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Josephine "Steel Nerves" Wainwright HP: 31/31 ER: 43% "I thought you branch chiefs were supposed to be smart." You all get the impression that Josephine is distinctly unimpressed by that joke. Maybe it's the scowl. Maybe it's because she's staring at Sophia like she just sprouted a second head. Maybe it's because she's going to have to listen to those jokes for an entire meal at this rate. (There's no way she won't take the chance to actually ask Sofia some questions, though.) "What?" Josephine jerks her head over to face Jan. "Oh, yeah. Can't deny it. Prosthetics are good these days, but they're not this good." Josephine wriggles her fingers for emphasis.
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Sep 22, 2014 05:14
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Jan "TigerMAX" Smith - HP: 34/34 E: 41% Jan oggles Josephine's hand. "Whoa, you got robot parts, Jojo? That's so cool! That makes you...um...a Black Dog, right? You're like the Bionic Woman, except cooler, and I bet you've got hidden gadgets and stuff but if you don't you should get some because then we could fight crime together and that would be totally boss." She gives her teacher and her teacher's friend a thumbs-up. "Food sounds good! Meat feeds the torch of justice!"
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Sep 22, 2014 05:24
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Mitsue "Schwarzschild" Hasegawa - ER: 35% Mitsue wonders how the boss would feel about her asking out the client on a date, not to mention inviting some ruly highschool Overeds to fast food while on the job. Well, as long as the job gets done, it should be alright. And Sofia looks like she's having fun, for now. "That's settled! Let's get out of here." She says, taking Sofia by the hand as they return to the bike. Mentally, she calculates how much of this week's salary is about to disappear in smoke within the next few hours.
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Sep 22, 2014 09:15
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Ex Machina - HP: 32/32 | ER: 33% -> 38% Multiple major calls in a day, new recruits, and now an injured agent. Ra'id was starting to see what people meant when they said that it never rained, only poured. Perhaps it was his keen intellect speaking, or perhaps this was what others would call a gut feeling, but he was starting to think that things would soon spiral out of control. He'd been in this position before. At least this time, he didn't have to protect any of his chess pieces to win the game. "I will be there shortly, along with your payment for Dragon Breath's treatment. Keep her safe until I arrive." He didn't say goodbye before cutting off the line. Time was of the essence, because whoever had dealt Dragon Breath such a blow would soon come around to finish the job. So much for a chance to study those mutations in further detail...
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Sep 25, 2014 02:28
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Jan "TigerMAX" Smith - HP: 34/34 E: 41% Jan snaps her fingers. "Hey! Isn't Moa Burger the one with the TERROR BIRD CHALLENGE? That's the one where you have to eat like a million Moa burgers and if you don't die, they give you a gift card for your weight in Moa burgers. And it's not the little burgers either, it's the real deal! Two artisanally crafted sesame seed buns holding only the freshest of toppings; mustard, ketchup, special Moa sauce, crisp lettuce, onion, tomato, and melty cheese food product. And between those buns, not one but two meat patties; a chicken fried beef patty and a chicken breast grilled with the 13 secret spices known only to the precious few. And their signature topping, without which it would not be a Moa burger, a fried egg on top, so that when you bite the yolk gets over everything." Jan is visibly drooling. "Oh, sorry. I've been thinking about the Challenge for a while. My Mom won't let me do it because 'There's a statistically significant chance you will explode.' Blah blah blah. You know, Moms."
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Sep 25, 2014 19:17
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Scene 2A: Investigation Scene: Kariya, The International University of Enviornmental Information, Hidden Morgue Luca “Finding Truths” Jaegar, Eadan “Cleena” Callaghan "Yeah, I'm the mortician, call me Dr. Muleto. I'm gonna assume your UGN agents, but it's not like I can stop you if you aren't..." The young, gloomy mortician continues on once Finding Truths ask him about what he's prepared for. "Well, yeah, but I'm not surprised at how violent it is, really. Gjaum do crazy poo poo all the time, so I'm prepared for it. What IS surprising is the switch-up between eating the guy and then killing him as fast as possible... A gjaum by itself woulda either killed the guy fast or killed him slowly. They're not super good at switching things up. So, chances are, it's getting help or it's being controlled by someone else. Usually, False Hearts are the only ones that really use gjaum but uh, it was obviously not them, considering." He says as he points to the corpse. _____________________________________ Scene 1C: Just Business Location: Kariya Shopping Mall, Moa Burger Sofia "Catalyst" Liu-Vostrokova, Jan "TigerMAX" Smith, Josephine "Steel Nerves" Wainwright, Mitsue "Schwarzschild" Hasegawa  So now the overeds take a detour to a fast food joint to talk... _______________________________________ Scene 2D: Damage Control Scene: Kariya, Kuroshima Clinic Ra'id "Ex Machina" Belcry You head to the other side of town as quickly as you can, finding a ramshackle house on the more rural outskirts of Kariya. There's no outside evidence of it being a clinic of a highly skilled doctor, but you know differently. Inside, you will find Doctor Kuroshima and Dragonbreath, hopefully things aren't too grim...
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Sep 26, 2014 02:18
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Sofia "Catalyst" Liu-Vostrokova HP: 29/29 | ER: 42 "Normally I would say that you would rupture first, but somehow it does not seem implausible that you could ingest Moa burgers at a high enough rate that the result could reasonably be categorized as an explosion," Sofia comments, then addresses her own meal. She turns the sandwich around a few times, and looks at the sauce dripping off it. She puts it down and eats a waffle fry instead. "You are both in Mitsue-chan's class?"
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Sep 26, 2014 02:34
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Luca Jaeger - HP 29/29 | ER: 48% "Ah, more than one method, then?" Luca finds himself cocking his head at the problem. "...is there any possibility that the swift kill is intended as some act of charity? Some sort of twisted variant on a mercy kill? That could suggest either False Hearts sympathy in the assistant, or perhaps a killer with multiple mindsets..."
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Sep 26, 2014 06:39
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Mitsue "Schwarzschild" Hasegawa - ER: 35% While the girls talk, Mitsue totally grabs her Mega Mega Moa with both hands and takes a mouth-size bite out of the monstrosity. Ketchup, secret sauce, and a tomato slice messily ooze out from the other side of the triple-stacked burger and drips down on her plate. If she's paying for this meal, she's going to enjoy every moment out of it.
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Sep 26, 2014 06:52
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Ex Machina - HP: 32/32 | ER: 38% Time was scarce, and there was danger at hand...but still, the city chief took the time to knock. "I am here." He announced, before coming in.
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Sep 26, 2014 07:00
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Jan "TigerMAX" Smith - HP: 34/34 E: 41% TigerMAX stalks towards the front counter with a purpose and thunderously thumps her fist upon the laminate countertop. "I WISH TO CHALLENGE THE TERRIBLE TERRORBIRD!" A hush falls over The Moa Burger. A shift manager approaches her nervously, "Are you sure, Miss?" TigerMAX laughs with heroic defiance. "TigerMAX fears nothing! There is no challenge so great, no foe so terrible, no fiendish plot so dire, that TIGERMAX CANNOT NOT TRIUMPH!" A few people start clapping halfheartedly. Jan signs the release form with the fancy signature that she's been practicing for weeks, "TigerMAX" She hands in the form and an alarm bell rings and the call of a bird of prey is played over the sound system. Could it be...the Terrorbird? "Wait at your table, Miss. We're preparing the Challenge now." In case you were wondering, she is still in full costume. I Am Fowl fucked around with this message at 19:46 on Sep 26, 2014 |
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Sep 26, 2014 18:16
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Josephine "Steel Nerves" Wainwright HP: 31/31 ER: 43% "Kind of." Josephine takes an almost dainty bite of her Moaburger Classic before continuing. "I mean, she is one of our teachers. We were just doing make-up work when all this started, not a class."
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Sep 26, 2014 19:30
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Cleena ER: 44% "Maybe they just liked eating people." Cleena poses. "Then they got tired of all the screaming. Who are we to judge?"
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Sep 27, 2014 01:04
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Scene 2A: Investigation Scene: Kariya, The International University of Enviornmental Information, Hidden Morgue Luca “Finding Truths” Jaegar, Eadan “Cleena” Callaghan "Well, most gjaums don't have 2 personalities. If they do they're both crazy, just maybe in different ways... Maybe if it's a gjaumed Collaborator renegade being they could have 2 distinct personalities. Aside from that, the killer could be a rogue False Hearts agent, or just one with different motivations, They're not really unified or anything after all... No way to tell with the leads we have right now, though. Unless you guys have some False Hearts leads hiding up your sleeves or something. I'm not one to judge." Dr. Muleto finished with a shrug. _________________________________ Scene 2D: Damage Control Scene: Kariya, Kuroshima Clinic Ra'id "Ex Machina" Belcry Dr. Kuroshima is standing by a stairwell as you enter the house. He thumbs back behind him, gesturing that Dragonbreath is up-stairs. As you walk together up-stairs, the doctors bored expression never changes as he details the work he did and what you owe him. "I had to use about a meter of synthetic skin to cover up tears and things, I also used about 20 mgs of Morphine in the past 3 hours because she's wanted to stay up when I told her you were coming... So we're talking at least 1 million yen." Then, the doctor opens an upstairs door to a sterile, white room with no windows, medical supplies surround the room, and on a bed at the center of the room was Dragonbreath, covered in bandages all throughout her body and lying on the bed. Various IVs are stuck into her as well. She opens her eyes and looks at you without moving her head off the pillow. "Chief."
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Sep 27, 2014 02:36
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Cleena ER: 44% "That at least makes two of us, then." A series of dialtones ring in Cleena's ear. While hardly necessary, the sounds were a wonderful aid for contacting a phone with her renegade. It was time to call up this Captain fellow.
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Sep 27, 2014 02:42
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Luca Jaeger - HP 29/29 | ER: 48% "Well, many things could be true." Luca offers. "But only one is. I think my...uh...partner has a lead on our victim, at least. I guess we'll see where the threads take us."
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Sep 27, 2014 02:51
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Cleena ER: 44% "Threads don't take people anywhere, silly. They hold fabric together."
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Sep 27, 2014 02:55
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Ex Machina - HP: 32/32 | ER: 38% "At ease." It was something that needed to be said. Dragon Breath had been pushing herself too hard. At this rate, she would collapse soon, and Ex Machina was in no mood to pointlessly lose an agent. Walking up to the bedside, he looked down. For a moment, he said nothing. When he spoke, his question was meaningful and succint. "False Hearts or rogues?"
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Sep 27, 2014 03:36
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Sofia "Catalyst" Liu-Vostrokova HP: 29/29 | ER: 42 Sofia takes a careful bite of her own sandwich. She carefully times here queries to keep others from overhearing. "Did you know TigerMAX was like you before today? I assume from your reaction you did not know this about Mitsue-chan. Do you know others? You do not need to tell me who they are if you do not wish to, but if there has been a recent increase in the appearance of those like us, it would be a powerful indicator." After a moment, she picks up a napkin and grabs Mitsue's chin with a finger and a thumb, and wipes some sauce off her face. "You have some on your cheek."
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Sep 27, 2014 03:41
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Scene 2A: Investigation Scene: Kariya, The International University of Enviornmental Information, Hidden Morgue Luca “Finding Truths” Jaegar, Eadan “Cleena” Callaghan Cleena hears someone pick up on the other side, then silence for a second, then finally a cold, impersonal young man talks on the other side. "You know, no one's supposed to use this number any more. Considering I don't recognize the ID, and this phone is clean from all call lists... I'll assume you have business with me." _________________________________ Scene 2D: Damage Control Scene: Kariya, Kuroshima Clinic Ra'id "Ex Machina" Belcry Dragonbreath takes some time to think, and the doctor leaves so as not to hear any sensitive information, and then answers slowly. "...dunno. All I DO know was that the guy was opening up a Dimension Gate in the air. Dunno why or anything, but when he saw me we fought and then the bastard tried to loving eat me! Just... took chunks o' skin and stuff off with his claws and put them in his mouth... But that's what I wanted to tell you. Now that I know about the gate I think I can find other ones. I can kinda... feel them now that I know what to look for."
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Sep 27, 2014 04:00
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Mitsue "Schwarzschild" Hasegawa - ER: 35% "Oh..." Mitsue stops between chomps to smile. "Thanks." Sofia still wants to play out this last-second alibi, huh? Not that Mitsue minds, of course, though it does make her wonder.
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Sep 27, 2014 04:08
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Ex Machina - HP: 32/32 | ER: 38% "From what distance? Direct fieldwork is out of the question." There was a note of finality to Ex Machina's voice. Dragon Breath had already fought the rogue once, and lost. Now that she was in less than peak condition, putting her at risk would be signing her death sentence. "You said you fought him. What did he look like?"
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Sep 27, 2014 04:23
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Josephine "Steel Nerves" Wainwright HP: 31/31 ER: 43% "Why would I know? I'm her tutor, not her boss." Josephine shrugs and takes a sip of soda. "As for other people, well, do you want people I know or people I know? Because I know five or six people but I know two. One of them's an Illegal that lives an hour north of here. She came down for a swim meet a few months ago, we started talking, now we keep track of things together. Not telling you her name, because you don't need to know. The second is my handler. He jerks me around like a goddamn marionette and he's a chief and he's a year younger than me and it's bullshit. Goes by Ex Machina, if you care. The rest of them, never really talked to 'em, barely even met 'em, probably twice as many people I haven't met running around Kariya." "But!" Josephine holds up one finger and smirks before Sophia has a chance to respond. "I came here for a trade, not charity. I answered you, now you answer me. First question: Why're you here? Yeah, blind date, I know. Smartypants like you don't do things for just one reason, I want to know the other ones."
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Sep 27, 2014 05:52
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Cleena ER: 44% "Yes. I need a time and place to meet in person. Can't trust the airwaves with all these bloody Black Dogs running around." Her somber tone is betrayed by a doofy smile and a wink. "As soon as is convenient for you, preferably." wonk
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Sep 27, 2014 12:58
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Luca Jaeger - HP 29/29 | ER: 48% "Tell him you'll send a contact of yours in your place, for safety reasons," Luca whispers, pointing at himself. "You need some room if a fight breaks out, anyways."
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Sep 27, 2014 16:59
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Sofia "Catalyst" Liu-Vostrokova HP: 29/29 | ER: 42 Sofia puts down her sandwich, her expression devoid of any playfulness now - though the difference is mostly in contrast, given how reserved she tends to be. "Ex Machina. If he is here, then my suspicions are almost certainly correct." She watches Josephine carefully. "Be careful with the terminology you use - the classification of illegal on its own immediately betrays your association." She taps the table with one finger, then continues. "When you ask why I am here, there are a number of things that can mean. Why am I in Kariya. Why was I meeting Mitsue-chan, and then why I came here to speak to you. And a foundational why - why I pursue to the goals that underly the answers to those other questions." "I came to Kariya because I suspect something is going to happen here. What, I do not know. So I am here in this restaurant because Mitsue-chan is going to show me around your city so I can gather more information so I might put the pieces together. I am speaking to you because the puzzle involves people like us as the central players. And the Renegade in general as a primary mover of events. I care about these things because I have a strong personal desire to pursue those goals - to protect society from the potential dangers of Renegade, but also to help those like us." "The reason I am approaching the problem this was is that I used to work for the UGN, but left after an operation led to my disillusionment with their methods. This has much to do with Ex Machina. He and I were both involved in the operation I mentioned. I do not know his opinion of the results of that event, and to a large extent I do not particularly care. You can ask him about me if you would like. I would state that my assessment of him is that he shares my ideals, but believes that the UGN takes a pragmatic approach and that their choices are simply the understandable results of translating those ideals into an imperfect world. That assessment is where he and I differ."
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Sep 27, 2014 19:46
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Scene 2A: Investigation Scene: Kariya, The International University of Enviornmental Information, Hidden Morgue Luca “Finding Truths” Jaegar, Eadan “Cleena” Callaghan "Tell me who you are, what your affiliations are, and why you're calling." it was less a question and more a demand. "Otherwise we're done here. I've stopped caring about who may or may not be listening." Cleena could bring up the UGN or The Guild, considering, but lying in a way where Sawao wouldn't suspect your allegiances would require a pretty good social roll! _______________________________ Scene 2D: Damage Control Scene: Kariya, Kuroshima Clinic Ra'id "Ex Machina" Belcry "I think I can point to places where the gates are from here so long as I have a map. And the guy... The guy had black hair and this grim look on his face... What was weird was that he had pointed ears and orange eyes... but then I noticed this... this MASSIVE killing intent. I didn't have much choice after he noticed me, I felt like I'd have to fight him or I'd be dead. That bastard didn't even break a sweat when I used my moves on him either!" devilmaydry fucked around with this message at 05:03 on Sep 28, 2014 |
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Sep 27, 2014 20:45
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Mitsue "Schwarzschild" Hasegawa - ER: 35% "Question!" Mitsue raises her hand (though still eating the burger with the other). "What exactly is the UGN?"
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Sep 27, 2014 23:22
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Cleena ER: 44% "I'm with The Guild. I found one of your boys in the morgue and wanted to see if you had anything on Red Eyes." She waggles her eyebrows at Luca and shakes her head. "We need a hand with this too. You have a particular place you want to meet?"
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Sep 28, 2014 02:15
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Scene 2A: Investigation Scene: Kariya, The International University of Enviornmental Information, Hidden Morgue Luca “Finding Truths” Jaegar, Eadan “Cleena” Callaghan "I'll send you directions in a text.. I will tell you right now that I won't be coming alone. Don't try anything you'll regret."
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Sep 28, 2014 03:08
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Cleena ER: 44% "I don't intend to." Cleena hangs up. "I'm curious to see if they'll actually believe I'm with The Guild," she muses. "And I'll be going alone. Just what exactly do you think you'd do that I couldn't? Crush them with your huge brain? You're more likely to be injured than I am!"
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Sep 28, 2014 03:13
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Luca Jaeger - HP 29/29 | ER: 48% "I'm a police detective, Cleena," Luca responds with the matter of fact tone of a...police detective. "I've done this since you were still in high school. I've supported undercover missions, I know how to work with mafia types--Tongs, Mafia, Camorra, Vory, Yakuza, it's all the same to me. I have experience, which, if you'll forgive me, I'm not sure you do." He narrows his eyes expectantly. Certainly she couldn't argue with that answer, could she?
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Sep 28, 2014 03:43
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Cleena ER: 44% "I - " She raises a finger to object, but lowers it after a moment. It would hardly be conducive to her mission to reveal that she had been in this line of business since before she was in high school. Cleena hangs her head and sighs. "You're right. Very well. I'll inform them that I'm sending an associate in my stead."
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Sep 28, 2014 03:49
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Luca Jaeger - HP 29/29 | ER: 48% "That's good." Luca was kind of expecting some sort of arguing match or some grand pronouncement that everything he'd done before he became one of these special sorts was worthless. This was a good sign! "Undercover operations work best with two parties anyways. One wired and one standing by in case the wire needs to make a run for it."
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Sep 28, 2014 03:52
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Ex Machina - HP: 32/32 | ER: 38% Killing intent? She must have meant body language. Renegades could be quite particular, sometimes. Living in a world where the impossible was achieved daily tended to transform skeptics into believers, but Ex Machina did not believe in miracles. All was the product of perseverance and effort, no more and no less. "Then we will produce one." Creeping out from underneath his shirt, one of his mechanical spiders climbed up to his shoulder, as he produced a piece of paper and held it up high. Immediately, it began burning a map of Kariya onto it. "If this Overed is so powerful, perhaps I must speak with the branch chief of UGN Japan and request some backup. Will this suffice?" He asked, handing it over.
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Sep 28, 2014 05:04
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Scene 2D: Damage Control Scene: Kariya, Kuroshima Clinic Ra'id "Ex Machina" Belcry "Sure, I think so." Then, Dragon Breath took the map in her bandaged hands, she took a pen and then started marking Xs in the spots she thought contained a gate, as she was doing this she asked a question. "So... who do you think'd have an overed that strong just hanging around without us knowing about it? I mean, I didn't recognize him from any of the Most Wanted lists..."
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Sep 28, 2014 05:24
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Sofia "Catalyst" Liu-Vostrokova HP: 29/29 | ER: 42 Sofia blinks at Mitsue for a moment. "Oh. My apologies, I did not realize." She cups her chin with one hand, thinking. "The Universal Guardian Network is an organization founded shortly after the formal discovery of the Renegade virus. Its stated purpose was to promote the co-existance of Overeds and normal humans, and the acceptance of Overeds into society. It gained support from many nations that had suffered from Renegade and Overed related issues. It repaid the support by providing assistance from its operatives. When the UGN's founder... was lost, the world governments exerted greater influence and formed Axis, the central planning body. Since that time national branches have also asserted greater independence. In its current state, in my experience and opinion, functions more to control and regulate Overeds and to further research to exploit the Renegade. And the national branches often function as arms of their respective hosts." She stops and takes a sip of her drink while someone passes close to their table. "Japan accepted the UGN late, initially attempting to deal with Overed on its own. Eventually the need exceeded their capabilities, but there remains a divide between the sections of Japanese government as to their relationship with the UGN. The SDF and National Security tend to view the UGN as rivals or are overtly hostile. The UGN is fairly decentralized in Japan. The head branch office acts in a supervisory role, but the local branches are relatively independent." "I can go into greater detail, but that should provide a decent overview."
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Sep 28, 2014 05:59
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Mitsue "Schwarzschild" Hasegawa - ER: 35% Mitsue soon discovers it difficult to focus on both the delicious juiciness of the Mega Mega Moa, and the long, detailed explanation of a secret Overred organization she barely knows about. Sofia's charming accented Japanese wins over though, and she puts down the burger for now. "No, no that's fine." She says after a moment to process all of that. "They don't sound good at all, 'especially if you're in the wrong side of 'em."
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Sep 28, 2014 08:44
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Josephine "Steel Nerves" Wainwright HP: 31/31 ER: 43% Josephine knew Sophia had to give her an answer, but she wasn't expecting this much. And the answers, oh the answers. Something's going to go down in Kariya, and overed are involved, and the boss knows Sophia directly, and the UGN is actually as bad as she thinks it is. This is nuts. Still, she can't let herself overreact. They're still sitting in the middle of a Moaburger, and she is still a Wainwright. She's just going to sit here and quietly take it all in and that's that. Oh, yeah, Ms Hasegawa's saying something. She should probably answer. Keep the conversation going. "They're not that great to work for, either." Josephine trails off and begins to slowly pick at her food again.
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Sep 28, 2014 19:50
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| # ? Apr 26, 2024 05:38 |
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Jan "TigerMAX" Smith - HP: 34/34 E: 41% The Mighty TigerMAX is elbow-deep into the Terrorbird Challenge when she pipes in with a mouthful of egg, beef, and chicken, "Oh yeah, the UGN. I'm not 'sposed 'ta talk to them, sounds like it. And I'd appreciate it if you didn't mention me to them. For reasons. Also, I don't know any other Overed or anything else about Overeds. Nope." She returns immediately to her epic Challenge. With two hands she wrestles the Moa burgers, each a terrible foe, yet each succumbs in the end to triumphant TigerMAX. Burger after burger, she defeats each in turn, pausing only to drink, her only respite from the struggle. Who will win? All you fans at home know the answer. JUSTICE! Should I roll Body to see if she wins? Also, she's not telling anything direct that will lead to her family. She's dumb, but she's not stupid.
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Sep 28, 2014 20:17
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