You crack your knuckles as you spin around in your lab chair, rolling up to your desk with a flourish. Rolling your shoulders and stretching your back, you settle into the 'scientist slouch' and pull out your half-baked plans for the Auto-Stitching Thread.
Retrieving pens and pencils from the next drawer up, you set to work.
(Craft (Super Science) Roll DC 50,80: 94+15=109, double success, MWAHAHAHAHA
60+9=69, triple success, nice)
You stare up at the ceiling, where a lazily spinning fan cools you off. A grin widens across your face as you raise a clenched fist towards the ceiling––soft plumes of smoke drift away from the tip of the pencil clutched in your hand.
You've done it. You've created not one, but two complete designs in as many hours.
The first is a spool of something you're calling 'RegenerThread'. RegenerThread, should the testing show results, is supposed to allow your very clothing to close up lacerations and wounds at a relatively quick pace. Of course, it is devilishly expensive to manufacture on a broader scale than individual use, so you're probably not going to be seeing it in anything larger than a pair of socks or gloves, perhaps a bracelet of it.
The second is a new restraining agent, which you're currently calling 'Re-Cuffs'. Re-Cuffs are something quite similar to your new RegenerThread, but with a key difference. Re-Cuffs is a length of unassuming string that, when broken, reforms stronger than before. This means that a super strong monster can't easily escape from the restraints as they'll just keep getting stronger and stronger until the monster can't break free anymore. Unfortunately, there needs to be a way of releasing the restraints. The way of doing that is by sending a sustained electric charge through the string, which loosens it enough to be taken off the subject. After it's taken off it returns to its original state.
You eye your two newest designs with an appraising eye, these are gonna be quite useful in the future, you just know it.
Anywho, it's time for you to get ready! R&D's going to be taking an indepth look at that Gremlish and you wouldn't miss that for the world!
~~~~~~~
Dr. Simule, a glasses-wearing bald man in a white lab coat, greets you as you enter the observation chamber. The chamber overlooks the theater room, where the study is to take place.
"Ah, Special Agent Williams, you've come just in time. The Gremlish is being prepped as we speak." His voice is like smooth butter, he could've been a talk show host or a radio personality if he hadn't gone into science.
Some parts of the country, especially places like Puerto Rico, haven't gotten TV signals in years or even decades––a consequence of the Seals breaking resulted in lots of wireless signals being disrupted or even halted entirely. This effect grows stronger the closer you get to the Equator. Certain countries like Ecuador don't have any wireless signals at all! Hell, if you're standing directly on the Equator, you can't send or receive any signals at all, be it wireless or wired!
"Dr. Simule, it's been awhile, hasn't it?" You respond as you step into the room fully. And it has been some time, the last time you saw him was when he showed you to the laboratories, back in training.
"Indeed it has!" He replies, merrily so. "Oh I just love a good vivisection, don't you?" The good doctor asks as he hops from one foot to the other, looking to all the world like an excited puppy.
You shrug. "They're alright, never really found the experience itself interesting. Though that might be on account of my specialties not lying in biology or anatomy."
The super scientist waves it off. "Ah, no bother, it just means more for me!" You're not entirely sure that that's how that works, but you're not one to say something doesn't work just because you haven't seen it before. After all, what's the point of super science if not to disrupt what was previously held to be true? You mean, you've witnessed every single one of Newton's laws be broken before––all at once, even!
"So," you start talking, trying to fill the silence that had fallen between you two, "made anything interesting recently?"
Dr. Simule brightens up, like a lighthouse on a stormy night. "Why yes indeed I have! I bred a Phyloc dremorum with a Terigenus malefect and succeeded in producing fertile offspring!" It takes you a few seconds to piece together what he's referring to, but when you do you pale slightly. The Phyloc dremorum, more commonly referred to as Walker's Vine, is a type of demonic vine that, well, does demonic things like spreading Hellish infestation. Terigenus malefect, on the other hand, is a type of rodent-like creature from the Shadow Mirror, a mirror world of earth. Mirror worlds are alternate dimensions where everything is subtly wrong, in a way you struggle to put a finger on.
A crossbreed between those two things… yikes for whoever pissed off Dr. Simule enough to go the effort of breeding a plant and a rat together.
"Fertile offspring, you say?" Your eyebrows rise up as you speak. "You sure that's a good idea when working with things like that?"
"It just happened that way! And don't you worry, all offspring have been euthanized with extreme prejudice!" He smiles brightly as he says that.
"...right." You eventually reply, turning your attention to the operating theater as the strapped down Gremlish is wheeled in.
(Learning DC 30,80: 28+10=38, success)
Well, that was certainly enlightening. Apparently, while they've encountered Gremlish twice before, this was the first time they'd been able to take a live one apart.
From it, you gathered an idea. A serum that, upon ingestion, would enhance your natural abilities for a limited amount of time. By your very rough estimates, this would be very valuable for agents on the field.
(Gain Idea: Enhancing Serum)
~~~~~~~
Pulling out the chair to your room's desk, you're once again reminded that you need to find an apartment or something to call your own. You can't stay in the HQ forever, even if you wanted to.
Sitting down, you retrieve Dr Wallace Williams' research notes from your desk drawers and get to reading. With trembling hands and bated breath you turn pages and scan passages, searching for clues to the whereabouts of the tools of your ancestor's trade. The Boomstick and the Chainsaw, both valued heirlooms of your family, both lost on adventures and escapades.
(Investigation Roll DC 40,70: 53+10=63, success)
The Chainsaw, you learn, was lost to the Williams when an adventure in the Independent State of Florida went horribly wrong, which resulted in the deaths of your great-great-great-grand-uncles Arthur and Thomas as well as Arthur's wife, Beau. They had been adventuring in a quest to find the mythical Fountain of Youth and had, apparently, encountered a particularly resilient Satani, an extremely strong and extremely intelligent strain of Devil. No trace of the Chainsaw shows up again for several decades, not until something remarkably similar to it in description shows up for auction in Kansas. It seems that it was purchased by the Winchesters, another family of demon slayers based in Lawrence. Of course, it is completely possible that they lost it as well, but they're the best lead you've got at the moment.
The Boomstick… well, you're unfortunately not so lucky there. The research mentions that it was last seen in the 1400s, when a time vortex sucked it out of the hands of Dr Wallace's mother when Dr Wallace was just a boy. Apparently, more knowledge is kept in the archives, more of his research and notes. What you're holding here is the scraps of knowledge he wrote on his deathbed, what he still remembered anywho.
And if you want to continue this quest, you're going to need to talk to your 'parents' again.
Goddammit.
~~~~~~~
"Hey, Baba!" You announce to the seemingly empty storefront, which has seen some cleaning since you last came in. Some being the operative word there as it's still a dust-filled hellhole, but at least there aren't as many boxes cluttering the place. "I'm here for the, uh, magic lessons as well as…" You trail off, struggling to find the words. "Some advice, for family stuff."
"Trying to start a family?! Already?! Oh I haven't even met the lucky young man!" Old Baba comes hurtling from the backrooms, her colorful clothing amok as she skids to a halt in front of you. The old woman looks as absolutely jacked as ever, like she would be more at home in a bodybuilding competition than running a magic shop. "Well," she composes herself, smoothing out her skirts as she towers a full two feet over your head, "there's a lot that goes int-"
You cut her off, knowing that she's going to be at this forever if you don't stop her now. "It's not that, Baba, it's…" You take a deep breath, "...my own parents."
You're not even sure how it started, but you find yourself sitting across from Old Baba, a cup of warm tea in both your hand and hers as you tell her your life story.
"...and then I had to teach myself how to cook by myself, I was four!"
"Oh you poor thing, here, let Baba get you more tea."
She's the epitome of the kind old grandmother, not that you'd know given the fact that you don't have any grandparents on either side of the family. At least, not anymore.
There's just something about her that makes you feel comfortable. Maybe it's something in her vaguely slavic accent that reassures you, or maybe it's something else entirely.
"When my son, Alois, returned home from the war I was so happy to see him and the man he'd become! And then he introduced me to that gold digging whore he calls his wife, Miloslava." She nearly spits the name. "But, it was clear that he loved her as much as she loved the prestige that came from marrying him, so I gave my blessing. And besides," she pulls out a photo album from… somewhere and begins showing off pictures of about six or so grandchildren, "I got my lovely little grandbabies out of it and with Rod as my witness I wouldn't let Miloslava corrupt them!" Baba huffs, the witch stirring her tea cup as she thinks back to the mysterious 'war', which seems to change every time she mentions it. "But, as I was saying, if they're really your family they'll have to accept you." A dark and stormy look flashes over her face. "And if they don't…" She trails off, her point made.
"W-well, do you think we can get to the magic now?"
"Of course, dear."
(Magic Roll DC 40,60,80 (DC Increase countered by Old Baba): 59+10=69, double success, nice)
(Magic Roll DC 40,60,80 (DC Increase countered by Old Baba): 4+10=14, failure, yep, we're going with the first)
(28 more successes needed to get rid of Magically Inert)
~~~~~~~
Regardless of any feelings you have towards your parents, you don't want to meet them right away.
Which is why you are meeting someone else's parents.
Carol and Mike Mercer sit across from you in a coffee shop booth, the pair clutching a coffee of some kind in their nervous hands.
(Do the Mercers recognize you? 100, dear god they do)
"You're… Itzabella Williams, right? The singer and the daughter of Power Williams?" The father, Mike, asks as he leans forwards in the red booth.
The corner of your eye twitches, how the actual hell…? "How the actual hell?"
"We love your music!" Carol gushes, a smile splitting her face––her white teeth blinding in the light. "But… more importantly," she says more solemnly, "you're one of the people who saved our… our…" The mother across from you gulps, tears threatening to spill from the corners of her eyes.
"Our son." Mike finishes for her, a palm on her elbow and an arm around her shoulders. He takes a deep breath before continuing. "A-and we owe you a great, unconditional debt for this gift you've given us."
"Anything, anything at all!" Carol adds in.
"I-I'll remember that." You manage to get out before they smother you further in gratitude.
(You've got a favor from the Mercers, good for you! You can cash it in just about anytime you want for them to use their resources to your advantage as best they can.)
~~~~~~~
(Combat (Dagger) Training Roll DC 30,60,90: 57+10=67, double success)
Second roll:
(Combat (Dagger) Training Roll DC 30,60,90: 58+10=68, double success, lmao)
Your eyes widen a fraction as you feel cold, sharp steel against your neck.
"To answer your question," Damien remarks dryly as he holds the blade to your throat, "I think that you should do what you want regarding your parents."
"Gee, how helpful."
"I try."
(16 more successes needed)
~~~~~~~
Standing outside the front gate of your family's estate, you take a deep breath
Your finger hovers over the intercom, trembling before the grated button.
(Resolve Roll DC 85: 34+30=64, failure, how unfortunate)
You know what they're going to say to you. About how you've come crawling back to them, just like they knew you would. About how you're not fit to take care of yourself, even though that's all you've been doing for the past 23 years.
And you realize something: That you don't have to do this to yourself.
Pivoting on the asphalt, you stride away from the gated estate, a shadow following you all the way home.
(You failed this time, but next time you'll come back stronger than before)
~~~~~~~
Alrighty, time to select your next job.
[ ] A Case (More long form things, often over a long period of time, where you can do downtime activities while investigating)
-[ ] A Senator has received a threatening letter for daring to suggest legislation that limits the ability for super scientists to perform unethical human experimentation, your objective is to bring the letter writer to justice
-[ ] The Lady of the Lake's daughter has shown up on the Chicago shorefront, find out how she got there
-[ ] The exhibits in the Field Museum of Natural History have been coming to life, find out why
-[ ] Griffon eggs have been showing up on the black market and the only sources are in sanctuaries, put a stop to these poachers
Or
[ ] An Assignment (Shorter things, typically only a day or so in length)
-[ ] A man claims to have been abducted by aliens, find out if he's telling the truth
-[ ] Apparently, a woman's dog has turned into a fully fledged vampire lord, figure out what happened to this dog
~~~~~~~
GM's Note: Old Baba is, as always, a joy to write. Sucks about the resolve roll, though, but it is really, really hard to do the sort of thing that Itza was doing in the first place. Voting will be called tomorrow at 5 PM CST, thanks for watching!
Also, Elden Ring's out now, so, uh, I might be slow to update as it were
