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Joe Obasi/Slugger Slugger listens to BRAD! talk and feels... mixed feelings about this. However, friendship is important. For better or worse, BRAD! was the best friend he had found in Jersey. He feels the communicator text back and he looks at it for a moment before replying. pre:SLUGGER:It is fine, I found someone. Slugger changes out of his training clothes into some street gear, pulling a baseball cap low over his eyes before tossing BRAD! the keys to the store, "Thanks again"
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Apr 15, 2017 04:00
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 Liam Rochay AKA Claymation Liam, despite suggesting the celebratory drinks, doesn’t participate much himself besides a little bit of whiskey. Both because he doesn’t want to contribute to the drunk Irish stereotype and because he tends to get a bit… flighty when alcohol gets involved. And when Liam gets flighty, he gets mischievous; horseshoe over the door, salt over the shoulder, make sure the kids aren’t changelings mischievous. Still, it’s good to hang out and let loose with the others after such an inspiring day. And what inspiration! The minute Liam gets back to his studio, he starts planning. It’s been a few weeks since he had a proper commission, there not being much call for pop art sculptures of Lady Liberties made out of tires or oak trees constructed entirely of bone in recent months. After the day’s events though, Liam is prepared to get a bit traditional. Although a bit to soon to start merchandising, it isn’t to soon to start raising their profile (and if he gets some solid reviews with these pieces, Liam might be able to hire himself to create and model the teams own merchandise in the future). With that in mind, he settles on making about 3 types of sculpture with 10 runs each, one for each separate engagement. He’ll keep a copy for himself as portfolio work and send another set off Slugger, to be installed at their base. The other 8 will be sold off to cape groupies at exorbitant prices, with all the precedes going onto charity (minus materials and labour. This is his job after all.) It might even be possible to sell a copy to each bank that was robbed for an even larger amount, especially if they’re looking for a bit of publicity. Nothing says public good will like a donation to charity and a sculpture of some bad guys getting their teeth kicked in. quote:Roughly 50cm in height, the statue portrays something akin to a reverse human pyramid. The hero known as Slugger is standing at the bottom of the pyramid and on his elongated arms stand three figures. His team-mates, Claymation and Akela stand with the known super-villain Bada-Boom trapped between them. Standing on top of those three, in various states of dishevelment, are a number of gangsters. The sculpture indicates that the gangsters are held in this position by what appears to be compacted earth, forcibly joining hands to feet. The various faces and fiddly bits are a bitch to get right initially, but thankfully Liam can cheat. After doing the first set, he makes a variety of moulds and transmutes the hard plastic into water, before applying it directly to the moulds. When it turns back, hours of work is replicated in just a few minutes. quote:The central feature of this piece is the motorbike, lovingly hand-crafted in steel and plastic. The design is based off of BRAD!s signature bike. The bike appears to be ramping off of the super-villain Ten-Ton Tony, who’s face has been severely impacted by the front wheel. The heroes Bleedin’ Nora and BRAD! Are driving said bike. Nora is pelting the unfortunate Tony with her special home made brand of hard candy. BRAD! Is breathing fire. The bike is also breathing fire. Liam doesn’t know anything about bikes, but his younger brother Donald is a complete lug nut. Still, it took a lot of convincing to get Donald to take his bike apart to get a good look at all the details. After the first one is made though, it’s a cinch to recreate. quote:The sculpture represents the hero known as The Suit in several forms. Holding The Suit next to them by hand, each version represents some aspect of the heroes power. One version is a simple rendition of The Suits main costume, next to that is a copy of The Suit in full bone armour. Prospective buyers should note that this is cattle bone. The third The Suit is in star-field form and the fourth, in Bio-armour. Captured and held inside their circle is the super-villain Mickey Carozzo. He appears to be choking. The star field is easy enough to do with coloured glass, but the bone armour was drat fiddly. Liam couldn’t make moulds for that stuff and instead had to turn large chunks of bone into clay and shape it directly. The Suits suit was also hell to do; you’ve never had to sew until you’ve had to sew for a man only a few inches tall 10 times over. Still, the effect was worth it. Now the worst part of the art process; would anyone buy it?
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Apr 15, 2017 23:13
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 Vincent Scarfo/The Suit The next few weeks were a blur for Vinnie, when he wasn't learning from the CHESS instructors on how to develop his skills of observation and deduction, he was either on the phone with his mom or Rico's mom, or at the jail trying to keep Rico's spirits up. "Look Rico, I need the name of the bookie, if you want your family to give him some money to get him off your back? You okay in here? You need something mailed in?" "No Aunt Ermina, you can not go to the D.A's office and make him understand Rico is a good boy. They caught Rico at the bank." "Mom, I know, I know, I should have looked the other way, I didn't think fast enough. That guy nearly beat me. Yeah I know Autn Ermina isn't sleeping. Yeah I know mom, I know, you aren't sleeping right either." "No Rico, you have to just wait this out, maybe your lawyer can draw this out past the election, and the attorney will not need your conviction anymore." The same conversations over and over, and if Rico hadn't given him a name yet, at least it probably meant Rico hadn't told anyone about Vinnie's secret. Throw in some minor things as The Suit, and he was getting stretched pretty thin. The best thing was Claymation, Slugger, and Nora seemed to be getting most of the press. And the base in the basement of the grocery store was working out so far. . .
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Apr 16, 2017 04:25
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 Bleedin' Nora Walker Nora spends her downtime enjoying her newfound fame making public appearances. For the first time in decades, she can be the center of attention, and she's taking advantage of her position by wandering around the area, telekinesing cats out of trees and yelling at the kids selling assorted drugs on the street corners. While she does succeed in running the kids off the corner temporarily, but her angry ranting likely doesn't have any lasting effects, but it makes her feel better. She also sends a message to Isaac via her communicator, which is the absolute peak of her expertise with the horrible thing. pre:NORA: "isaac can you take a look at my cane? i feel like it doesnt work like it should, and you know stuff with gems right?" Go RV! fucked around with this message at 05:05 on Apr 18, 2017 |
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Apr 17, 2017 05:44
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Isaac and Nora Isaac's new goggles work perfectly, though the CHESS liason made it clear that, as one of the few living experts on Atlantean technology, Akela's skills would be called upon sometime in the near future. Due to the expedience with which he was able to get ahold of that Atlantean stylus, he can still squeeze in a second invention. It only takes a few hours for Akela to adjust the psionic conduit in Nora's cane, all non-technological psionic devices created on Earth are descended from Atlantean traditions, and even filtered through thousands of years of bastardization, the ancient wizard can still find familiar thaumaturgic patterns. Nora's public appearances go well enough, and she soon finds herself serving as the team's mascot, of sorts. Few take her seriously as a superhero in her own right, but instead see her as a wholesome, friendly face for a group that might otherwise appear downright sinister. (Isaac has one invention, and may be able to swing a second, depending on what he's willing to owe to score the ingredients. Nora has earned a Charisma roll.) Slugger and BRAD! A few hours' travel sees The Slugger safely to New York, where he meets with Dr. Grant. In the lab at Columbia, Slugger is made to summon various quantities of plastic, expand his limbs, and so on. After a few days of collecting data, the doctor shares his theories with the hero. "It seems your powers rely on tapping into parallel dimensions. The phrase has taken on a few different meanings, now that interdimensional travel is a reality, but I'm not referring to alternate Earths. I'm referring to dimensions that are, in a sense, superimposed over our own, but slightly out of sync in a way that can't be properly represented in three dimensions. One of the original goals of the Large Hadron Collider was detecting them, if they existed. A handful of metahumans are capable of perceiving these "higher" dimensions, but you're the first person I'm aware of who can directly interact with them. Somehow, you're drawing on them, and using them to alter various physical and temporal properties. However, the real question is, how are you able to do all this? As of right now, I don't have a good answer for that. But this is a first step in understanding your abilities. I'll keep in contact, let me know if you find anything on your own." With this, he thanks Slugger and lets him head home for the time being, perhaps with more questions than answers. Leaving the store to BRAD! turns out to have been exactly as good an idea as it sounded on paper. By the time The Slugger has returned, all the smokes, booze, and adult materials have been moved to the front of the store, Debbie is being temporarily filled-in for by a guy named Mike (apparently she refused to come in until Slugger had returned after the first day, apparently unimpressed by BRAD!'s winning personality), and worst of all, the cereal aisle was completely out of order. Slugger's perfect, orderly world had been consumed by chaos with merely one week's absence. Further investigations into his powers may take even longer. He'd have to make some difficult decisions soon. BRAD!'s various appearances go about as well as can be expected, but he made some money from it. Turns out people will pay a premium just to meet a new superhero, even one as shady as BRAD! However, he gets a number of inexplicable requests to see him breathe fire, "like on the statue". Being a carny, rather than a circus performer, his one attempt to satisfy the request with a bottle of gin and a lighter ended with a stern talking-to from the local fire chief. (BRAD! has a modest amount of cash in his pocket now.) Claymation Liam's sculptures do moderately well, though a few people get the wrong idea about BRAD!'s powers. There's also a brief, violent run-in with some Carozzo Family thugs. They're easily dispatched, but it's clear that it was a warning, rather than a sincere attempt to harm the hero. Apparently, according to the goons, Mickey didn't appreciate his depiction. By the end of the month, the only surviving copies of The Suit's statue were those still in Liam's possession. (Liam has earned the group 500 experience.) The Suit Rico gives up his bookie almost immediately, a guy named Johnny Chicarelli, or Johnny Chick for short, who works out of a no-name bar downtown, running numbers for the Carozzos. He wouldn't be hard to lean on, but with his recent training from CHESS, Vincent finds out that Johnny Chick's one of the most popular guys in the neighborhood. The Suit could try to put the screws to the guy, but he'd might have to beat down an entire bar full of normal citizens trying to defend their pal, which wouldn't be great for his image. On the other hand, Vincent could try a more subtle strategy, going incognito to gather information, or waiting for Johnny Chick to be alone and vulnerable. Aside from Isaac, busy inventing, and Slugger, busy putting his store and life back together, the rest of the team is available, if Vincent thinks they could help him out. (You've got a choice to make, decide how you're going to put the squeeze on the bookie. The rest of the team is free to react or do whatever while this plot thread is handled.)
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Apr 18, 2017 02:58
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Vincent Scarfo/The Suit Vinnie will go the incognito route, try to gather information for the lawyers to use. I'll fill in the rest of the team, and if any are willing to help with the incognito fact gathering Vinnie would be grateful. Vinnie's text to the team: Hey guys, if anyone has time to watch Johnny Chicarelli down at Brick City Bar and Grill, I would appreciate it. He is a bookie for the Cardazzo's, and is the guy my cousin owes money too. If we can gather some evidence on him, maybe the DA will go easy on my cousin. Also, could this interface be any older? Is this from the 80's? Vinnie will spend time at the Brick City Grill, buy a few drinks for patrons that always seem to be there, and listen for anything that can help the DA charge and arrest Johnny Chick. Mykkel fucked around with this message at 18:35 on Apr 18, 2017 |
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Apr 18, 2017 03:38
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Joe Obasi/Slugger Slugger feels numb on the train ride back to Newark. He sits next to the window, staring out from under his baseball cap as the buildings slide by, but it is his reflection that he was staring at. He made the classic blunder. Hoping. Perhaps the most perplexing thing is, he didn't even realize he was hoping that there would be some sort of resolution at the end of this, until there wasn't. He knows the hope was there because of its absence now. Alternate dimensions. Did it feel good to have his theories confirmed by someone else? He wraps his jacket a little tighter around himself, curling up slightly. No, it didn't. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M35M2iNCB1c The store was the first stop. He isn't ready to go back to his apartment yet. The keys clatter and clink in his hands - he finds the entrance to the store in complete anarchy. The feel of the place is wrong now. He isn't surprised - the magazines, the cigarettes, the chaos on the shelves. He grinds his teeth anyway. Just something is expected, that didn't make it any better. He tosses his jacket and hat onto the counter - the jacket falls onto the floor. He doesn't care. He walks through the chaos to the bathroom, and splashes his face with cold water, his head hanging low over the sink. How are you able to do all this? He shakes his head in a vain attempt to get the question out of his head. Instead the question bounces around his mind, setting off new thoughts, memories, questions. He looks up at his reflection, shutting the faucet off with a smack that threatened to tear the whole thing out of its mounting. The basement - he gets there quickly. The natural shame and unease from being treated like an experiment, of being measured and quantified and qualified... Mixed with the intense frustration that it didn't get him any closer to figuring out [i[what[/i] he was. The basement was mostly clear now, waiting for the arrival of their equipment. At that moment Slugger just lets go. He blankets the room around him in a layer of plastic, giving a shout of frustration. He forms a big pile of it - and smashes it with a haymaker that connects with a crack that rattles dust from the ceiling. He stretches out as far as he can, arms and legs distending till they reached from one end of the room to the other. He pushes against the walls, against the bedrock, muscles continuing to bulge and pop. Then he tries to swell his chest - his arms come springing back to their normal size. As though there was more of him - his head swells up, as his legs retract back. Always, the more he tries to stretch one part of his body another snapped back into place. Time speeds up around him, making his movements even more unnatural. He is breathing heavily from his exertion. He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath - What are you? He remembers his reflection. The voice in his head asking the question is his own. He opens his eyes, almost expecting to see a copy of himself staring back. To see himself... Slugger thinks to the one power he hadn't shared with anyone. Not the team, not the doctor. A power he kept hidden. The ability to see things. He grips his head, not sure what he's doing. If it's a good idea - or if it is even possible. He closes his eyes - perhaps, if he looked... When his eyes open again they are blue, luminous - he sees the world as it is going to be. He sees himself, staring straight back. He'll walk over there in a few seconds, and turn around. Then look into the future again. The future him from 6 seconds in the future was looking at the future him from 12 seconds in the future who was looking at the future him from 16 seconds in the future who was looking at himself from 24 seconds into... The world seems to spark and shimmer, as his mind stretches to accommodate what was happening. He realizes that it's too late to go back now - even as the world seems to pull away around him, as he tries to turn his future sight back on himself, arcsecond by arcsecond with each iteration. To take this multidimensional sight and see what he really looked like. He feels his body going weak - as though time were passing, but that wasn't possible. As soon as the vision started it ended - as the future him he was looking at turned back with a motion of his hand, spoke with the voice of infinite future probability, relating what the last of him had seen. Summoning forth a mental construct of plastic, which had been passed back from a future that could never occur. Because it meant that Joseph already knew what the answer was when he started. 
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Apr 18, 2017 21:43
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BRAD! the Living Skeleton BRAD!, upon Slugger's return, doesn't feel ashamed exactly. There is a bad feeling, right down in the pit of his stomach, somewhere between disappointment (in what, he's not sure) and worry for his friend. Something is eating at Slugs, that's for sure, but all BRAD! knows about dealing with that kind of thing is booze, and plenty of it. Vincent's problem is one he feels a lot better equipped to deal with. Hang around in a bar, look at a dude, have a few beers with some barflies. That's easy. BRAD! makes sure he takes his People Pills and let's Vincent know that he's ready to help out. What Vincent sees when they meet is a guy north of forty years old, who, if he didn't have a long straggly goatee, a greasy ponytail, the beginnings of a paunch and a life of hard partying behind him, may have once been something approaching... well, not good-looking, but presentable. Maybe. If you put some decent clothes on him, and not the ripped and stained denim that he usually wears. BRAD! is helping out Vinnie
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Apr 19, 2017 08:36
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Liam Rochay AKA Claymation For Liam, it wasn’t a bad haul for a few days work. And ever better, it’s sure to make some orphans very happy. Or people stuck in a hospice. Or abandoned pets. Or… well at any rate, it was given to charity. Liam might not have been sure which charity it had gone to, but it was definitely charity in some form. Shame about The Suit sculptures, but at least the team would have the private one version in Sluggers basement. Speaking of Vinnie, he was still having a bit of trouble with the Carozzo family; still feeling a little bit bitter at his work being destroyed and lacking any other inspiration or call to action, Liam decided to also lend a hand to his team mate. Sure. I’m ready to lend a hand if you need it. I’ll keep my communicator on, don’t be surprised if you don’t recognise me. Fair warning given, and a quick chat to Charlotte, an older sister of his with a bit of a punk side, Liam equipped himself with some appropriate attire. The Fey magic that protected his identity as Claymation should also prevent anyone making the connection between the 7 foot tall hero, and the 7 foot tall social drinker. The goons that had tried something outside of his studio may have run into him as Liam, but that was in full work gear. The change in clothing should be enough to remain inconspicuous for long enough to get some information.
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Apr 19, 2017 22:03
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 Isaac Hennessy/Akela the Shimmering pre:ISAAC: Alright your cane is 100% fixed and ready to go You want me to drop it off or are you gonna come by? He'd think it over. He could afford to waste a few hours watching TV or something. [Yes, like all true heroes, too afraid of a little responsibility to make anything of himself. Personally, I find your dreams stupid, but you're clearly committed to this senseless attention-seeking. If you're going to do something, do it right. I will not tolerate half-measures.] Isaac takes a deep breath and tamps down the anger. He hated to admit it but Akela had a point. With a wave of his hand, he pulls the wizard robes out of their pocket dimension and starts clearing space for them on the table. They were a little ragged around the edges, a little dull; all the magic had run out of them a long time ago. Still, he liked the "faded glory" look to them, and he had an idea on how to recover them. Wards. Draw the right lines on these robes and they'd be tougher than body armor. Invention vs 156: 72 Dachshundofdoom fucked around with this message at 18:54 on Apr 23, 2017 |
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Apr 22, 2017 05:12
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Isaac Akela had little difficulty etching the necessary runes onto his robe to ensure they provided adequate protection, but were themselves prevented from being damaged in battle. Replenishing the energy in the protective wards would be a simple enough matter, but if he had to repair the robe, he'd need the stylus again, to replace any damaged symbols. Fortunately, due to cloth's flexibility, indestructibility runes applied to it consume so little energy that they'll last basically forever. On returning the stylus, the CHESS liason asks no questions, simply assuring Isaac that they'll be in touch. They'd only specified a time to return the stylus, so Akela was taking no liberties by using it for multiple purposes while he had it. Slugger Slugger's attempts to observe his own powers more closely bore little fruit. There were times when he could perceive things moving in directions that human language cannot articulate, faintly, as though in his peripheral vision, though he wasn't seeing with his eyes. However, the sensation did little but disturb him, he was no closer to figuring out his powers than he had been on his way back from Columbia. However, his experiments were not without cost. His store shelves were in disarray, as his attention shifted away from maintaining the store. If he didn't find some way to balance things out, his orderly life could crumble around him. Then again, considering what he's learning about himself, perhaps resigning himself to the chaos would be easier. A decision would have to be made, either way. Everyone else Vincent, BRAD!, and Liam made their way to the bar, insinuating themselves into the crowd. This wasn't especially difficult, neither BRAD! nor The Suit were recognizable in their mundane, human forms, and Liam's identity was secured by the Sidhe magic in his blood. Johnny Chick was a hale, talkative fellow, surprisingly likable, for someone working for the Carozzo Family. It was almost trivially easy to collect evidence for the DA. However, Vincent's problems weren't solved quite so easily. As the DA explains, for a minor illegal gambling charge, Johnny would almost certainly choose to do the time rather than turn state's evidence. However, the DA reminds Vincent that superheroes have special investigative dispensation. That is to say, they can search someone's home without a warrant. It's likely that Johnny Chick has at least some information that could lead up the ladder to a big enough fish for the DA to let Rico go. On the other hand, Johnny might be willing to talk, if he thought his life were in danger. While the gang's initial investigation showed that he was above-board, if someone were to make it look like he was skimming on the family before hauling him in, he'd know he was marked, and spill everything he knows just to get as far away from New Jersey as possible. It's unlikely it would do much to save his life at that point, but it might prove more expedient than rifling through his stuff. However, any long-term decision-making would have to go on the back burner, as the team gets a call, roughly a month and a half into their time as superheroes. As the group gathers around their crime computer, the face of Captain Valentino appears on the screen, looking more than a little flushed with anger. "Hey, Other Guys, time to get yer asses in gear. The Track & Field Gang just rolled into town. Find out what they're doin' here and apprehend 'em, capisce?" The Track & Field Gang, as everyone knows, is a group of athletics-themed supervillains known mainly for disrupting sporting events. There aren't any major events scheduled in the near future, so their purpose in Newark is a mystery. According to the files sent by the captain, their whereabouts are also a mystery, they've yet to make a move since they were first spotted in town. The only lead is a student at Rutgers Law, who saw them while stumbling home from a frat party with the kids from NJIT. (Alright, now you got a proper adventure. As an aside, if you haven't at least taken a cursory look at Newark on Google Maps, now might be a good time, particularly the area around the locations I name. I'm leaving it up to you guys to figure things out. Feel free to act as a group, or split up, as needed. Now, since this is something that'll take a while to percolate, you have off-hours, during which you can progress your subplots, get some work done on another invention, or whatever other personal matters you want to attend to that aren't restricted to downtime.)
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Apr 24, 2017 02:11
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Joe Obasi/Slugger Slugger wakes up the next morning with a murderous headache, and it takes a while for his eyes to refocus. He'd passed out on the concrete floor of the basement, it was almost time for the store to open. He mutters to himself angrily, deciding never to try that particular trick again. He rushes upstairs and quickly reorganizes the entrance at least, moving the magazines, cigarettes and alcohol to more seemly places. He tells his employees that he's still feeling under the weather from his doctor visit and he finally heads back to his apartment to take a shower, rest and ponder what he had seen in a more calm manner. It was clear that throwing himself altogether at this problem wasn't going to work. It was going to take a long time to figure out what secrets he holds. All he was doing going down the road he went last night was losing himself, becoming so obsessed it consumed him. That wasn't going to be good for anyone, least of all him. He needed to find balance. He grabs his communicator and starts planning out a schedule. He would start tomorrow, and see if this balance worked out. He would try to integrate part of his training schedule with restocking and cleaning the store after closing hours. 5:30am-6:30am - Morning Physical Training 6:30am-7:00am - Opening the Store/Breakfast 7:00am-11:00am - Working/Managing the Store 11:00am-1:00pm - Midday Training and Lunch 1:00pm-5:00pm - Flex-Time (Store Management/Crime Fighting) 5:00pm-9:00pm - Crime Fighting and Miscellaneous Training 9:00pm-10:00pm - Store Rearrangement/Time Power Training 10:00-5:30pm - Personal Time/Sleep He would see how this schedule worked out. He might have to promote one of his employees to an afternoon manager to take care of things when he wasn't around, but it was a start. ====== When he reads the files about the Track and Field Gang he cocks his head slightly. He imagines in his mind the area where they were spotted in. The only thing that seemed to make sense... "The Golden Dome Athletic Center and Alumni Field are in that area. Seems as good a place to start as anything. I'll go look around, see if I spot anything. Maybe the gang is looking to disrupt practice for one of the bigger teams, for some reason?"
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Apr 24, 2017 04:56
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Bleedin' Nora "Hmmph. How are we supposed to know? I suppose the first thing is to talk to the kid, though I doubt he's gonna be very useful for details if he was coming back from a frat party." She thinks for a second. "Do you think they're here to watch a Highlanders game?" she asks, dryly. charisma increase roll: 1d20 3. Definitely not.
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Apr 24, 2017 05:00
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Liam Rochay AKA Claymation Claymation spends a quick moment mentally going through the area. "You have got the Golden Dome and Alumni Field over there, but you've also got the Bear and Eagles Stadium up near the river only a short hop away. Plus a lot of parks, and also the usual fair of Super-villain targets. Maybe we should split up." He suggests, briefly explaining himself. "We can have a heavy hitter at each of the Gangs preferred targets, while the others do a drag-net over the area and question the kid. If the Gang shows up where they would be expected, whoever is stationed there can hold them off while the others arrive. If they pop out elsewhere, enough of us are out and about that we can get a response up fairly quickly. Just because they prefer to disrupt sporting events doesn't mean they are this time."
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Apr 24, 2017 22:39
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Joe Obasi/Slugger "Agreed. I'll hang around the Golden Dome and see if anything is suspicious."
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Apr 24, 2017 23:23
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Isaac Hennessy/Akela the Shimmering "How about I talk to the frat bro? If I ask him to visualize what he saw as clearly as he can, I can just read his mind with a garnet and see it for myself. If anybody is gonna notice anything of value in his mental pictures, it'll be the guy with the crystal brain. Then I'll go to wherever he saw them and see if there's any evidence or changes from the mind picture." Isaac pauses, then taps something else into the text-to-speech box. "Okay not TALK to the frat bro technically but you know what I mean."
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Apr 25, 2017 05:35
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BRAD! the Living Skeleton BRAD! sends off a message to Vincent "Hey buddy! When we get time, you want me to get into this bookie's house, dig around a little bit, see what's there? Do it at night and I can stick to the shadows.". To the rest of the group, he sends: "I'm happy to hang around outside whichever sports venue you guys want. I'm good with lurking, and shadows".
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Apr 25, 2017 12:06
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Vincent Scarfo/The Suit Vinnie responds to BRAD!'s text, "Thank you, I'm pretty sure I would be terrible at sneaking into a house. I got caught by my mom everytime I tried to sneak out of the house as a kid." To the rest of the group, "I'll go to the Bear and Eagles stadium." Vinnie tries to bring up the profiles of the Track and Field Gang on this communicator, it would help to understand as much as the police knew about them before getting into a fight. At least, that's what the Chess instructor said. And it would give him something to do while hanging out in the area of the stadium.
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Apr 25, 2017 13:42
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Liam Rochay AKA Claymation "Yeah, that could work Isaac. And if The Suit and Slugger are looking after the juiciest targets, then the three of us who are left can do some foot work and patrol a little. I call Washington Street; It passes right by Rutgers Law School, and the Golden Dome and The Stadium are on opposite ends of it. Hmm, I think we've got a good plan. The only other thing I can think of is how loud do we want to be? I've got a pretty good "real life" cover I can use to patrol if we don't want to tip anyone off. They won't know we're coming that way, but on the other hand we wouldn't be able to talk to civilians or what have you without losing the element of surprise."
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Apr 25, 2017 23:21
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Vincent Scarfo/The Suit "Well, I'll stay powered down until we find them, since me asking questions will probably not turn out well."
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Apr 26, 2017 01:02
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Joe Obasi/Slugger "I'll scout around in costume. I shouldn't stick out too much at the baseball field anywhere."
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Apr 26, 2017 03:05
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(First off, here is a dossier you guys were sent, compiled primarily by CHESS analysts, describing the current Track & Field Gang.) Most of the team The investigation and stakeout turns up relatively little evidence, though what the team finds raises some very interesting questions. In the Golden Dome, there's evidence that the gang had spent the night, but the battered corpse of a Carozzo Family goon, stuffed haphazardly into a locker, suggests a larger confrontation that went unnoticed. Apparently, whatever the Track & Field Gang wants, the Carozzo Family is involved. Enough low-level mooks are known quantities that the team could find a couple to put the screws to, find out what's going on, or they could try a more subtle approach, if they want to avoid tipping anyone off. Slugger Slugger is off by himself, keeping an eye out on the Golden Dome after finding the evidence a few hours prior, when a Isaac/Akela The college student is more than happy to tell Isaac everything he knows, which is essentially nothing, but Akela gets a good, long look into his memories as he recounts them. Akela sifts through thoughts about that cute pre-med student who in retrospect was making eyes at him and he totally should have made a move, stupid stupid stupid, and moves on to more relevant thoughts. He gets a blurry image that's still unmistakably the Track & Field Gang, though dozens of yards off. Even in a druken stupor, the kid had had the prescience to duck behind a tree as soon as he realized what he was looking at. Even at that distance, the student managed to barely overhear a few words. "Tomorrow night". "drat Carozzos". "Holdin' out". "Be the best again". Unfortunately, unless Akela has some particular interest in the social anxieties of a neurotic twenty-something (and why would he, given he lives inside one), that's all the useful information the student has. BRAD! While keeping an eye out in the vicinity of the Bear and Eagle Stadium, BRAD! spots someone keeping an eye on him. They're way off in the distance, but he can still feel their gaze. He can't tell their identity past their motorcycle helmet, but as soon as he looks their way, they hop on their motorbike and take off, leather jacket ruffling in the wind. BRAD!'s no expert on motorbikes, but as a hobbyist, he could tell that it's a model designed for motocross, rather than a chopper like his baby. He'll probably recognize it if he sees that model again.
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Apr 26, 2017 06:21
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Joe Obasi/Slugger He tilts his head back to look down at the frisbee that hit him, reaching down when he sees the note. He reads it slowly, the thinnest of grins spreading across his face, before he pulled up his communicator, "I just got a message from the Track and Field Gang. The Umperor wants to throw down with me tonight in Nat Turner Park. Alone. I'll take him up on that offer. They might try to ambush me, or they may be using this as cover for something else, so we'll have to be vigilant." Then he will look in his Complimentary Superhero Handbook and see if there is a chapter on this situation. He follows the instructions to the letter, contacting the local police and informing them of a rival fight tonight at Nat Turner Park, with confirmed supervillain requesting one-on-one combat against a superhero and for civilians to be kept clear of the proceedings. Then he will walk back home and start doing research and prepping for the fight, pouring over the dossier. Olympic physical prowess wasn't so much of a problem, but the Umperor could still keep up with his wits and intelligence. Combined with his ability to warp reality, that could be a truly troublesome opponent. Endurance and trickery would be the key. The full extent of Slugger's powers are mostly unknown, he would need to use that. Be unpredictable, be tenacious and wear down the mutant powers. Like the People's Champ. When he was satisfied with his preparations he stopped by the store and went through his usual closing routine, arriving at Nat Turner Park around 11:00pm, since there hadn't been an actual time specified anywhere. He'll make his way through the park toward the track, figuring that was the most likely place for his opponent to be waiting. He summons a baseball bat and lays it across his shoulders, clearly in no rush for this.
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Apr 27, 2017 20:42
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Vincent Scarfo/The Suit Vinnie walks into the Dunkin Donuts on Springfield ave at 10:45 pm that evening, picks out 2 glazed donuts and a coffee and eats them as slowly as possible over the next 14 minutes. He will leave the store at 10:59 and start walking towards Nat Turner park, waiting for a call from Slugger, or a dispatch from the Police if this was a diversion.
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Apr 27, 2017 21:08
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BRAD! the Living Skeleton BRAD! finishes his beer and rises from his bar stool. He winks at the young woman who was seated beside him, despite the fact she'd turned her back on him some time ago after whatever it was he said to offend her. Exiting the bar, he starts walking towards Nat Turner Park, slipping into his shadow form a safe distance away. Just gonna slip in quietly with nobody the wiser. I'm sure Slugger can take this weirdo, but it's always good to have an ace up your sleeve. And goddamn, I'm a hell of an ace!
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Apr 27, 2017 21:46
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Isaac Hennessy/Akela the Shimmering Isaac had spent a few minutes considering his options and come to one conclusion: he wasn't that great at hiding, or at moving fast for that matter. He'd probably do more harm than good if he tried hanging around the park. Besides, with at least 3 people headed there already, he was reasonably confident they wouldn't need any more backup. At this point, he was more curious about the Track and Field Gang's apparent feud with the Carozzos. And since that dovetailed nicely with helping Vincent get Rico off, he'd decided it was time for a little legal breaking-and-entering. He pulls out the communicator. pre:ISAAC: Hey Suit, I think I'm gonna see about that Johnny Chick dude's house tonight He's a Carozzo and we already have a reason to be looking at them I figure we might be able to kill two birds with one stone Find some evidence and figure out what the T&F dudes' beef is with them Nora, you up for it too? If he's home you might be able to just read his mind
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Apr 28, 2017 08:13
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Bleedin' Nora Nora attempts to use the crime computer for a few minutes before getting frustrated. "Isaac, would you give me a hand here? I want to track down some Carazzo mooks, but I don't know how to use this damned thing." She sits down in a nearby chair before continuing. "One of these goons must know something, or have overheard something. It shouldn't be too hard to find some information in their heads. Nothing spreads like bad news, you know."
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Apr 28, 2017 23:22
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Liam Rochay AKA Claymation "Looks like we have most things handled. With The Suit and BRAD! backing up Slugger you shouldn't need much more help. If Isaac and Nora are go for reading some Carazzo Goons minds, I'll stay up and patrol the area. Just in case the meeting at Nat Park is supposed to be a distraction. I'll stay close by though, so if you need a fourth pair of hands you can message me."
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Apr 28, 2017 23:28
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Isaac/Akela It's not too difficult to break into Johnny Chicarelli's apartment, turns out the lock's already busted, likely a result of poor maintenance rather than deliberate effort, by all appearances. The bookie's not home, fortunately, giving the two-in-one terror ample opportunity to rummage around for evidence. They find some ledgers pointing to Carozzo gang members higher on the chain than Johnny, and directly implicating them in the illegal gambling operation, but if he knows anything about what the Track & Field Gang wants, he didn't write it down. Slugger, The Suit, and Claymation Slugger makes it to the park, with a significant portion of the Newark PD forming a perimeter, as well as The Suit and BRAD! keeping an eye on him, and Claymation waiting in the wings. And there, he waits for The Umperor to appear. And he waits. And waits... BRAD! While keeping an eye on the park, BRAD! once again gets the feeling that he's being watched. Now aware of his mystery observer, he can make an illusory double of himself before shifting into his shadow form, in order to watch the watcher. The motorcyclist is just standing there, watching. It looks like they might be reluctant to make whatever move they're planning on. BRAD! could wait it out, or try to get the drop on them. Nora It takes a little bit, but Nora finds a few local Carozzo goons, with help from the crime computer's digital assistant, Crimey. After the first few minutes, he appeared, a police badge with googly eyes, and said, "It looks like you're trying to canvass some local thugs. Would you like help?" He quickly pointed out some nearby mooks, and Nora was off. Her telekinesis made it a simple matter to immobilize the first one she found, lifting him into the air. While he was still in shock, she relieved him of his gun, and had a quick peek inside his mind. Apparently, an important shipment was arriving in Port Newark, right on the Elizabeth Channel, and everyone's on edge, because the Track & Field Gang wants it. It was due to arrive at around midnight. It's presently 11:15. (Not gonna make you roll to read this guy's mind, since you have a pretty decisive advantage. Whatever BRAD! decides to do will happen before Nora's gotten her info. Also, your communicators have a pretty huge range, so Nora will have no problem warning everyone, assuming she can work the darn thing.)
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Apr 29, 2017 20:55
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Bleedin' Nora "Ah, piss." After a few minutes of trying to remember how the damnedable thing worked, Nora was able to get the word out. pre:NORA: If you boys are done playing grabass, there's an important shipment at the docks in 45 minutes. T&F likely, as well as a sizable Carazzo presence. NORA: If you're going, don't charge in like idiots. Last thing we need is a fiasco.
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Apr 30, 2017 01:57
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Isaac Hennessy/Akela the Shimmering pre:ISAAC: I got that evidence on Johnny's bosses Didn't have anything about T&F but Nora's got it I'm heading there now, I promise not to charge in unless I really need to I'm headed for the Port as fast as I can.
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Apr 30, 2017 02:57
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Joe Obasi/Slugger He purses his lips as he reads his communicator, a suspicion confirmed. He speaks into the communicator with a slightly annoyed tone, "Figures, this seemed incredibly petty. I'll tell the police here what is going on and make my way over. BRAD! should be able to scout out the situation when we get there." Slugger puts the communicator back on his waist and jogs over to the nearest police vehicle, "My team has been keeping tabs, this appears to have been a distraction to cover for a different operation by the docks. Apparently the Carazzo's and Track and Field gang don't want outside interference in some sort of transaction there - our team will make our way there presently." Then he would start to make his way to the Docks, assuming no one tells him to stop. He'll give a lift to Claymation and BRAD! if asked.
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Apr 30, 2017 03:38
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Vincent Scarfo/The Suit Vinnie responds to Nora's Text, "Should we meet somewhere close to the docks, and go in as a group?" Vinnie will head for the nearest alley or dark corner where can he power up The Suit unnoticed, and not on camera.
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Apr 30, 2017 14:46
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Liam Rochay AKA Claymation "drat. Right, okay. We've only got a bit of time if we want to interfere with their meet. Can you carry me like last time Slugger?"
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Apr 30, 2017 23:26
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Joe Obasi/Slugger "On my way."
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May 1, 2017 02:07
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BRAD! the Living Skeleton BRAD! curses quietly, yet at some length, as he reads the message on the communicator. Decoys and diversions, huh? I can play that game, too. He writes a quick message to the others - Gonna be a little late, folks. Got some poo poo to deal with. Leave a couple of bad guys for me At an opportune moment, he concentrates and makes an illusory double of himself saunter out of the shadows as the real BRAD! sinks back into them. The double looks a little wobbly-legged, like there's a been more than just a coupe of beers had this evening, and BRAD! hopes that whoever the hell it is watching him might find this the right time to finally approach. Now we play the waiting game. I loving hate the waiting game Power: 53 - 4/round (APS Shadow Form) - 2/round (Illusory Duplicate) = 47 Captain Rehab fucked around with this message at 01:04 on May 3, 2017 |
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May 1, 2017 22:05
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Most of the gang It doesn't take especially long for the team to gather near the docks, with Slugger picking up Nora from near the store on the way. It was a lucky break for Isaac that Johnny's house was only a few blocks away. They're able to convene behind a warehouse, out of sight. They can see a number of Carozzo goons standing guard, forming a perimeter around one of the mooring points. A ship is already there, though it looks like it hasn't begun unloading yet. It's about half an hour to midnight, and some of the family's heavies have started arriving. "Hothead" Malone (fortunately his literal fireball of a head provides some lighting with which to view the others), "Thumps" Mackenzie, Ricky the Crab, Jimmy Two-Arms, it's like the whole crew showed up for this. It's around that point that the Carozzos themselves step into view, right behind their lieutenants. Looks like Mickey got to stay home, likely a punishment for his recent failure, but his brothers are present, as is their father, the don. None of the heroes can hear what's being said as the mobsters prepare to unload their shipment, but the Track & Field Gang are nowhere in sight. (Alright, you guys can choose to just observe for the moment, or you can try to intervene, but the latter option involves trying to take down dozens of henchmen and about ten supervillains, most of them level 5 and up. You can also work on more advanced recon tactics than "a stack of heads peeking out from behind a corner" or try other, more inventive options.) BRAD! BRAD!'s plan appears to be a rousing success, at first, the biker clearly hasn't noticed the deception. However, rather than approach, they seem to be indecisive. Now that he can get a little closer, BRAD! finally notices that his mystery observer is a woman, though her features are hidden under her helmet. Though, if her face matches her figure, she'd likely be a sight to behold. As a former carny, BRAD! was taught a few things about body language, and right now, it's pretty clear this lady doesn't want to hurt him. It appears more that she wants to talk to him, but is too nervous, probably doesn't know what to say. It wouldn't be difficult for BRAD! to approach and break the ice for her, if he was so inclined.
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May 3, 2017 22:08
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BRAD! the Living Skeleton BRAD! takes a moment and assesses the situation. If she was gonna pull something she probably would have done it by now. Probably just a fan. Wouldn't be the first time. Like that biker chick in New Brunswick. drat she was weird... BRAD! suppresses a nostalgic chuckle and calls out in a what passes for a reassuring tone. "Hey hon? Here's the deal - you want to talk, we can talk. You don't throw down with me and I won't pull any weird skeleton poo poo. Unless that's what you're into."
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May 3, 2017 23:49
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Liam Rochay AKA Claymation “Hmm. We can’t take them all on, and it would be a risk for all of us to sneak down there. The Suit, I think you’ve got the best chance of sneaking down there. Willing to risk it?”
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May 5, 2017 09:38
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| # ? Apr 27, 2024 02:33 |
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Bleedin' Nora "I'll give it a quick scan, while we're here. See what I can find." Nora closes her eyes, and reaches out with her telepathy, searching for any rogue surface thoughts that would be of use. Potential T&F members laying in wait, extra nervous mooks, and the general feel of the area.
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May 5, 2017 13:21
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