smart thing to do.

"Hey, blood loss is making me feel kinda light-headed," Nate slurs. "So I'm gonna go to sleep now. Please make sure I don't bleed to death."

And then he lays down and closes his eyes.

[Zelphas]

January 3rd, 2015
10:10 A.M.

Elizabeth

The sound of the helicopter blades grow louder, and you hear the sound of boots on the ground. Two pairs near you, and you hear a voice over your head. "Just stay where you are, miss. We'll get this mess sorted out." "Don't talk to the prisoners. Just secure them and move on," grunts another voice. "Of course, sir. Sorry, sir. Sorry about this, miss," the voice whispers, and you feel a pair of handcuffs close over your wrists. The boots quickly move on.

Howard

Freakshow ponders your words for a long moment, before breaking into a ghastly grin. "OKAY!" he exclaims happily, picking you up in one surprisingly gentle hand and placing you on his sloping shoulder. He walks ponderously back to the prison, his steps shaking the ground. Unless you speak to him, he remains silent.

Once you reach the wall, Freakshow places you on the ground, dropping the container on the other side of him with a crash. Then, in a fluid motion, he bends down and lifts up an entire section of the wall, grunting slightly as he hefts it over his head. With a jerk of his head, he gestures you to walk under the wall and back into the prison complex. After you enter, he kicks the container in with a dull clang, maneuvering himself under the wall afterwards and putting the wall back in place with a grunt.

A helicopter has landed in the center of the prison yard, and police officers are roaming the grounds, searching for survivors. Two officers come up to you. "You caught an escapee; well done, Freakshow. Hands out, prisoner," the officer on the right commands, pulling out a pair of handcuffs. Next to you, Freakshow shakes his giant head. "NOT ESCAPING. TRYING TO GET AWAY." he states. The guards look nonplussed. "Um, all right then, Freakshow. Not escaping. Still, we have to handcuff him."

Lily

Spoiler: Crunch

Show

Will Save: (1d20+2)[4]

Well, he's out like a light.

As you sink to the ground, you hear a titanic snore. It seems your spores have finally taken out the beast. There is a rumble of earth, as Linda also drops to the ground,putting the appendages vaguely shaped like arms over her head.

The helicopter lands, and boots approach you. A pair of handcuffs are placed over your wrists. "Do we need to get the... things on her back?" a voice says over you. "Uh... we've got bigger problems. What do we do about them?" another voice responds from near Linda and the massive spiked beast.

Michael

You hear the helicopters land, and the sound of boots moving about. After a long moment, you hear boots walking slowly towards you from the women's side of the yard. Someone clears their throat above your head. You look up to see a young-looking police officer with a slightly queasy expression. "Umm..." he stammers. "Could you put your hands out for me to handcuff, please? And then can we get down?"

Nate

"Oh, for heaven's sake..." you hear the Great Danton mutter as you lie down. "Copter two? We have one wounded; send down Nurse Hello!" he says, seeming to be speaking into a radio of some sort.

After that, things get a little... fuzzy. You get an impression of warmth, and something pulls the device off of your arm. The colors behind your eyes are fascinating. The sounds behind you go in and out like someone tuning a car radio. ...of Doctor Proxy's?" you hear the Great Danton say. "I don't think so," a feminine voice answers. "It's too..." the sound fades away again, but that's okay; the colors will keep you company.

Wonderful, beautiful warmth spreads over your arm and through your body, and everything suddenly snaps back into focus. You feel good. Really, really good. Opening your eyes, you can see that the puncture in your arm from the device you created has vanished, along with the device itself. Standing next to you is a stunning young woman with blonde hair and blue eyes, wearing a nurse's outfit that is just a shade short of being skin-tight; you recognize the second member of the Mesa City Variety Show, Nurse Hello. She holds up the device you created. "Did you make this?"

Spoiler: OOC--Everyone

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Everyone take 1 Power Point. This should wrap up this particular scene; I'll post a new reply shortly, to start the next one.

[TooManySecrets]

"Huh?" Nate says a bit confusedly. Those were some really pretty lights but he feels fine now.

Nate's head seems to be coming back together as he realizes where he is and what is happening. "Wow, hello, nurse. ... I'm sorry. That was a bit cliché wasn't it?" Nate looks at the machine as he runs his left hand over his now spotless arm. "Um, yeah, I made that. It's an, ah, Elemental Phase Oscillator and Bioelectric Energy Weapon. It's made from a camera. Well, mostly a camera. The strap comes from my prison clothes." Nate seems inordinately proud of this last fact.

[Zelphas]

Nate

Something very close to fury comes into Nurse Hello's eyes when you make your horrible pun, followed quickly by resignation. "A simple 'yes' would have worked," she sighs, throwing your contraption to a waiting guard. Another guard walks up to you, holding a pair of handcuffs. "Hands," he grunts to you.

January 4th, 2015
10:15 A.M.

One by one, each of you were handcuffed, ushered into the waiting choppers, and flown to the Mesa City Super-Human Correctional Facility. Once there, you were separated into different rooms. Each of you underwent a chemical bath, the most intensive physical exam you have ever gone through, and a barrage of questions concerning your history, reactions to Doctor Proxy's gas, and current Physical and mental health.

Each of you are interred in solitary rooms for the night. The walls are made of a shiny metallic surface several times tougher than steel, and you are strictly warned that any manifestation of superhuman abilities will result in your room filling with a sleep-inducing agent, guaranteed to work against the grand majority of super-humans.

Now, almost exactly twenty-four hours after the events of the prison yard, you are all awakened from sleep and led to a large room in the prison. Oddly enough, this room has a large window all along one wall, offering a panoramic view of Mesa City, with its central skyscrapers, large warehouse district, and the still-producing mine all in full view. Each of you are seated at a long table spanning the length of the room, and manacles are attached to your arms and feet, locking you to the table.

A few moments after all of you are seated, the door opens once more and a man who seems to be in his mid-fifties walks purposefully in. The man is heavy-set without being overweight, with salt-and-pepper hair cropped close to his skull and mud-brown eyes hard as the walls of this prison. He carries an unlit cigar in one hand and a stack of files in the other.

The man seats himself at the head of the table and opens the first file, studying it for a long moment. Then the file goes skidding along the desk, coming to a stop directly in front of Lily. "Lily Woods," the man begins, in a deep, slightly hoarse voice that sounds like it is used more for shouting than for conversation. "Convicted of one count of assault, sentenced to six months in prison due to a guilty plea. Three months served. World-class chemist, daughter of federal attorney Ralph Woods and leading epidemiologist and doctor Sarah Woods. Sister to SWAT sniper Hannah Woods and Chief Petty Officer Andrew Woods." The man whistles. "That's quite a pedigree you have there, missy."

Another file goes sliding across the table, to land in front of Elizabeth. "Elizabeth Greenwood, AKA 'the Fighting Redwood'. Convicted of taking part in an illegal underground fighting ring, sentenced to six months in prison due to a guilty plea. Three months served. Daughter of 'Crystal' Greenwood, now Stanton, and older sister to Jack, Jill, and Jane Greenwood. By all accounts, you were a top-line fighter, 26 wins to 5 losses."

Slide. This file lands in front of Nate. "Nathan Stone. Convicted of marijuana possession, sentenced to six months in prison despite a not-guilty plea and enough contraband confiscated from you to classify you as a drug dealer. Sloppy police work, there." The man shakes his head, before continuing. "Three months served. No family to speak of; nothing to speak of, really. Frankly, you wouldn't be here if our tech boys weren't still trying to figure out how you made that mechanical doo-hicky out of a camera."

Slide. "Michael White. Convicted of two counts of assault and one count of evading arrest; sentenced to four years in prison. Six months served. Parents deceased, one of the victims of the 'Desert Messiah' cult suicides, twenty years ago. Dishonorably discharged from the army despite excellent field scores, for assaulting a chaplain; no charges were filed. It says in there that you were caught because you tried to butt in on a battle between the Mesa City Variety Show and Doctor Proxy." The man chuckles, shaking his head, with something like the vaguest shadow of admiration in his eyes.

Slide. The last folder ends up in front of Howard. "Howard Silvers. Convicted of eight counts of larceny, five counts of fraud, three counts of identity theft, four insurance scams, two Ponzi schemes... and various other misdemeanors; sentenced to forty years in prison. Fifteen years served. Son of Silverback CEO Howard Silvers and wife Carla Silvers, currently estranged. You put a lot of people on the streets, Silvers; you wouldn't be here either, except that it seems you were scheduled for parole review in a few weeks. Good behavior."

The man leans back in his chair, biting down on the unlit cigar. "Well, convicts," he declares to the room, "today is your lucky day. You get to choose your future.

"Your first choice is to continue to serve your time. The minimum sentence for a super-human involved in criminal activity is five years; your sentences will be extended to reflect that, and you will be incarcerated in this facility until your sentenced is served, whereupon you will be released." The man looks around the room, as though expecting someone to speak up, before continuing on.

"Now, there are those who think that this should be the only option given to prisoners serving time, now matter how their powers were manifested." The anger in the man's voice during his next statements leaves no doubt which side he is on. "However, a certain attorney-at-law named Woods exerted some legal sway to open up another option. Some would argue that the man's personal stake in this matter clouds his judgment and persuades him to bend the rules, but here we are.

"The second option is, simply put, community service. An unknown amount of prisoners escaped from the Mesa City Correctional Facility in the ensuing chaos following Doctor Proxy's attack. The five of you would be assigned the task of hunting down these escaped felons and returning them to incarceration, by force if necessary. During this time, you would be given quarters within the city limits and limited free time, so long as you stayed within Mesa City during that time. The community service is set to last until the last prisoner is found and apprehended, or for six months; whichever comes last."

The man looks once more around the room. "Well, what will it be, convicts?"

[Quellian-dyrae]

Lily followed the orders to the letter, not speaking unless it was requested of her (although part of her did want to question the people running the various examinations to see what they were testing for and what procedures they were using to acquire the data). She herself made some mental notes during the testing, in particular noting during the physical exam that despite how extreme it was, she was barely winded by the end of it. That was...pleasant. She'd never been particularly physically impressive, but she doubted her siblings could have made it through such a battery without coming out of it near exhaustion.

She answered the questions honestly and as completely as she could. In fact, probably a fair bit more completely than was strictly necessary, offering her own theories and impressions as well as hard factual data, along with a rather long list of the potential benefits her new powers could offer.

So she went into the meeting actually excited. She knew her crime was fairly minor, and her powers offered tremendous positive potential. She was entirely certain that she was going to have her remaining sentence excused. She gave a friendly smile to the others who had been brought in, although she was saddened to see that Linda wasn't among them. Saddened, but not surprised. Linda's mental health had been fragile in the first place, and she had seemed to have little control over her abilities. She was a sweet girl, and Lily doubted she would intentionally harm anyone, but the simple fact was it was safer for someone like her to be contained. Her face did twist some with distaste as the scent of the man's cigar assaulted her too-keen sense of smell.

The recitation of her file, and some of those after her, only increased her confidence. The only time it shook was when he started describing the crimes committed by Mr. Silvers. They seemed...tremendously in excess of the rest of them, but the worry vanished with those two little words, "good behavior".

And then the man revealed what their actual "offer" was. Five years? She couldn't believe it. A minimum sentence for committing a superpowered crime made sense, sure. But for it to apply to them, it had to mean the law was either for anyone already convicted of a crime who developed superpowers during their sentence, or applied to them for having superpowers during the commission of a crime even though they were in fact the victims. The sheer unfairness of it struck her.

And then the alternative, using their powers to bring in the ones who had escaped. Ah. And there's the reason for it. She wondered whether that minimum sentence really applied here. He said that they were only being extended this offer because her father had spoken out for it, but that struck her as rather convenient. "Don't bother looking for a better offer, a good lawyer who has a personal stake has already argued for you and this is the best you're getting. We don't want to take advantage of your incredible new powers to help us recapture these escapees, but we're going to generously allow it." Yeah. Way too convenient.

Of course, given those two options, the choice was obvious. Indeed, Lily might, maybe, have even been willing to help out without such an "incentive", although if she were honest it would be a tragically inefficient use of the abilities she had acquired. There was just so much more one could do with powers. Still, the threat was real, the need non-trivial...and she had to admit, she wouldn't have minded seeing the looks on her siblings' faces when they heard she had brought in a super-villain!

But the manipulation, that she wasn't fond of, so she didn't agree right out of hand. "So...we can talk to a lawyer before we decide, right? I mean...that's our right, isn't it?" she asked, inwardly kind of kicking herself as she did. She had wanted that to come out much more poised, polite but businesslike. She knew she hadn't kept the nervousness out of her voice.

Spoiler

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Insight to try and get a sense of the guy, if he's not being entirely honest with them or maybe how he feels about the situation: (1d20+12)[24].

Expertise (Law) to see if Lily knows more about that minimum sentence, mainly like, does it really apply to them straight-up, or is it something that a reasonable jury would see clearly doesn't apply to them since they're basically the victims here: (1d20+8)[28]. EDIT: Clearly, Lily discussed this law with her father at length back when she was in her "studying the phenomena of superpowers" phase .

[Arcran]

As Howard is put through the various tests he's dismayed to find that he isn't any more capable than before, at least physically. He'd thought maybe he'd have gotten a little stronger, but it seemed his powers, whatever they were, had little to no impact on his actual body. Maybe a bit tougher than he was before, but that could simply come from being in prison for a decade and a half.

When it came time for the questions, Howard does his best to answer them honestly. They likely had files upon files on him. Hell, by now there'd probably been a segment on 60 Minutes about him. There was no benefit in lying and, at least in Howard's mind, no reason. After all, he was trying to repent for what he did, not hide it. He'd stopped running from what he did long ago.

In regards to his mental state, well, it was probably as good as anybody else that had gone through what he had in the last day.

He hardly slept that night. The ladder... Where the hell had it come from? He'd read the book; that much was without a doubt, but how the hell did it go from a passing comment in a book to his way out of the prison? It just didn't make sense. From what he had seen, the powers of the others seemed fairly concrete. They became a giant spikey monster, they flew, they turned into a velociraptor. None of them made any particular amount of sense, but they were concrete, easily understood things. Had the gas made him magic? That was the only option that really made sense. Fortunately, Mesa City had a resident wizard; maybe he could help elaborate in the future?

When Howard went in to the meeting, he didn't know what to expect. Was he going to have a few more years slapped onto his sentence for his little stunt? He thought that Freakshow had put his intent rather succinctly, but in a way that was likely easy to misunderstand. When he sees the others though any thoughts of that are removed; none of them had tried to escape, at least as far as he could tell. Hell, White had tried to kill Proxy rather than escape! He'd just sent Calvin at the others and booked it.

As the man goes by, briefing by briefing, Howard can't help but give what can only be described as a sad chuckle. All of them save White were in for six months, and even White was only in for a fraction of what he had been. By numbers alone it would appear he was the worst person in the room. What a feeling that was.

Naturally, the five-year threat has little effect on a person that has twenty-five remaining on their sentence.

"Even if you combined the sentence for the others it'd still be less than what I have left," he thinks to himself sadly, resigning himself to a very long time in prison. That is, until the next bit comes up. Howard looks at Woods with a small degree of admiration and perhaps a hint of jealousy. It would seem not all black sheep were cast out from there families.

For a few moments, Howard sits silently. It should be a no-brainer. Six months as a superhero or another twenty-five in prison. He'd be an idiot to not choose the first. Of course, there was the issue of what he'd be fighting as a superhero. The same convicts that had been more than willing to kill him in prison, albeit jumped up with superpowers. He was under no illusions that his skill or new prowess had saved him from Calvin; that had been pure, unadulterated luck. If Calvin had been in control of his body, he'd be nothing but a smear on the ground.

Still, this could be his chance to help people...

"I don't know about the others, but I don't know how comfortable I am hunting down supervillains. I mean, if we're going to be honest, I'm just a piece of trash that took people's money and got caught that happened to get caught in that gas. I still don't actually understand what I can do or even how it works. I mean, what the hell am I supposed to do? One of them almost killed me back there, and only luck kept him from finishing the job. I want to help, but what good would half of us be? Sure, White and Greenwood know how to fight, but so do half the other convicts. By my count, the other three are a chemist, a stoner good at building things and me, none of which seem to have much experience with this kind of thing. What the hell are we supposed to do?"

[Anubis Dread]

Michael had no intention of revealing how his powers worked to the people responsible for testing them. This could well be his ticket out of prison after all. If he revealed how they worked, they'd take counter measures and he wouldn't get a chance. That said, the tests were thorough enough that what he wanted had little bearing on what was actually revealed. In the end he consented to simply showing of Devil Hunter in the hopes of using Golem Hunter to burst out of his cell, but he doubted that he managed to even hide that much.

When it came to answering questions and the interview however he was much more open. He didn't really know what had happened at the jail, so he stuck to the facts that he knew - Dr Proxy had mind controlled the guards, shown up and sprayed them all with gas. He'd run after him and hit him once, but he'd escaped with ease. A fact that still irked him to no end. If he wanted to take fighting that man seriously he needed to be able to take him down without him escaping. Then again, it wasn't really him at the jail now was it? It was just another puppet. Unless he could find where the real Proxy was hidden out, he didn't stand a chance of ever taking him down.

There was another obstacle however. His new cell was virtually inescapable. The walls were too thick for even Golem Hunter to burst through, and that sleep gas was troublesome. He was probably the only one of the crew stupid enough to test out how effective it was. It was not a particularly restful slumber, and it knocked him out for hours in less than a minute. If this was where he was going to be staying during the rest of his sentence, there was no chance of him ever getting out of there and hunting down Proxy. He might have the power to actually do it now, but that didn't mean anything if he was stuck in a cell.

When he was called for the meeting, the idea of a longer sentence meant little to him. He never had any intention of serving his entire time, so why would having a slightly longer one make a difference? The offer though... now that was intriguing. It would be a painful distraction hunting down small time criminals rather than going after Dr Proxy and other manipulators like him, but it was the promise of a smaller sentence. What's more if they did have free time as the man claimed he could use that time to follow his own agenda.

"I'm in," Michael replied. "But I do have one condition, and one question. The condition is that regardless of what our actual mission is I'm going after Dr Proxy. I'll do my job alongside it, but I don't want you calling me off because keeping him at large is good publicity for the wonder squad or whatever. The question is pretty simple: you said we can't leave Mesa City, but that we need to catch all the criminals to be let loose. What happens if one of them leaves the city?"

Spoiler: OOC

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Just a reminder that since Michael has Immunity: Interaction skills he should be immune to any Deception attempts.

[Zelphas]

Spoiler: Results of Checks for Lily

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Insight Check Result: You can sense (you realize with a start that you can literally sense this via smell) that the man before you is being entirely honest with his emotions. He truly believes that the second option you are being given is a massive bending of established legal procedure, at the very least. Despite this, you don't smell any malice on him; he radiates a bone-deep conviction that the law should be followed to the letter. You can tell that he feels manipulated as well, forced into this situation as much as you all were.

Expertise (Law) Result: Throughout conversations with your father during the time you were studying superhuman phenomena, you discussed in detail the rules and regulations regarding superhuman corporal punishment. If a person "naturally develops or manifests" super-powers while in prison, they are immediately moved to the nearest super-human correctional facility, and their file is reviewed by a summary council, which decides whether or not the prisoner in question should have their sentence extended, sustained, shortened, or, in rare cases, waived. Your father had made sure that you noticed the fact that all laws specified "naturally developed or manifested" powers; the laws made no provision for artificially developed powers. Your father had been lobbying for a change in the wording of the law to encompass all developed powers, but he had been in no hurry, since no way to artificially develop powers had been found. Thought through logically, it seems obvious that your case could be easily placed under the existing rules; however, with a good lawyer on the opposing side, the case would likely go all the way to the Supreme Court before that decision was finalized, a process which would take several years.

The man opens his mouth to answer, but a brisk female voice cuts him off. "That's correct, Miss Woods. As a matter of fact, legal representation should have been called for all of you the moment you were transferred from the Mesa City Correctional Facility, but it seems that someone wanted to ram this community service bit down your throat as quickly as possible." Standing at the doorway is an older African American woman in a crisp grey business suit, her greying hair tied up in a bun. She is currently glaring at the man, her hands on her hips.

The man reddens in anger and begins to speak. "There are no regulations--" "Yes, yes, there are no regulations regarding those with artificially induced powers, but these men and women are still American citizens, and are therefore granted the right to an attorney," the woman once again interrupts. "Now, now, I don't blame you, Agent Branch," she continues, looking at the man's obvious anger. "You're just being pushed around by those with power over you, same as these folks here. Excuse me; allow me to introduce myself. My name is Amelia Brannan, and I will be your legal representative for this matter." she nods quickly to all of you. "The first 'option' that Agent Branch here offered you is, of course, ridiculous; they can't summarily extend your prison time without a review by your peers." Agent Branch seems surprised by this, and then furiously angry, though it seems his anger is not directed at anyone in the room.

"Unfortunately, they can postpone your hearing indefinitely, pending the results of the legal proceedings in this case. It looks like this case is going to be appealed straight to the Supreme Court, so any ruling is liable to take at least three years. You would remain in prison until then." Mrs. Brannan pauses for a moment, to let that sink in. "The second option is possible, following the precedent laid down by Professor Pain vs. the State of Connecticut, 1993; you would be kept under close surveillance, and required to remain within Mesa City at all times. If any of the escaped prisoners were confirmed to have left Mesa City, their files would be turned over to the state police, and you would have no further requirement to apprehend them," she replies, turning to Michael. "As much as I hate to admit it, the second option is the most legally viable for a shortened sentence; due to the precedent of Professor Pain vs. the State of Connecticut, 1995, the results of the ongoing legal proceedings would not affect any of you after this, ah, 'community service' was finished," she says, grimacing.

The man laughs in response to Howard's question. "Read your file, Silvers. According to the Poindexters, you're a literomancer, and a powerful one." The files in front of each of you contain your arrest photograph, a transcript of your court proceedings, and short papers concerning your background and arrest history; behind all of this, there are sets of newly printed paper, detailing the results of the various physical and mental tests given to you the day before.

Spoiler: Howard

Show

Physical Abilities: Unchanged.
Mental Abilities: Enhanced social cognition, enhanced literacy. Subject responded to questions posed to him in English, French, Spanish, Hindi, and Swahili with concurrent language; subject seemed unaware that a new language had been introduced.
Other Abilities: Literomancy (unknown degree).
--Observed Powers: Spontaneus creation of literary matter into the physical world. Said matter disappeared once subject finished use of it.
--Implied Powers: Unknown. Other noteworthy literomancers showed power as varied as summoning creatures from fantasy novels (The Overlord, 1987-8), Changing shape to famous literary heroes (Protagonist, 2003-Present), or manipulating space-time (Deus Ex Machina, 1994-6)

---Note: All literomancers require access to written works in order to use their powers.

Spoiler: Lily

Show

Physical Abilities: Enhanced durability. Enhanced dexterity. Flight in excess of 100 mph. Pollen-like substance; chemical results pending. Blood sample revealed extensive mutation; blood closely resembles the sap of Convallaria majalis (lily of the valley). Further testing of the blood sample revealed a powerful regenerative agent within.
Mental Abilities: Unchanged. Subject shows extraordinary knowledge in the field of chemistry and biology, concurrent with subject's knowledge before incarceration.
Other Abilities: Possible transformative powers (plant-based?).
--Observed Powers: Pollen in hair acts as eye irritant / powerful opiate. Possible vegetative transformation (spontaneous creation?).
--Implied Powers: Precedent of vegetative-based powers, combined with subject's regenerative blood, suggest healing powers.

Spoiler: Michael

Show

Physical Abilities: Enhanced endurance. Blood sample taken shows subject's blood replicating at an accelerated rate; regenerative ability likely.
Mental Abilities: Subject shows unprecedented ability to detect falsehoods and attempts to manipulate. Subject quickly grew hostile at repeated falsehoods; testing was discontinued under threat of violence from subject.
Other Abilities: Spontaneous weapon creation and use.
--Observed Powers: 'Devil Hunter' (bright silver sword. Subject claims that said sword was able to potentially weaken mind-control affects and other afflictions). 'Golem Hunter' (Large red warhammer. Said warhammer has a deconstruction effect upon objects far exceeding its size and the strength of its wielder. Subject made no mention of said power when questioned).
--Implied Powers: Unknown; other weapons and "hunting" abilities likely.

Spoiler: Elizabeth

Show

Physical Abilities: Greatly increased endurance. Enhanced speed. Subject showed extraordinary physical aptitude.
Mental Abilities: Unchanged.
Other Abilities: Density Manipulation (unknown degree).
--Observed Powers: Density Manipulation. Subject cracked and broke through 1 ft thick cement without any observed damage to self.
--Implied Powers: Unknown. Among the most skilled density manipulators is the ability to project said manipulation outside of self; this has only been observed twice in recorded history, however.

Spoiler: Nate

Show

Physical Abilities: Unchanged.
Mental Abilities: Subject showed intuitive understanding of machinery. Other mental abilities remained unchanged.
Other Abilities: Possible technomancy (unknown degree).
--Observed Powers: Subject assembled a teleportation/insubtantiability/electrical bolt device out of a single closed-circuit camera in 2.35 seconds. Said device seemed to use subject's own energy as a power source.
--Implied Powers: Unknown. Given access to materiel, subject's intuitive machinery aptitude has unprecedented possibility.

Mrs. Brannan frowns at Michael's condition, before answering. "You are free to do with your free time what you wish, so long as you remain within Mesa City limits and refrain from breaking the law. If you do discover knowledge of Doctor Proxy's true whereabouts or plans, you will be required to share that information with your federal liaison, Agent Branch; due to your unique powers, you will very likely be on any strike force assembled by the city upon finding Doctor Proxy's lair."

[Anubis Dread]

New information. Did this effect his decision?

First of all, they knew about Golem Hunter. Since they knew about it, it was almost guaranteed that any cell they put him in would be as impervious as they one he'd just been placed in. He couldn't use it to escape. As such, he had to assume that his only choices were completing his sentence in full or hunting down these super human criminals.

Secondly, that little loop hole was interesting. If anyone left the town, they didn't need to hunt them down and they'd be marked off as caught for the purpose of their sentence. That meant that they'd only need to deal with those stubborn enough or stupid enough to stay in town, which meant they'd mostly be dealing with chaff. The job would be much easier than it sounded at first glance.

Finally they intended to put conditions on his condition. Though he'd likely be on the team of any attack on Doctor Proxy, he'd probably be sharing it with the Mesa City Variety Show. This wouldn't be too bad if he wasn't still pissed off at the Great Danton for blasting him in that fight. And being a borderline cult leader with his legions of fans. And... okay he just REALLY hated the Great Danton. On the other hand if that was the best he was going to get he didn't have much of a choice.

"Good enough, I'm in," Michael agreed, tossing down his papers onto the table.

[Arcran]

Howard looks to the woman as she walks in, trying to take in what she was saying. It really had no bearing on him; if he didn't take the deal he would still be in prison for two and a half decades, although he felt that any chance of an early release for good behavior would evaporate should he not take this deal.

"Alright," Howard says slowly, reading over his file. He spoke Swahili? He'd learned enough French and Spanish over the years to get by but he could, apparently, speak any language now? How did that work? He (as the paper noted) hadn't even noticed people had stopped speaking English. He did like the note about enhanced social cognition, although that was him, not the powers. Probably.

The next bit was far more interesting, especially the "when he no longer has use of it" part. What exactly did that mean? If he made food and ate it, how long would it last? What about money? A ladder was rather easy to tell when he no longer needed it, but what about the others? It didn't quite make sense and Howard might have to experiment a little with it.

"So I know what I can do. I'll give you that. I'm still fairly certain that, as-is, we're no better equipped than the escaped convicts save for the fact that there's a few of us. We need training. It'll give us an edge over the convicts and make us a hell of a lot harder to kill," Howard states, not quite willing to let up on that point. "If he gets a condition, I'm claiming one as well. I want training either from Danton or-" he says, looking over his paper again as he searches for a name, "Protagonist. Get me that and I'll catch all of them myself."

Sure, he had to make up for what he did but what good would that do if he was a red smear on Calvin's spikes?

[Quellian-dyrae]

Lily felt relief as Mrs. Brannan entered. That was better. Now she could be sure they were hearing the truth, and could make a rational decision based on the information available.

Not that the truth was necessarily all that pleasant. They could put their faith in the review system, but that was uncertain and still subject to arbitrary delay. It seemed unfair, even foolish. Clearly, the smartest move when faced with new supers was to create a positive relationship that enabled them to use their powers to do good, not stand in their way at every step. It just made sense to her.

But since Lily tried to be rational, she tried to look at things from the other side. She called to mind some of the cases her father had tried, some of the crimes her sister had acted against, sometimes needing to end it with a bullet rather than due process. Replace people like her with people like that and...

And yeah, the system made a lot more sense.

Howard had raised a good point though. She wasn't much of a fighter. Time against time, yeah, the community service seemed optimal. But one had to keep in mind that it was also the only option that had a chance, and maybe not a small one, of also being a death sentence. That was a sobering thought.

Flip side, though, she had gone up against a giant spike monster back in the yard, and she had won. Her powers may not have been as flashy as, say, fire, but using them creatively, they could possibly be a potent weapon.

She paged through her file some as she considered the question. Most of it was stuff she had already noticed and suggested, but...regenerative properties in her blood? Now that she hadn't realized. And potential to use it to heal others? Gahh...fighting crime was going to be such a waste. Okay, relax, that's fine, it'll only be a few months.

Actually...regenerative properties in the blood had to mean it contained a non-trivial amount of energy. And if it resembled sap (she suddenly realized what that odd liquid she had produced was)...she might be able to affect it like she did her pollen. And that in turn...

There were a lot of harmful plants in the world.

None of those plants contained enough energy to rapidly regenerate.

But they did store energy. In cells. Which were what she was able to alter.

Her powers...could actually be really, really dangerous.

Lily closed her file. "Alright then. Thank you, Mrs. Brannan. I'm willing to accept the community service offer."

[TooManySecrets]

Nate has grown increasingly agitated during the entire conversation.

Well, that file was a big batch of fuel-grade nothing. Nate felt like it should have been a bit reassuring that everyone else was as confused about his "powers" as he was. It wasn't. Nate closes it without much feeling.

"Alright then. Thank you, Mrs. Brannan. I'm willing to accept the community service offer."

"I'm not." Nate is impatiently tapping his foot. His head is down. "Look, I get it, Agent Branch. You look at us and you see scum and losers and, uh, at least for myself, I can't really honestly argue otherwise. But, c'mon, I built a teleporter. Nevermind what else the machine could do, it was a teleporter. If I wanted to escape, I would have just left. Blamo, disappearo, man. I'd be on the other side of the world sipping Mai Tais on a beach somewhere. I would have been so gone you'd have to create a new word to describe how gone I was."

Nate looks up at Agent Branch. "Do y'know why I didn't leave when I had the chance? I think your drug laws are BS but that's life, right. Life is BS and vice versa. I was gonna walk out of there in three months a free man and nobody coulda said that I didn't earn it." Nate leans forward, angry. The words seem to be coming out faster now and with a harsh bite to them. "So, go ahead and bring it to court. Tell them how I didn't escape when I had the perfect opportunity. Tell them that I should have done nothing — that I should have just laid down and died, eaten by a reptilian monster that used to be human and a friend. Tell them how the authorities did nothing to protect us. Tell them how the authorities let mass murder happen when they should have been protecting us. Oh, and most importantly, tell them how the guards and the warden were complicit with Doctor Proxy! Whatever freaky mind control powers Proxy has or not, the simple fact of the matter is that none of us would have been out there if we weren't ordered to be. Go and tell the court all of that! You'll be lucky if the only thing they do is laugh you right back out."

Nate leans back, seemingly worn out by the outburst. He's sweating but seems a bit calmer. "Agent Branch, you can play your Bad Cop routine and Mrs. Brannan here can play her Good Cop routine. You can yell and threaten and intimidate and do whatever you have to. Uh, frankly, if you did I'd probably break down right here. But, uh, it wouldn't change my choice. Even in some fantasy-land where we get five years and nobody sues the state for letting mass murder happen right under their nose, I'd rather have five years in jail because I'd at least still be alive. That guy" — he points at Howard — "was right to ask what we were supposed to be able to do. Community service for at most six months? We'd be lucky to last a week before we end up dead in an alley somewhere or Proxy comes a-knocking to finish what he started. This isn't walking into the lion's den. This is, I don't know, like jumping into a shark tank. And the water has already been chummed."

Nate looks between Agent Branch and Mrs. Brannan. "A choice between death and five years isn't a choice at all. I mean, can't you at least give us some concessions here before trying to kill us?"

[PalusAbel]

The guard's apology gave Elizabeth more relief than he probably expected it to. It demonstrated both courtesy and professionalism, and she felt proud that he treated her that way despite the chaos of the situation. Subsequently, the examinations to follow did not disagree with Elizabeth at all. She complied willingly, and volunteered as much useful information as she could. Thoughts of escape or resentment toward her custodians never crossed her mind.

The next day, in the meeting room, Elizabeth was sorely disappointed that a courteous attitude was not a universal trait among the keepers of her new prison. She was not impressed by his bravado; she had seen that kind of air in the ring, and was by now accustomed to it. The report of her crime affected her as little in the present day as it did during her trial. It was not a matter of guilt or innocence. She knew what she had done wrong in the eyes of the law, and what her punishment was to be. Elizabeth was somewhat surprised to hear her mother's name mentioned, and that the boisterous man gave her an indirect compliment about her fighting record.

And then came the ultimatum. This, too, did not surprise her. The first option was perfectly natural, the second perfectly pragmatic. Elizabeth leaned for the second, of course, not least because she felt somewhat responsible for Madelyn's disappearance. She kept her silence for the time being as first her fellow female inmate and then the other men spoke out in their own defense.

The older woman introduces herself as the man's senior in both rank and manner. Mrs. Brannan brings light to the situation and makes the atmosphere more open, if not less tense, as evident by everyone else becoming more vocal. Elizabeth decides it is finally time for her to speak up.

"I will help recapture the escapees," she begins slowly. "I have a personal connection to at least one, Madelyn. She had a grudge towards me after I defeated her in a match, and she turned her new electric powers against me in the yard. However, my own power, density manipulation, was sufficient to render all her attacks useless. My increased mass made moving around difficult, so I attempted to persuade her to focus her attention on Dr. Proxy instead."

Elizabeth clenches her fists at the memory of the masked supervillain. "I may be mistaken in thinking that I was responsible for provoking her to escape, but I cannot in good conscience allow myself to sit in prison when there is an opportunity for me to do more." She turns to face her fellow inmates, addressing them next. "It would seem that I am one of the few who is suited to this task. I have both training and experience in fighting, and I possess physical power and stamina even without using my power. I am not bragging when I say this, nor when I tell you that, if we should fight as a team, I will do everything I can to ensure none of you come to harm."

Her next words are to Mrs. Brannan. "So yes, you have my cooperation, but I would like to stipulate conditions of my own. First, I would like to participate in training as well, for both controlling my power and for improving my skills. Second, and this is the far more important one, my sisters, Jack, Jill, and Jane Greenwood must be provided for during my term of service, and in the event that I... am no longer able to care for them." She trails off at the end of her speech, as the reality of the situation finally hits her.

She could die in the attempt of bringing back the escapees. Beyond that, whether or not she chose the prison term, the fact remains that former criminals with superpowers may be in the city, which puts her family at risk either way. If Elizabeth chose to fight, she would have the satisfaction of working toward safety and the public good, but that was in no way a guarantee that her own sisters would not get caught in the crossfire.

Elizabeth had not seen them in three months, and that, too, caused her heart to sink. However, this was not the time for sentimentality; melodramatic as it may be to think so, every minute that the escapees were loose could be a minute where the entire city begins sliding into total chaos. Elizabeth steels her resolve. "You must guarantee my sisters' safety, and that they will be taken care of no matter what happens."

[Zelphas]

Agent Branch and Mrs. Brannan look astonished at Nate's outburst. "Exactly what 'concessions' are you asking for, Mr. Stone?" Mrs. Brannan asks after a moment. "The others have named their stipulations for taking part in this, and I, as your legal counsel, will ensure that they are followed. What exactly are you asking for?"

"If the boy's made his choice, he's made it. I'm sorry, I was given the wrong information for what your choices were; but if I know my bosses, you'll be in jail until the Supreme Court itself votes to release you. Still, jail is safer than the outside; just look at your last prison." Agent Branch let's that hang in the air for a moment. "A few things need to be cleared up first, though. First of all, none of you will be going into this unprepared. We want you to capture criminals, not get killed. A new facility for training young supers has been in development in the inner city for a few years now; congratulations, those of you who decide on community service will be its first occupants. We also have other agents with similar powers being flown in to help with your training, though some of you were a little hard to place." He looks at Howard and Michael as he says this.

"Yes, Mr. Silvers; as for your request... I'm afraid the Mesa City Variety Show is technically a privately owned company, and as such we have no legal right to contract his help; he wouldn't be much help to you beyond the basics, anyways. As for Protagonist... I'm afraid he's a bit beyond our--" "Donald? He owes me a few favors from Afghanistan. I can call him in on one for this." Agent Branch interrupts calmly.

"I have a few more things to say, and then I've said my piece. Stone, you said that I look at you and I see 'scum and losers', but that is incorrect. I see convicts; simply put, men and women who have been convicted of a crime. At the moment, the most powerful force in your life is that conviction; it led to your being in that yard yesterday, and it led to you being here now. That conviction will always be a part of your past, but it is up to you to decide how it affects your future.

"I saw the footage from the surviving security cameras. You used your device to run from prisoner Carl, it's true; but if all you intended was to run, you could've simply hidden yourself away within the prison complex. Hell, you could've stayed insubstantial and just stood there, if you were just worried about not being killed and staying to serve your time. Instead, you found a vantage point, and you threw lightning at him. That ensured that his attention was always on you; why would you do that, if you were only trying to get away and quietly serve your time?" Agent Branch keeps his eyes steadily on Nate as he says this, seeming to genuinely want an answer.

Agent Brannan moves over to Elizabeth in the ensuing silence. "Jack, Jill, and Jane will be moved to an apartment conjoining yours while you are serving your community service. In the event of your death, they will become wards of the state, and I will personally see to their placement into the best home I can find."

[Arcran]

"Alright then," Howard says, feeling a twinge of regret at forcing Branch to call in what he can only assume are very valuable favors.

As Nate speaks Howard frowns, but not out of any disapproval towards what the man was saying. In fact, just the opposite. He was him, not so long ago. More charismatic perhaps and not in prison for owning more marijuana than you could ever possibly need, but, at their cores, they were identical. Both only cared for themselves and their own skins. There was nothing wrong with that; even now, as intent on Howard was to make up for what he did, if he had to be completely honest he didn't know if he'd be able to sacrifice his own life to save another. In fact, he was almost sure he couldn't. But he was willing to give it a shot, at least for now.

"I'm in, White's in, Wood's is in and Greenwood is in. That only leaves you Stone," Howard says, speaking slowly. "Out of all the survivors they captured only us five were picked for this team," Howard says, not quite believing that fact himself. There had to be others, right? Not everybody in prison had gone crazy with their powers. It would have been impossible. "They picked us five for a reason: we're the only ones that aren't criminals. At least, not anymore," Howard states, under no disillusions that sitting in prison for fifteen years made his crimes vanish. "As far as I can tell, you're the only one that ended up in prison for a harmless mistake. The rest of us hurt others, even if said others were okay with it," Howard says, nodding towards Greenwood. "You're here because of a little pot. That makes you the best of us," Howard states, not leaving that up for discussion.

"Me? I hurt people. A lot of people. Probably more than I could count," he says, voice becoming slightly sullen. "And you know what my power is? I read things really well. Isn't that terrifying?" he says, fairly sarcastically. "You? Somehow you learned how to build a teleporter out of a frickin' security camera. Without any training. You know what I did? I made a rope ladder. Imagine how much good you could do if you let these people help you and, in return, help them."

"Us?" Howard says, gesturing to the other convicts at the table. "We're a bunch of criminals that got screwed up by some gas and ended up with powers. You? You're a genius that ended up in prison because of an honest mistake. If we're willing to give this a chance, why aren't you?" Howard says, doing his best to sound encouraging and not accusatory at the end as he leans back in his chair, looking Stone in the eyes.

[Anubis Dread]

"If you want to leave, leave," Michael said bluntly. "But don't make a show out of it. You can make a teleporter out of a camera. Unlike the rest of us, there's pretty much no way they could ever keep tabs on you or contain you if they let you out for this community service. You could agree and be on the other side of the word as soon as you got your hands on a f***ing twinkie."

At this point he outright glares at Stone. "Seriously, you're pissing me the f*** off. We don't have choice. If we did I'd still take this chance to beat the sh** out of some people that deserve it, and I'm sure at least one or two of the others would too, but that's not the point. You DO have a choice. There is NOTHING they can do to keep you locked down. Just shut up, get out and build a teleporter to Paris if you're too cowardly to fight, but don't drag this on any longer than it has to when you're the ONLY one that has that option."

He could rag on how unfair all of this was all he wanted, but they were being given a chance. As far as he could tell Stone was the only one who didn't even NEED to take that chance, and yet he was still b***ing more than all of them combined. It made him want to slam his whining face into the desk.

[Quellian-dyrae]

Lily had to admit, Elizabeth's words set her mind more at ease. She didn't really know Elizabeth all that well, which...she realized now was kinda odd, since they had arrived at around the same time and for the same crime. But then, Lily had largely kept to herself. Even so, Elizabeth's presence had made her feel safer. She was bigger and stronger than any of the other women - probably all the men, too, for that matter - but Lily couldn't remember her ever lording it over the others or using it to hurt or exploit anyone. She couldn't be certain, but she was fairly well convinced that her stay had been safer than it otherwise could have been because there was a general understanding that trying to hurt another prisoner could provoke Elizabeth's intervention.

Nate's outburst came as a surprise, and honestly, she didn't think he was wrong on all the counts, particularly regarding the mess it would be if this all actually did go down in courtrooms and in front of the media. That said... "If you really don't want to do this, Mr. Stone, I can understand that and don't want to try and coerce you, or anything. But...honestly, I think it might be the best option. Even ignoring the extended time in prison thing, if they're offering training and testing for our powers, that could be hugely beneficial in the future. And if we do this...I mean, I'll be the first to say that I think most super-powered individuals could put their abilities to better use than crime fighting. That probably goes more for you than most of us, honestly. But there's a certain amount of celebrity and goodwill that comes from superheroics, which would also be hugely beneficial down the road. This isn't five years in jail vs. death. This is five years in jail and missing out on training and experience in the use of your powers and a non-trivial level of personal fame vs. a risk of death. And with all five of us working together with government backing, that risk actually probably isn't very high."

"I do have one other question. Who is it that has it in for us, why, and should we expect them to attempt to harm or hinder us over the course of this mission? Because while I do understand the general reasoning for the rules in play here, I think Mr. Stone's analysis is quite correct. Bringing all this into court would be a media frenzy, and frankly, I think in our situation in particular, it's unfair enough that we should legally be able to win it. Moreso, because just going by what I'm seeing here, we're all pretty sympathetic defendants. You said the case could be appealed all the way to the Supreme Court, so if I'm right and we would have the advantage in court, that would mean the prosecution is the one appealing trial after trial, spending taxpayer dollars trying to keep five newly-powered people in prison for as long as possible when most of them probably don't deserve it."

"It doesn't change the fact of the situation, of course, but it suggests an intent to harm from some person with a lot of political power. And I think we would all be better off if we knew up-front who that person or group is and what it has against us."

[TooManySecrets]

Nate leans forward to Agent Branch. "Because. He was. My friend." Nate says it slowly and with emphasis, as if talking to an idiot. "He might have annoyed me sometimes but he was still my friend. Do you have any friends, Agent Branch? What would you do if one of them was turned into a monster against their will? Would you let them just rampage around, maybe kill someone, knowing — that if there was anything left of the person you knew — that they were trapped in a body which wasn't theirs anymore? Would you do all that, knowing that you had the power to stop them? Could you do that and still call yourself human?"

Nate leans back again. "The shock was non-lethal. If I could have knocked him out then maybe, I don't know, maybe a doctor or a scientist or somebody whatever could have undone what was done to him. Give him back his life. And I can guess exactly what you're gonna say, Agent Branch. 'If he was really your friend,' you say, 'why aren't you jumping at your chance to go on this suicide mission?'. You don't get it. You see it as a choice between saving a friend and wasting away in prison. If that was what it was, my choice would be easy and obvious. But it ain't. My choice is between the relative safety of prison and death. Call me a coward or whatever but becoming a corpse isn't gonna help anybody, least of all Carl."

Nate turns to Howard. "You think we aren't criminals? Wait long enough and maybe we won't be convicts" — Nate glances at Agent Branch as he says the word — "but, man, we're always gonna be criminals. I'm not saying, like, we're gonna break the law again or whatever. I'm saying that whenever somebody looks at us they're gonna see a criminal. And it won't get better. You think they're gonna just, like, let us walk away when we're done, free as a bird? Maybe they can let a thief or a conman or a stoner or a thug or whoever walk. But remember, we've got powers now. Superpowers. Criminals with superpowers. They've got a name for that, right? It ain't a nice name. The powers that be, dude? They're never gonna trust us. You can't trust something that you fear. Maybe we'll eventually walk away from this, but they're always gonna have their eyes on us. No matter how much good we do, they'll always be waiting for us to slip up again, to turn into the next Wyrm the Pillager, or BloodFeast, or Doctor Proxy. That's their job — protect and serve, right? — and they're always going to look at us as a threat."

Nate turns to Michael. "Dude ... shove it."

Nate turns to Lily. "The risk isn't high? Dude, why do you think we're the ones who are doing this? Y'think that the Mesa City Variety Show are too busy doing charity performances to stop some escaped super-criminals? We're expendable. If we do the job, then ... bully for us, right. And if we die then that's five potential supervillains that nobody has to deal with. The government can't lose. You remember Professor Pain? It seemed like every other month he was escaping jail to perform some sort of medical abomination. After he was released to stop that rampaging cyborg, he's been the perfect model of an upright citizen. Not because he reformed himself, oh no. He stopped the cyborg but not before the thing broke his back and skull. Now Professor Pain is confined to a wheelchair and eats all his meals through a straw. Guess it's hard to stitch together some corpses into an unholy golem when you can't even move your head, let alone anything else."

Finally, he turns to Mrs. Brannan. "If we're going to be your disposable heroes, we're going to need some things. Money, first of all. I'm not a trust-fund baby with six-figures, like, stashed away somewhere. I was a convenience store clerk. I've got, like, a thousand bucks in savings, if that. It can be budgeted and doled out through that facility of yours to make sure that we're not going to cut and run with it, I really don't care, but we're going to need something. That's in addition to a place to stay, of course. Second, you can't be watching after us. If you want to keep us under the cameras at this facility, well, I can't stop you and if we have to report in every week or so just to make sure we haven't run then so be it, but once we walk out the facility's door you can't follow us. That dinosaur monster had a pretty good nose on it and I'm sure the other escapees have some similar sort of powers. Maybe — maybe — we'll be able to figure out a way to shield us from being detected when we're trying to track them down, but there's no way that we can keep them from getting a whiff of anybody else. Electronic cameras won't work, either. There's no way that you know everything the escapees are capable of and, hey, you already know that at least one of the prisoners got technomancy powers, right? And I can definitely figure out a way to monitor some cameras. That's to say nothing of what Proxy is capable of. If you can see us, they can see us. We'll never be able to capture them or, worse, they'll ambush us and we end up diced meat. And, finally," — Nate glances a few times between Agent Branch and Mrs. Brannan before settling back on the lawyer — "there has to be an apology. From the state, the governor, the prison, whoever. I want them to say how sorry they are at letting this happen. I want them to say how they're going to do everything to stop something like this happening again. I want it to be sincere, not just another form letter. And I want them to send it to us. And to the families of everyone who died in that yard. That's what I want."

[Zelphas]

Agent Branch has no answer to Nate's explanation of his treatment of Carl, besides cracking a smile at Nate asking him if he has any friends. When he turns to Howard and speaks, Agent Branch shakes his head. "You've got it the wrong way around, son," he says quietly. "Let me add a few more names to your list: The Proprietor. Skullmask. Sandstorm. Empress Orange. Quarrel. All began as villains; all are now either living quietly as citizens or are trusted and respected heroes of their own cities. You will always be convicted of a crime; you don't always have to be a criminal."

Mrs. Brannan stepped forward in response to Nate's comments to Lily. "The Mesa City Variety Show is a privately owned company of superheroes and performers; as such, the government of Mesa City has has no more than an advisory role in their activities." "And since Nurse Hello doesn't want to soil her high-and-mighty boots dealing with 'common' criminals and The 'Great' Danton is a selfish b****** who hates Doctor Proxy so much any other criminal may as well be invisible to him, the Mesa City Variety Show has decided that foiling Doctor Proxy before he can strike with this gas again should be their top priority," Agent Branch growls. Mrs. Brannan gives Agent Branch a warning glance, but doesn't contradict him. "I was on the defense team for Professor Pain. I don't know how much it matters to you, but I was convinced--I am still convinced--that he was a changed man prior to his altercation with the cyborg Gamma."

"A weekly money stipend is included in the community service agreement," she continues, answering Nate's first stipulation. "It's not much--only slightly more than you were earning as a convenience store clerk--but room and board will be free." "If you're low on cash, you could always invent something and sell the patent--" Agent Branch begins, only to be cut off by Mrs. Brannan. "--but in that case, the Mesa City state government would legally be privy to ninety-five percent of the proceeds, so I strongly suggest as your legal counsel that all of you refrain from selling anything until your service is concluded."

Agent Branch laughs aloud at your second stipulation. "Of all the people in this room, I am the only one who can state with certainty that Doctor Proxy cannot get into my mind," he declares with confidence. "Nevertheless, I see your point. Still, we can't simply let you wander off completely un-monitored; you will each be issued a shortwave radio, and expected to report back your location every hour you are outside of the facility. If you do not report in, a SWAT team will be sent to your last reported location. I will insist that your mentor makes these radios as 'hack-proof' as he can; if you can build a better one, let me know."

Both Agent Branch and Mrs. Brannan are sobered by Nate's final condition. It is Brannan who speaks first. "The death of the people in the yard was a tragedy, a senseless waste of human life. I don't know if I can promise you sincerity, but I think I can convince the governor to send out a personal letter. In fact, if I suggest it as a way of giving the lie to Doctor Proxy's words on that wall, I may be able to get him to do more than that. Those people were still human beings; they should be treated as such, even in death." An edge creeps into her voice near the end of her speech.

Agent Branch leans forward in his chair, looking Nate directly in the eye. "Let me be the first to offer that apology. This should never have happened. We should have done more than we did; there is no excuse. I promise to do everything I can to ensure that this never happens again; it is part of what I am trying to do now."

After a long moment, Mrs. Brannan turns to Lily. "You're right, of course; common sense dictates that this should be an open-and-shut case. However, the law often has a sense all it's own, and in the eyes of the law, you five, and the other changed prisoners, are something entirely new. There is no legal precedent for artificially gained, non-mechanical powers; furthermore, there is also no precedent for powers imparted to another person without said person's consent. As it is, the Extra-Human Defense Coalition has already thrown in their backing behind the defense, while the Human Rights Counsel has sided with the prosecution. A dozen other smaller political groups and lobbies have come in one way or the other, and all of them want to see this case reach the Supreme Court. This case isn't about you anymore, not to these organizations; all they see is a case that will likely define Supehuman rights in America for the next decade or more."

Spoiler: Expertise: Law or Politics 15

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Both the Extra-Human Defense Coalition and the Human Rights Counsel are massive organizations with impressive political power, often appearing on opposite sides of legal and political debates.

The Extra-Human Defense Coalition argues that super-villains are often summarily imprisoned almost without trial; they argue for more rights for supers in jail and an abolition of the five-year minimum sentence rule for supers. Detractors of the EHDC claim that the organization is too lenient on supervillains who have committed horrible crimes, and that they promote those with super-powers as inherently better than those without.

The Human Rights Counsel is primarily responsible for the five-year rule being in place in the first place, and argues for more restrictions for those with "dangerous" powers or abilities. Detractors of the HRC claim that the organization is far too harsh with supervillains who committed petty crimes, and that they denigrate supers to sub-human, beneath "pure" humanity.

Spoiler: Insight 10

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As evidenced by her voice (and to Lily, the smell coming off of her), Mrs. Brannan seems to hold both the EHDC and the HRC in contempt, though she is less disgusted by the EHDC.

[Quellian-dyrae]

Part of Lily really wanted to try and reassure Nate, but she didn't want him to feel like he was being pressured and, the truth was, her reassurances would have based more on optimism than fact. Her hypothesis was that all of them working together and with government training and backing would have the advantage where most of the escapees would probably be on their own and trying to figure out their powers themselves. Still, she couldn't be sure of that. Any given escapee could be more powerful, or some of them might band together, or they might receive their own backing from Doctor Proxy or other villains. And even if she was correct in the general sense, just how readily that nebulous "advantage" translated into actual safety over multiple missions was unknown. Fact was, she had precisely zero data on the survivability of a job hunting down supervillains, so she didn't argue the point.

Understanding lit Lily's features as Brannan explained the politics behind the situation. That made sense, and it was stuff like that that was why her first request had been for a lawyer instead of trusting to her own knowledge. Sure, she had gleaned a fair enough understanding of the law and politics from her father and her studies, but she wasn't an expert.

Yeah, it kinda sucked for them, but she felt better knowing they weren't being targeted here. It was actually kind of exciting, being part of such an important case.

The point of the government owning 95% of anything they worked on drew a frown. She had been hoping to work on her projects during their free time, but while the money wasn't her primary concern, it was a priority. And, frankly, she felt the government was getting a good enough deal here that they didn't deserve the free income. Lily was still positively disposed towards the government and legal system in general despite the current issues she was facing - she had grown up in a pretty patriotic household, all told - but still. No sense rewarding greed. Still, that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Use the next six months to really nail down what she could do with her new powers, and then start actually doing it once she was back on her own time.

"I think that covers everything I'd be concerned with," Lily said. The only other question she'd have had was whether they'd be able to see their families, but that was pretty much answered by "limited free time", "hourly check-ins if not in the facility", and "don't leave the city".

[Arcran]

Howard can't help but chuckle helplessly when Stone demanded the stipend. Here was, making teleporters out of cameras and he thought he'd ever need to worry about money again? The note about the patent was interesting though; the greedy portion of Howard instantly notes to make sure to make nothing while the saner, more in control part notes that making money is one of the last things Howard needed to worry about right now.

Still, he can only nod approvingly when Stone demands the apologies not just for them, but for the families. That was the right thing to do.

"Will the group of us being a political target complicate things?" Howard says, somewhat concerned with the fact and knowing full well what people will do for a cause they believe in, especially against an apparent threat. "I don't exactly know much about either of the groups, but are they likely to try to contact us and steer us one way or the other?" Howard can't help but ask, a hint of apprehension slipping into his tone, especially as he notes their lawyer's dislike of them. Was it simply due to bad campaign practices or something more?

"Other than that, I believe I'm good to go as well," he quickly adds, more than a little excited to find out exactly what he could do.

Spoiler: Note

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14 Insight so I know easiliy.

[PalusAbel]

Elizabeth stifles a sigh when Agent Brannan allays her concern, but her relief is evident nonetheless. She quietly absorbs the ongoing conversations, much of it stretching beyond her limited knowledge. Elizabeth would only admit expertise in one subject: athleticism. Sure, she might know how to swing a pickaxe, but that did not mean she knew anything about geology. Her world thus far had been very small, and whatever skills she managed to pick up usually came out of need. However, even she could sense the tension in Agent Brannan's voice regarding the EHDC and HRC. Elizabeth could gather their functions and goals from their respective names.

"I, too, am satisfied." Elizabeth follows Lily's lead. "Crude as I am, the legal battle does not much concern me. I will do what I can to not put forward a negative image, but that is all I am capable of with my limited knowledge of politics." She announces her position clearly to the benefit of all. She did not consider herself a loner; cooperation with her fellow convicts and with the state was not the issue. Rather, she felt somewhat like an outsider, someone cut from the loop long ago and only now rejoining the mainstream. Whether that would continue to be the case remains to be seen.

[TooManySecrets]

"So, I guess that's it then." Despite getting nearly everything he asked for, Nate still seems agitated. "I'm in. Show me the dotted line and I'll sign in blood."

[Anubis Dread]

Michael simply remained silent. He'd said his piece, they already knew he was in. There was no reason to repeat himself.

Still that political situation could be messy. It seemed a lot of fairly powerful political factions and smaller but more extreme ones both wanted to get this case to the supreme court. That would drag this out extensively. Taking the deal should avoid that, but he doubted all of those groups would take kindly to this development. Odds are any attempts they make to follow their end of the deal would be used as an excuse by these groups to end the deal entirely and take it to court. If they were one of the groups against them walking then they might even start trying to frame them or push them to do something that violates their agreement.

He had to sigh as he mulled over it all. This was going to be a much bigger pain than he'd originally thought.

[Zelphas]

"Blood is nice, but we've found that pens are more efficient. Less messy," Agent Branch jokes. "We'll have an actual contract ready for you in a day or two--" "Which I will personally review, before sending it to you to review and sign, Mrs. Brannan once again interrupts. The two glance at each other, obviously embarrassed by their constant interruptions of each other, but move on quickly.

"For the time being, you will be moved from this facility to the accommodations waiting for you in the city. Your mentors should be in town by tomorrow morning; I can guarantee you a few days of training, at least. Good luck to you all." Agent Branch unlocks the shackles of each of you, shaking hands with whoever is willing, before ushering you out of the room.

All of you are placed upon a shuttle bus, with four armed guards (in one of the guards, this is true in both senses of the word--the man has four arms and a gun on each side of his belt). the bus takes you down from the small hill atop which the Mesa City Super-Human Correctional Facility is situated, winding down into the valley where Mesa City proper is located. It wends its way through the city streets, passing through the warehouses and slums of the shipping district, which steadily transition to to more affluent housing. Finally, you are among the tall skyscrapers of the central city.

You pass Halsey Park (named after Marcus Halsey, one of the founders of Mesa City), and then the O'Rourke Theater. It seems that the Mesa City Variety Show is running tonight's show as planned. As you continue on, the buildings once again begin to degrade in value and appearance, until you stop in front of a large three-story building.

The neighborhood you are now in is not the worst any of you have seen; Elizabeth grew up in a neighborhood much worse than this, and Nate's neighborhood wasn't much better. Still, the relatively new finish of the building you are parked in front of stands out against the obviously weathered shops on the street. The building itself is not much to look at, a squat grey block of unadorned cement; the main thing separating it from the prison you were recently housed in is the presence of much larger windows and the absence of a fence or wall surrounding it. Each of you are handed a shortwave radio and instructed to keep it on your person at all times. The bus's doors open, and you are led inside.

The supers school consists of only a few places you would consider "normal" in a school. The front door leads to a hallway with classrooms on either side, and the back quarter of the facility is obviously a gymnasium, though larger and with far more elaborate equipment than the average school would possess. Other rooms of irregular size dot the first floor and dominate the second; one seems to be filled entirely with junk, one is a mad scientist's dream laboratory, and one seems to be an indoor garden, with its own imitation waterfall and creeping vines. The kitchen is also far more polished than any school would possess, with several stations for frying, grilling, baking, and stewing food. A row of floor-to-ceiling walk-in freezers sit against the back wall.

The third story of the building has been renovated to a set of private apartments, more reminiscent of an Ivy League college dorm than a jail cell. Each of you are given your own rooms, and only a few things make it apparent that you are still in jail: the windows are heavily reinforced and refuse to open, and quick inspection would reveal motion sensors around the windows and external doors of the building. After giving you the tour, the guards instruct you that all the supplies you need are within the kitchen, ready for you to prepare. They leave the building, and you can see them through the windows, patrolling the outer perimeter of the building and standing guard at either side of the door. None of the guards reenter the building, and if asked, they say that Agent Branch gave them instructions not to do so, in order to partially fulfill Nate Stone's conditions.

The next morning, all five of you awaken and go about your morning routines. At separate times during the day, each of you are called upon your shortwave radio and told to go to a certain point in the house, for your first meeting with your mentor.

Lily

Your radio squawks shortly after sunrise, instructing you to go to the indoor garden room. When you arrive, you see a woman with long glowing golden hair, inspecting the waterfall with interest. The woman turns around, smiling when she sees you. "Hello! You must be Lily. My name is Dawnlight. I'm told you have powers over plants and healing; I'm better with the healing than the plants, I'm afraid, but I'm here to see what we can bring out in you."

Elizabeth

Shortly after breakfast, you hear your radio crackle to life, telling you to report to the gymnasium. A huge hulk of a man is in the gymnasium when you arrive, standing calmly with feet spread apart. "Elizabeth Greenwood, right? Density manipulator. I'm Todd Carmichael. I can't teach you if I don't know what you know in the first place, so let's see what you've got," the man begins without preamble, settling into a fighter's stance. "This place is built for superhero sparring, so don't hold back."

Michael

Your radio tells you to report to a classroom on the first floor shortly before 11 A.M. In the classroom stands a woman with midnight black hair and pale skin, who introduces herself as Shamaness. "I'm told that you still have a lot of untapped potential in your powers," she says. "I was also told that you don't have the patience to go about learning your powers through deep introspection. Learning by doing is best in any case." Shamaness walks a few paces back, and suddenly about ten small furry creatures stand in front of her, clutching pointed sticks and growling at you angrily. "Your powers adapt to fit the enemy you fight, correct? How would you deal with these?"

Nate

At just past one o'clock, your radio buzzes, telling you to meet your mentor in the "Machinery room". This room turns out to be the junk-filled room from the tour, though most of the junk has been pushed and piled into one half of the room, revealing a panel saw, drill press, and several other cutting, measuring, and combining tools. Shortly after you arrive, another man comes bustling in, fiddling with a chunk of metal about the size of your closed fist. He stands in the center of the room, muttering to himself and twisting the device, before he suddenly seems to realize that you're there. "Oh, hello!" the man says, reaching out his hand for a handshake. The device, forgotten in his other palm, suddenly sprouts helicopter-like wings and whirs away, bumping into the ceiling fifteen feet above. "I'm usually called Slapdash; I wanted MacGyver but the name was already taken. So, first things first; which side appeals to you more?" he says, gesturing first to the clean side of the room with supplies in neat piles and gleaming machines, and then to the massive pile of strange and random metallic odds and ends.

Howard

At around four in the afternoon, Your radio finally speaks, instructing you to await your mentor in the library. The library room in the facility is impressive, a room approximately one-quarter of the size of the yard of the Mesa City Correctional Facility crammed full of bookshelves and books of all shapes and sizes. After a short wait, the door opens and in walks... A tall man, wearing glasses, with black-and-grey hair and a square-shaped face. Atticus Finch, exactly as you imagined him in To Kill a Mockingbird. Atticus Finch smiles at your reaction, setting a large briefcase down at the end of a nearby end table. "You must be Howard Silvers. I heard you used the rope ladder from my daughter's tree house to escape from prison." Finch's voice sounds exactly as you imagined it would sound as well.

After a moment, Atticus Finch's features shifted, the man growing shorter and stockier until an entirely different man stood before you. This man had sandy brown hair, grey eyes, and perfectly unremarkable features. "I am Protagonist," the man said, then smiled "but that's probably rather obvious. I'm going to warn you right away that every literomancer's powers manifest differently. I can give you the general guidelines, but don't expect to do everything I do. I can't make a rope ladder, for example. Now, the best way to find out what you can do is to find out why you do it; therefore, first question: what do you like to read, and why?"

Spoiler: OOC

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Feel free to roleplay as much or as little as you like with your mentors, everyone. I'm still ironing out the rough patches, but I should be able to time skip us ahead a few days, if that works.