A New Chance

[geez3r]

Fire/Meeting

Gust - {You have a hard time catching normal conversation and make out only handful of words, but any time someone raises their voice, you can hear them pretty easily} You search the apartment, and basically find nothing out of place. As far as you can tell, the only thing wrong with the apartment is that the people in there are dead. The front door is even locked from the inside. However, one thing you find that might be the cause is a metal pipe that runs up the side of the wall. You find a small leak in the pipe and you smell smoke from it. Assuming you still venture out into the floor, you mind the rooms to be empty and you hear some fireman thudding up the stairs a few floors below.

Pulse- The officer looks dumbstruck for a moment before he hurries over to a squad car and gets on the radio. A few minutes later he comes back saying "The Mayor is currently in a very important meeting, and cannot be disturbed. So in the mean time, member of the National Guard will transport the Reaper to a holding facility they made just West of town in case anything like this happened. They'll be here shortly."

Davan - {All in due time}

Paragon - The man relaxes a bit, and he no longer seems quite as intimidating, but he now looks impressed. "I was right about you. Just as you are right about me, I do indeed fall into one of those 4 categories. As for what I will do now..." he reaches into a coat pocket and pulls out an ebony pocket watch, and looks at it for a moment "...I shall remain here for a few moments and see if all of the dominoes fall. What happens next depends on what happens first."

Legion

One of the guards sees you and waves at you in an exaggerated manner. They apparently don't see anything amiss because they keep walking up to you. When they get in earshot, one of them yells "Yo Frank. Quittin time. Where's John and Mark?"

Murky

You find your car deserted, with hastily scrawled speeding ticket on the dashboard. However, you don't have to pay the ticket because the officer did not know who you were.

Andrew/Vox Populi

Forthwind looks at you with a puzzled expression for a moment before a look of realization spreads across his face. "Oh right, you don't know. It's true that's not illegal by any state or federal law, it does however violate the terms of our contract." He digs in his suitcase for a moment before pulling out a document. "He's a copy of our contract with Balchem. We added that specific stipulation because of Balchem's less than squeaky clean record. Look through it if you so wish."

Kid Zeus

You make your way over to police HQ fairly quickly. About 15-20 something minutes after you left the fire scene. The police, now quite familiar with random supers falling out of the sky, quickly point you in the direction of the registration office.

The Man

Ms. Yamashima leans back in her chair, with her fingers crossed contemplating your offer. "The thing about your idea is that there is a great deal of risk involved. The mutant population is as far as we know, very limited. So our target audience is a few hundred people. These are also people who have abilities basically beyond all of our perceptions of reality. To insure a building where all of our regular clients can explode things with their mind would be extraordinarily costly, especially because many of them can't control their powers. So I ask you, why should I fund this venture of yours?"

Alex
{Fricken highly skilled and competent players... making me fill in plot holes }

Info Dump:
Balchem has a pretty poor track record. After a particularly bad scandal where several of it's workers died, Forthwind stopped doing business with them. It was only within the past 2 years that the two have started doing business together. Balchem's profits have been declining lately, mostly due to more emphasis on asset acquisition, though not necessarily in a legal manner. Andrew Langely, Director of Internal Affairs for Balchem stepped down from his position about 1 month ago. Dr. David Nerros was appointed to his position and was hired from outside the company. He has yet to be seen publicly. Teh internets (<-intentional) are ablaze with the news from Rainport and the Reaper's attack on the Mayor is being looped on many news stations, some of them leaving out the part where he gets stomped into the ground. Some military forces are already in Rainport, though most of the forces being deployed to enforce martial law will be there in the nest 24-48 hours. Many of the online scientific journals you find on the internet are trying desperately to figure out how these events are even possible because by all accounts (even those you find the library) say that something on this grand of a scale should not be possible. Period.




Whew. That took a while. Let me know if I missed anyone.

[Xerxes Shadow]

((You didn't tell me what I saw, so I'll make something up.))

As Joe landed on a particularly low-rising building, he looked down into its alleyway and spotted a couple of small-time muggers harrassing a middle-aged man. They were wearing the same colors that D-Train's posse apparently wore, judging from Taikwon Dog's clothing, so he figured it might come out interesting. He dropped between the two and their victim, trenchcoat trailing behind Batman-style. He landed with a hard *smack* and pushed his glasses up on his nose. "Hello, gentlemen," he said, drawing his swords and charging the first one.

Attacks- (1d20+10)[16] and (1d20+10)[12]
Damage- (1d10+5)[8] and (1d10+5)[6]

EDIT: ((Sweet, I know how to make rolls now!))

[Glawackus]

Andrew/Vox Populi

"I'll be sure to go through it later," Andrew says. "Where were we again? Sorry to get off track. I'm well aware of how little time we have."

[Tar Palantir]

The Reaper

The Reaper, hearing the man talking about a holding cell, emerged from the shadows. Staying under Pulse's cloak, out of the sunlight, he said, "No lights. I'm tired of being held in places where I'm completely helpless should anyone decide to try and harm me. I am coming of my own free will. I just wish to be able to leave should anything...unexpected happen. I am not a popular person these days." Having said his piece, he remelds with the shadows and awaits his fate.

[Raven T.]

Alex

Nothing new, to be honest. This Nerros might be an interesting person to lean on, but if he has not been seen publicly during his tenure, he's likely locked down tightly by either Balchem's PR people or a government agency considering this recent event. I would suspect that Balchem is working closely with the government to clean this whole mess up so they don't go out of business. What would it take to slaughter the board of directors, one at a time, until they gave up their controlling stake in the company...to me...NO! Let's do this through the legal avenues or we may find ourselves in the same position as the current fops.

Martial law?! THAT FOOL! If I ever get a tentacle around his skinny throat, I'll sear his flesh slowly in the sun! He'll beg and plead to just die, but he won't...I'll break him into the perfect lapdog... Revenge burned like a fire deep in his chest. The actions of oafish creatures would NOT keep him from his new world order. NOTHING would stop him.

But this must be done delicately. Sweet words, a charismatic face, and promises of a brighter tomorrow work better than the fist of a tyrant. The most reviled dictator of the last century knew it; if he hadn't tried to ethnically cleanse the world, he might have succeeded in taking it over.

But enough about dead rulers and their shortsighted plans. All we must do is bide our time. Lay low; keep under the radar. Play the role of the patient predator. Yes, we will go for the throat when it is most vulnerable and usher in our order before anyone can react. Yes....

A smirk creeps over his face as he sates his emotions. The cold efficiency that had served him well these last several years would always keep the fire of revenge at bay.

But the Reaper...he would PAY!

[evisiron]

Nosferatu

Nosferatu looks around, and leans into towards Pulse, ensuring none of the officers are within earshot.

"For a situation like this? They already have cells for holding mutants... This does not sound right. Assuming they starting building at the explosions they would have no way of getting something together that quickly. And thats if they started right away!

Normally I would say Reaper should put some trust in if he truly seeks redemption, but this whole situation seems wrong. If you still decide to hop into whatever tank they provide, I will stay in the outside, in case anything goes wrong...

But we should really consider heading our own route. This reeks of a trap!"

[Wiz]

Pulse

Pulse frowns, listening to the police officer, then the Reaper from beneath his cloak, and from Nosferatu. "The Reaper in good faith put himself into my custody, officer, so if the only way for him to see the mayor is at this... 'holding facility,' then you will have to put us both in it until the mayor can see him." He looks at Nosferatu, "You don't have to come along, but I don't think it's a trap... and if for some reason it is, it is doubtful the facility could hold both I and Reaper together. More than likely it's just a room with completely ambient lighting. I actually suggested that to the police myself when Reaper first was on the loose."

[PlasticSoldier]

Guard Clone looks at the guards and says "Oh, John is in the bathroom & Mark is just walking around. We'll finish up in a few minutes so you guys can just go ahead.

Spoiler

Show

[Roll=Bluff]1d20+14[roll]
Diplomacy - (1d20+18)[30]

[Nelphine]

Murky

"Huh. Didn't even bother to wait around and see what was going on. Cops must be really busy.."

Murky hops in his aging car, and gets ready to drive off.

~He knew it was a bad idea to be at this particular pawn shop. Everyone knew it was a bad idea to be in this particular pawn shop. Edgar's pawn shop had some really bad people working for it, and was reputed to have dealings with the Neo-Mafia.
Of course, he was moving into the south side of the city. He couldn't afford it anywhere else. And the south side not only had the Neo-Mafia, it had the Suits and the Lost Angels. So living there, he was going to buy a gun.
And the Neo-Mafia were the biggest gun dealers around.

So here he was. At Edgar's pawn shop. So.. it was time. He went in.
The place seemed normal.. it seemed like a pawn shop. It had TV's and paintings and music and rings and jewellery (god he'd never seen so much gold and silver!) The guy behind the counter, well he didn't LOOK that crazy.. maybe..
Murky walked up to the counter "I'm looking for something to make sure I'm safe.. something a little more proactive than an alarm system. Something I can take with me." He looked around to make sure no one else was watching. And with that he dropped 2000$ on the counter in large bills.

Less than 20 minutes later he walked out of the pawn shop with a handgun, and a bullet proof jacket. What else happened in that time, he could never remember.

2 years later, the warehouse exploded. He still had never used either item.~

"Whoa... what the heck am I doing?"
Murky realized, he'd been roving around town all day.
First he randomly tried to find criminals at bars, tried to subtly convince bartenders to give him leads and fought off rabid animals.
He snuck into an art gallery, which he'd never even THOUGHT of doing before. And he'd shown off some of his newfound abilities to the very people he didn't want to control him.

This wasn't working.

If he was going to do something, he had to do it. And stick with it.

And he wanted to make things right. People who sold guns to other people on very short notice, those people were not right.

"That's it. I'm going to actually do something. And stick with it. The people need to see that bad guys can get what's coming to them too. They shouldn't have to live in fear every day just because they live in the south side." Murky guns up his engine, and starts driving towards Edgar's Pawn Shop. And this time he was careful. Getting the police's attention wasn't going to do anyone any good. So he stops at red lights, signals, and drives the limit, all the way to the pawn shop. Hopefully it was open. His car clock was broken and he had no idea what time it was anymore. The sun hurt too much for him to figure it out by looking up.

[The_Snark]

Judith

Judy puts aside the business journal with a shrug—the replacement three years ago of CEO John Wiltonham III of Wellside Corp., while doubtless interesting to those in the field, wasn't really of any concern to her. Not unless the corporation's losses were due to such consistent theft that they couldn't break even, and that would have been a lot more obvious than even a desperate corporation like Balchem might be willing to be.

She thinks about heading back over to the newspaper archives, but decides against it. The actual thefts weren't likely to have happened in Rainport, and were equally unlikely to have made it to national headlines. Balchem had managed to cover up until now, and that meant whoever had been orchestrating it was at least competent. Instead, she goes back to the computer terminals; maybe searching for news in cities where they had assets would yield better luck. Too bad Alex wasn't here...

... and as if thinking of him causes him to appear, there he is as she passes by a chair in between two sets of shelves, laptop perched on the low table in front of him. Well, well well. That was convenient. She slips up silently behind the chair, a grin blooming on her face.

"Alex!" she says cheerfully, leaning forward and folding her arms on the chair beside him. "Long time no see. How's your day been going, then?"

[blennus]

“The Man”

“Indeed, risk is part of any venture. However you can be assured that there will be minimal risk here. Firstly while it is true that the current extent of the mutant population is no known, this bar won’t be for mutants only. While there will be a Mutant only room, for those that wish to be alone, there will be a larger bar area for both mutants and humans. I thought that this would be expedient if non-mutants were to want mutant company, for various reasons. It would be a great place to find just the right mutant to take a temporary job. Think of how much easier it would be to hire a hulking large mutant for a construction job if you knew exactly where to go. Now I would expect corporations to pay extra to have access to such talent, so that is another source of potential income. Of course all investors will be able to enter free of charge. Now from my estimate, there would likely be as many human customers as mutants. Indeed at the grand opening I expect there to be far more humans than mutants, due to the great public interest. And this is actually preferable, the reasons for which I will get to later.”
“Secondly, even if there are only one hundred mutants, if we can get them to be regular customers that alone can provide quite a profit. A normal bar can turn a tidy profit with a relatively small dedicated customer base. In this case, due to the costs that you have mentioned, we would need a larger number but I assure you there are more than enough in the city.”
“Thirdly while the initial insurance premiums may be costly, I believe that over time as we gain the trust of the public the premiums will drop. Why is that you say, well there are several reasons. First of all, I plan on either constructing the building out of extra strong materials, or finding such place to buy or rent. Now this will obviously cost more, but this is simply the safest way to insure the safety of your investment. This will also decrease the need for costly repairs. Additionally I intend to hire mutants to protect and act as bouncers. To this end a mutant that can incapacitate without causing undue harm would be most beneficial. In that regard the most powerful mutant would of course be yours truly” he wags his eyebrows. “My powerful personality is enough to intimidate and quell even the most violent villain. Also once the mutant customers come to like and enjoy the new bar built ‘just for them’ I can expect that they will proactively work to protect my bar from interlopers that would try to destroy, what has to them, become a second home.”
“Fourthly, I would like to address your concern regarding mutants that are unable to control their powers. Indeed it would not be right to let a mutant that isn’t ‘housebroken’ inside to mess up the day for the remaining customers. However on the other hand to exclude them entirely would be cruel, not to mention a loss of revenue. Therefore I have devised a system where mutants that do have problems can be trained or otherwise assisted in learning to control their powers. This would take place in a courtyard away from the main building for safety reasons, but not so far to be a hassle.”
Fifthly, advertising will be a snap, as the new mutant sensation is on everyone’s mind. Think of the great publicity. It should be quite easy to get this as a top news story. In fact I have a few connections in the media myself, that will be quite useful. I can also assure you that your contribution will be well publicized.”
“Now as I have said before , this will be a great place for mutants to not only meet and associate with other mutants, but a place for them to re-integrate with humanity. The changes wrought upon us have greatly changed us Ms. Yamashima, and I believe that this is the best way for us to not only serve a better place in society, but also to remove any possible contention between ourselves and human kind. We need to better our relations before more like ‘The Reaper’ are to appear. Indeed that is exactly why I want there to be many non-mutants. They will be invaluable in helping the mutant community find its place humanity. Your contribution Ms. Yamashima will be lauded with great esteem and as an action with great foresight.”

Spoiler

Show

Another roll if necessary:
Diplomacy: (1d20+33)[9](42) (added super style bonus)

[evisiron]

Nosferatu

Nosferatu listens to Pulse and nods his head.

"Yeah, well, you never know who would add electrified walls to an 'ambient light room' just in case. And I dont really know how useful you would be if they stripped you of your gadgets..."

A brief flicker of memory regarding how Pulse 'tasted' flashes through Nosferatu's mind, and so he adds:

"... though I am sure you have something else up you sleeve for such an occasion"

"Hmm... any sort of transport will take at least a few minutes to get here. Can you wait up while I go grab something?"

[OOC: Ignore following if Pulse presents reason to stay]

Flying directly up to get lost in the sun, Nosferatu then plummets down and zig zags back to his apartment. Making sure he is not seen, he picks up his Katana, ditches the baseball bat, dons his armour (uses the facilities), and heads back to where Pulse should be waiting. Spotting his ally, he drops beside Pulse. Holding the sword in the light, Nosferatu grins and says

"Just in case"

[harmonictempest]

Gust

Pausing, Gust hears a raised voice from a nearby roof.
“Greetings, all of you. First off, for those of you who have not met me, I am Nosferatu. I gained these powers from the chemical..."
Sounds like the Boy Scouts of the super crowd are staging their first meeting. Bet they're making a club or some silly thing like that - good thing I'm still busy in here, or they might bug me to join them. I mean, I'm glad they're helping people, but I'd much rather not have to worry about getting along and talking with a bunch of other supers. He continues perusing the apartment, keeping half an ear on the meeting outside in case there are any interesting developments. He enters the living room, noticing immediately the scuffs on the carpet in front of the television, the seat nearest the door that had the most wear and tear, and the scattered toys near the playpen. Just right for a family with small kids...

He continues, hearing from the roof
"Jesus Christ! Are you kidding me, man?! There's no way I'm going to trust you! You're a murderer! You think that's something we'll just look past?"
Heh, from that reaction, I wonder if the Reaper dropped by, or just someone at least as scary as him. I guess he meant what he said in that note if he's showing up there. Wonder how he did that? Maybe I should go tell them that the Reaper caught the guy who's probably responsible for this fire. Or at least tell that kid that he doesn't need to be so angry just to cover his fear of the guy.
((I admit freely that this last observation is a bit of a stretch, but is exactly the kind of "reading" Gust would be able to do with the tone of someone's voice (plus it's hopefully not meta-gaming, since it was never stated anywhere, right?). If Chronic doesn't agree that it's true, or if other people object, I'll take it down in a heartbeat.))

As Gust went back to searching the apartment, he heard the teenager continue speaking loudly and angrily, and other quieter, calmer voices, probably reasoning with him.
Strange, thought Gust as he finished searching the apartment. The only thing at all out of place is that pipe. A gas leak could have poisoned them! ...but gas isn't nauseating, and the jetpack dude definitely looked like he was about to hurl. This is just WEIRD - something is wrong here. It's bugging me like crazy, and I can't figure out why. Dammit, this is frustrating. He raises his hand to punch the wall in his frustration, but abruptly halts himself. Remember what happened last time, dude.
He steps into the hall to check out the rest of the floor, but even listening briefly reveals that no one else is up here - or if they are, they're just as dead as this family. He does hear the firemen a few floors below, and they sound like they're coming up. What do they want up here? And what will they think if they find me here - with the gas gone, I'll look a lot more suspicious. I'd better find a safe vantage point.

As he moves back out of the hallway, the hunger pangs that he has been steadily ignoring the last hour growl with renewed force in his stomach, causing him to nearly double over. DagGONE it - I ate two boxes of cereal and a dozen eggs for breakfast, and it's barely midafternoon! Grr...well, at least the family won't be needing the stuff in the fridge any more. He runs into the kitchen and scoops up the first few things he can find - a few packages of lunch meat, a bag of carrots, and a jar of pickles, and stuffing them into the pockets of his robe as best he can, he makes for the window.
Reaching it, he lifts off briefly and alights on the corner of the roof across the way, such that he can see easily into the window of the room without being too noticeable. As he steps out of the window, he hears the first voice raised again.
"As for everyone else, if you are able we will try to meet again in the abandonned quarry over on the West side of town, at noon. If you meet others..."
He watches the motley crew of supers begin to break up, and realizes he must have just missed the end of the meeting. Oh well...but then again, no great loss. It might be interesting to see why the Reaper is going to the Mayor's office, and what the Mayor thinks. Hmm...nahh, I'd just say somethin' dumb or get in the way. Besides, I want to see what the firemen are up to in that top floor. He pulls out the jar of pickles and begins to munch them (mm, dill!). As he eats, he listens carefully, observing the remnants of the scene around the building, while listening as carefully as he can for the firemen in the building.

Note to self: Bring the Powerbars next time. They fit in a pockets better than a pickle jar.

((I figure I'll exit the building right about the time the meeting ends, but if not, I can change things. I'd probably be able to match up Nos and Kid Zeus with their voices fairly easily, since they were being the loudest. I'll be sitting on the corner of the building, seeing and hearing as much as I can while keeping an eye on the window I just exited.))

[Raven T.]

Alex

Having been distracted by various things online, he hadn't heard Judy walk up. His eyes had glazed over slightly from gust being distracted in general. "Long time? We just had dinner last night." Alex chuckles some and smiles a little darkly. "I know I asked you to look into the events surrounding the incident on Saturday night and I intend to pay you well depending on what you found. However, I have also found something interesting that you may or may not know. I would suggest you get yourself prepared; they are bringing in a lot of National Guard troops. Martial law is about to become a reality here. Thanks to the foolish actions of this 'Reaper,' the city may very well become locked down. Mutants will be forced to either go into hiding or be subject to the whims of a world that doesn't understand them. It's possible that we may be experiencing Nazi Germany all over again.

"The internet is abuzz with stories about Rainport and our newest citizens. Of course, they fear what they do not understand, but it is painfully obvious that anyone who has been affected by the explosion, registering with the government or not, should prepare for prejudice, hatred, and other such mistrust." Alex lounged some in his chair, exuding confidence and concern over these new events. Mutant or not, he wanted to make sure that Judy was prepared for the coming storm. She was...is a good friend.

[evisiron]

Nosferatu

Nosferatu stands in the same spot, glancing around, keeping a keen ear out for the roar of engines or the call to action that is a gun being cocked. When none of these things are heard, he turns to Pulse.

"Hey, you seem pretty handy at making gadgets. Is there any chance you could modify my sword a bit? Get a decent current running through it or something, taser style? Not right now of course, but later on, when things are a bit quieter. Or make up some kind of communication system for the group if we successfully start. Cell phones are great, but might not be the best for this situation."

[Wiz]

Pulse

Pulse shrugs, "You never know, I might be able to come up with something." He looks around, "Are you sure you want to come along? You never know, once the Mayor feels he has Reaper in a safe place, he may take his time about showing up... not that I intend to let him keep us hanging forever or anything."

[DaftSkunk]

Nathaniel

After Nosferatu and Pulse leave the building with the Reaper, Nathaniel qickly flys up and leaves in the direction of his apartment.
He then descents in an ally near it and takes of his scarf and bandana, leaving the glasses in place.

Walking though the door, he throughs the heavy coat into a corner and while having heavy thoughts, making himself some coffee.

While drinking the first cup, he starts his PC, looking through the news and trying to distract himself from the conclusions his mind draws.

[The_Snark]

Judith

Jude rolls her eyes with a grin at his reply—that was the point, of course. Her smile fades rapidly as he talks, though. "Are you sure? About the martial law, I mean?" She comes around the side of his chair, sitting across from him.

"I can understand sending in the National Guard. If some lunatic started running around wreaking havoc in the streets, they'd want more than just the police about to stop it, especially if they meant what they said about vigilantism." She didn't think that was about to stop, regardless of whether they stuck to the Mayor's statements. Too many idiot superhero comics giving people ideas. Government-controlled teams of people with superhuman abilities weren't something people would trust easily, either; the influence of comics and books again. Damned if you do, damned if you don't. "But martial law? That's a step further... Who's implementing that? Did the mayor request it, or did the feds step in on their own?" Her mind races. Martial law'd be unpopular, so... damn, he's right. If they do place the city under martial law, they'll have to make sure there's enough fear of mutants to go around to justify their actions. Won't even take very much work, most likely... Even implying that the situation is dangerous is sure to set off someone, and with everyone walking about on edge, there's almost sure to be an incident. And that's a best-case scenario, assuming they don't try to enforce registration. They can't do this! They can, of course, and she knows it. What little acclimation she'd built up to the changes in her life evaporates.

[dfpiii]

Professor Dark aka Paragon

It all started with Schrodinger, of course. Schrodinger and his damn cat. You put a cat in a sealed box with some kind of death machine operated by a seemingly random rate of atomic decay. As a result of this being an entirely contained experiment, and in accordance with certain supposed laws of physics, the cat being alive or dead was determined when you opened the box.

What laymen tended not to understand was that Schrodinger, in the very obscure and dry way of physicists, had been joking. The notion that the state of being of the cat was determined by the opening of the box was patent nonsense. It illustrated perfectly that quantum mechanics, as it was understood at the time, simply did not scale-up and had no effect whatsoever on cats or any other household pets.

Despite this, a succession of physicists made careers out of extending this notion of quantum mechanics on a large scale to postulate the existence of many, perhaps infinitely many, non-communicative parallel universes. Each one created - seemingly out of nothing at all - whenever a photon passed through a hole.

Today about half of the working and teaching physicists in the world (more or less than half depending on where you asked the question), all of whom in Dark's opinion had read too much science fiction and not nearly enough science, believed in the many worlds theory.

Dark had a different view. He believed in ultimate certainty, that while the present was unknowable to varying degrees, the past could, eventually, be determined. This meant that there was only one past and that infinite possible futures would eventually resolve themselves into it - in fact the exact opposite of many worlds.

So far he had failed to argue this persuasively, but it was on his to do list. Under having the toilets fixed.

As he watched this strange, nameless individual, the unknowable present and the potential future distilled into the certain past. This man checked his watch, while Dark waited for events to become clear.

((A long post to say Dark does nothing? Well... yeah, but you're read it now and you can't unread it)).

[Raven T.]

Alex

Alex shows her the webpages stating that troops were being mobilized. "I wouldn't joke about something this serious. They'll lock down the city, the country, and possibly, the world. 'Normal' humans are already terrified; the Reaper is all over YouTube. The actions of this one...well, it is not my place to pass judgment on him at this stage. Before you showed up, I saw that the rumor mill says he's back in custody, for good or for evil.

"My best advice to you is to keep your ears open at all times. Keep up to date on all news relating to these events...for your own safety. We have a minimum of twenty-four hours before this place is going to look like a demilitarized zone. I...I just want to see you safe. This could be our Inquisition; people may accuse their neighbors of being mutants and they are likely not to get a fair shake in court. It matters little to them.

"The storm approaches. Humans are attempting to snuff my kind out. We have seen what lengths mankind will go to remove what it perceives as a blight. I intend to fight against these forces of tyranny and oppression. It may take a while, but a solid foundation must be set up before any change can be affected." Alex spoke with complete sincerity. He liked Judy; she had been there to pick up the pieces he had fallen to after Greg was shot and made him human again. Of course, she had her quirks and had been an accomplished cat burgler years ago.

But that was the past; this was now. She is a good friend...and very useful to him now. She would be worth her weight in gold if she could keep her nose clean and her ears to the ground. "Now, do you have anything for me?"

[ChronicLunacy]

Kid Zeus

Kid Zeus sets out to do all the required paperwork at the police station in order to make his superantics legal.

Will you be using your powers while costumed or in a civilian identity?

The teenager looked up at that, raising an eyebrow, then down at his costume. You'd think they could just take a picture or something. Ah well..., we'll write "costume".

What is your name and/or alias?

"Kid Zeus" he immediately wrote down with a flourish, adding a little stylized lightning bolt at the end just because he wanted to. No need to get the family involved by writing in his real name. Besides...he knew half these cops growing up...no reason to get them on his case.

What are your powers?

Um...

He thought about it for a moment. Just what were his powers exactly? Did they want some sort of scientific description or would they appreciate the simple bare bones observation? He shrugged and wrote down, "Electricity manipulation/flight."

What do you plan on doing with your powers?

"Protect the innocent." There, he thought, another easy one.

Do you have any police, military and/or medical training?

Did having a father on the force count as training? He decided to remain on the safe side and just wrote, "Nope".

Do you have a criminal record?

Ha! Asking a police officer's son if he had a criminal record. Right...the answer to that one was a resounding "Negative."

Are you interested in receiving Police training?

Now this one was a bit harder... Did he want to learn how to fire a gun or negotiate a hostage situation or something? Eh...he didn't really need guns or like them at all. Hand to hand combat training maybe... He jotted down, "Sure" after some consideration, then handed the forms back to the officer at the desk.

"So, what's next?" he asked.

[The_Lonely_d12]

Davan

Davan paces along the streets, clearly spoiling for some action.

Bah, there's nothing happening now, with the reaper turning himself in and everyone leaving. No hoodlums breaking into stores, no crazy mutants holding buildings hostage...I almost wonder if I would have to cause something to happen myself to get anything out of these powers. Then again, I don't want to go to jail...they might actually have something that could keep me there, for one.

Glaring up and down the alleyways, Davan continues patrolling the area.

OoC:Is there any chance I come across Joe and the thugs?

[evisiron]

Pulse

Pulse shrugs, "You never know, I might be able to come up with something." He looks around, "Are you sure you want to come along? You never know, once the Mayor feels he has Reaper in a safe place, he may take his time about showing up... not that I intend to let him keep us hanging forever or anything."

Nosferatu

Nosferatu listens to Pulse, and thoughtfully considers it for a few seconds.

"Yeah. I will come along. If you are right and it all runs smoothly, the worst case is that I have wasted some time. However, if this IS all a setup and I dont come along, the worst case involves a picture of your corpse on the front page tomorrow, along with news that Reaper has been weaponised for use against the nations enemies.

So, yeah, I will tag along."

Nosferatu seems to relax a bit again, and he becomes more optimistic as he shifts the conversation to a more pleasant topic.

"So, lets discuss what kind of gizmos we could (theoretically) fit into this sword..."

[Tar Palantir]

The Reaper

The Reaper, merged with the darkest depths of the shadows, probed once more into his mind, this time denying the faces of the dead in search of everything else. His past, his identity, his very being, was now lost in the depths of the shadows. He delved deeper and deeper into his mind, and he found something that he had not seen before. A part of his mind that felt like the purest incarnation of the shadows. He felt it and somehow knew what it was, and it gave him courage, but it also provoked questions. It was undoubtedly from the explosion, but it had not been there before. Did that mean that he would continue to mutate for the rest of his life. What about the other mutants? Would they develop new abilities as well? Would this become a deadly arms race where the only victor was death? Who could say? He would use this new power like all of the others, and try to right the wrongs he had done. As to the future, he would meet that when it came.

OOC: An entire post for my level up IC. Pretty interesting, at least to me.

[evisiron]

Nosferatu

Nosferatu pauses briefly in his ream of ideas regarding the sword upgrades, his ears perked to the air.

"Did you hear that?! I could have sworn I just heard someone go 'Ding'...

Oh well. Anyway, about the acid tip..."

Spoiler

Show

OOC: Sorry, had to

[Wiz]

Pulse

Pulse chuckles, "It's not enough that it's really sharp and can cut through people really well?"

[evisiron]

Nosferatu

Nosferatu recoils slightly as if struck, before snapping back with an angry response, voice strained in an attempt not to shout.

"Hey, I don't what you think of me, or any assumption that I am some bloodthirsty killer. The only reason I carry this blade is because I can use it in a totally non lethal way. I do not seek to be able to 'cut through people' better, or at all if I can avoid it. An electrical pulse would be better for stunning people, and put them down before someone gets hurt. An acidic tip or stronger alloy would help if someone starts blowing stuff up from a tank or giant robot, and I have to get through that armour fast. I am here to save people, not kill them!"

Nosferatu seems to catch himself before continuing the rant. Placing a calming hand on his forehead, he inhales deeply once, then releases the breath. He does not take a second breath.

[Wiz]

Pulse

Pulse looks calmly at Nosferatu throughout his response. Then when the armored vampire with the samurai sword has obviously finished, he nods once. "So... tell you what, I promise not to put myself forward as team comedian, and maybe you should consider avoiding the post of team diplomat?"

[The_Snark]

Judith

She grimaces. "I... I'll do that. Thanks." They really were going to do it, then, although she had some hope it wouldn't be as bad as Alex thought. Not everyone would display hatred and fear, surely—the other mutants at the conference had been either helpful or comical. Our kind, Alex. Not just yours. Guiltily, she wonders if she ought to tell him, but again, she can't quite figure out how to begin. Perhaps later...

"Actually, yes," she says, her thoughts returning to what she'd found out last night—although her good mood doesn't return with it. "Balchem doesn't even know what this stuff was. It was something they'd gotten from another company; apparently, they've been trying everything they can to find some breaking new product, including theft from other leading companies." She keeps her voice low, glancing about instinctively to make sure nobody was listening in. "Unfortunately, whatever chemical caused the blast wasn't stable at room temperatures, and nobody bothered to tell the shipping company. Stolen property, of course, so they wanted to keep it low-profile." She shrugs, with a twisted grimace. "Funny how that worked out for them. But with the government investigating what this chemical might have been, Balchem ought to be in pretty hot water right about now if it doesn't cover up fast. You'd know better than I would how they'll try to do that, probably."

She pauses, then continues in a hushed tone. "So... what is it you're planning to do, Alex? Not just about Balchem. This martial law..." She looks uneasy. "How do you mean, fight it?" She had an inkling Alex didn't mean organizing protests.

[Raven T.]

Alex

"Thanks to recent events, I doubt coverup is possible. Everything I have found about them is, like I mentioned before, talking about how they've been buying up the little fish in the pond, often at great losses to themselves. I would imagine shareholders are none too happy right now. If I could get in on the ground floor...buy up their stock as they try to dump it..." His voice trails off some as he loses himself in that thought. Another avenue to victory. He just had to hope he could gain controlling stake that way. "Not stable at room temperature and Forthwind was not notified? I wonder if Balchem knew; this could be some sort of industrial revenge. Too bad for them that it backfired. Now I wish I had payed closer attention to my organic chemistry classes. I am curious, though, as to your source, but I will not force you to reveal him or her.

"As to what I'm going to do, well...." Alex leaned back and tented his fingers some. "Have you been looking at the news? There was a fire today; big apartment building. It was a siren song for the superpowered dogooders in our fair city. There are at least half a dozen active superheroes now, aside from those who have faded away since the Reaper incident. If they could be persuaded and shown how the military wants to lock us down, remove our freedom, and otherwise keep us in check, they should do it all. Let those with a desire to be more public be so. As for myself, I intend to lobby for the rights of mutants. If nothing else, it will endear me to the populace for both sides. I'm not obviously affected by the blast, so regular people will not feel threatened and mutants, well...if my fears are accurate and these events do go down, anyone willing to take a stand for them can likely become a hero to the heroes.

"I have a meeting with that...creature who gave a big speech after the Reaper attack about an investment opportunity. Rumors are that he wants to open a mutant bar. What better way to get my face out in public as a mutant supporter, as well as make money on the side?" It was a lot easier to calm the storm of revenge and powerhungry emotions with Judy around. Yes, he wanted power, but he wasn't about to do overtly criminal things to get it. Murder was right out; even the greatest killers get caught eventually.