*Nods and takes a glass and toasts it*
"To absent friends." *Midnight Voice*
*takes a drink savoring it in his mouth, turning his head first to pull down his mask*
"Well my friend won't die, he will be reborn somewhere else to fight the good fight. It just seems my timing is bad is all." *Midnight Voice*
*Looks at the marks and yells*
"Blackjack did go over the list, do you have a police armory officer? One that tailor makes guns, gadgets or know of one. I carry a automatic, but the bullets I use are both real and a significantly different size. I would need to design new guns, and get rubber bullets. I have been shot by punks too many times running up to them and disarming them. I am pretty hard to hurt, but it still hurts trying. I would prefer to show them that surrendering is the best option." *Midnight Voice*
"You give me a armory contact, a radio and the cycle and I will keep myself free for the big stuff, works for you, you get to point me at the stuff your guys would get hurt over, and I get to spend some of my night working on my skills to fight the big stuff. Hell you can call it the Night Cycle." *Midnight Voice*
*smiles and finishes the drink*
"Thanks for the talk, the drink and the help, I look forward in helping you guys out." *Midnight Voice*
*Hands him the glass, gives him a wave and jumps off the roof, to another roof, looking for an opportunity to try to work on his Danger Sense*
Jhiaxus
"Yes, we do have an armory officer. Thad Jennings. I'll drop him a word you'll be by. He's usually working at the shooting range out on 25 and Houston, near the northwestern edge of the city. And as for the rest, you've got a deal. Good luck, Midnight, Shadow Warrior." He raises the glass and finishes his off.
You slip on into the night, and sense for danger. You're barely to the next building when you sense it.
Circling back around, you see a man on the opposite side of the precinct station. He's carrying large boxes from the back of a truck parked in an alley, and placing them in a pile next to the wall of the precinct station.
He has a strange shape for his head, as if his head is several times larger than normal. And there is a very fluid sense to his motion.
*Somehow I don't think I am going to enjoy reading his mind, and will be painful, but I am going to try I need to know what I am dealing with*
"Greetings, I don't think you are engaged in lawful activity, so let's take a step back, and see if we can talk this out. I am Midnight, and I would prefer not to have to fight again tonight."
*I will wave my hand with the Take a step back and talk this out* Trying to learn a 1@4 Suggestion.
Jhiaxus
::Filthy aggressive pigs. I'll show them. No more will violence rule the world.::
"Greetings Midnite. I too am a man of peace, and I would be glad to discuss this with you. I am Captain Copperhead. I was altered by being bit by dozens of toxin affected snakes so now I can see things with the cold-blooded rationality of a snake instead of with the hot blooded irrationality of the primate who only lives for war."
He comes closer and you see that he has a snake head with a cobra hood neck, and a tongue that flickers. And he seems to have no difficulty in spotting you in the night.
Whether your psi worked or not, you're not sure. In any case, he came over your way.
*Nods knowing what his capabilities are, willing to give him a chance to talk, but knowing I may have to dodge, or freeze him in place*
"I am sorry to hear that, and I am sorry to hear about your condition. I don't think violence to stop war, is going to stop the endless cycle of hatred. I too like to see if we can see if we can end this peacefully, without having whatever is in those boxes go up."
Jhiaxus
"Its not a condition. Its an improvement. I was for violence, but now I realize its wrong even to take that violence. I do not seek to explode police stations anymore. I seek to help."
He comes closer.
"Would you like to be helped?"
*Shakes his head no*
"I admire your ideals, but not the methods you are using to get there. Some would say robbing someone of free will to choose, is violence at its core. If this is your course, I will have to intervene, those people inside would be robbed of their choice, and that is something that I am against."
*watches him come forward*
"I will have to ask you to freeze now if you continue coming closer."
Jhiaxus
He smiles.
"Midnite....Shadow Warrior. You fight the shadows, and understandably. You're trying to do the right thing. I appreciate that. I'm glad that I was stopped by other Mystery Men when I tried to blow up the Police Academy. So many fine young men, all trying to do the right thing." He pauses. "I hope you understand I too was trying to help. But like them I was...in the shadows. Now I am enlightened. It is no violence to enlighten someone, to flick the switch on in their minds so they can see with clarity. I sense your pain, come join me, and your pain will ease in the cool, soothing light of reason."
*smiles*
"I would, but I serve a higher power, now if you can convince him that you are on the right path, I would gladly see reason. He has chosen me as his vessel, and his power flows through my eye. If you can look me in the eyes and not shy away, and convince Odin that you are worthy, I will consider it. If he finds you wanting however, he does allow me to exercise violence for the greater good." *Midnight Voice*
*I will give him the eye of Odin, ready to jump into style, freeze him, give myself options dealing with this cold blooded creature, if he attacks or tries to enlighten me*
Jhiaxus
"Higher power?" He sounds amused, and he flows forward a bit to look you in the eye. "You have two eyes, one a different color than the other."
You can tell nothing happened.
You drop into style and he breathes on you a greenish fog. You feel your mind accelerating, and your emotions dimming.
And you reach for the ice to nail him but with your mind being rebalanced, it feels as if different parts are awake, and clear commands are being rerouted....
Ice springs up all about you. You're freezing cold. Immobile under two feet of ice all around you. To say you're an ice cube would be about accurate.
*Yes, that's a botch, and with a GE roll of 25 for how bad it was.
bump.
*I am neither worried about freezing or dying from lack of air for the meantime, having defenses from both of those, but I refuse to leave this world without my woman*
*I am going to teach myself a P5@6 Size Variation, increasing my size 50% in height, weight and depth, I have an example from cartoons about the growing man and woman, so that's a 1@1, I know I am tough enough with enough armor to survive the sudden growth and pressure, but I do need to get out of this now Bias 140-5=84 + 11 for a 1@1 example, 95 before adding in twice the lesser of the world or my 13@10 bias*
Jhiaxus
OOC: Ah.
You shatter the ice around you, abrading your skin, and lightly bruising yourself. Captain Copperhead falls back in dismay, and then further back as a chunk of ice the size of a baseball lands on his chest.
You're now towering above, and its a very neat, yet odd feeling to be nine feet tall.
You can still feel Copperhead's potion working through you, increasing its hold on your mind.
*Whew somewhat*
"Odin hear my prayer, remove this poison from body and mind, this faithful warrior beseeches you to cleanse himself of impurity."
((Said forcefully, arms moving, probably worth a +10, It's a M2@5 Neutralize Poison(Toxin, I don't see a separate one for it. Looks like a 91-25+10 76, without adding twice the world or my bias, which is likely mine for a +18, 94% chance to work.))
*Going to assume it does*
"Odin has judged you unworthy, and has granted me additional power both physically and against your toxin. *Cracks his head and hands* I am the Chosen One of Odin, and let me show you how unwise it is, to try to mess with the horseman of Wisdom and War."
*Going to render him unconscious, and if he really gets me going, try learning a Martial Arts headbutt, should be interesting with the RIF wraparound skullcap.*
Jhiaxus
You feel normal again.
1@1 M2@5 Neutralize Perspective Altering Drug (this won't save you from rattlesnake poison, but it will cure a dose of hallucinogens dropped in your drink).
You leap down to him, and clock him across the chest. He flies back, and rolls himself into a ball, and unwinds back to his feet. You go for a head butt, and he dodges to the left, but not fast enough.
You hit him in the side of the ribs, and fling him into the alley wall. He slides down bonelessly, unconscious.
((Nods if and when I do get poisoned, I will have to make a separate skill, got it))
*Sighs and gets the silks out, one for his hands and feet, making sure to remember that if he doesn't have bones that I have to tie it in a way that will not let someone that can contort to get out of it. I will also use a silk to gag him to prevent him from from spitting his neurotoxin into someone's face.*
*I will drag him to the front door, still 9 feet tall, and open it and walk in with him in tow. To the officer on duty*
"Captain Copperhead was trying to introduce toxin into the Police Station's air supply, I would recommend getting a team out to the side to deal with his experiment. Can I use your phone?" *Midnight Voice*
*I call Bob*
"This is Midnight, if you want pictures of Copperhead and his attempted toxin poisoning of the police station, I recommend getting down here." *Midnight Voice*
*To the officer*
"May I borrow pen and paper"
*Jotting down this for Bob to run in his article*
*From Midnight to Freya*
"I almost died three times in three days, and visited you twice, and have more questions than I started with. I am worried for you."
*Waits for Bob, and or the team to deal with the Toxin*
Jhiaxus
Bumpis
Gulp. The police officer stares at you. You have to repeat yourself. He nods, and gets the team together to handle it.
"Bob Morris. News." Says a sleepy voice. You make your request. "On my way." He sounds muchmore alert.
After forty-five minutes, the toxin is neutralized by the simple expedient of using a fire hose full of water on it. A research chemist from one of the main factories assures the police that 'lots of water will neutralize the toxin. Its a large molecule, and it will break apart when exposed to the oxygen it will steal from the water. And the rest can be washed away safely by more water.'
Bob takes a number of pictures. Captain Copperhead wakes and tries to explain to you how you're being irrational until one policeman threatens to stick a piece of duct tape on his mouth.*
OOC:* That scene in 'Dream Park' where the security guard gets gagged, but he dies because he has allergies and can't breathe through his nose creeped me out good.
((That's two bad guys I had to gag because of their abilities, I prefer not to do it))
*Tired as well, and needs to go back to regular size ((can I let it go after a certain amount of time, or do I need to make a new skill to do so? If there is a new skill the normal baseline to going back to normal state is +20 from other skills))*
*Takes Bob aside and gives him the message to run*
"Aside from that, I need you to track Mr. Big's money. I'm sick of playing with the small timers, when he likely has his hands in everything. You track the money, get a forensic accountant, you tell me where he is getting his money, and I will start hitting them as we find them. I can deal with the A-Z gang if they are not organized, but working together is when they become dangerous. Copperhead might not have been directly working with Mr. Big, but taking out the cops would make every criminal enterprise, that much easier to accomplish. That message is a personal one to someone I can't talk to directly, everyone here reads the paper, the message will be gotten. Now if you excuse me, I have a car to pick up and get home to get some sleep to function tomorrow.
*If done with Bob and the cops, going to retrieve my sailcar and drive it to the dojo, and put it in the garage behind the alley. It's been a rough night.*
Jhiaxus
It fades after a few minutes.
Morris nods.
You drive home, and go to sleep. Your rest is only disturbed by a mouse looking for a snack. He bolts for a hole when you sit up.
The next morning, about ten in the morning, a young guy walks in the door.
"You teach secret fighting techniques?"
*Looks him up and down*
"I teach a style which is unknown here, but is probably common in the Orient. Are you looking to learn?"
Jhiaxus
"Yes." He bobs his head. He's obviously on a break from a local factory as some sort of clerk, and in a rush. He's dressed in slacks and a dress shirt, with a jacket under his arm. He's also a bit nervy, and thin, and energetic. "My name's, ah, Randall Smith."
You're quite sure something about that is a lie although he doesn't strike you as planning ill your way.
*smiles*
"Well Mr Smith, I am Jhiaxus, and I have no problem teaching. We can work out pricing, how often when your not on a break from work. I am open from 9AM-6PM, so I am pretty flexible with that."
*appraises his demeanor*
"Do you know boxing, or any other fighting that would make learning a new one easier? I am pretty good at knowing how to start someone off, but knowing just how much they know makes it that much easier."
Jhiaxus
"I can come every day from 5:15 to 6. Right after I get off work." He thinks. "I took a little Golden Gloves summer camp five years ago, and I can hold my own, mostly."
You talk with him about price, and he agrees, and leaves with giving you a week's pay up front.
Later that day, you have a couple people come in, and leave.
And then about three, three guys come in. Suits, fedoras, leather gloves, nasty expressions on their face. Why, its the local collection agency for Christmas charities....um, probably not....
"You da' owner?" Says the thicknecked one.
"Now, be nice," Says the stylish one. "We run a service. An insurance service. You'll be billed weekly..."
*Nods to the guy*
"That works for me, it's good you have some experience in a form already."
*I am pleasant and encourage the people to come back if they have an interest.*
==============
*Grins seeing them walk in*
"I am the owner, you are the third group to come in today to offer the same deal. *If they are Irish, I will go with Italian, if they are Italian, I will go with Irish*, they were __________. I am kinda confused now, are all of you working in the same neighborhood. I had some Black Men in suits, some _______ guys in suits and now you guys. I can't afford to pay all three of you for protection. Who do you work for, just so that I know you are the real protection givers here."
*amused and wanting to see their reactions."
Jhiaxus
They are Italian.
The thickneck one looks confused, the stylish one raises an eyebrow, and the bored looking one suddenly looks happy.
The stylish one talks a bit to the others, and then turns and smiles at you.
"We'll be back."
He walks out.
*I will read his mind and see what he is thinking about, I might just have gotten some intel*
Jhiaxus
::Let's go see Alfonzo. Mr. A ain't going like this.:: There's a clear image in his head of Luigi's Italian Palacio (a sphaghetti house) with shiny bronze ceilings, a statue of the saint of good digestion outside, lots of yelling and kids, and a back room guarded by bad tempered men in dark suits where the deals are made.
*I will nod at them as they leave*
"Very interesting." *to himself*
*Wondering when the meet and greet with the mayor is going to be, wondering what is going on with Tessa, having to get in touch with that police armorer, and now having to deal with these guys, thinking my dance card is getting full, and getting lonely*
*Waits for the new person at the prescribed time, start him off with his training, and after that take to the roofs, looking for Tessa, taking care of the most important first*
Jhiaxus
Mr. Smith comes into the store at 14 minutes past the hour, huffing a little. You get him doing his stretches, and find that he's got a little training in gymnastics as well. He did not tell you because he did not see what it had to do with fighting.
Later, you close the dojo, and ascend to the roof. There as the day goes to night, you begin your search for your light.
An hour later, as you circle closer to Tessa, and leap over the space between two buildings, five hard stories the ground is beneath you, and a round, metal something hits you on the side. And only by desperately hanging on, can you grab the edge of the Winston Shoe Factory before plummetting to the ground like a dead duck.
Dangling there with your feet scratching the brick wall above the alley, you hear a ka-thump, metallic, on the roof ahead of you. And then metal footsteps coming your way.
*Getting back to my feet, annoyed at whatever hit me, and going to make whoever did that to me, rethink blindsiding me*
((Just checking the 12@1 Danger Sense, that I learned did not kick off, it could be because the roll was missed, but couldn't I do a B4@6 Fall Impact Absorption to not hit the ground that hard? If both of these were done, and missed, accept my apologies and we will continue as is.))
Jhiaxus
You hit the side of the building, and are hanging by your fingers. And no, you didn't hit that hard. You do notice a buzzing feeling in your brain, very faint. And your mind shield seems to be down.
You pull yourself up over the edge of the roof, and see a man-shaped robot that has a face mask of steel in the middle of its chest. The bot is about ten feet tall. And the buzzing feeling emanates from it.
It kicks you, and knocks you over.
"Stupid, careless, jerk. You don't deserve what you have."
The robot raises its right arm, and a rocket pops out, and gas begins to shriek out of the rocket's tailpipe.
*I am going to steal initiative, I don't like the fact it has gotten two actions already and about to take a third, and me just saving myself*
*Get into style, Learn to Fast Draw my Bowie Knife and Great Jump in the Air and come down hard at this robot, knowing the Bowie Knife will cut it open like a can opener*
Jhiaxus
It had hit you as you were getting back to your feet. Now you dart forward, and whip the Bowie knife out, and stab into its high chest area, cutting down. But before you can cut down, it has its left arm under yours.
Sparks fly out of the hole you punched in it.
The rocket launches, and explodes in the air well behind you.
"Eat electricity." An angry voice says.
You're flung backwards through the air, your muscles twitching and jerking wildly, and you land in a fairly graceful way twenty feet away on top of a shed on the roof of the Winton Shoe Factory. Your muscles still twitch a bit, and you smell a burnt toast odor which is probably your clothes.
Your knife is still stabbed up to its hilt in the robot's upper chest.
Oh, 1@2 Fast Draw with Bowie.
*Missile Escape, Run at Traffic Speeds and Cast Light on the Faceplate as I am running to grab my knife in it and use it to open this tin can*
Jhiaxus
You dive to dodge missiles, but the shingles under your feet sleep. Happily, he doesn't fire. You're really too quick for his rockets unless you're pinned down. You bolt toward him at extreme velocity, and cast the Light spell at his faceplate.
You lunge to grab the knife, and yank it down.
He punches you in the ribs hard enough to drive the air out of your lungs.
Whoooof.
You rip open his chest cavity, and you see a quadriplegic inside a second box inside the chest cavity box.
The robot freezes up, and smoke drifts in the air.
"Go ahead, kill me then. But I never give up."
You believe him after looking into his unbending eyes.
*Looks at him up and down*
"I have no desire to kill you, and I might be able heal you to the point of using your limbs, the question is are you so bent on anger about your situation, that you would rather destroy then take help when offered?" *Midnight voice*
*walking over taking my bowie knife and holstering it*
Jhiaxus
"Anger about my situation?" He sounds surprised. And then he laughs a short bark. "No. Se la vie. I had a dangerous job, and got paid well for the risk. I got unlucky."
He looks speculatively at you.
"No, what I am angry about is you. You with your recklessness. You know that Tessa is the girlfriend of the Mr. Big, and so what do you do? You make a scene right near her penthouse apartment where some of her bodyguards can see you. Idiot."
He grits his teeth.
"You place her, her, Tessa, in danger."
*Now I am exasperated*
*I use whatever means I need to get him and his suit off the roof and to a place where we can talk, and repair his suit*
=================
"You knocked me out of the air, kicked me, launched a missile at me, before I did *ONE* thing, my mental defenses were down, my danger sense didn't work, I thought you were going to kill me. Yeah I may have been reckless, but it's because I get no answers. I am about one inch from letting all of you play out your little game. You may not have known who I was, but I didn't know who you are, I thought you were Duke Demento, the way my mental powers were shut off. Now I have to repair your suit, because you decided to attack me first instead of being a person and talking to me. How dare you get on my case, you have no idea about me, or my relationship with Tessa, and unless someone does some explaining and soon, you "Heroes" can deal with the crime and I'll just work in peace." *Midnight Voice*
*I am beyond frustrated at this point, and now I have to repair this guys robot suit or else he is stuck not being able to move.*
Jhiaxus