A New Chance

[Nelphine]

Murky

Walking into the pleasantly dim bar, Murky smiled. He waved at Ronnie as he came in and nodded in general at the rest of the bar. As he approached the bar he called 'Hey Ronnie; can I get vodka on the rocks?' As he waited, he watched the rest of the bar, hoping no one was too interested in the fact that the bar his elbows were resting on was now grey.

When Ronnie returns with the drink, Murky leans over and asks 'I know I haven't been around much Ronnie, but I'm wondering if you might know anyone who might be on the lookout for any help.. I kinda need some quick money, and you've always steered me right before.'

Spoiler

Show

(1d20-1)[0] Spot check to see if anyone is paying too much attention to me, and to see if anyone appropriately criminal looking is in the bar. (1d20-1)[13] Sense Motive check in case that would be more appropriate.

[evisiron]

Pulse nods, "Another morning might be better. And I'll have a spare flare for you then as well, say tomorrow, same time... perhaps the northside park area?"

Nosferatu

"Agreed. By the way, here is my mobile phone number. Give me a shout if the bads guys start something without being polite enough to give me some advance notice, or you come up with some crazy gadget that is likely to save my unlife at some point. Other than that, I will see you tomorrow"

Nosferatu hands over a blank piece of paper with a cell number written on it, then waits a few seconds to finish up the conversation and flies outward towards the university.

Spoiler

Show

OOC: Assuming nothing happens en route, my next post will lead on from after the 101 lecture. If anything, say, an exciting police chase, should happen before the conversation ends, I will go with that first.

[Wiz]

Pulse

Pulse reaches out and takes the paper, then salutes Nos4A2 and continues flying toward city center, keeping an eye out for trouble below.

[evisiron]

Nosferatu

As the two part ways, Noferatu calls after Pulse "Text me so I have your number!"

After finishing the conversation with Pulse, Nosferatu flies at a fair pace to the university. Arriving within a few minutes (avoiding traffic is so much easier...), Nosferatu lands discretely behind a fairly empty building. After checking to make sure no one is around, he changes out of his costume and dons his civilian clothes once again, returning to the inconspicous image of Robert.

With a mild run in his step, Robert weaves through the student populace dragging their feet towards the relevant Monday classes. Several snippets of conversation are caught refering to the chemical blast and these mutants. Robert smiles inwardly when he hears a few students the missed opportunity of not gaining powers themselves, but makes note of the faces in a group when 'Damn freaks' is spat mid-sentence amoungst another group.

Eventually, Robert reaches the correct room. Dynamics 101. Despite the chance meeting of Pulse, Robert is still a few minutes early. He is glad; he had been looking forward to taking the class as an elective.

A few minutes pass, and eventually the class begins.

[OOC: See paragons entry for details on lecture]

About halfway through the lecture, Robert decides most people would have arrived by now. Time to see how far the chemicals have spread...

With a fair degree of concentration, Robert boosts his senses to 'taste' the occupants of the lecture theatre, while surpressing the green cells from showing on his face and hands. It takes a bit of effort, but eventually he can pick up a fair 'signal'.

Hmm... at least one super is here, maybe more... [OOC: require description from geez3r, but assuming I can detect Paragon]

There is a signal right at the front... Professor Lachlan himself!
The question now is what to do with this information. Directly asking him after class may not work, as it would reveal that Robert is also a super. Asking from the perspective of Nosferatu may be better, but what if the super Prof reacts violently to someone knowing this 'secret'? Does he even know he has superpowers yet?!

Perhaps the best idea would be to follow him, see if he turns into the Reaper or something. Although, finding that you are being followed by someone who looks like a vampire does not promote the best first impression. Perhaps it would be best to just go and talk. At best, a new ally against evil is found. At worst, the Prof freaks out and starts blowing stuff up... in which case it was probably better to 'set him off' than wait until he planned something.

Robert packs his stuff and heads outside. After the explosion, it doesn't seem that most of his other classes are on today. With a zig zag pattern, Robert heads back to the 'abandoned' alley, and when no-one seems to be looking, changes back into his costume. Skirting around the area, avoiding students as much as possible, Nosferatu heads to Professor Lachlan's office window.

Tapping on the window, Nosferatu says

"Professor Lachlan. I do believe we have something to discuss. Any chance you could let me in?"

Spoiler

Show

[OOC: This is under the assumption that no other supers were detected. If that is the case, I may try to speak to them first. Also, I will only be trying the window thing is it is reasonably out of view. If it is facing into a busy courtyard or something, say so, and I will try something else. I would not fly up to the window in braod daylight in front of a group of people.]

[dfpiii]

((Obviously this is slightly out-of-step with his current timeline))

((I'm not sure you would actually be able to scan him given distances involved, etc., but I think the whole detect power ability is just incomprehensible. So I'm going to carry on as if you could and have.))

Professor Lachlan Dark aka Paragon

He looks up from his collection of papers to see the form hovering at the window. Easing himself up from the floor he crosses to the window and says, "My office can be reached by the stairs, you know. It's how I got here".

He opens the window and Nos4a2 is struck by a wave of heat.

"Come in," he says. "Take a seat - not there, that's not actually a chair. And it's Professor Dark, by the way; Lachlan is my first name and I don't work on daytime television".

Professor Dark sits down behind his desk and looks at his guest over a stack of crumpled invoices. "Forgive the mess," Dark says conversationally. He seems quite unconcerned that a man has just flown through his office window; he exudes calm purpose and confidence.

"Tell me, what's your name and how can I help you?"

[evisiron]

[OOC: I am not sure how big the theatre was, but I would be kind of near the middle, and the range for a power not being used would be 30ft as far as I can tell. It is tricky to tell the distances in PbP, but in this situation I think I would be able to get close enough to scan everyone without arousing suspicion. If not, we can assume this conversation never happened.]

Nosferatu

Nosferatu smiles beneath the half mask. It seems that charisma displayed in the lecture theatre was not a rehearsed script, but a real razor sharp wit. His smile fades slightly as he notices the mess of the office. Oh well, no-one is perfect I guess... It justed seemed a little odd...

"Thanks"

Nosferatu swoops in, and perches on the window edge, legs bent to fit in the frame. He notes that no look of surprise crossed Darks face. Interesting.

"I apoligise Professor Dark, both for the intrusion into your schedule and the misplaced naming. As for me, you may call me Nosferatu. I am one of the people affected by the chemical blast, and am seeking others in a similar situation. I could perceive that you have been affected, and likely have some kind of beneficial 'power'. So, I thought it might be useful to have a little chat, if you have the time. My curiousity leads me to ask, what are your powers?"

[Raven T.]

Alex

Flashback: August 31, 2004...first day of college

Alex watched the old hatchback drive off down the road and off campus. His parents had just finished hauling his stuff upstairs and into his room. He had gotten lucky; thanks to a small extra fee, he had been pushed to the front of the list for housing and got a single dorm room, one of only 20 on campus. Usually they go for the upperclassmen, but a sufficient number of them were being housed in a new apartment complex that just went up that the singles were free. It suited him; he preferred the solitude. Setup of his massive computer system was almost finished and the rest of the stuff he ordered would be coming later in the week.

Many of the people who saw him move in couldn't believe his parents were driving the old car that they were. By looking at the hardware he hauled in, you would have thought he was rich. In truth, he had gotten a full-ride, four year scholarship from the university, permitting him to spend the college fund his parents had been saving up since he was a little sprout on stuff FOR college.

Alex took a deep breath in. Independence. No more nagging parents who STILL can't program a VCR. Unfortunately, he began to gag some. The wind had caught just right and all he could smell was...dirty jockstraps from the fieldhouse. Doesn't ANYONE know what a [expletive deleted] WASHING MACHINE IS?! Catching his breath, he returned to his room to find ways to increase the sunlight in his room. There were plants on order and he had to make sure they would keep growing. He smiled to himself; it'll be a jungle in his room soon enough.

[dfpiii]

Professor Dark aka Paragon

"Hmmm," he says, studying Nosferatu carefully, as he might look at a new problem. He tilts his head this way and that, a wry smile on his lips. "No need to appologise, I was simply sorting through my predecessor's things and you present a pleasant distraction".

He lapses into a moment of silence while scrutinising his guest.

"You're young," he says eventually. "Your clothes are young, obviously. You're carrying a baseball bat because... because you thought it would not look out of place for you to be seen with a baseball bat? You're also here, which makes me think you're a student. You're here now, which makes me think you're a student in the class I just took, because nobody else would know what I look like".

He leans back in his chair, clearly enjoying this. "That means I've got you down to less than a hundred people. You referred to me as Professor Lachlan, which means you're not familiar with the form of address in common usage at an academic institution. Which means you aren't overly familiar with academia, which means there's no way you got into RIT. The screening process is extensive, you would have spoken to several professors by now and you would probably have applied to a number of other technical colleges. Perhaps you're more accustomed to calling lecturers Frank or Jimbo, because you're really more of an arts student than a scientist".

Professor Dark watches Nosferatu's eyes for reaction, but his whole tone is one of slight amusement rather than hostility. "You're from City University. Which narrows you down to about -" he taps his keyboard and looks at the monitor screen "- eight names, two of which are women. You might be able to change gender, but you do have that baseball bat and a girl carrying a bat would naturally look more suspicious. So I'm going to guess you're normally male. So I have these six names here and you're one of them. If I read them out, do you think you'd react when your name was mentioned? I think you would. And even if you didn't react now, it would be very easy for me to eliminate the other five from my list over the next few weeks".

"Perhaps that puts us on a more even footing," he continues. "You're not a vampire, despite the name, because vampires don't exist. You don't appear to have a psychosis that makes you believe you are, either - otherwise you might have turned up in a opera cloak and hissed at me. Clearly you don't burn in direct sunlight, so I would naturally presume you aren't affected by any other supposed vampire weaknesses - until I saw evidence to the contrary. You can fly, rather well, since you hovered outside of my window - a feat which is otherwise impossible in nature for a creature your size. But that seems rather flimsy basis for a secret identity. So you probably have some other related powers which made you find the name appropriate. Strength... speed... you must be reasonably physically capable, otherwise you wouldn't engage an unknown like this so calmly. Anything else would be pure speculation at this point".

"How am I doing?" Professor Dark grins broadly, though the question is rhetorical, since he continues on immediately.

"You can't be certain about my abilities, otherwise why would you ask? A double bluff? That seems rather involved for a first meeting. So, let's look at this from your side, if I can give you the advantage of my insight. I'm clearly intelligent, and I enjoy showing that off, so presumably I have recently become extremely intelligent. I too am here with an unknown, so I too must be reasonably confident that I could not be physically overpowered. Taking point one and point two together you can be reasonably certain that I am right about point two".

Professor Dark relaxes. He seems quite self-assured, and would come across as arrogant if it weren't for the obvious fun he was having with the whole deductive process.

"I should tell you that I haven't registered with the police and that I don't intend to. Perhaps you might tell me what you are planning on doing with your abilities - and why you are seeking out others?"

"Water?" he asks, pointing to a pitcher on his desk, behind a small hill of petty cash claim forms.

[geez3r]

Joe/ Reaper

The thug looks like he's willing to cooperate. Especially when the bloody sword is drawn. "Yo, the suits all roll wit D-Train. I don't care what powers yo got man, yo can't mess with him."

Legion

You start drilling outside, while simultaneously holding a guard hostage and pretending to be said guard talking to another guard. You drill for maybe 30 seconds before one of the guards (who is currently chatting with clone 2) says "Hey, what's that noise?" and goes to investigate.

Nosferatu/ Paragon

{We'll assume that Nosferatu can sense in that range. I haven't really been in a room large enough that I was more than 30ft. away from the teacher at all times, and RIT is kind of a smaller school because you need to be pretty smart to get in, so there aren't that many huge lecture halls.

Nosferatu - You kind of sense another besides Prof. Dark. It's someone on the far right side of the room, but you have a frustratingly hard time trying to pinpoint who or what it is.}

Davan

{There is a building next to it to jump to. Now as for the wording of Amazing Leap, I agree that it is horrible. Cat falling now allows you ignore 200ft at the base cost, and Amazing leap scales both Jump bonus and falling damage.}

Taken aback for a moment the fire-fighter responds saying "The fire is on the 3rd floors, so we can't get to the people trapped on the floors above, and there is at least 3 people trapped on the 3rd floor, and a good 20 in the floors above. Do what you can to help, we'll need it."

Andrew/Vox Populi

You pull up to City Hall, parking in your usual spot. When you enter the building, the receptionist informs you that you are wanted in Conference room 221C immediately for your meeting with the Mayor (a room on the top floor; meetings held on this level are usually of the utmost importance).

Murky

Ronnie informs you that Forthwind needs a few more pairs of hands because many of it's employees don't want to go to that side of town until everything is all cleaned up.

[Xerxes Shadow]

"His name is... 'D-Train?' Where does this 'D-Train' tend to hang out?" He looked at Reaper, shrugging. "This isn't much, but it's something. Since we can't exactly march in and kill Ms. Fritz, we're going to have to prove she's a murderer. I'd like to have a more... concrete plan, but this is the best I can manage on short notice. If we comb the names of organized criminals in the city, maybe we can connect the dots."

[Glawackus]

Andrew/Vox Populi

"Great," Andrew says, stepping briskly towards the elevators and tapping the button to get to the meeting room.

[Wiz]

Pulse

Flying over the city as morning grades into afternoon, he turns and slowly makes his way back toward home base. Several times he notes the position of major openings into the extensive underground drainage/sewer system of Rainport. "I'll have to check out whether those tunnels could be used for more covert starting and stopping points for my patrols. It wouldn't do to be seen flying in from or off to same direction every time." He continues flying keeping an eye out for trouble as he makes his way slowly back home. "A particularly quiet day... it would seem."

[evisiron]

Nosferatu

Hidden behind the mask, Nosferatu cracked a smile and laughed inside, though he tried to stop anyhting showing through his face. He was already impressed by the professor, but it had now moved to awe-inspired. The only mentally sobering thought was that this man could be Reaper, or some other murderous psychopath. Logically, Nosferatu realised, he should take flight before giving anything else away. But surely Prof Dark had all the information he would need to work out his identity. Then again, it call all be a ruse, the computer screen could not be seen from this angle. Ahh...but the intellectual part of his brain could not pass up the chance to talk to such an individual, and so he stayed.

"Haha. Impressive. Of course, you have made some pretty large assumptions. Then again, by poking holes in your ideas, I could be validating them."

The cheer in Nosferatus voice can be plainly heard.

"But I can't resist a good discussion. First off, the biggest point seems to be assumption that I do not attend here, observed from how I referred to you. Perhaps I have called you that on purpose, to establish a connection not through rank in the world of scholars, but as peers. You assume I attended the lecture you mentioned, but surely I could have followed and listened into your life since last night."
Nosferatu politely turns down the water.

"Perhaps... ah, there is too many 'perhaps' to get involved in, reaching the point where I could merely be a chemical induced hallucination. Surely such an impressive increase in intelligence must have some side effects, am I right?"

"But I shall concede, that yes, that sets us on more even footing. And for the record, I never claimed to be a vampire. The name conjured the mental image I wanted, and so I took it. But now I am left to wonder about you. I may be killing a previous point by mentioning that you do not seem the type to sit idle when granted a power. And as you mentioned, you seem quite confident in being able to fight me, so some physical power must have been gained. But no... you would not sit still. The relish and surprise at being able to silence an entire class with a single word was plain on your face. I thought you were about to break into a little jig. Haha. And yes, I have given away another point. I was at least able to view todays lecture."

Nosferatu leans back slightly on the window frame, relaxing slightly.

"As for why am I here... ah, why does one seek out his own kind? Perhaps you know more about the situation than me, and would be willing to share a little info. And if you were the mass-murdering evil villain cliche, you probably would have tried to attack me while I sat here. And I may have been able to stop you before you hurt anyone. As for what to do with my powers... No plans long term. In the short term, I am trying to keep this incident from turning into a bloodbath, either from some crazy super villain or an angry mob of the unaffected."

"So, what are you up to, other than motivating a bunch of Generation Y students on a Monday morning? Which was pretty impressive by the way."

[Raven T.]

Alex

Lunch had come far faster than he had anticipated. Grabbing his coat, his hat (a beautiful fedora,) and bidding his secretary a good afternoon, he headed down the street at a leisurely pace, smiling to himself. It was a pleasant enough day for October, mild and breezy. Many things crossed his mind as he walked.

Frank's Fine Dining. Not the most imaginative name for a restaurant, but their food is top notch. Alex, as always, was the first to arrive. He showed the server his card, the server dialed back for Frank, and Frank came out and showed him to his usual table...just like every other meeting. Alex had learned quickly the benefit of holding his staff meetings over a good meal.

On cue, his "minions" filtered in, sat down, and placed their orders. Alex nodded and smiled at each of them. While not outwardly friendly toward his middle management, he was never cross without cause. Within five minutes, they had all assembled.

"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for coming. As per our usual protocol, I will be paying for this meal and we will discuss the important matters afterwards. Again, I thank you for coming."

After speaking, Alex winces some. The feeling was coming back; he needed some alcohol in his system to mitigate the chemicals within him. He ordered a lemonade slushie* and told the server to "keep 'em coming until I say stop."


*For those of you who have been there, it's like the Lemon Slushie thing you can order from the bar at Olive Garden.

[PlasticSoldier]

((I'm assuming the guard walks through the same hallway that goes to the bathroom))

One of the guards is going to investigate, get ready. Guard Clone 'says' before receiving an OK from everyone. While the guard walks down the hallway, he'll move so that he has a clear line of sight down the hallway.

Orig. turns to his hostage and says " Hey, I'm needed with the other guys. But I'll still be here, and my first action will be to tell them they can shoot you if you come out. Got it. saying the last sentence more like how one would say a command then like a question. Then Orig goes through the door and lays prone halfway up the stairs using it as cover to hide from the investigating guard.

#1 meanwhile continues unconcerned.

Guard waits for a few seconds until the investigating guard starts fumbling with his key ring. Saying to the nearby guard "Hey, you know what would be the coolest superpower ever? Pausing for a second to both signal Orig. and to add a healthy dose of suspense. Finishing by saying, as he draws and points his gun at the guard "Shapeshifting. Now be quiet, and stand still.".

Orig. as soon as he's signalled springs forward and points his gun at the last guard saying "You're the only guard not captured, so come quietly.

Spoiler

Show

GuardClone'sIntimidate - (1d20+23)[24]
Orig'sIntimidate - (1d20+23)[40]
GuardClone readies an action to grapple/tackle the guard if he tries to push the alarm buttons.

[Tar Palantir]

The Reaper nods, saying, "At least it's something." He then turns back to the thug, and says, "If I decide that this D-Train person should die, he had better be sleeping with the brightest night light in a tri county area, or I will tear his throat out with my bare hands. You know who I am. I know you know who I am. You will answer two questions. First, I want you to tell me everything you know about D-Train, in excruciating detail. Second, you will tell me anything you know about supers who were or are members of any of the major criminal organizations. I understand that you may not know much, but you will tell me everything you do know, and trust me, you don't want to try and hide anything from me."

[Nelphine]

Murky

'Ah crap!' Murky jumps up after gulping down his vodka.

'Forthwind!' He runs out the door and straight to his car, forgetting to even check for rabid dogs.

He was employed by Forthwind! He'd been sleeping, possibly for more than a day (OOC: slept through day 1 as I didn't exist then), and then all these crazy powers and mutates and everything had totally distracted him! His boss was .. who was his boss now?? DAN WAS DEAD! Murky suddenly sped up, screaming at his car 'Faster! Faster! I gotta find out where Dan is! I gotta get to work!'

He drove through a red light, swerving to avoid various potholes as he headed to the main local office of Forthwind in the southern section, cursing the traffic he encountered on the way, and the light that slowed his driving.

Spoiler

Show

Driving recklessly, possibly drawing attention from anyone in the area (d20+8)[25] Drive roll to see if anything catastrophic happens.

OOC: I started Murky's day in the mid morning.. i'm Presuming it's around noon for me at this point.

[The_Lonely_d12]

Davan

Taking a deep breath at the news, Davan takes a quick moment to think through what little of the situation he knows so far, and then begins to speak again.

"Okay. I'm reasonably sure I can get into the building. I can jump fairly high, and I can blast small parts of the walls to get inside if I can't from here. Now, what I'm worried about is getting the people trapped inside back down. I can jump across to the building over there if I need to, but I don't know how well I can do it if I'm carrying a person. Also, I'm nimble, but I'm not fireproof, so a spare suit will help matters, a mask as well if you have one. Now, is there any kind of plan as is to get the people out? Any method I can work with? I don't know if there's any kind of equipment you use for this, if there's any kind of .

what i wouldn't give to be able to fly at a time like this.

"That reminds me. I heard something about other people like me registering with the city, can any of them be contacted? Someone who can fly, for example. The fire's only on the third floor so far?

OoC:

Spoiler

Show

Davan has more than enough common sense to not rush into the situation without any knowledge, so he'll wait until he has a good idea of the situation. For that matter, I want to clarify something-again I know.
1 If I'm holding on to someone, how far would I be able to jump? I haven't really needed to consider this sort of action before, so...
Also, how big is the building? How many floors, what sort of material is it (thick concrete, steel and glass, drywall, etc.)?

[Wiz]

Pulse

The flying mutate hears a distant siren and sees that a building on the southside seems to be putting out smoke. He turns his glider to head that direction. As he gets closer he sees the fire is burning on the third floor and seems to be threatening some individuals he can see on the higher floors. He brings his glider down to a lower level looking for the fire chief's car. He spots the man in charge and slowly flies down to ground level, shutting off his flier as he lands. "Greetings, Chief. I'm Pulse. May I assist?"

[dfpiii]

Professor Dark aka Paragon

"I'm a scientist," Dark says. "I don't make assumptions; I have theories, which I adapt as new information is presented. It's how we scientists avoid admitting when we're wrong".

"I have never met a villain. Who can say if others would apply the term to me? I have been conspicuously promoted over many, no doubt gifted, men. Perhaps they would label me as such. I make a point of not tipping when I receive poor service and I am doubtless the arch enemy of many a Massachusetts waitress. But if you were interested in whether I planned to blast you with my death ray and then disscet you - I can assure you biology isn't my bag".

After a moment's thought he added, "And the trigger on my death ray keeps jamming my fingers. It's really quite dangerous".

"My calling is teaching and that's what I'm doing. I have no direct ambitions in the arena of super heroism - but perhaps you can help me with something and indirectly we can help others".

"I told my staff this morning that I was setting up a research team to look into these emerging issues of super powers. How would you like to be a part of that? All entirely above board and carefully documented. You could participate either as yourself or in any costume you cared to rent. At first I'd want to test this sensory perception of yours to see if we could find out what it is you're picking up on, then the physics behind your flying would be fascinating to explore. The people at the hospital will be taking blood and skin samples like there's no tomorrow, but, as I said, that kind of thing doesn't interest me".

"Of course as well as a subject you are ideally placed to locate additional subjects and ask them to take part. All strictly voluntary, of course".

"We could probably pay you something for your time and, if you did eventually decide to tell me who you are, I could guarantee some sort of extra credit towards whatever you're studying. And the exact nature of this could also remain anonymous - I think I can swing that".

Professor Dark leans across his desk. "You can help us all understand, so that when and if we encounter one of your villains, we are better prepared to deal with them".

[evisiron]

Nosferatu

Nosferatu pauses for a few seconds in thought before answering.

"No. I cannot. I am sorry. While such information would surely help each of us, as well as this new community and the world as a whole, but studying my powers you may find how to stop or undo them. Even if you would not use such information, you cannot guarantee that the infor mation will not fall into the wrong hands."
Nosferatu sags a little at the decision he has made.

"I apoligise. Hopefully the 'good' supers can stop any of these 'villains' before any serious damage is done. Hmm... if your confidence in your powers is well placed, you should give the super hero thing a try. Here, this is my mobile phone number. Call me if any new developments occur with the research, or you need some 'vampire' related assistance. Do you have a number I can call if I have a change of heart about the research?"
Nosferatu hands over another otherwise blank card with his number on it, and awaits a response.

[Wiz]

Excerpt from the research journal of Dr. Harold Smith...

Why has my attitude changed toward helping others? I am smarter than I was, does that mean an increase in intelligence is accompanied by a corresponding increase in altruism? This doesn’t make a lot of sense, and it certainly doesn’t fit in with our basic assumptions about intelligence or the selfish gene theory. The most difficult thing is for a mind to evaluate itself, but perhaps since I am a good deal smarter than I was, I may be able to evaluate my old self and compare it with who I am now.

Philosophically, I was a scientist and an agnostic. I was a clever man with little or no interest in spirituality. I was a talented technician with a better eye to application than theory, this made my work valuable to a number of people, but I never paused to consider the larger implications of things I’ve worked on. I tended to be something of a control freak, into ruling my own little world, but with no interest in running the world as a whole… far too much responsibility for my taste. I was into reading fiction, movies, puzzles, gaming, LARP, SCA, reenactment… anything to take me away from my world and insert myself into a world of my choosing. I stopped work for the large corporations to gain more freedom for myself, rather than because I was against what they stood for or how they treated people.

I remember almost everything I’ve ever read, seen or done. At least, I seem to do so with far greater clarity than I ever had before. The world seems a much more challenging puzzle than any I faced in media. I used to love the crossword, Sudoku, Chess… all seem ludicrously easy and boring now. I still have no desire to be part of academia. Theoretical science seems like it might be more interesting now, but I’ve no desire to deal with the politics of that situation. Perhaps its because I’ve grown I feel compelled to challenge myself against others who may have undergone a similar growth?

I still don’t know what is what with spirituality, but I do have a glimmering that it might contain the most interesting questions of all. In our intuition might be found the questions that science can’t and for the most part doesn’t even pretend to be able to answer. The main reason for the change, though, is that I have felt an epiphany… an intuition about life. I used to think that life had no inherent meaning, no purpose, and it didn’t matter what we did. Now I feel that if that original thought was true, that if nothing we do matters… then the only thing that does matter, is what we do.

[dfpiii]

Professor Dark aka Paragon

"Well, that is regrettable. Should you wish to contact me, the RIT switchboard will be able to find me," Professor Dark replied. "I'll keep your card just in case, but as I said I have no plans to get involved in anything".

"And unless you do actually save the world in the interim, I expect you to complete all the assignments I set in your class," he says, his manner friendly but firm. "Now, if you'll excuse me - as you can see I have a lot of rather mundane work to do".

((Geez3r - as Dark was heading into the city, any chance he's around the fire?))

[evisiron]

Professor Dark aka Paragon

"Well, that is regrettable. Should you wish to contact me, the RIT switchboard will be able to find me," Professor Dark replied. "I'll keep your card just in case, but as I said I have no plans to get involved in anything".

"And unless you do actually save the world in the interim, I expect you to complete all the assignments I set in your class," he says, his manner friendly but firm. "Now, if you'll excuse me - as you can see I have a lot of rather mundane work to do".

((Geez3r - as Dark was heading into the city, any chance he's around the fire?))

Nosferatu

"Okay. But keep in mind, no matter how much you plan not to get involved in anything, things have a tendency to get you involved. Give me a shout if anything goes down."

With that, Nosferatu rolls backwards out of the window, doing a small flip before catching himself in flight before hitting the ground. He skims around at ground level to make it less obvious where he is taking off from, then soars into the sky. After getting past the tops of the buildings, he looks around. A black column of smoke is reaching into the sky from a large building.

"Hero rule #64: You are always needed anywhere that involves column of smoke and sirens"

With a smirk, he flys as fast as he can towards the fire.

After a few minutes, he swoops into range of the building. He notices the telltale smoke of Pulse's glider. He seems to be talking to the chief. Nosferatu yells to him:

"PULSE, WHATS THE SITUATION?"

After a brief second to scan the building as well as listen to any calls for help, Nosferatu readies his baseball bat and plunges into the building, smashing his way through windows and doors, looking for any trapped survivors.

Spoiler

Show

Okay, first off, I am not sure whole time thing works, but for this I am assuming I reach the building just after Pulse and Draven. Of course, I dont know Draven is there. In the rush, I have not scanned for powers. So rolls.

Spotting survivors: 21 http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=1385786
Hearing calls for help: 17 http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=1385788
Smashing obstacles (only damage I assume?): 11 http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=1385796

Assuming that several people are spotted, Nosferatu will head to the area with the thickest smoke or densest fire. I suddenly realise flight, DR6 and not needing to breathe are designed for fire rescue!

[blennus]

Fauntleroy and “The Man”

Fauntleroy dreamed. His pleasant slumber was filled as always with the characters from different games that he took part in often, he being the noble dwarven paladin, out to save a sexy drow woman in need of aid, and sink’me what a drow! As he took the drow woman in his arms in a deep embrace he suddenly he felt a dark power descend which seemed like it was crushing the life out of him. He struggled as the powerful force tried to drown him out of reality, but it was in vain as the darkness soon swallowed him.

“The Man” awoke, as he felt the power call out to him yet again. As the words of power were uttered, he rose from the depths and took his rightful place in the real world. As he brushed aside the miniscule fool, he opened his eyes and noticed that the cretin called Fauntleroy had slept in yet again. It was already nearly noon, and he had an appointment he could not afford to miss. He called up Angie to pick him up so that he could make his preparations. First stop, the costume supply shop for a divine outfit befitting his totally sexiness.

Summary:
Shop for clothes, including a nice flashy cape.

[geez3r]

Reaper/Joe/Thug

"D-Train is a seriously bad dude. He's like 6'6" 280lbs and he's got dis deep blue suit; we get our name from dat suit right dere. He's got like this wicked scar on his right cheek where he was shot, and he got a lot mo on his chest man, and he ain't never gone to a doc for 1 of em. He got a shaved head, and brown eyes. I seen him break a dude's neck wit only 1 hand and cap some punk from 4 blocks away. And he's got connections every which way man. He keeps his word man, better than any man I ever seen. He got a place in the north, but he usually hangs with us down at the south end.
Now fo the second one, I only heard rumors so far. From what I heard, each of the 3 gangs got like 2 or 3 dudes that were in the blast, but I ain't know what their powers are, or even if it true or not."

Andrew/Vox Populi

You get in the elevator, wait a moment as it goes up the floors, listening to really cheesy music all the while. When the doors finally open, you step out onto the 21st floor and make your way down to the conference room. When you enter the room you see several other people already gathered. The Mayor, who is seated at the end of the table opposite the door; points at one of the empty seats as you enter and when you sit down he says "Now that we're all gathered, I'll introduce everyone before we get to the business at hand. On my right is Dr. David Nerros, Director of Internal Affairs at Balchem. On my left is Charles Forthwind, CEO of Forthwind shipping. On Nerros' right is Dr. James T. Wilson, head doctor and founder of St. Pauls. On Forthwins's left is Robert Jones the Police commissioner. On the left of the commisoner is Walter Niles, from the NSA. On Dr. Wilson’s right is Bruce Heleck, from the FBI. On the right of Mr. Heleck is Lieutenant General Brian Kerrigan. And our newest entry, seated to the left of Mr. Niles is Anthony Sellars Director of Public Works and the Interior.
In front of each of you is a security contract. Signing it forbids you to ever even hint at the contents of this meeting to another sentient being so long as you live; signing it however is the only way you will be allowed to remain in this meeting. Sign the contracts now or get out.” Everyone gathered signs the contracts, and I’m going to assume you do too because of the sheer importance of this meeting.

After signing the Mayor then continues "The purpose of this meeting is two-fold. Firstly, we are all to share whatever information we have gathered on the chemical, the cause of the explosion and those affected by the chemical. Secondly, we are to determine what information should become available to the public. Are there any questions before we continue?"

Davan/Pulse/Nosferatu - The fire

{If you are carrying someone, their weight adds to your carrying capacity and if that pushes you into a medium or heavy load, you take the corresponding encumberence penalty to your Jump checks.}

Davan - The fireman reaches onto a fire truck and pulls out a jacket and a helmet w/ mask. "We don't have a spare of anything else so use this carefully. We usually try to put the fire out, while getting people out of the building using ladders. Our ladders can only reach to about the 6th floor, so if we gave you a boost with the ladders and you got on the 7th and 8th floors cleared out, that would be a great help. We don't have a way to contact anyone else yet."

Pulse - "If you can, fly up to the higher floors and get anyone out who's trapped out of there, or at least tell us how many there are."

Nosferatu - You crash through a 6th story window, narrowly avoiding some flames. In a corner of the room is a small girl cowering in the corner.

Legion

The guard(s) put their hands up in a sign of surrender.

Murky

As you speed through town you leave an accident or two in your wake. You're about 10 minutes away from your destination when you hear a siren and see a pair of flashing lights in your rear view mirror.

Paragon

{You are about 8-9 blocks away from the fire, but you won't notice it unless you're airborne and/or on roof tops.

Flaunterboy - The Man

After waiting a bit, Angie comes by and has found the perfect place to do some shopping: Miguel's. A hyper trendy clothing store specializing in the eccentric and custom.

[Xerxes Shadow]

Joe turned to Reaper again. "He does certainly sound like, to use the more primitive expression, one bad dude. I'd rather not get my neck broken." He suddenly realized he had been developing his speech in the last couple of hours; it seemed his now-genius intellect had started taking a more overt effect. "I have a few more questions. Firstly, I want the address of the hangout. Also, a nice description of how many people are usually there, and how much firepower they usually have. And last, I want your name."

[dfpiii]

Professor Dark aka Paragon

Professor Dark exits the cab and enters a cafe. He notices a number of other people with newspapers describing the events of yesterday. Now is the time to buy shares in print media, he muses.

He settles down in a booth and orders lunch.

((Any chance of him overhearing a TV news broadcast, etc. about the fire?))

[Glawackus]

Andrew/Vox Populi

Andrew is surprised to see Nerros here, and nods to him. He puts up a hand in greeting at the mention of his name, and shakes his head to indicate he has no questions.
Let's see how this plays out before we start asking anything, he thinks.

[evisiron]

Nosferatu

"Don't be afraid. I am with the Fire Department: Flying Division. Lets get you out of here, shall we?"

With a blanced approach of speed and care, I move to the girl and try to scoop her up.

If successful, I will head back out the way I came (shielding the girl from the flames with my body as much as possible) and fly to the ground as close to medical personnel as I can. Before they take over, I ask her:

"Do you know if anyone else is in the building?"

Spoiler

Show

Geez3r, if any rolls are needed here, feel free to make them and apply the results