Hunting Tomorrow (Supers? Weird Fiction)

[FourmyleOfCeres]

In a world inspired by My Hero Academia, Weird 90's Comics, The Super-Power Lottery thread(and my Rolls here), and the current economy, one man struggles to get by. An Elk Man, but don't let that stop you. More slice of Life than anything epic. A lot of the story posts will be in the first person, barring any Interludes. Enjoy.

---

My name is Oberon O'Hern. Yeah, I know, my parents weren't terribly creative, they saw an elk boy and decided he was Fae Touched. Let's get acquainted, cause we're going to be together a long time.

First things first, I'm a courier. I get things from point A to point B as fast as possible. Not a great job, but I'm suited to it. Now, I know I'm going to be having this conversation a lot, so I've prepared some files. You can find them here.

Now, let me explain some of the basic situation. About sixty years ago, the Storms started. The weather got weird, and so did anyone that got caught in it. People started to get strange abilities, mutate, and so on. Because of the sort of things that resulted, they got called "The Freak Storms". There's no real way to predict a Freak Storm, unless that's one of your "Twists".

Which I suppose brings me to my next topic. Freak Storms are scary, sometimes stuff that just doesn't make sense happens during them, like there being a dividing line down Main Street with it being Night on one side and Noon on the other. Or subway trains being embedded in penthouses. If you get caught in a Freak Storm for long enough, it changes you. Everyone was scared, people got quarantined, people got beaten, and the general thought was that being caught in a Freak Storm warped and Twisted you.

So that's why they called the powers. Twists. These days, about half the population is Twisted. It's not just the Storms some people, like myself, are just born that way. There are Major Twists and Minor Twists. But if you've got a Major Twist, like I do, chances are you've got several minor ones. This has more to do with the Potency of the Twist than it's effect on your life. You can have frog like features and it's just a Minor Twist. Unless your Major Twist happens to be something like five hundred foot of prehensile tongue. Then it can get a little wibbly.

Sometimes, your Minor twists are related, sometimes they aren't. Somethings it's something mental. Mental Twists get off easier, as they're usually considered Knacks. You guys, are my knack. Don't get excited, it's a minor one.

My Major Twist is that I'm have a sort of Primal Body(as they so euphemistically refer to it). I look like an Elk-Man. Thick fur, antlers, kinda long face. I'm still mostly human, I don't have hooves or anything, I just... Well, I'm Six foot and three inches(Seven foot four with the antlers) of lean muscle and shaggy fur. I try to keep it trimmed, but I clogged my last Flowbee and I don't always have the money for a full body trim. Luckily, I got the abilities of an elk too. I run fast, I'm pretty alert, and I'm strong as hell.

My secondary twists are that I can sort of disintegrate things... I turn them into air. So long as I keep a little bit of it though, I can put it back together. I can also telekineticially create objects. Like bridges, stairs, spears, what have you. I think you can see why I became a courier.

My Minor Twists are still useful, just a bit weird. By absorbing heat, I can make myself even stronger and faster than I normally am. Can't make myself smarter, I tried. There's a limit to how much I can pump myself up too, so it's not like I'm immune to heat. Once I hit my limits, it starts effecting me like a normal person. Which means I can probably tank a fireball or two, but after that, I best get the hell out of the way. And yes, I still like Ice Cream on a summer day like anyone else. I can sort of borrow people's hearing. It's not as useful for spying as you might think because I can only hijack people I can see, and they can hear what I hear too.

Finally, I talk to myself.

I don't mean like mumbling under my breath like a crazy-man. I mean I'm in communication with most other versions of myself out there. Most of them don't have this knack. Not all of them even know they're me. So of them were born in other countries, some of them born with different twists, some are untwisted. This helps a bit with the "I can't make myself smarter". Wisdom of Crowds and all. If I don't know what to do I can call on the Parliament of Self(Psst, that's you guys), and chances are I'll be out of the jam in no time.

And if I'm not, I have one final ace up my sleeve. I can only do it about once a week and it requires a lot of ice, enough I could theoretically fit through it laying down, but I can "Jump the Rails". If my life is screwed up enough that I absolutely need to escape I can slip through the ice and replace an alternate Oberon. The longer I go without "Jumping The Rails" the more control over it I have. If I've only gone a week, I'll just end up in the place of the Me that's as different as they can get while still being recognizably me. I might not have met some of the people I know, I will have definitely made some different decisions, but at least it'll probably be safe.

Where as, if I manage to go a full year without Jumping The Rails, I'll be able to choose pretty exactly what's changed, when, and how. It still has to be possible, mind. I can't just jump into myself as a Millionaire, unless I've been buying lotto tickets. For reasons that might become apparent, I've only managed to get full control once, back in high-school. That's when I started getting attention.

Anyway, luckily, time passes differently in different realities. Which means that sometimes you might go a few days without hearing from me, but it's only been a few minutes for me, or vice versa. Which is how I can get away with narrating everything and monologuing to you.

 

[FourmyleOfCeres]

Glossary

Ferals - Animals that have been Twisted into human form. Usually they've got human level intelligence too. Not to be confused with Primals.

Freak Storms - Mass Empowerment Situations resulting from dimensional turbulence. The laws of physics can get kinda wobbly and people, animals, and even the landscape can end up Twisted.

Hero Agency: A legally empowered group of Twisted who try to do good. Some of them do rescues, some of them actually fight crime, some of them are really just a group of showboats.

Knacks - Mental Twists

Mass Empowerment Situation - A situation in which a number of people become Twisted. It can be anything from a Freak Storm, to some idiot testing radioactive nerve gas(don't ask) to just standing too close to mating space whales. Freak Storms are the most common.

Multiversal Resistance - The force separating one reality from another. Every universe has a charge to it. Universes with a similar structure have similar charges. The closer the charges, the more they repel each other. It takes a lot of energy to go from universe to another, and even more to go to the one where you didn't get dumped.

Nekketsu Syndrome: Genetic disorder that may be related to Twists. Suffers show increased metabolism, increase regenerative abilities, and poor impulse control. Roughly translates to "Hotblooded", it's named after the nickname of the High School where the first cluster of sufferers was located. Not to be confused with Roppongi Syndrome.

Primals - The polite word for people with Animal inspired Twists. Not to be confused with Ferals.

Roppongi Syndrome: Retroviral infection that can cause unusual twists. Unlike most 'natural' twists, if untreated can cause cell degeneration. Potential Mitochondrial involvement?

Streetlight People - Twisted Individuals who can pass for "normal" only in dim lighting or at thirty foot. Generally low grade Primals, though other twists, such as being made of living cake, do qualify.

Super: Superhero. Generally registered with a Hero Agency, these people use their Twists for the public good. Funny costumes are generally involved. Masks too.

Twisted - The state of having Knacks or Twists. There's still some prejudice against them, even though about half the population of the United States is Twisted. Primals and Ferals get the worst of it, but any obvious Twist can get you harassed.

Twists - Mutations and superpowers, they tend to come from either Freak Storms or just accidents of birth.

Spoiler: Locations

Locations
This Quest takes place in Yarmouth South. Be this in Maine, Vermont, Massachusetts or Nova Scotia, it's not really important. What is important are the places you'll find there. More locations will be added as you find them.
Club Car, The - Medium Priced 'Fast Food' restaurant that specializes in sandwiches. Train themed, and the wait staff comes by with trolleys laden down with all sorts of extras. Nice enough, for a pay-as-you-go. They don't like bigots. Possibly owned by the Railway Association.
Coat/Tail Club - A social club for Primals, with some Feral members. The membership fee is somewhat hefty, but it's a good way to meet people of a similar outlook on life. Oberon has a one year membership, courtesy of Feardorcha.
Earthbound and Down - Employment agency run by Feardorcha Dunstan, most of it's employees are people with obvious or unusual twists that make them suited to unusual tasks. It's where Oberon gets most of his work.
Goldstar: Burger Joint with a superhero theme. Reproduction masks, cowls, and other memorabilia on display. Sometimes there's action figures too.
Obvious Trap, The: Evil Genius themed sit-down restaurant. Medium price, but unnerving if you're already a bit paranoid.
Star Shine Arena - Multi-use stadium, bigger and more impressive than Trouble, rumored to be trying to get the hockey team to move. Also doubles as a concert venue, place for ice shows, and a basketball court. Naturally, this means it doesn't always have the Ice ready.
Trouble Ice Arena - Home of the local hockey team, and open skate. Open all year long.

Spoiler: Cast

Cast:

Kade Caruso
This weasel Oberon met. He's a nice enough guy that seems to play pool and help the local farmers. Not much else known about him at this time.
Nitrogen Manipulation - Apparently he uses it to refresh the soil? If this is his primary Twist, he's a force to be reckoned with. Nitrogen makes up 75% to 78% of the atmosphere, depending on how you measure it.
Merging - Kade can meld with objects and move through them as though they were mud. No idea if he has to breath when he does this.
Weasel - He's a weasel. He has weasel powers. Probably a minor twist, so it's probably just stuff like being really flexible.

Feardorcha Dunstan:
Owner of Earthbound and Down.
Everyone thinks their boss is the devil. Oberon is partly right. Ignoring that, Feardorcha is mostly a nice guy if calculating as hell. He understands the special needs of his clients(both his employees and the people looking for to hire unusual individuals), and tries to cater to them. After all, if they like you, they'll keep coming back.
He approached Oberon shortly after he "Jumping The Rails" for the first time. He wasn't the only one. Oberon has only recently taken up his offers of employment, after losing a more corporate job.
Known Twists
Negotiation Knack - Feardorcha can always manage to get more out of people than they think they're willing to give. By changing the nature of a task, he can make it more or less lucrative, even if there's no logical reasons for someone to pay extra or do it this way. Strangely, he always seems to have work lined up, even if it gets bizarre.
Disdain Claw - They say Angels can fly because they take themselves lightly, and demons were banished underground because their concerns are most grave. Feardorcha must not take anyone very seriously at all. When he absolutely must fight, his finger-nails extend about four inches and while they won't do much damage, getting clawed will cause you to rise into the air. Usually, he uses this opportunity to throw his opponent's weightless body out of whatever area they happen to be in.

The Hungry If:
Not a person so much as a carnivorous reality. It's been chasing Oberon for the past six or so years, on and off. It seems to be more active if Oberon has Jumped The Rails recently, though it can show up at any point he's not paying attention. Most people report feelings of attraction to the strange shops that dot The If's roads. The stores are almost always open, and generally willing to take your money. People can be found coming and going on a regular basis, and it's unknown why it chooses to eat certain people.
It also seems to be more active before a Freak Storm. Whether it's acting as a lightning rod or it's simply empowered by the gathering energies is unknown.
Known Twists:
Planar Physiology - It's a sapient location. It can be reasoned with, it just... wants to eat Oberon for some reason. Elk is pretty tasty.
Fire Tubes - The Hungry If is apparently a believe in hot meals, as it can and will shoot jets of flame and fire balls at those it deems a threat. Or people that won't stand still long enough to be Digested.
Atomic Digestion - Has it been mentioned The Hungry If? Streets aren't supposed to do that. If it can immobilize someone long enough, it can start to take them apart on a molecular level. This is not a fast process.

Oberon O'Hern
Your narrator and protagonist.
Collage drop out, courier, and all around decent fellow. Not afraid to let people know when they're screwing up, and expects the same courtesy.
Despite the fact that he looks like an elk, he still eats meat. Just not often. He does, in fact, prefer plants.
Known Twists:
Elk Physiology - He's an elk man, he does what an Elk can. Fast, strong, tough to put down, and most importantly, aware of danger... most of the time.
Air Transmutation - He... turns things into air, and can restore objects that have been turned into air. He doesn't even have to be the one that transmuted them in the first place.
Telekinetic Construction - He makes invisible objects. He can combine Telekinetic construction and Air Transmutation to create pockets of super-compressed(and often super-heated) air.
Emphatic Hearing - He hears what others hear. Forget reading lips. If he can see it, he'll just hear it. It works both ways.
Self-Enhancement - He can boost his physical abilities using ambient heat. It's almost always pleasantly cool around him as a result.
'Jump The Tracks' - if life isn't going his way, using a suitably large and reflective sheet of ice he can always slip into a new reality.
Parliament of Self - If he is ever at a loss for what to do, Oberon can simply ask for help.

C.C. Sanford
First name is Cher, maybe? Apparent hero, and unreasonably scary.
Known Twists:
Teleportation: Can make small objects jump into her hands.
Shadow Claws: She has claws made out of shadows. Pretty self explanatory. Unknown distance, sharpness, and strength.
Gorgon Physiology: She's got scales, snakes for hair, and wears sunglasses inside. Probably a Gorgon.
Eye Jacking: She can borrow other people's vision, maybe share it with other people?
Scary: Might not be a twist, but she's unreasonably good at being intimidating.

Spoiler: Mechanics

Mechanics
Voting will be pretty straight forward. Occasionally, there will be a number of "Shadow Votes". These will be posted by the vote. This means Oberon himself(and potentially other Oberons he's polled) think this is probably the best idea. That's basically all you have to know about that.

I'm going to be using a variant of the Mythic Role Playing system for myself to make things easier, and weirder. Oberon's current stats will be available in the spoiler box at the top of each post, and I'll be editing Oberon's character info in the Character Post to include is skills when I've gotten them nailed down.

Mythic works by comparing the ranks of the relevant attributes on a chart, and creating a margin of success. But it doesn't really stop there. Any question that can be ranked can be asked. For instance, if you wanted to know if there was a trap door in the temple, and we decided it was somewhat likely, I'd grab the somewhat likely column and roll. It's really as simple as that.

If I roll doubles, and it's less than the current Chaos Factor(Which will be shown in the situation box at the top of each post), then something happens. Either the situation is Changed or Interrupted. NPCs might show up, random events might occur. Chaos, basically. Most of that, you don't have to really know.

There will be a little bit of Time and Money management going on. After all, it takes money to do almost anything these days. Oberon is going to start with a surplus, but mostly the worry is going to be toward making rent. Not something you'll have to deal with, for the most part, as Oberon will only contact the Parliament Of Self if things are going strange(IE: Becoming Interesting) or he's bored. After all, listening to the voices in your head often leads to interesting times. Routine jobs probably won't get much of a mention, and he'll usually be able to squeak by, unless you do something like convince him to buy an eight string guitar.
Feardorcha will always have work available, though it might be morally questionable, difficult, or just strange. But if it's being offered while you're around, it'll definitely lead to either Lots of Money, A New Character, or a New Location. Or maybe all three. If you don't think a job is rewarding enough, you can always brag to up the difficulty, thus the reward.

As a final note, should Oberon be about to die, he will 'Jump The Rails' reflexively, no ice needed. Even if he doesn't have a charge. When Oberon 'Jumps The Rails', I'll decide what has changed, usually by looking at past votes and going with the second choice for activities, actions, and so on. For every three weeks of charge Oberon has, a single choice can be accurately Remade. If Oberon doesn't have a charge but is forced to jump anyway, I will go with the least popular choices. You've been warned. That should be everything for now. First actual post coming soon.

 

[FourmyleOfCeres]

Let's get this party started.

---

Spoiler: Current Situation

Strength - High | Intellegence - Average
Agility - Exceptional+ |Intuition - Above Average
Reflex - High | Willpower - Above Average
Toughness - Exceptional+
Current Fundage: $200 spare cash, after rent and food
Rails: 1 week charge.
Boost: 2 Charges in use, no additional available.
Chaos Factor 3

So there I was, on top of the world. Well, not literally. I was hanging out on the top of the Hemoscroggin Bank, the tallest building in Old Town waiting for the customer. I try not to ask what's in the boxes, even when they're occasionally jumping and chirping.

Especially when they're jumping and chirping. Still, it was a bit weird to be on top of a building, even for me.

That's when she swooped into my life. Literally, I don't know where she came from, or why I didn't see her as the Sun was still up, but down swooped a beauty on velvety wings. Dark skin with downy fur, and the biggest ears you ever did see. I mean, that's what struck me first. You don't see that many Primals around, maybe one in fifty have animistic Twists and only about a third of them are quite so obvious as I am. Or she was.

She was also wearing a face mask and a latex dress. That... probably should have been weirder. But even up here you get Heroes. Most Primals don't bother with masks because really, how many Bat-Women or Elk-Men could be running around? It's just not worth it.

I didn't have a chance to really make a friend, though, as she just swooped down, grabbed the box in her toes and flapped off. My tip was a fifty dollar bill in a water bottle, dropped beside me. Nice of her.

I didn't have anything else to do, so I decided to fire up the old inter-dimensional connection and ask the Parliament. That'd be you guys.

It's Six PM on a Saturday, and I'm feeling flush. I could head back to Earthbound and Down and see if Feardorcha(Fear-Door-Ha) has another job for me, which he probably does. Or I could hit the Coat/Tail Club and see if anyone knows the Bat-Woman. I'd say I could call a friend and see if they want to hang out, but I don't really have any right now. The last time the If caught me, I had to make an emergency Jump and I landed in a world where I haven't even met some of the old friends.

Or I could just wander town. There's that, there's always something going on in town, especially on a Saturday. I could run into The If though. That's always annoying. And don't be shy about striking up a conversation with me. I understand some of you, probably most of you, weren't here before my last jump.

---

[] Hit Earthbound and Down for more work.
[] Head to the Coat/Tail club for socialization. (+1)
[] Wander about town Below Average chance of Encountering The Hungry If
[] Head home and save your money.

 

[veekie]

[X] Head to the Coat/Tail club for socialization.

 

[DevilsAdvocate]

[X] Head to the Coat/Tail club for socialization.
​

 

[Thozmp]

[X] Head to the Coat/Tail club for socialization. (+1)

 

[Walker]

[X] Wander about town Below Average chance of Encountering The Hungry If

 

[Erehwon]

[X] Hit Earthbound and Down for more work.

 

[Nevill]

[X] Head to the Coat/Tail club for socialization. (+1)

 

[FourmyleOfCeres]

Okay, I need to get this Shadow Vote thing sorted out. I'll deal with that in the future. No big. Manually counting for now because, well...
4(Plus 1 Shadow) for Coat/Tail Club, 1 for wandering, and 1 for heading back to work.

Let's roll.

---

Spoiler: Current Situation

Strength - High | Intellegence - Average
Agility - Exceptional+ |Intuition - Above Average
Reflex - High | Willpower - Above Average
Toughness - Exceptional+
Current Fundage: $200 spare cash, after rent and food
Rails: 1 week charge.
Boost: 2 Charges in use, no additional available.
Chaos Factor 3

Right, I could always use some more friends. Lost the last batch the last time The If ate me. They're still around, mostly. But they don't remember me. I jumped into a world where I'd never met them. I might be able to make friends with them again, if I can find them. I'll make a note if I've already got information on someone.

Well, that was cheerful. The Coat/Tail Club isn't far from the bank anyway. The good thing about Telekinetic Construction is never needing stairs. I made a quick skyway-and-ramp to the roof of the hotel across the street, galavanted across that, and then created an invisible slide down. It's the little things in life, you know? Like traveling a little over a city block on your butt at breakneck speeds only to turn it into a jaunty little hop onto another roof, and shorter, nicer ride down that didn't have people wondering if there was a movie filming nearby.

It's probably stuff like that gives us Twisted a bad name, but it's not like I can put out a missed connection 'Elk Seeking Bat - I gave you your box, you gave me a bottle. But you never gave me your name'.

Well I could, but that would be creepy. Thinking of Creeps, once I was on the ground, I send a quick text to Feardorcha about the completed job and the nice tip she left. He always gives the tippers priority. Well, and the guys who get tips.

The Coat/Tail Club operated out of an old office building by the Ferry Dock. Nice enough place, three stories, keeps a doorman on the roof as well as one at street level. Normally, I couldn't afford a place like this, but they offered a discount for people as... Primal as myself, and Feardorcha's paying for it. Given he's one of the few people that remembers when I Jump The Tracks, he probably thinks I need all the friends I can get. Otherwise, I might go weird in the head and start talking to myself. Too late for that.

It's not like it's there's that big of a population of Primals to populate the club, anyway. About half the population of the United States is Twisted, yes. But only about one in fifty is even a little Primal. About one in ten of the Primals have it as their Major Twist, like the Bat-Woman and Myself. The rest of the Primals just have things like scales, gills, webbed toes and a hunch. You know. Minor stuff. That guy you think looks weasely? Might have a minor Weasel twist. Or maybe that hairy guy you caught sleeping in his pool has an Moderate Otter twist.

What I'm saying is, Full Primals like myself are the Kings of the Freakshow. Among other Primals, you get treated with some respect. Hell, among scientists, you get treated with respect because you're so rare. It takes a Major City to support a place like this. Last count, the Greater Y.S. Metropoliton Area only had six hundred sixty nine of us. I think maybe a hundred of us were actually members of the Coat/Tail Club.

Anyway, enough rambling. The building it self is well furnished, and I'm a frequent enough visitor that they let me right in. No one I knew was working right off, aside from the Bullish door man PD. Major Twist, he's a Bull. Minor Twist, he's got some sort of Organic Metal hands. At least, that's what I hear. I never asked, it's possible he lost them in an accident and someone just threw together a new pair.

First floor, the relaxation room. When you absolutely positively must get something to eat and get away from the more normal people. Considering Membership was usually a hundred bucks a month(Fifty if you're a full primal), the chairs are damn comfortable and the alcohol is complimentary. It's just brandy in the Relaxation room, though. If you want something more, you have to head to the Dining Hall, and order something. Or the Bar. The Bartender on Duty right now is a Reptilian man I don't recognize. Probably knows the member list pretty well though. The Kitchen's in back, but it's not like I can just wander in there.

Second floor, the Game Room, a few meeting rooms, and the 'Theatre'. The Theater is a glorified meeting room with a collection of Public Domain films on loop through the always on digital projector. The theory is that no one can remember their troubles when they're at the movies. Sometimes it works. There's a scaly woman in sunglasses playing cards with a group of Streetlight People. She might've been able to pass her self, if it weren't for the fangs and the snake-hair.

There's a weasel-looking Streetlight looking for a pool game, I could probably chat him up for information.

Third floor is the Library and club offices. Not a lot to do there, aside from study. Then again, if I talk to someone who works behind the scenes, I might get access to either the Roles or at least get them to put out a message.

---

New Glossary Term Added:
Streetlight People - Twisted Individuals who can pass for "normal" only in dim lighting or at thirty foot. Generally low grade Primals, though other twists, such as being made of living cake, do qualify.

[] Just Relax
[] Hit the bar.
[] Get supper
[] Join the Gorgon(?) at cards
[] Play with the weasel
[] Hit the Library.
[] Write In

Spoiler: Shadow Votes

x1 Hit the bar.
x1 Join the Gorgon(?) at cards

 

[veekie]

[X] Play with the weasel

 

[Walker]

[X] Hit the Library.

 

[Erehwon]

[X] Play with the weasel

 

[Thozmp]

[X] Join the Gorgon(?) at cards

 

[FourmyleOfCeres]

Two Weasels, Two Gorgons(One of them a shadow vote), the Bar, and the Library. Let's do this.

---

Spoiler: Current Situation

Strength - High | Intellegence - Average
Agility - Exceptional+ |Intuition - Above Average
Reflex - Exceptional+ | Willpower - Above Average
Toughness - High
Current Fundage: $200 spare cash, after rent and food
Rails: 1 week charge.
Boost: 2 Charges in use, no additional available.
Chaos Factor 3

The Library and Bar will still be there later. I'll definitely hit the bar latter, at least. As for the Gorgon... well.. Given how her tongue keeps flicking in and out, she's probably cheating. If you've got enhanced senses, why not mark the cards with perfume? I'm not saying she was, but she was doing well enough that you had to wonder. If she's still around after a round of pool, I'll head to her. Easier to talk to people one on one. People have their own problems, and the others might not be in the mood to talk, especially if she's fleecing them.

Plus, those teeth make me nervous.

For across the room, the Weasel kinda looks like Steve Buscemi. Probably unfair to them both, but that's how things are. I waited for him to get done running the table by himself and gave a bit of a smile. "Do you wanna rack'em'up or should I?"

The weasel tosses me the triangle, and we get to set-up. He offers a sly smile and introduces himself. "Name's Kade Caruso, nice to meet you. This a friendly game, or did you want to take my money?"

I offered a hand. It dwarfed his handily. Kade couldn't have been much more than five six, and was built fairly compactly. Me? I'm big. Not as big as PD, but few people are. So I've got reach. "Oberon O'Hern. Friendly. My boss wants me to get out more, and I don't have many friends right now. Too much work, not enough play."

Okay, so I'm not good at talking to people who aren't me. I'm working on it.

Kade hands me a Cue, and offers me the break. Of course I take it. Chances are, he's not going to play his best to try and goad me into putting money up. These things happen. That's okay, I know I'm not good enough to play for money. Which is reinforced by the break. Sure, the balls scatter a bit, but I manage to scratch. You'd almost think I was the one sandbagging from that.

Kade shakes his head. "Bad luck, friend. So what do you do for a living?" For his part, he doesn't really run the table, so much as much as sink two stripes before missing. I still feel like he's playing under-speed. Then again, I'm a paranoid little bastard.

I get one. Not great, but at least I didn't do something regrettable. "Courier. I run here and there with important documents, lunch, and what have you. I see a lot of the city, but not that much in the way of the people, you?"

Kade wiffs. "I help farmers, mostly. I deal with nitrogen, in all it's forms, and I spend a decent amount of time returning it to the soil."

"I've probably eaten your work then. Might be a stereotype, but I do love a salad." I manage to sink two balls, and I'm working on my third shot when the card room erupts in a gust of wind. Seven Aces land on the pool table. Yeah, that's a good reason for an explosion. I set down the cue. "Everything Alright in there? Do I need to call PD?"

Well no, by definition, everything's not alright. The Gorgon's probably getting blasted, and someone was obviously cheating. But then again, it's not my problem. Right?

Kade glances at me, then back at the card room. It's not that far away, and we're technically armed. Or we could go back to our game.

---

[] Intervene.
[] Call security and go back to the game.
[] Not my problem, just keep playing.

Spoiler: Shadow Votes

X1 Intervene

 

[Walker]

[X] Intervene.

 

[Nevill]

Well, with our build... we are probably better at getting people to calm down than security.

[X] Intervene.

 

[veekie]

[X] Intervene.

 

[Thozmp]

[X] Intervene.

 

[FourmyleOfCeres]

As a note, I hadn't planned on forcing the whole thing with the Gorgon on you guys, even though it sorta tied(In case of a Tie, I tend to ignore the Shadow Votes. ). But the dice said it was time to interrupt with another NPC, and well, she was closest.

---

Spoiler: Current Situation

Strength - High | Intellegence - Average
Agility - Exceptional+ |Intuition - Above Average
Reflex - Exceptional+ | Willpower - Above Average
Toughness - High
Current Fundage: $200 spare cash, after rent and food
Rails: 1 week charge.
Boost: 2 Charges in use, no additional available.
Chaos Factor 4

I'm not much of hero, and it is PD's job to deal with this sort of thing. But you all are right. I'm closer, and I can do something about it.

Here's hoping Kade's more than just hot air. I head to the card room, and sure enough, the Gorgon's managed to make a scene. Let's be clear here. I'm big, I'm tough, but I'm not a fighter. I do damage and I run when I have to fight. Snakes? They strike fast, they strike hard, and they hope that's enough.

Weasels, weasels on the other hand... If they only fight if they think they can win. And given I don't see him anywhere, he probably thought better of following me. When I get there, the Gorgon has the poor sap pinned to the wall with great big claws made out shadow. Great, I'm not even sure what the guy is, to be honest. Aside from a lousy cheater, if seven aces ended up in play. She's busy yelling in his face, but he notices me.

"Hey! You gotta help me. She started it!" Says the poor cheater. That didn't work in first grade, it won't work now. I bang the pool cue on the table to get everyone's attention. I'm going to need some space if I'm going to set up a wall.

"Hey! I don't know what's going on here, but I'm pretty sure no one wants to head to the ER or the lock-up tonight, so explanations better happen quick." As I said, I'm not good with talking to people. I'm trying.

The Gorgon doesn't even bother looking at me, but everyone else sure as hell is. I try again. "Lady, guy sucks at cards, and seems to be worse at cheating at cards. You don't have to damage the walls to prove a point, just let him go and file a complaint."

She turns to face me, just for a few seconds, just long enough to talk. And that's when it happens. Kade's hands reach through the wall and grab the man roughly. And then he'll gone, as though the wall were nothing but mud. Looks like I was wrong twice over, not only didn't he run, but I wouldn't have had reach on him anyway. "Little bastard was using Ink Manipulation to redraw the deck. I only caught him because of this." She says, pulling one claw out of the wall and giving a slight flourish. A few of the cards littering the ground vanish, and reappear in her grip. Great, she can teleport stuff.

She looks back and that's when she totally loses her shit. She'd expected the guy to run, I think, but not vanish completely. Her eyes do something and...

... And I'm not holding the pool cue anymore. I'm halfway across the room. There's some other elk guy in the door way. I go to take a step forward and he lunges. Reflexively, I put up my hands and he raises the pool cue he's holding. The feathers on the back of my hands stand up and...

And I'm back to me. Cute. The Gorgon was screwing with my vision. Didn't help her any. It only takes a second to form a sheath around the cue and then it's gone. Here's the thing about 'air'. Any gas can be compressed. This is how we get such interesting things as guns, explosives, of course carbonation. Now, like any fluid, gas will take the path of least resistance. Again, think 'gun'.

Which is why it's possible to do something as stupid, dangerous, and useful as turn a pool-cue into an explosion. A lot of people think that it's the heat of the explosion that gets you. Sometimes, yes. But the pressure wave is more likely to pulp you. Now, the more scientifically minded can figure out exactly how much force I just unleashed by focusing the mass of a pool cue into small space and forcing it out a hole the diameter of it's smallest part. The rest of you, all you have to know is that it was incredibly loud and she left a dent in the wall.

Specifically, the pressure wave caught her in the side and carried her though the air, sideways, into the far wall, where she hit with about as much force as if I tackled her. I wasn't trying to kill her after all. It would have been trivial to pulp her lungs, but dammit, I'm not a killer.

Too much paper work.

I don't care if she was just trying to scare him, assault is assault. I don't care if she was just trying to disorient me, she still assaulted me with a Twist. So the Gorgon Dynamo went down.

Not wanting to get fined for destruction of club property, I reach into the cloud of hot air that used to be pool cue and concentrated. It wasn't long before I was holding it again. P.D. was damn sure on his way after that, he probably thought it was a gunshot. Not inaccurate, but...

Kade spoke behind me. "Nice job taking her down. Didn't mean to disappear like that..."

I reply with a laugh. "But separating them was more important. Don't worry. This might be an odd time for it, but I actually came here looking for a Bat."

I could hear Kade blink. "A specific one, or did you just wake up with a craving?"

The Gorgon stirred and I raised a hand. Abruptly, there was a ringing in my ears. Yeah, getting hit with that does ruin your ears for a while. I was probably the only one in room who could actually hear a damn thing. I whisper, thankfully no one but maybe Kade can hear enough to make out what I was saying. Empathic Hearing can be useful, I guess. "You were cheating too, weren't you? That's why you struck so hard. You had to make it look good."

I didn't break line of sight but a gestured to Kade. "A specific one. She's a Hero, met her briefly today."

The Gorgon hissed under her breath. "Get out of my head. You don't know me."

I could hear the heavy footfalls of the Minotaur. P.D. always takes his time. Mainly because he doesn't want to have to ban anybody.

The ensuing conversation doesn't really bear mentioning. Fingers were pointed, people got disciplined, fines were handed out, and Kade and I were given a free month.

Which brings us to this very moment.

The Gorgon looks at Kade and I, and holds out her car keys. "Tell you what, let's make this right. We all get something to eat, hash this out over dinner, and maybe come out of it friends, rather than 'Idiot, Ninja, and guy that shot me'."

Kade shrugs. "If your car can fit him, I'm game."

Guys?

---

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Spoiler: Shadow Votes

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[Thozmp]

[X] Sup with the Snake

 

[Walker]

[X] Sup with the Snake

 

[Nevill]

That does not sound suspicious at all.

[X] Sup with the Snake

 

[veekie]

[x] Sup with the Snake

 

[Erehwon]

[X] Sup with the Snake