*Watches the exchange with interest, noting the webs within webs, and understanding a bit more of what is going on here.*
*gives Tessa a slight bow*
"I think you are good at flattery my dear Lady, but I appreciate it nonetheless. I forgot my manners, whom do I have the pleasure of meeting? I am Midnight, Shadow Warrior, I just arrived in this fair city within the last day. I do have to eat, and I am not above making social connections, I would have to get a dress stealth suit made." *Midnight voice and laughs a bit*
*nods to Mr. Little.*
"I do have one more and her minions to take care of here, Mr Morris, this would be a good time to leave with Mr Little, the good Lady, and the non existent, existent Council of Crime at least to the street, I will take point to make sure you make it there safely. Sophranic and I have some unresolved issues to work out. Mr Morris if you could make a call to the police, I think a paddy wagon or two is in order."
*Will help Mr. Little get the Council of Crime down and escort them all to the street before going back in to take care of Sophranic, but being mindful she might be waiting for us as well, so heading out as pointman, and ready to jump, hide, leap kick at a moment's notice.*
Jhiaxus
"Perhaps you are the one good at flattery. I have stood on snakes, and been chained in a dungeon, and been named Marchioness of Amnesty, the Lady Tessa, but all alone until I made a friend here to console me. And as long as you wear a mask, any suit will do, hero." Tessa says cryptically.
You and Mr. Little free the Councillors. He is strong and agile, and you see he has a number of tools in his pockets. He picks the lock on the chains with a small smile.
"So good to get back to basics." He murmurs.
You're aware that someone has climbed up on the ship, and Tessa makes a two hand symbol that looks like a walking high-heeled shoe so she thinks Sophraniac is with them.
*smiles*
"We all wear our masks, Lady Tessa, just like there is a hand that guides as all." *In his Midnight voice just as cryptically*
*watches Mr. Little, just like he was watching me before, studying him for possible battle in the future*
*makes a motion for Bob to escort Lady Tessa and the Crime Council back below decks, pointing at himself and Mr Little to hide and ambush them when they come in.*
*waits to see if Mr. Little understands*
Jhiaxus
He takes a spot for ambush behind a heavy electric motor, and mouths as he pulls out a tranq pistol.
"I'll take the goons. You take the diva."
The hatch to the hold opens, and you see Sophraniac behind a goon. She leans just past him and laughs. It echoes through the iron hull.
"Ever wonder why an opera singer who got hit by a meteorite chose an iron ship to hold her prisoners in? Because it makes an excellent tuning forkkkkkkkkkkkk...."
She sends the last letter into a rising crescendo, but stops well before her peak. The sound hits the walls, and sets them a tremble, and the noise shivers the air back at you so that you feel as if you're inside a giant bell. The sound slaps at you from all sides.
"Surrender now." The goon in the front says with his .45 out, and a smirk on his face.
*Thinks, I can't beat her at my current speed, and Mr Little is going to tranq the goon, so I don't really have the option to take him over, the first move he makes, he will be out of action, I am going to try to learn Haste a P4@0, Martial Art Maneauver (Yes the only one that translates to Psionic), my example will be the speed in Hackmaster Combatants book, for a 1@1, the effect it doubles your speed RS/5 minutes, must go back to normal speed for the amount of minutes you used it for. I should have a +100 from the power level difference, without anything else factored in*
*Once I hopefully do that, combine that with my leaping kick into the goon in front to knock him into her and her down, and then I will put my right hand on her throat to choke her out, I have a feeling Mr Little has to help me without fear of turning on me, because me letting go means Tessa and his friends are in danger. So that's my plan.*
"Before you go nighty night Sophraniac, two things Nautilus didn't turn on you, I possessed him, and that he loves you. Think about that when he comes to break you out of prison. Do not ever use your voice on me again, Nautilus can tell you the consequences of that." *In Midnight voice*
*Not killing her, just until she goes out, and then finding one of the goons belts to wrap tightly around her chest, so she can breath, but not to fill up her lungs to sing, tie her up with the rest. I will assume Mr Little has my back with the goons. I would stuff a sock down her throat, but I think a tranq shot after would be best.*
Jhiaxus
You focus your mind, and suddenly you're moving at double speed. Its strange how your feet touch the ground, just a little off from normal, and they attack. The thug shoots you in the outer edge of the left shoulder. It stings. Sophraniac screams, and it hits you.
You're instantly nauseated, and deafened.
The thug is still not down. He's coming back for another shot. You leap past him, and Sophraniac hits you full in the chest with the remainder of her scream. You feel like you've been put into a barrel with a hundred stones and rolled off the Niagra Falls. Blood's gushing in your throat.
Your hand closes around her throat, and she scrabbles futilely at your arm as you tell her of Nautlilus' love. For a second, she looks vulnerable. You see in her eyes a definite plan to use her voice on you again, soonest opportunity. It takes a few seconds as you choke her into unconsciousness, but she's not nearly as strong as you. Once you get into hand to hand range with her, she's toast.
A dart flashes past you, and the gunman to your left shoots over your shoulder. The gunman behind Sophraniac tries to shoot you so you're being shot at from the left and the right with stabbing lines of fire, but both miss. Sophraniac passes out.
The gunman to your left slumps. The gunman in front of you lines up for a head shot with an evil grin on his face.
*My autohealing should be kicking it, it's a constant ability*
*Smiles at the punk in front of me*
*will use 2@1 Steal Initiative B7@1, and 2@1 Solid Punch B7@3, and still under the effects of the Haste, will fight, muscle block, do whatever till the punks are down*
*A headshot doesn't concern me as much at 99% of the people out there, but I have no intention of letting someone do it if I can help it*
*going to assume I can knock him out, and I will show everyone, how through all that punishment, I keep going, and get better very fast*
*tying these punks up with silks and the plan for Sophraniac, with a silk over her mouth as well*
*Looks to Mr. Little*
"They are making me branch out, and reach into a new bag of tricks, let's get everyone to saftey and call the police to get these rabble. I will keep Sophraniac company until they come to make sure she doesn't get away."
*Nodding to the Council of Crime and Tessa as they go by, making sure they see the Eye of Odin when they do, but not Tessa, I avert that eye from her.*
Jhiaxus
You leap forward, and hit his cheekbone a grazing punch, and he chest shoots you as he falls back a pace, and you follow with a shoulder block that leaves him airborne for a full second before he crashes down flat on the deck.
You feel your body teetering in equillibrium. Part wants to heal, part wants to just fall down and whimper. You heal as you drop to your knees despite your wishes. You feel light-headed, parched, dazed, but the blood in your throat is gone. A few minutes pass, and you see Tessa helping Mr. Little up the ladder.
Mr. Little is standing straight through sheer willpower, and he looks as if he's not feeling his feet. He puts them down, very tentatively, and wobbles frequently. But his posture is still erect.
The Council of Crime members looks a bit beaten as does Morris. Tessa looks the best in health.
You're tearingly hungry, and lightheaded. Your clothes hang on you a bit loosely.
You and the rest make it to land, and Morris goes off to call for police.
((Another botch??? Jeesh, how much am I down to now?))
*sighs*
"That was fun, I have been beaten with a baseball bat twice, shot five or six times, screamed at by a super powered opera singer twice, dragged by a car, ran to jump onto the hood of said car, and plowed into a mailbox and broke my arm. I won't even mention the non existent, existent criminal organization. I guess I need a catch phrase at this point." *in Midnight voice*
*feeling starved*
"I need a steak, and potatoes, and pie, maybe I should make Bob spring for food for the rest of his story. So how was the opera? I figure we are going to be seeing a lot of each other, we should take this time to see if we have any hobbies, or anything else in common to make delightful banter as we build our relationship up." *In Midnight voice*
*To Tessa*
"I don't know how you propose to get me that invitation, but I have a feeling you won't have a hard time finding me. *Midnight voice*
*Waiting for Bob and the Police making sure Soph isn't going to do anymore singing tonight*
Jhiaxus
Not a botch. Just a bit of realism on my part. You can't rebuild major parts of your internal organs without cannibalizing your body. You've just lost seven pounds w/ a couple of them being muscle.
I think you came close to versing out.
And the screamer only hit you once....but you were hit at range and you kept on charging into the continuing scream. She got a whole turn while you were going across the hold and up to her to pound on you.
((She hit me earlier that day, I just checked there is 4x more potential energy in fat than muscle, but muscle burns 4x as many calories as fat, so if the body was needing quick energy the ratio would have been 4-1 Fat Vs Muscle. The way the room was described the first time, I was expecting a 20' x 20' room, and I chose a place to hide near the door. If the hold was bigger or I wasn't that close, I wouldn't have subjected myself to that kind of abuse for that long, I would have done something else. I was also expecting her to have some type of recharge time on her power after just using it. I am just saying next time this was a case of the GM and Player were not on the same page.))
*Above Conversation said*
*Tired, hungry, wait for the police to pick up the bad guys, for Mr Little, to take the Council of Boobs away, eat give Bob what he needs, retrieve the suit, go home, sleep, not worried about work, going to look for a 30 foot glass storefront with an apartment up above, and parking behind it. My plans are to get a sign to say Jujitsu Self Defense, and set the place up as a Dojo. I can work on my attributes and skills I am using out in the field all day, and get paid well to do so. Teach classes, do personal one on one sessions, and live above it. I will pay off/buy the sowing machine, and get fabrics to repair, take in the suit so it is form fitting, as well as silks to tie people up. I will also need to find a leather shop to get a duster tailor made, with extra loops and pockets on the inside. I figure if I am stuck here trying to figure out why my fiance is working for the bad guys, I will at least train and do something fulfilling during the day.*
Jhiaxus
Don't just need energy, but also vitamins, proteins, and minerals. Also, the major part of what you lost was water. I think I was going 3 water, 2 fat, 2 muscle.
Its my impression that holds on cargo ships tend to be huge, but its very possible I gave a wrong impression.
In any case, it was the right thing to do. You were inside something that seriously amplified her powers (+75% damage). You needed to take her down right now.
==========
The next day as the sign painter finishes up on the name...which you had to spell for him four times, a tall, athletic black man in a suit and tie steps into the shop.
"I'm always interested in various forms of 'self defense', but I'm afraid I've never heard of jujitsu. I know of savate, French kickfighting that is, and of course, the scientific boxing."
*I will order two pictures of water, and food that I know has that in em, as I give Bob what he needs to finish off his story.*
((I had in my mind a 20 by 20 room with a hatch, the card table, the cell a hole in the middle and the Council Hung above it in chains, with a ladder or steps down to the main hold which is where the water, Tessa and probably other cargo was, as I said it was a miscommunication, and it wouldn't have changed my plans much))
==========
*smiles and looks him up and down and make sure no one is around to invite him in*
"I am Jhiaxus, I just rented the shop and the apartment upstairs yesterday, haven't even put the add out in the yellow pages or newspaper yet. No one is that good. Shall I get a deck of cards, we could play some Blackjack."
*grins*
"You wouldn't at least as far as I know, it's probably a one of a kind martial art within a martial art. The physical moves are normal, you combine them with other factors, and it's true nature is revealed. I know a couple of others, but I do not know them well enough to sell my services in teaching them. I was going to work at the factory, but I figured if I am going to be here, I might as well have my day job doing something I love, and getting in shape and improving my skills."
*brings out a pitcher of water and two glasses*
"So did Countessa send you down to check me out or is there some other reason for the drop in? You will excuse me if I don't make direct eye contact, my one eye doesn't play well with others."
Jhiaxus
You have a large bowl of chicken noodle soup, and a side of two BLT double the tomato sandwhiches and your water as Bob eats a chicken fried steak with white gravy and drinks black coffee.
He takes notes, and makes a point of telling you where his office is, and his phone number is.
"Call me. I'm on your side, Midnight, Shadow Warrior. I'd like to see Mr. Big go away for hard time."
The next day...
He grins, and pulls out a deck. He deals you a pair of cards, you're busted. He's got 21.
"But I'm the one that's busted."
He scoops the cards with the ease of long practise, and takes the offered glass of water appreciatively.
"It will be a fine place you've got here. Thing is, Countessa doesn't usually talk, except when she does, and she's had a few guys hit on her, and so she made it known she was waiting for her guy, a Dr. Future."
*takes his number while eating the food*
"Good to know Bob, I've seen his type before, not one to make mistakes. He is the kind you have to keep needling, getting under his skin, and then he explodes. It's then when his world is falling apart around him, the chinks in his armor are revealed. I have no problem being that needle, and if Mr. Little's reaction was anything to take from, he was not amused. So tell me about his woman, she doesn't seem to be the evil type." *midnight voice*
===================
*Grins and smiles*
"You remind of of a fictional hero in comic books when I was a kid. All you would need is a staff, and you'd be him. As for being busted, I'm pretty good at thinking outside the box, tactically, and using what information I have to best use. With that being said, I have no problem training/teaching what I know to someone fighting the good fight, and wouldn't mind learning other martial arts myself."
*nods*
"Thanks, I really do want everyday people in here, learning how to defend themselves. Too many punks around. No she didn't talk to me either, but figuring out her secret, and having a general knowledge of what abilities she is using, it makes sense. Dr Future huh, very, very interesting. If you don't mind, a rundown of the bad guys here? Oh who came up the name Mystery Men? One of my favorite movies from the future."
*smiles*
Jhiaxus
"Comic books?
I'd be glad to try my savate against your jujitsu some time. Not today, tho'.
The A-Z Gang as we call them. Some of the first supervillains started it. Abductor, and Backstabber, and Cortex King, all of them out of business now, but the tradition stuck. Each villain uses a different letter of the alphabet, and as it happens, we've got twenty-six villains. You've met N and S already.
The papers call us Mystery Men, or crimefighters, or costumed adventurers. We are known as Mystery Men because we have mysterious powers, often not conventional science or even magic behind us. We can do things science says we should not be able to do."
He smiles and tosses his cards into the air. They assemble into the form of a man built of cards that mimics Blackjack completely. He quickly regathers them before the sign painter turns back.
"Now as to the players..."
NEXT POST....
"....Mr. Abra--who's got a magic wand, Red Bear--Communist shapeshifter, Captain Copperhead--He's always a 'pacifist' so he blows up police stations, Duke Demento--he makes people crazy, Evilillian--who thinks he's tough, Fast Forger--never been caught, very tricky, Gutpunch--ferocious brawler, Emperor Hadrian--claims to be a reincarnated Emperor Hadrian and wants to take over the world for the Roman Empire, Invisible Kid, Jack the Ripper, Kiteman--uses a flying kite to steal stuff, sometimes really large stuff, Lump--dumb as a lump of mud, and about as unstoppable as an avalanche, Lucky and Loser--pschyo who might do you a favor, or might shove you into traffic...he claims he's the servant of Lady Luck, and he's got two personalities, Marooned Martian--he's a Martian spaceman who got marrooned for trying to mutiny, Nautilus, Ooze...really unpleasant to fight, not sure what It is, Polecat--she's a tough, nasty fighter, and she's got some serious stench, The Quote...he's always 'tryng to create the defining moment and quote in a life' which means he does horrible things to people to see what they scream as the fall to their doom or something, Robberman--a thief, a very tough and rough thief with a lot of friends, he goes in for muggings and breakins, Sophraniac, The Tell...said to be the world's best gambler...by some who haven't met me, Underground King, Vendetta...he's magic somehow, some think he's a spirit of evil anger, Wavion...he's always trying to get back into time and space, but he keeps killing people trying to do so, and Zenith is the guy that tricked Wavion into the particle accelerator, and now uses it to create time stop fields."
*Grins*
"Well if my technology would work better or more often, I could show you, but for right now, think of monthly magazines featuring a superhero or team, usually in color."
*Nods*
"Makes sense that the papers made that up, speaking of the paper, need to pick one up and see what was written about Midnight."
*Grins as he sees Blackjack do his cardplay*
"Well you have convinced me to hone a set of powers, I usually create powers off the cuff, but they don't work regularly. I mean in a pinch something is better than nothing, but aside from my martial arts, and one or two abilities, everything else is a gamble."
*grabs a pad and pen to write down all the notes Blackjack is giving me*
"Thanks for that, I don't like the sound of a lot of them. So I should assume this visit was not only to gauge me, and me you, it was to give me what I am up against, and convince me to join the team, am I right?"
((As a note, yes I am sticking to the above, I am going to teach myself the following, and make them my "main skills". The making things off the cuff is mind wracking, especially when I want to stay here for awhile. The Skills I plan on making/working on Short Telepathic Hop P13@5, bonused to not being able to do anywhere that I cannot see, and bonused again for not being able to pass through solid objects, I would say a +20 for both, a P12@1 Danger Sense, a P7@4 Cryogenesis, all three of those new. I will work on my 1@4 Heavy TK P4@3, my 2@1 Possession P1@10, create a P1@4 Suggestion, create a 1@3 Telepathy to Humans, and Improve my Read Minds skill. All the body skills I worked on or created that night I will continue to work on, so those and the above will be my package, that I am looking to improve, work on in my offtime))
Jhiaxus
"There's not anything as formalized as a team, but some of us kind of look out for each other. I've been doing this longer than anyone on the Mystery Men side but the Blue Ace I think, and he's a loner, or as he puts it 'I prefer to let my bullets do the talking'. Of course,now that he's not in the War, he's using rubber bullets."
He fans out his cards and with a carny voice says 'Pick a card, any card.'
You pull out an eight of hearts.
"Lucky in love, probably." He pauses. "Toss the card on the wind, and speak my name if you need me. I'll get there as soon as I can. If there's nothing else...." He turns as if to leave.
*smiles and pockets the card*
"I think we are good, you are welcome here anytime, rubber bullets, I should look into those, but for now between working on new abilities, honing the ones I have, running this place, and patrolling going to have a busy life here."
*walks Blackjack out*
"Thanks for coming by, I will be out tonight, like I am every night."
*grabbing a newspaper to see what Bob wrote about me*
*When he is gone, working on learning the abilities above, getting this place into shape and patrolling*
The Skills I plan on making/working on Short Telepathic Hop P13@5, bonused to not being able to do anywhere that I cannot see, and bonused again for not being able to pass through solid objects, I would say a +20 for both, a P12@1 Danger Sense, a P7@4 Cryogenesis, all three of those new. I will work on my 1@4 Heavy TK P4@3, my 2@1 Possession P1@10, create a P1@4 Suggestion, create a 1@3 Telepathy to Humans, and Improve my Read Minds skill.
As well as the following body skills done during training others:
1@2 Run at Traffic Speeds B3@8 ((Done only patrolling))
2@1 Superjump B5@6 (Done only patrolling))
2@1 Tsutsuji, Fast Defensive Weapon-adverse, RF 2, Throw, Def: -15, Off +5 sm 7@1
2@1 Steal Initiative B7@1
2@1 Fighting Blind B7@2
2@1 Panoramic Awareness B7@2
2@1 Solid Punch B7@3
2@1 Power Punch B7@3
2@1 Spinning Kick B7@3
2@1 Leaping Kick B7@3
2@1 Missile Escape B7@4
2@1 Muscle Blocking B7@4
2@1 Disarm weaponless B7@5
1@2 Automatic Heal B10@5
Jhiaxus
You're out patrolling that night, and you see a half-dozen guys at the back of a warehouse loading up a truck. It could be that they're honest workers putting in overtime, but then it is two o'clock at night....
*I will try to read their minds, one at a time until I can figure out what they are up to and what they are doing, once I do that, I think it's time I tried to learn Cryogenesis P7@4, with my bias at 13@8 or so should be a +54, without putting in an example, I have Iceman from Xmen, for a 1@1, and Bra and whatnot. I am aiming for their feet to keep them rooted in place. That is if they are up to no good.*
Jhiaxus
You tag the second guy you try.
::Got to get moving before the cops come by. These radios should fetch a good price on the east once we get them to Nard's. Come on, George, you lazy bum. Quit sluffing.::
You see the guy you're reading talk to another who gestures angrily at him.
You read his mind.
::Little snot, McGovern, thinks he's all that. Man's gotta rest. I'm gonna stove in Mc boy's head one night, see if I don't.::
It sounds to you like someone talking tough in their own head, knowing they're going to do nothing.
You reach out and freeze them to the ground. First they try to break free, and one does before you catch him, and he bolts behind the truck. The others are frozen in place, but they have their guns out.
*I am not wanting to get into a direct fight with them at the moment with their guns, but I do want to get the one that got away, I will jump to an angle that they can't shoot me at to catch the runner. Once I see him, I might as well try to learn the 13@5, Short Teleport Hop, I believe I have the snatch which is a 13@10 not 13@8, so that gives me a +5, +20 for both not trying to go through a solid object, and being able to see where I want to teleport to. I figure I need to learn them once, and once I have them I can train them up where I can use them move often*
*To the ones frozen in Midnight Voice*
"Freeze, I'll be back for you guys, shooting yourselves out is a very bad idea, your bullets will shatter the ice and leg bones."
*To the one that tried to get away*
"Tsk Tsk Tsk, you guys are a group, you should stay together." *Midnight Voice*
*Get into style, disarm weaponless and knock him out with a solid punch*
Jhiaxus
You yank the guy up to you teleportively, and he comes with shock on his face. You slam him in the head, as he dives toward you, and his weight carries you off the edge of the roof, and you flip in the air to land next to him on top of the truck with a loud metallic bang.
He's unconscious.
You hear a thud, and a cheer.
"Yeah, Mick, hey come back here Mick."
Mick is running with a sap in his right hand, and a pistol in his left. You see another guy breaking loose of the ice with the hilt of his sheathed knife.
((I think you misunderstood, the short hop is for me to travel quickly, but as long as the roll was good, not worried about semantics.))
*Thinking having down enough new tricks tonight, I see the one escaping. I get into style, working into Missile Escape, and going to do a leaping kick to put him down, and will keep on him till he is than work on the one working himself out with a hilt of his knife*
*When Mick is down*
"Midnight didn't say simon says." *In Midnight voice*
*Work on dodging gunfire, and putting the rest out, I have a full load of silks to tie people up*
Jhiaxus
You leap, and he jags the last second before you land. Hearing you, he spins around, and you hammer him in the gut. He points his gun at you, and pulls the trigger. The gun explodes. You feel a slight rain as chunks of metal splash on your suit. The thug winces,and falls over, unconscious.
You turn to face the others.
They open fire, and bullets slap you as you charge the man who's broken free. He slices you across the cheekbone whith his suddenly unsheathed knife, and you put him down with a heart punch. Gasping for breath, you wheel into the others, and put them down.
All of them tied up, you catch your breath from the pounding of the bullets, and start to heal from the bruises, and the bullet that punched past your kneecap into your thight.
*Sighs as he wraps up the goons with his red silks, feeling for where the verser presences are, reminding himself that the punk with the knife got the drop on him, and that I need to work on sensing danger, but I learned two things tonight, and am still alive here, so that is something to be happy for*
*gets to a payphone and puts a call into the police*
"Midnight has left a present for you here, ((here being where the goons are at))" *Midnight Voice*
*coming back to check the truck to see what they were taking to see if it sets off any alarms*
*Missing Tessa at this point, and getting tired playing this game, wanting to get a straight answer from here, why she is doing what she is doing.*
*Heading back to the rooftops to head to what I think is her way, I know the other versers habits by now, so I'm probably getting good at telling them apart by which direction I feel them in*
((For an FYI, I would rather not get encounters, if you think I am always looking for a fight, I would rather it be a quiet night, than an eventful one. but I am enjoying the fights when they happen, and really want to get a straight answer from Tessa))
Jhiaxus
"Thanks, Midnight." The police sergeant responds. "The Captain would like to talk to you at your convenience."
Lots and lots of radios are in the truck.
You are sure which one is Chauncy, who seems to stay in his area what with work nearby, and the baseball stadium and easy walk from his apartment. He never has to walk more than a mile for all his needs. Tessa is more far-ranging and more flexible in her destinations.
You come to Tessa's apartment, and she's leaning against the balcony of her tenth floor penthouse apartment in a long, glistening evening dress with spaghetti strap over her otherwise bare shoulders. You're looking up at her from across the street and six stories below. You can hear faint classical music from above, and her apartment is lighted.
"If he is in later tonight, I can come by, also would need directions, haven't been there as of yet." *Midnight Voice*
*I look up at her and smile behind my mask, well if it wasn't obvious who it was before, it's going to be now. It was fun for a first meeting, but with the risk, I would be a fool not to let her know for certain that I was here.*
*I think I am good enough with my light spell to make it nearly automatic in most places, so I will take out my sword and my bowie knife and cast it on the blade of the katana, and begin to do a kata down here with them, and see what reaction I get. The light spell is pretty noticible, and would be perfect light in a world, that doesn't have halogen light bulbs.*
((I realized with the Bowie Knife, I'm not going to be able to train it much ::Signature Weapon of a Hero, can't do it in class::, so I'm going to have to rely on new uses. I have counted the following as new uses to get a skill, Killed someone through a Metal Seat, Slashed at a Zombie with it, Used it to cut hemp rope, used it to stab an engine to death, used it to cut through steel cable, so assuming a 1@2 B7@1 Learning, 5 new uses would bring it to 1@7, and can get 3 new uses to get to 1@10, and then each new use is 1/10th to get to another tick mark.))
Jhiaxus
"Southside and Main, on the roof of the precinct building."
You do your light spell, and Tessa turns, and looks for a long moment, her face still. You cannot see her eyes at that range. She turns, and walks into the penthouse apartment.
You're not sure what's up, and then she comes out again.
She walks to the balcony of the tenth floor apartment, and drops a white square off. It tumbles loosely through the air, flipping over and over.
*Once I see her appear, I put away my weapons and seeing the square, time my jumps to catch it before hitting the ground, thinking if she has to do that, there must be something I need to know on it*
*Once I grab it, open it up and read it*
Jhiaxus
You get the square, and its a perfumed scented piece of creamy notebook paper. Opening it you read the following: "Midnight, I'm sure as a hero you'd be interested in what's at Southside and Tenth."
There is nothing more.
*reads it three or four times, that's it, really, folds it up and puts it away, not happy, all I do is other people's damn bidding, like a fing horse with a g*wdamn carrot on a stick.*
*Heads to Southside and 10th, fine if I am working again tonight, then I am working on learning P12@1 Danger Sense*
"I feel bad for the criminals there tonight." *Midnight voice*
Jhiaxus
You cross the midtown area, heading north on 10th, and intersect with Southside just north of the harbor to your right. No one seems to be here at this traffic circle, but there is a flagpole, and some low structure in the center of the grass.
Curious, you approach.
"Here, a Lord of the Devils sought to invade this peaceful world, and guarded by dark magics against any weapon held by a son of Adam, he was confronted by one who was not a child of Eve, even though he had love toward the Race of Man. Darksword gave his life to stop the general of evil, and the opening of the gate. In the ensuing explosion, they both died, and so we leave this monument here as a token of our eternal gratitude to Darksword."
Inscribed beneath this is a date six months past, and an etched picture of Siljonic.
*Looks at it and reads it with sadness*
"Another thing I was too weak to prevent, seems all I am afforded in this existence is heartache and regret. So be it."
*Heads to Southside and Main, might as well make this crappy day worse*
*Already on Southside, will find buildings to jump to, to get to the roof and wait for the Captain*
Jhiaxus
You leap from building to building until you arrive on the fourth floor roof of the Central Police Precinct building.
A rookie beat cop is on the roof, waiting for you. He looks up startled, and then smiles.
"Ah, Midnight, Shadow Warrior...I'm Officer Stebens, uh, I'll go get the Captain right now." He waits a mo to see if you agree, and then heads off down the stairs to fetch the Captain.
Four minutes later, a broad-shouldered, big-bellied man steps out, and walks over to you.
"I'm Captain Hiram Browning. Official liason between Metro City and the Mystery Men. About forty pounds and thirty-five years ago, I was a monster hunter in the gold mines of California, the deepest parts of Africa, and the ruins of Transylvania. Back then, we travelled by steamship. We didn't have water landing capable four propeller luxury aeroplanes, mind you. But then, we did carry a good selection of wine, which may have been my problem. Even back then, they called me Hefty Hiram behind my back."
He pauses and his studying glance becomes more open.
"Now you know who I am. What I need to know is who you are. Oh, not your secret identity, but inside. And I need to know how we can help each other."
*Nods to the officer*
"Good to meet you Officer Stebens, I will wait here for the Captain."
*Nods*
"I am Midnight, Shadow Warrior. Realize today hasn't been a very good day for me, I saw the memorial for one of my friends, I have another who is playing a very dangerous game, and refuses to let me in on why, or for how long. I don't feel very heroic or very helpful today, nor do I think my abilities are good enough to risk trying in most situations. With that said, you want to know me. I do the right thing, sometimes I do the wrong thing to accomplish it, but I do the right thing for the right reasons most of the time. I believe in freedom, I also believe in defending those that can't. I am not a law enforcement officer, or else I would be one, but if I see thugs robbing a place I will stop it since it is hurting someone else. Most of all, I just want my friend back, so most of my motivations are set on making that happen. I am a human being, so yes I am selfish in that one respect. I won't kill, even though that's what most of my training has been to accomplish till now. I am working with one and a half hands tied behind my back so to speak, but I respect life enough to try another way."
*considers*
"Truth be told, I need time to work on my abilities so I can get them to work reliably. The only things that work more often than not, are my fighting and physical abilities. I have a few mental ones that work a lot as well. What can I do to help you, well if you give me some way to monitor your police radio, and throw in some code words, so I know if I am needed at a place that's a start. I am wasting a lot of time jumping from roof to roof, there might be nothing going on, or they might be and I'm across town. My abilities are learned on the fly, but need to be trained to work reliably. I can do anything I put my mind to do. If I can be monitoring the police band, and I guess get a motercycle procured and ready, I can get to problems quicker than most of your officers. I can pursue those problems in ways your men can't, and when they have superpowers, I can deal with them without being so restrained. I really haven't worked or even met the Mystery Men, if they are even working together for the most part. So I don't know their relationship with you."
Jhiaxus
He nods, and walks over to a pile of bricks on the roof. Removing one of them, he reaches inside, and pulls out a half-empty bottle of bourbon, and two small glasses.
"Want one?"
He pours, and raises his glass to you.
"Absent friends."
He sips a tiny bit.
"I understand. I've been to the funerals of more good men than I want to recall over the years. Some of them died in accidents, a few died by being stupid or unlucky, and many died a hero's death. But it all hurt. I've lost two partners. One as a monster hunter, and one as a police detective. Both, good, solid guys."
He sips again.
"We greatly appreciate you Mystery Men not killing. Its what makes it work. There's always some twits who want us to shut you down, and if you lot were out killing, well, who knows what would happen. And let me tell you...."
He pulls down his shirt and shows you a set of claw marks across his chest.
"I really don't want to be facing off against that Commie shapeshifter, the Red Bear, with two bullets and a prayer again, if I can help it. If Mechanoman and the Blue Ace hadn't been there that day, someone else would be drinking to my memory."
He leans back.
"Sure, we can get you a motorcycle. We'll call it somthing or other."