You, Adrian, and Gwen are walking through your neighborhood towards the cul-de-sac that the fundraiser will be. The sun is starting to set, painting everything in a red tint. You have a box of small, statues under your arm, the metal clanging as you walk. The neighborhood looks nice, even though you were fighting just a few streets down. The houses on Rayburn Drive got the worst of it. Some homes had holes blown in them. Some were gutted by fire. That, and the hole blown in the street by the grenade and the cars that were totaled. Insurance will cover some of it, but you know that the companies will do everything they can to not cover something. Which is why you're doing this fundraiser in the first place.
As you're walking, Gwen is trailing slightly behind you, hands in her pants pockets and looking down.
"Do we have to go?" She asks.
"Now, cupcake, it'll be good to talk with some of the other kids your age." Adrian says. "Besides, you don't want to just stay cooped up at home playing with your tablet, do you?"
"Yes." Gwen says with a huge smile. You can only let out a small laugh, and that makes Adrian chuckle.
"Why do we even need to go anyway? It's just some stupid party" Gwen says.
[] "This isn't just some party. We're raising money to help people rebuild their homes. Sometimes, you need to help other people" (Possibly gains the Quirk Charitable. (You're acutely aware of other's emotions, and will go out of your way to help them. Roll a self control roll when you could render aid in order to resist the urge.)
[] "Everyone deserves a helping hand now and then, Gwen" (Possibly gains the Disadvantage Charitable. (You're acutely aware of other's emotions, and will go out of your way to help them, even if they're an enemy. Roll a self control roll when you could render aid in order to resist the urge.)
[] "Well, we all need to out of the house. We've only gone to work, school and home for a while now" (No effect)
Gwen just gives an exaggerated pout. At this point, it's about showing how much she doesn't want to go more than her not wanting to do. "How about this, we can stay for 30 minutes. If you want to go by then, we can leave, alright?" You say, trying to compromise.
As you keep walking, you cross the street, a black SUV starts to drive past. You find yourself staring at it as it slowly passes by. The windows are blacked out, and it's crawling down the street. For a moment, you think what you'd have to do if someone had found you were The Vigil. If the windows rolled down, and gun barrels stuck out of it. What you'd do if the door opened and a Super came out, or if that SUV had some hired assassin. Without, thinking, you find yourself clenching your fist as you keep walking, not looking away from the vehicle.
As you look at the back, of the SUV, you find relief as you see a sticker on the back that says "US MARINES: RETIRED" and you remember that that SUV belongs to one of your neighbors. It belongs to one of your neighbors. You're jostled from your thoughts when your phone starts to vibrate. Glancing at it, you see it's Jasmine.
'At the red light by the abandoned house. Be there in 3 minutes. You mind if I park in front of your place?'
"It's Jasmine. She's on the way" You say
You text her back, letting her know it's fine before putting your phone away and continue walking. About a minute later, you get to the place. A few people are already setting up. You can smell cooking meat from a large grill someone wheeled out. You see a group of teenagers setting up some amps and instruments. Mrs. Millenhoff is setting up a face painting booth, and you even see Rob bringing out a pair of paintball guns and some paper targets from his garage.
"It looks boring" Gwen says. "Do we really need to stay here?"
"They're just finishing setting up, Sweetie" You say, tussling her hair, to her annoyance. "Let's just see how things are in half an hour"
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About 45 minutes later, the party is in full swing. People started to trickle in until around 50 of your neighbors were there. Some you hadn't had a chance to talk to in a while. Some you wish you could avoid. But overall, you're having a good time. You and Adrian are by the grill, eating his 2nd and your 4th hot dogs. The band is belting out a cover of "The World Waits for No One" That doesn't sound that bad. The raffle's been a success, even if you're sad to be giving you're work away. At least the money is going to a good cause.
Gwen is sitting in the bed of a nearby parked truck with some kids from around the neighborhood, talking, occasionally showing each other something on their phones. She's smiling and laughing, but whenever she sees you looking, she puts on an exaggerated frown. You just chuckle. She isn't going to want to admit to having fun, so you just let her be.
"Hey, Sunny, I gotta show you something" Jasmine says as she walks up to the raffle table. Apparently, she's visited Mrs. Millenhoff's face painting booth, since her face has a classic blue domino mask painted on.
"Hey Sunny." She waves at you. "Hi Adrian" She gives a shorter, slightly more formal wave to Adrian.
"How's it going Kells?" You ask.
"Oh, you know, the usual." She says. "Overworked, underpaid, and the boss is talking about 'trimming the fat' again"
"Ouch. My condolences." Adrian says. "Hey, if you think you need an exit plan, I can talk to Millie for you. See if she still needs someone in IT."
"Well, good news, our Programming Analyst bailed, so the position's open" She said with a small smile. "So his loss could be my gain"
"Assuming she doesn't have a brother in law who needs the job, right?" You say, joking.
"Or if she doesn't decide to just push the job onto one us" Jasmine says sardonically, still smiling. "So, how are things at the shop, Adrian."
"Alright, so when we were working on this car, one of the other mechanics found a bag of-"
Before he can keep going, Jasmine's phone starts to make a series of rings. Frowning, she takes the phone out. A few seconds later, your and Adrian's phones get alerts as well. You take yours out, as some of the other guests have similar alerts on their phones.
You read the alert. Apparently, there's an incident at On Target Shipping, a place that's about 5 minutes south of here. There's a fight there between two gangs of criminals that's taking place there with some of the criminals are Powered. Civilians are being advised to stay indoors and to avoid the area.
The mood starts to sour somewhat as the alert comes. Some people start whispering. Some even start leaving. But most people seem to go back
But you wonder what you're going to do. You have been thinking about being more active as a Vigilante. Going out to fight crime more often. To take being a Vigilante more seriously. But with more crime fighting comes more risks, something you're acutely aware of.
[] Go out and fight (You decide to go out and fight crime more often)
[] Go out and fight crime more often. But not this time. Right now, you need to stay here.
[] Stay here. In fact, maybe you should lay low for a little while.