Masks: A New Generation of Heroes

Game Master Cwethan

you can ask questions based on the result

I asked questions.

"More importantly, where are they located, and how long have you known about this?"

I meant the others who hadn't asked questions yet.

Nick has a pretty decent poker face, and the threats of ratting him out to the Defender's only get the slightest of frowns from him, which is quite an accomplishment any regular at his poker table will tell you.

"It's called protocal. Its the reason why the f+&#ing army doesn't show up until they're given the okay. It's why the Defenders are a team funded by the city instead of a ragtag group of heroes in spandex. You're calling me out for the b*$%%@*@ of the system? Go ahead. Half the reason I joined up was to-"

As Nick is talking, trying to convince you to take action quickly, you all notice something. On the door, a small deeply red line begins to draw itself in a circle. From there, it begins to spread into arcane patterns and blossom like a fully formed rune.

A familiar rune.

the door explodes, sending charred bits of wood at the regular folks in the diner. Nick whips around his hand extended reflexively justa piece of debris smacks him on the hard head. Hard.

He crumples to the floor. Three people step through the door. They're dressed in dark clothing, and their eyes are covered with some sort of visor. They glance at you for just a moment.

"Targets acquired." the one in the front says, before leaping towards you. His hands seem to summon rubble and stone to it, giving it an impressive layer of strength and durability.

Fight Scene! Lets GO!

Wingblade launches into action without hesitation. Whether Hashtag can keep the illusion up that erases her wings from sight is no longer a concern to her, and instead she is across the room with their deadly edges poised for attack.

Wingblade focuses on the lead intruder, considering that the stony covering can take a decent strike from her blades. She slashes out in a fury hoping that the rest of her friends can capitalize on the opening she gives.

Unleash Your Powers (Danger): 2d6 ⇒ (3, 4) = 7
Going for creating an opportunity for my allies

Condition(s): None

Marking Potential for missed Assess the Situation move (3 -> 4)

The former deputy is quick to defend those around him, his thoughts moving with incredible speed as the rune forms.

If everything Nick said was true, then some paramilitary group tied to Tectonic's parents had gotten their hands on a bit of Eldritch's power. But since it had hardly been a few days since they last saw Eldritch and the others, that meant that these reported super soldiers wouldn't of had much time to learn how to fully control their newfound abilities. So this 'spell' that was being cast now, it was probably going to be something simple. Something like–

"Everyone, get down!", commands Atoms.

BOOM!

The moment the explosion hits, Atoms explodes with an amazing display of his own power. Using the same trick he used back at the school, he sends a wave of energy throughout the diner, intent on vaporizing every bit of debris before it injures anyone. It works, and fortunately this time, no one gets shoved to the floor.

Defend (+ Savior): 2d6 + 2 ⇒ (1, 5) + 2 = 8
Protecting the people in the room (something/crowd). Hit.
"You keep them safe and choose one": Take Influence over someone you protect (North Star).
"On a 7-9, it costs you": Escalate the situation.

@North Star I already have Influence on you, so this will allow me to shift your labels. +1 Savior and -1 from another label (your choice).

Unfortunately, however, this terrifying shockwave does more than just destroy the debris. Its impact, combined with the blasting rune from the super soldier, cause the building to shake and weaken. Any more damage, like from the oncoming super-powered brawl, could cause the whole place to collapse.

"Simpson, Vick! This place isn't safe. Get Nick and the rest of the people out of here."

fighting the gang members had taught Tycho something about using his speed and strength in a fight. When the concussive waves slam into each other, Tycho is already moving. Using the momentum from Atoms' wave, he slams into the caster with all the power he can muster put behind his fist, hoping to put him down with a good first hit.

Unleash your Powers(+Freak): 2d6 + 3 ⇒ (2, 3) + 3 = 8

Tell me how the effect is unstable or temporary, oh wise and mighty GM.

From Atoms, I am raising Savior by +1 and lowering Danger by -1.

Vick's gone the moment he sees the rune start burning into the door; the other side of a tactic he and his friend had used several times in the past. Ducking under the table, he is startled to see Nick drop to the ground unconscious from the blast.

The heavy hitters leap into battle, and the illusion over Wingblade is shredded by her use of her wings. Hashtag is glad that Atoms managed to protect most the audience. He wouldn't want to fight Eldritch; unlike Tectonic, arcane powers were a whole different bag of angry, confused cats.

He closes his eyes, touches Nick's shoulder and concentrates very hard. He would hate to get through this just to be arrested for splinching one of the Defenders.

Savior: 2d6 ⇒ (4, 4) = 8
Going to take exposes myself to danger.
Vick visualized his room and sends Nick there, popping him into existence a foot over the bedding in case he forgot to make it and the pillows weren't in place. Nick disappears with a CRACK!, but Hashtag realizes that he's now in the light. In his haste he forgot he was holding onto the table with his other hand, and now that's probably crashing through his foster father's house right now. Great.

"Ah for f@#%$ sake!" he shouts, realizing that he's now not only out of cover but visible to their foes. He grits his teeth and rises, almost blinded by the flash of Wingblade's wings spraying sparks from stone covered flesh. He glances at the nearest family noncombatant, a family member of Nick's.

"If there's a back door, go take it now!" he shouts. "I'll try to keep them off you!"

Well, it was nice knowing me. he thinks, striding forward. Still, he must put on the airs of being confident. He pops the collar of his jacket, tilts his head and grins.

"You were outgunned. Now you're also outclassed." he taunts.
God, you sound so dumb! he thinks to himself.

Condition(s): None

Spending Team to assist Hashtag!
Team Pool: 1 -> 0

As Hashtag follows orders, Atoms swivels around in mid-air to help him cover the civilians from any possible threat, ready to intercept with another one of his waves if need be.

The enemy that Qinglade slashes viciously gets sent backwards but not by much. The weight of the stone and earth make him heavier and he lands on the ground grasping his stomach. He seems wounded at first, but you can see small bits of earth and stone crawling towards him as the large gouges begin to refill.

Effect Temporary, though it was more of a directly engage a threat.

Deputy Atoms is able to keep the civilians safe, though at the cost of the structural integrity of the diner. Even now you can see the walls and cieiling being to falter.

North Star rides the momentum of Deputy Atom's power, and moves to attack the already weakened enemy that Wingblade attacked. However, the second (you know what, I'll just call them sentinels) sentinel flies forward with impressive speed and meets your attack, grasping your fist and trying to push you back. Your force overwhelms him and knocks him back, but he recovers mid air only a little worse for wear. You can see his hands are gone, but that familiar geo kinetic effect is assembling his body bit by bit.

Not really a dedicated "caster" and also would have been better as a directly engage a threat move

With Nick safely away, Hashtag barks orders at his family who are all too eager to act on them. They start move away, staying low and trying to head to the kitchen area where a back door is assumed to be. The front entrance is blocked by the sentinels anyway.

Raising the 8 to a 9 doesn't change anything, I don't think Atoms

With two sentinels currently recovering, the third rushes forward. He seems to almost collide with Winglade but instead "phases" through her and heads straight to Hashtag. A shift to lower stance, a stone covered fist pops up and thrusts Hashtag in the gut!

Hashtag, take a powerful blow.

Take a powerful blow: 2d6 + 3 ⇒ (4, 5) + 3 = 12

Ouchies!

Hashtag thought he had gotten better. He thought he had learned to fight a little better. He was proven in an instant that he was as frail as any child when the stone fist smashed into his gut. His breath, his heart, his thoughts all stopped for a split second before his brain goes into overdrive.
Survive! Run! his instinct screamed.

He refused to give in just yet. He needed to help his friends. In his stunned state, he thought he properly visualized before reaching for his powers.

He hadnt, nor did he use his powers lightly. Full throttle, no hands on the wheel.

Giving "Lose control of powers" a spin.

-Posted with Wayfinder

Shaken by the speed of the sentinel before him, Tycho picks up one of the booth tables and attempts to leaping, baseball bat-style hit the flying one out of the diner.

Directly Engage a threat: 2d6 ⇒ (5, 1) = 6

Whoops. Looks like I got confused somewhere and even though I was thinking I would Directly Engage a Threat, for some strange reason I typed out Unleash My Powers. My bad.

Wingblade screams incoherently with battle fury as the third sentinel phases through her. However, being behind her wasn't necessarily the safest place because her wings were there. She slashes out with her bladed feathers fanned out in a wide spread, then she spins around to find purchase in the phased enemy. Once she sees that the sentinel has driven a fist into Hashtag's gut, the old red-rimmed rage begins to descend upon her. Her battle yell changes in pitch as a fury wells up from within her.

Unleash Powers (overcome an obstacle -- the guy's phasing): 2d6 + 1 ⇒ (1, 5) + 1 = 7

Marking Angry

Condition(s): None

I will take advantage of the opportunity that Wingblade created.

Hashtag was hit by the Phasing Sentinel, who Wingblade was currently going after. On the other side of the diner, North Star was engaged with the Sorcery Sentinel. That left the Geokinetic Sentinel all to Atoms, a fight that he was honestly looking forward to. But first, he would have to avoid letting the diner take any more damage.

Directly Engage A Threat (+ Danger): 2d6 + 2 ⇒ (6, 1) + 2 = 9
Impress/Surprise/Frighten

"Lets take this outside." The former deputy wasn't asking as much as telling. In the blink of an eye, he flies forward with impossible speed, grabbing the Sentinel by the rock armor on his head before the poor soldier could even react.

When the Sentinel came to senses, he would find himself in the air, high above Halcyon City, with only Atoms' grip on his rock helmet keeping him from falling. Of course, it was that very same grip that would be his doom, as his atomic powers rapidly began to disintegrate the stone. Far below them, the street in-front of the diner–and all its hard pavement and concrete–awaited. Atoms smiles at his terror.

Only a second passes before the helmet is completely dissolved, just enough time for Sentinel to realize what's going on before he plummets. Lucky for him, Atoms wasn't a killer. He wouldn't fall for long.

"Why even come after me?", asks the former deputy mockingly, flying quickly around to catch the Sentinel by the rock armor on his chest, carrying him at extreme speeds, moving further down the road "You can't copy my powers like the others. There's no special genetic code, no secret knowledge, or samples to take." Descending to a more 'safe' height, Atoms lets go, throwing him to the street.

He watches as the Sentinel is sent tumbling across the asphalt, his rock armor crumbling from the friction as he rolls to a stop.

Alright, Hashtag for you "losing control of your powers, you can still teleport yourself and other things, buy you have no idea where you're sending them. You have a sense they won't be hundreds of feet in the air or something, but almost anything is possible. Oh, and you won't be splinched either.

Tycho, shaken by the sudden show of abilities still moves forward plunging head first into battle. He attempts to "bat" one out of the diner, but finds the table breaks against the sentinel on impact.

The sentinel is still recovering, but is almost back to full strength and with Tycho leaving himself open with the powerful but unsuccessful swing, the sentinel raises an arm and starts generating a heat blast, similar to an alien that had to go back home a while ago.

Tycho, take a powerful blow as the blast surges and connects with you.

Wingblade's furious effort and anger surprises the, until now, emotionless sentinel. He's caught offguard enough that he can't reactivate his phasing in time if you attack.

You've effectively temporarily disabled his phasing, and I'll give you a +1 forward to attacking the Sentinel that specifically attacked Hashtag.

Point of clarification: Each Sentinel has access to all the powers at other sentinels disposal. IE: they can all geokinesis, fly, phase, etc.

The Masters will decide what is useful. They have ordered us to bring you all to them, and we will complete our objective." the Sentinel Deputy Atoms has isolated responds.

The Sentinel claps his hands together and you can feel a powerful surge of energy begin to gather inside him. Arcane sigils begin to form on the Sentinel's forhead and he begins to hover in the air. And though Deputy Atoms can't see it, the other two Sentinels begin the process as well, their bodies glowing and powerful energy begining to emit wildly.

"And upon failure of capture..."

The power begins pulsing wildly, more powerfully, and as the power lashes out you can see it decimate almost everything it touches.

"Permanent removal."

Sentinel is using a villain move "Self Destruct." You either have to contain the threat completely or evacuate the area very quickly. Upon failure, you'll take multiple conditions based on proximity to the blast but the threat will be nuetralized.

Take a Powerful Blow: 2d6 ⇒ (6, 1) = 7

Taking give ground/opposition gains an opportunity.

As the beam of heat slams into him, Tycho manages to roll at the last minute so that he isn't incinerated, but merely singed. Unlike typical fire, this blast has a kinetic oomph to it that flings him out of the diner and down the street a ways.

Condition(s): None

"Alright...", says Atoms, his smile fading. "How about this then. You stop doing what you're doing, pull your men back and leave my friends alone for the rest of the day, and I'll go with you willingly. It's the only way your 'Masters' will have me" He lands in-front of the Sentinel. "I've already faced the worst Eldritch had to offer, your magic wont' harm me. Nothing will. And you already know how fast I am.

The voices are a distant buzz in the red-rimmed haze of battle. Words and their meaning are lost as Wingblade screams with animal fury and lashes out with her wings at the sentinel that she had earlier disrupted. Despite a small part of her that tries to encourage restraint, she ultimately embraces her killer instinct and cuts deep into the enemy with her bladed feathers.

Venting Frustration (directly engage): 2d6 + 1 ⇒ (2, 5) + 1 = 8
Taking something from them: it's functionality. (In the alternative, its ability to self-destruct). I also clear Angry.

"Removal does not need to harm."

Deputy Atoms, confident in his indestructibility, and maybe justifiably so, is struck with a lashing writhing tentacle of arcane energy. However, instead of trying to break past his nearly impermeable defense, it merely wraps around it, containing you in a spherical bubble of arcane energy. As you let off energy even in a non-combat form, you watch as the energy you're giving off is feeding into the bubble, strengthening it.

Normal attacks won't work on this thing, as its a magically created containment unit of sorts. You'll have to try and unleash your powers to break out.

Wingblade, you find yourself at the end of your attack swing. You can feel the radiating energy behind begin to simmer down. Looking back, you find that the sentinel collapses to its knees, and falls down face first, there's a small pool of blood gathering under it.

One sentinel down, one still primed for explosion, and one containing Deputy Atoms in a feedback field.

Hashtag doesn't have much he can do, but he's got to try. Lurching forward, grabbing the charging sentinel around the waist.

"Let's go for a ride!" He manages to spit out.
Freak (unleash your powers): 2d6 - 1 ⇒ (5, 6) - 1 = 10

And away they go. He'd never teleported anyone that far before, nor did he even have time to wrangle his confused mind to figure out a location. So they just went.

Well, this will either suck terribad, or just be moderately terrible.

"Oh no."

Wingblade blinks in shock as she sees the spreading pool beneath the sentinel. She realizes she's alone -- Hashtag 'ported out, Tycho knocked out into the street and Atoms gone in a flash. She sinks to her knees and reaches a trembling hand toward the blood.

Feeling incredibly helpless, she pushes the body on its side and she applies pressure at the spot where her blades had entered.

"Help," she says softly, looking around the wrecked diner.

Condition(s): None

I wish I could use unstoppable here, but I'd guess this barrier doesn't count as scenery.

Unleash Your Powers (+ Freak): 2d6 + 3 ⇒ (5, 5) + 3 = 13
Break Out!

As soon as Atoms understands what's going on (which only takes about a second for the fast learner), he–almost instinctively–begins to vibrate his molecules at sub-light speeds, his body becoming a blurred streak. Like a living laser, Atoms bounces rapidly off the sides of the arcane bubble, stressing it to its limits. In a blink of an eye and a blinding flash, it shatters. Nothing could stop Shaun Adams, not even death. And with each passing hour, everyone who knew him could swear that he was getting stronger, more powerful.

Unleash Your Powers (+ Freak): 2d6 + 3 ⇒ (2, 5) + 3 = 10
Send him away!

"You know, maybe I was wrong earlier," says Atoms, appearing suddenly in-front of the Sentinel. "Perhaps there is something you can learn from me. Listen up." He shoots out his hand, firing a blast that strikes the Sentinel in the shoulder. "You mess with The Bull, you get the horns." Atoms fires another blast, this time striking his other shoulder. "You mess with The Beacon, you best be ready for an army." Another, in the leg, causing the Sentinel to fall to his knees. "You mess with The Nova, and you have to deal with a bright, new star." One more, aimed at the head, glancing off his visor. "And if I find that you've laid even a finger on Imagine, I'll end your entire organization." He levels his hand for a final blast. "Go tell your Masters that they'll need more men."

Not meant to kill or injure, but to send far away, this blast takes the form of a wall of energy, slamming and pressing into the Sentinel, sending him through the air and down the street for at least a mile before dissipating. Enough to take him out of the fight, and hopefully, also enough to convince him to abandon his efforts for the rest of the day. The Team didn't have time to waste on an protracted battle. Because if what Nick said was true, The Team only has a small window of time to rescue their friends. They had to get moving.

Flying back to the diner, Atoms sees North Star sprawled out across the street and Wingblade inside, alone with what appeared to be the last remaining Sentinel, who was down and bloodied. Hashtag was nowhere to be seen, but considering that the second Sentinel was missing as well, Atoms could guess that Vick ported him away somewhere. Whatever had happened, he could handle himself; the dude was smart. Honestly, it was Wingblade and North Star that he often was more worried about.

"Simpson!", calls Atoms. "Get up. The fight isn't over yet."

In one smooth motion, the former deputy flies through the hole the Sentinels' created, landing gracefully near Wingblade. His gaze moves from her bladed wings, to the wound on the Sentinel that she was currently applying pressure to. It was more kindness than these brainwashed cronies deserved.

"These scumbags were letting their magic go out of control, trying to take us out along with the entire city block. You did the right thing." Atoms lets her have a moment, but soon adds. "Now come on. We have to get to the docks.

She presses hard on the spot, her hands sticky and wet with blood as she looks up desperately to Atoms. "It happened again. I lost control. I -- what do I do? I can't leave him like this."

Tycho stumbles to his feet, trying to shake his head and clear his thoughts.

Fool. This is what you get for trying to suppress who you are. Who you are meant to be. ME.

Use your power and control this situation, or your friends will die. Don't you care about them?

For once, the voice made sense. Tycho focused for a moment, then stepped through a portal, reappearing next to Hashtag. He drug him momentarily through a realm of floating, disjoined rooms, and then a door opened and both of them were stepping into the diner.

[/i]"Release him. I am your master and you will obey my commands."[/i]

Marking doom to Activate Portal, which will allow me to arrive at a scene with whoever I want. Also, that will push me over, so I have cleared my Doom track and I am taking Infinite Power, which lets me use a power from any playbook once.

So after I retrieve Hashtag from wherever he appeared, I will do a unleash your powers to attempt to rewrite the sentinel's memory and take control of it.

Unleash your Powers (+Freak): 2d6 + 3 ⇒ (1, 3) + 3 = 7

How is the effect temporary or unstable?

Condition(s): None

Atoms wanted to leave the guy and move on, but the look of desperation on Wingblade's face calls back his humanity. Conflicted, he decides to fall back on some of his police training.

"This building isn't safe. If you can lift him, pick him up and carry him across the street. After that, we'll have to leave him. We don't have time to tend to his wound, but if he's still concious, you could tell him to keep pressure on it." The former deputy looks away. "I'll leave a message on the sidewalk, so anyone approaching knows he's a bad guy with powers. And you can use your communicator to signal someone to get him." He quickly adds, "Though it'd probably be best if you used the emergency function rather than the normal one that just calls the police."

Deputy Atoms takes a sentinel out of the fight permanently.

And As Tycho revels in the power that giving in grants him, he takes the last sentinel out of commission by altering his mind. But the Sentinel fights back, and a now ruthless North Star decides being effective is just as good and simply rewrites the sentinel to respond to any command like sentence it hears. Good enough for now.

Tycho, Hashtag, and the last remaining Sentinel arrive back near the diner as Deputy Atoms and Wingblade drag out the Sentinel Wingblade sliced open. His helmet apparatus has fallen off, revealing a brown haired young man, unconscious and pale.

We'll be ending this "scene" shortly, followed by some ooc discussion so try and wrap things up in the comic book fashion. Dun Dun Dun.

Did I miss what actually happened to my character or something?

I don't know where you got sent to, but I used one of my abilities to show up at the diner with you.

And I appreciate that. I was concerned there that A: I'd get blown up by the self-destruct, and B: That you brought the guy back so he could explode here again, which utterly undoes any heroics I was attempting. Guess I'm waiting for Default's feedback on that then.

Wingblade keeps her hands over the sentinel's wound applying pressure until someone comes and relieves her. She stares into the young man's face, memorizing every feature.

When emergency units are finally on scene and applying first aid, she steps away. She wanders back into the diner and grabs some napkins to start wiping the blood off her hands. Then she looks around helplessly holding the wads of red-stained paper until she just lets them fall in a pile of rubble.

"Let's go find Jill and Barney," she says softly.

Hashtag makes a good point.... but should be solved easily given the situation.

The sentinel still alive and currently "rewired" is still primed for an explosion, but does not move to activate it. It instead stands motionless, an eerie look in its eye as if the body functions, but the mindless so. It still glows with powerful energy, but it stays in that state, waiting.

A simple command was all that was needed, and the sentinel shut down. Perhaps a side effect of releasing that much power at once, the remaining sentinel grows white and passes out. You can see glowing red lines that outline his major blood vessels. And his breath is faint.

So very faint.

End scene

Unless you guys wanna get a post in to end on your terms.

I'm fine with going to the investigation/assault scene.

--Season One Epilogue--

Heroes.

Some are strong. Some are Fast. Some control power beyond anything we've ever seen before.

But they should make difference.

Jill and Barney got away. They left your former teammates like used up lab experiments, but everyone was able to make a full recovery.

Friends.

Some stay for a lifetime. Some leave us too early. Some can make you grow in ways you couldn't imagine.

But it always hurts to say goodbye.

Eldritch was the first to leave the group. He had personal missions to track down his fragments, and when retrieving them became impossible, he turned to teaching, hoping that his students could be better than he ever was. He lends support at times, but he has grown well in his new roll, around people who understand him and his powers.

Tectonic was next. She began working her sister more and more, refusing to put family second in what her eyes become the closest bond she ever had. Eventually, she was scouted by the Defenders and quickly rose through the ranks to become a permanent member, and a vertiable rocky thorn in Nick's side. With a new team, a new life, she doesn't come by much these days.

Imagine drifted back to her home planet and began the process of becoming who she was born to be. A Queen. A Ruler. She comes by to visit every so often, but each time she does she's less liek the Imagine you remember, and more of something else. Something alien. Something distant.

Ghost Dragon disappeared off the streets of Halycon city. However, Ty Jackson can be seen in the library, reading medical textbooks and studying in the early hours. He still goes running and on the off chance he stumbles onto a crime, he stops to make a difference. But he's decided in his heart, he wants to change people's lives by saving the ones who need saving from the evils that can't be fought with fists and lasers. He hopes to put his phasing ability to great use, and his precision with martial arts makes his hands as steady as a master surgeon. Hard work and time, that's all that stands between him and being the hero he wants to be now.

North Star is a name that is avoided these days. It is a name full of bravery, power, and sadly, self-sacrifice. There was no body to bury, outside of the fractured dimension that seemed to exist out of time. A seemingly impossible space that North dragged his older, vile self into. Then he sealed the rift, a look of sadness painted across his face in streaks of fresh tears. Before the window closed, a bolt of psychic energy spat through the air and struck you all.
Late night movies with popcorn and snacks scattered across a battered couch. Early morning sparring matches with Wingblade, both trying to control their powers before anyone got hurt. It was all about control, and how to make sure no one got hurt. Heart to heart talks with Hashtag at the local beach after curfew, talking about what evil they could become, and the hardships of resisting it. You can feel the affection in North Star's memory, looking at Hashtag's silhouette in the moonlight. Fighting full power with Deputy Atoms, testing each other's limits and seeing how far they could push themselves, and if the Deputy had enough strength to stop North Star if he got serious.
These memories and more flooded you all, an emotional downpour of happiness, joy, regret, love, trust, and perhaps the most heartbreaking of all
...acceptance.

--Epilogue End--

His name was Jason.

The "sentinel" ended up being a young man, kidnapped and experimented on until he lost all knowledge of self and became a tool to two of the most sick, twisted minds the world had known. The youth was, ultimately, innocent.

Which made the slow, steady beeping of the heart monitor and the urgent voices of the surgeons trying to save his life so nerve-wracking to Wingblade's ears. She sat on a ledge just outside the window of Halcyon General Hospital's ICU, feeling miserable and helpless. Everything else had gone horribly wrong. Her friends, stolen away and their powers duplicated. The rescue effort had been unsatisfying, since Jill and Barney got away.

Wingblade had eventually made her way back here, where her enhanced hearing could listen to everything happening inside the surgery where Jason's life hung in the balance. A life hovering on the brink, exactly where she had put him.

* * *

The boy was stable, but not out of the woods yet.

The prognosis didn't make Wingblade feel much better, but at least she didn't have to add Jason's name to her list just yet.

She was still sitting on the ledge over the dizzying drop to the streets below when Whippoorwill found her. She circled overhead once, then with a short, "Let's go," she ordered her protege to follow. Feeling a heavy cloud of doom over her, Wingblade dutifully spread her blades and followed.

* * *

"You lost control." It wasn't a question.

Wingblade hung her head, letting her hair fall down in front of her face. It was hard facing her mentor now that she had broken the long silence during their flight back to Whippoorwill's penthouse.

"I-- yeah. I did." There wasn't any use in denying it.

"I thought I trained you better. You put nearly two feet of your blades into that boy. I want to know how. How could you lose yourself like that?"

Shayera shrunk beneath her gaze. There was so much disappointment in those eyes and voice. Tears began to well in her eyes despite her best efforts. "I don't know," she began, but she knew that was the wrong answer. She swallowed hard, Whippoorwill's unflinching gaze drawing the truth to the surface. "I-- I saw Vick get hurt. It made me mad. The Red came back, and I... I let it take me."

"'Vick?' You mean Ji-Wan?"

"He likes to go by Vick."

Whippoorwill shifts her stance as she regards her protege. After a long pause, she sighed slowly. "Let's sit. We need to talk."

Wingblade moved to the sitting area and sat, tucking her legs underneath her. Whippoorwill made a slight detour to her kitchen where she started a kettle of tea, then sat across from her.

"All right. Let's talk about Vick." Her eyes bored into the younger girl.

Wingblade folded her arms and looked away. After a moment of defiance, she shrugged. "I think he likes me."

"Do you like him?"

She shrunk away from the question, her shoulders hunching against the interrogation. Her wings twitched. "I guess. I mean, shouldn't I? He's funny. He's cute. He's got powers. We're on the same team. And I think he likes me."

The older winged woman put a hand to her face, rubbing her eyes. "Oh my God." Wingblade looked up at her, puzzled. "You're a teenaged girl."

"What do you mean?" she asked, confused and wondering if she should be insulted.

"I mean you're--" She paused, collected her thoughts, and restarted. "You don't have to like someone just because they like you. Especially a boy. Lots of girls get excited when they learn a boy likes them. And they can... lose perspective. Do you understand?"

Wingblade looked at her blankly.

Whippoorwill rubbed her face again. "A couple days ago, he had you crying. And yeah, he apologized, and you two made up, but... but just remember that his careless words hurt you. He's not a bad kid, not deep down. But..."

"But... what?" Wingblade asked, leaning forward and staring at her mentor intently.

Whippoorwill's look hardened, and the sympathy that had shown on her face disappeared. "If liking Vick means that you can lose control around him, then the question is, should you like him?"

*munches salty, salty popcorn* Don't mind me, just enjoying the show. Also,
dot.

... *snags popcorn*

-Posted with Wayfinder

One night.

Wingblade was stuck in the clocktower. As usual. It's been a few weeks since everything went down, but she still kept kicking herself about it.

He didn't necessarily feel any better, but Vick'd always been good at coping through various vices. The south end freeway underpasses all got a fresh paint job. But as he was starting to feel a bit better about Northstar, he heard a newscast about Whippoorwill helping with a crisis situation with the rest of the defenders hours out of town.
-----------
Wingblade heard a noise coming from the kitchen and came to investigate. Leaping out, bladed wings at the ready, she found Vick standing just out of wingreach with a bottle of that root beer he likes in each hand.

"Evening." he says, reaching forward with his bottles and popping the caps off on the points of her outstretched wings before she could withdraw them. "Forgot I left some of these here. Want one?"

He leans against the kitchen counter. "So... when's the last time you've gone out of the house? I mean, for fun."

Vick takes a long pull from the root beer before speaking again, pretty much regardless of Wingblade's response. "Look, your mentor's out of town for the night and there's the Halcyon city fair that's only open till the weekend." He takes a steadying breath. "I happen to have a pair of tickets... You should come with me."

Wingblade didn't have an answer to Whippoorwill's question about Hashtag, nor had her mentor pressed for one. But days had passed after the sacrifice of North Star, Atoms had showed up less and less frequent, Eldritch left on his own, and suddenly there wasn't a team anymore.

The whole group, the one which she had been asked to lead, was gone. And while she had at times wished for things to go back to the simplicity of just her and Whippoorwill, she now knew the meaning of the phrase, "you can't go home again." It wasn't the same. She'd had a taste of being out from beneath Whippoorwill's wings. And now she didn't feel right being back under them.

* * *
Wingblade just stares at Hashtag, wide-eyed and almost disbelieving. She hadn't seen him in weeks, and had almost put to rest that strange fluttering in her stomach whenever she thought of him. Almost.

"You... and me?" she asks hesitantly, ignoring the root beer for the moment. Her mind jumps around a bit, wondering if the others were already there, then reminding herself that there were no others.

"I-- yeah, I suppose I could." She turns her back on him, thinking if she should change her clothes, and about getting a backpack over her wings, and a hundred other useless details. Then a current of nervousness runs through her. She starts fussing with her hair as she leaves the kitchen and towards her room. She pauses at the door frame.

"Wait. I don't know about this. What if they have metal detectors? Or ask to search my backpack? And I should call Whippoorwill and let her know I'm going out."

Hashtag makes a face. "What, you need to report in to mom to go to a public event? You're going to relax, not duke it out with superpowered thugs. I think you'd be distracting her from her job."

He shrugs. "Do what you gotta do, I guess. I mean, I can always just pop you in just beyond the gates and walk an illusion of you through the ticket booths. No problem! Not that I... planned for that or something. You know." he takes another swig of root beer, before holding out the other untouched bottle. "You gonna take this or what?"

"Sure." She steps forward and accepts the bottle, giving the cap a twist. She forces away her doubts, letting Vick's reasoning sway her. She takes a drink, trying to look casual, then stifles a sneeze as the strong flavors hit her nose.

Recovering, she steps closer to him. "Okay, let's go, then. You're in charge of transportation, right?" She tugs on her backpack disguise, deciding that her black tank top and grey athletic shorts would be fine for a fair.

Hashtag grins, finishes off his drink, then pops it into the trash with a flick of his wrist.
"Lets go!" he says, clasping her shoulder.
Though disorienting, this port wasnt as bad as the last time he took her. Wingblade found herself standing alone in an actual crowd of people milling around just inside the Halcyon city fairgrounds.

A passing kid will give her a startled look, before saying "Oh, root beer..." and walk away looking somewhat dejected.

Looking around, Wingblade can see Vick actually in line to enter the fair... With a girl on his arm. Oh, wait. Thats her, just with her wings hidden and a dopey smile on her face. Like she's actually having a good time... God is that what they look like together?

Vick passes the tickets over and they get passed over with the security wands. Surprisingly the only metal setting off the detectors is the two bottlecaps from earlier.
The copy of wingblade is finished first, and trots ahead right into the real wingblade, where she can feel the illusion fizzle with a faint crackle.

Vick catches up holding up a whole roll of ride tickets. "Ready for fun?" he asks. "Whatcha want to do first?"

-Posted with Wayfinder

Hashtag grins, finishes off his drink, then pops it into the trash with a flick of his wrist.
"Lets go!" he says, clasping her shoulder.
Though disorienting, this port wasnt as bad as the last time he took her. Wingblade found herself standing alone in an actual crowd of people milling around just inside the Halcyon city fairgrounds.

A passing kid will give her a startled look, before saying "Oh, root beer..." and walk away looking somewhat dejected.

Looking around, Wingblade can see Vick actually in line to enter the fair... With a girl on his arm. Oh, wait. Thats her, just with her wings hidden and a dopey smile on her face. Like she's actually having a good time... God is that what they look like together?

Vick passes the tickets over and they get passed over with the security wands. Surprisingly the only metal setting off the detectors is the two bottlecaps from earlier.
The copy of wingblade is finished first, and trots ahead right into the real wingblade, where she can feel the illusion fizzle with a faint crackle.

Vick catches up holding up a whole roll of tickets. "Ready for fun?" he asks. "Whatcha want to do first?"

-Posted with Wayfinder

-Posted with Wayfinder

The initial rush of sensations threatens to overwhelm her superhumanly acute senses, and she reels when they first arrive at the fair. She is forced to squeeze her eyes shut and clap her hands over her ears to block out the cacophony of the rides, people, games and calliope music. Then she slowly focuses, first on the myriad scents -- the sweat of the fairgoers, the oil and grease from the rides, the musk and dung of the barnyard animals and the food, so much food, sweet and sour, battered and deep fried, cooking, cooked, spilled, and yes, even regurgitated -- that flooded into her olfactory senses.

After sorting through the scents of the fair, she slowly removes her hands and lets the sounds pour in. Screams of exhilaration echo across the grounds above the rumble and roar of the rides. Barkers cry out to challenge fairgoers to test their skills, while children laugh and cry beneath the steam-powered music of the merry-go-rounds.

She finally blinks her eyes open and takes in the flashing lights and throngs of people, the dizzying rides and the endless colors of the banners.

She finds Hashtag's hand and grabs hold, using him to anchor herself amid this riot of sensory input. She slowly sorts out the sensations, matching each sight to each sound to each smell, and after a short while manages to steady herself.

She sees Vick waving a bunch of strips of paper excitedly, asking her what she wanted to do first. She rubs her eyes again, and looks around at the lines of people waiting to be strapped into large mechanical contraptions covered in blinking lights that would rise high over the ground and spin rapidly. She points to the closest one, something called the Kamikaze. "Is that one fun? Lots of people seem to want to ride it. Would you like to?"

Vick grins at her suggestion. "Hell yeah! Let's go!" he exclaims, taking her hand and leading the way. Of course, she was more than powerful enough to pick him up and throw him there, but he possesses such a childlike exuberance for doing this that it's hard to let him down.

Are you watching closely?: 2d6 + 3 ⇒ (2, 6) + 3 = 11
Will come into play later. :p

Vick and Shayera get into the mercifully brief line to the Kamikaze. Vick hands over tickets, and they go lock themselves into their seats. Shayera has a bit more of an uncomfortable time fitting her wings into the bar harness on the seat, but with it at the barest possible locking position, it works.

For Shayera, who has superhuman senses and endurance, the ride isn't as stomach turning as it is just fun. The crowd screams in joy, and for a while Vick seems fine, he finishes the ride looking a little green around the gills. Disembarking at the end, he staggers to the side and lets out a belch that actually startles a few others near him.

"Sorry. Haven't had anything to eat but root beer and that was getting shaken up." he replies sheepishly. "Food? Let's eat!" he says, his cheer returning quickly. He points to the stands where vendors sell their delicious, often deep fried, wares. "I think I want to start with their corn dogs and sliders."

With a physiology adapted for flight and high-gee maneuvers, Wingblade was thoroughly nonplussed by the carnival ride. She steps from the ride completely steady and unphased by the wild spinning motion. "So there's nothing in the cabin to do? I figured there'd be something scary inside," she asked Vick.

Her brow furrows when she sees him looking a little green. "Are you okay? Do you need to go again? It might settle your stomach."

When he suggests food, she nods in agreement. "Yeah, that'll be good. Sure."

Vick goes with her to some of the food stands, buying huge handfuls of food and passing some of it to her before continuing their walk.

"So." he says between bites. "Haven't seen you much lately. Thought you'd be lonely."

Wingblade devours the fried pickles, the funnel cake, kettle corn, and the corn dogs that Vick buys her. She balances each food object on top of the other in her arms, then asks to try a lemon shake-up to wash it all down. The ride was something of a disappointment, but the food was wonderful.

She shrugs when Vick gets serious. "Whip came down on me pretty hard. You know, for stabbing that guy. I've been busy. So, well, it's fine, I guess. You know how it is. Or maybe you don't. I dunno."

Vick gets a pair of lemon shakes to help clear the pipes.

"About the whip coming down?" He answers. "Oh yeah. Never known anything else. Gotta take my own rewards when I can get them." he looks a little uncomfortable, which he hides by sucking down half the shake-up in one go.

"Makes doing this hero thing dif-Ahg! Brain freeze." he groans, rubbing his forehead. "Let's not talk about that stuff. Roller coaster?" he asks.

He's been acting a little off, but what exactly's going on would take a MASTER detective... or at least someone raised by one to figure out. :P He's just a teen, after all.

She looks at the rickety track on the tall scaffold and nods her head, wondering if there'll be something about this ride that justifies all the people screaming while they ride it. "Okay," she agrees after dumping all their food wrappers and cartons into a receptacle.

She wipes her hands off on some napkins, then she studies Vick for a bit while he guides her through the crowd toward the line for the coaster. He moved off the topic of Whippoorwill extremely fast, and she wondered about that. Her mentor hadn't explicitly forbade her from seeing Vick, she just advised... what, exactly? Something strange about not losing her head and getting all gushy with him.

She tried to distance herself from the moment; to detach and observe as an outsider. But with her belly full of wonderful junk food and Vick holding her hand with just the right amount of force, she couldn't stop her stomach from flip-flopping in a surreal form of excitement.

But ultimately, she didn't know what to do about that feeling. As they neared the Scrambler, Wingblade catches sight of other young couples as the cars finally slow down after their topsy-turvy journey along the tracks and notices how many of the women are clinging to their boyfriends. She suddenly felt bad for being so blase about the first ride they rode. Clearly, she had done something wrong.

When they finally reach the coaster and get strapped in, she turns to him. "Okay, I don't think I did the Kamikaze right. What am I supposed to do to make it scary?"

Vick stares at her for a few seconds, then has to pass the tickets to the coaster tech.. "Uh... It's... ah jeez." he says. "I uh... forgot you can do all this movement on your own... huh?" They get seated, and just their luck, they get the front seat.

He blows air through his lips as the roller coaster starts creeping up the really tall rise. "Ahhh... see, for us, this kind of movement is fast and scary. We get excited to be rocketing around and doing loops and high-speed twists. I... guess you do that kind of stuff all the time."