Masks: A New Generation of Heroes

Game Master Cwethan

His dad... Should have been on the lookout, should have expected that. You knew the wound was fresh!

It's... cause they lied to us, back in kindergarten. Alexandra says, letting him cry on her shoulder They taught us about fairness, like it's how the world is. but... well, it isn't. especially not in Halcyon. Some people are born rich, and never have to work. Some are born like me or you, with Genetics that mean we never will have to try in school, and we'll still graduate with 4.0's. She draws in a breath.

And, some people are born invulnerable, Like Herman was, Or with magic, like Cassie. or born/made into something with impossible regeneration. Wing and Alexis can take enough damage that anyone normal would die, and heal from it. Alexis says she dies, but she doesn't, but it's all the same.

But, you're right. It's kinda b%@#~~+$. they get to be heroes because some guy in a lab wanted living weapons, and cloned or kidnapped them into existence to do it, and because of that, they can fight things no one else can. do things that should main and mangle people. I always wondered how heroic it really is, being born with abilities. Should you count more because you're special?

"Do you think they even realize how lucky they are? Or how selfish they're being by trying to be heroes? They'll what, help hundreds of people over the course of their careers. Maybe in the low thousands. 1,620 people people die from cancer in just the US every day. If they really wanted to help people, they'd use their abilities to help find a cure for all these diseases killing people. AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, they could all be gone. Maybe even things like diabetes and Alzheimer's. They could be helping to save millions of people." Kaoru was shaking with emotion as the words tumbled from her lips. They hadn't even been thoughts she knew she had been thinking until she heard them out loud. She clung desperately to Alexandra, trying to use her to ground herself. To keep from being swept away in her emotions.

After several long moments, the shaking subsided. Kaoru turned her head slightly so she was no longer talking into Alexandra shoulder. "My dad died of cancer, you know. It was a few years ago. He was the mechanically minded member of the family. Mom did software, and dad did hardware. On Saturdays we'd get together and work on some group project. The program I used at the museum? That was from one of those projects when I was really little. I was really into Power Rangers at the time. Dad helped me modify my toy zords to take commands from a radio signal and add in mini-speakers, and mom helped me write a simple program that would make them move around and roar at each other. They were so proud of me, but I was upset that the pterodactyl wouldn't fly like on the show." She gave a soft laugh. "Dad stayed up all night modifying that stupid thing to fly for me." She couldn't help the tears that were now streaming down her cheeks. It was dumb. It was all so dumb. She hadn't even thanked him for it.

She tries to wipe away her tears. "I miss him." She gave a soft, self-deprecating chuckle. "It's been years, and I still miss him. His laugh. That dumb, goofy smile. All his rediculous little sayings. How lame is that? I'm in high school, and I still haven't gotten over 'losing daddy.'" She slowly took in a few more breaths. "She doesn't talk about him, y'know. Mother, that is. Even right after. Whenever I brought him up, she'd just get this look on her face and change the subject. Not that it matters 'cause she's always working anyway."

Clearing Hopeless and adding a Team per the C&S. Team pool: 5

She wasn't sure why she was still talking. Everything still hurt. There was still something unpleasant about the whole thing with Alexis that she couldn't quite put her finger on. Something that made her feel sick inside. And there was still the hurt from Alexandra yelling at her for what she thought had been perfectly reasonable disbelief (after all, what was more likely, someone dying and coming back or a prank?), but she didn't want to bring that up. She liked being in her arms, and she didn't want to risk making her mad and having her push her away.

Then of course, there was still the whole "team leader" thing that she wasn't sure how she felt about. One of the background processes of her brain had known immediately that the SCA was trying to set the team up to fail; why else would they put some rando with no experience in charge? That didn't mean that it hadn't sucked to hear Alexandra say as much out loud.

In what was probably a jarring change of topics for anyone not inside her head, Kaoru suddenly asked. "Do you want to be leader? You make more sense than me. I don't have any experience with crime-fighting, let alone leading a team for that sort of thing."

You'd be right... if they knew how their power worked. but there are people who can cure those things. The people who made wing and Mercykiller, they could. But the people who can choose not to, because... I don't know, because they have their own agenda, or they just don't care about the thousands who die of stuff they could cure every day, because they can get more money from making few people super, than by curing a disease. Because most of the people who could are bastards. Alexandra says to the weeping boy.

But, you could too. I've seen you when you choose to care. Get samples from Alexis and Wing, break into Reaver and wherever Alexis is from, and steal their data. Learn biology, hack into College courses once you have taken everything in High school. it would take a while. it would be hard, but you could do it. I learn fast too, I could help. or just stay by your side. But that sounds like a great idea. be a better hero than all of us, because if you did this, you'd be better than every last one of us combined.

I'm not sure if you feel like your previous post also activated "When you share a weakness of vulnerability" but if it did, Shift your savior up, mundane down, kick a team into the pool, and mark potential if you show Alexandra an effort to be the kind of hero you think the world needs

Sounds like he was pretty great. Alexandra says. It's not wrong to grieve. and I think everyone on the team has some parental s+&+ going on. Shaun is estranged from his dad, Cassie's mum tried to off her, Wing's dad is actually just the scientitst who made her and implanted memories to control her... don't mention that to anyone... Bron, who isn't on the team but you wouldn't know it from how much she's around, isn't living with her parents, and that doesn't look liek it'll change anytime soon. and mercy doesn't have parents, just handlers. you aren't alone, we're all f#*#er up here.

She was tempted by the offer. I could make them listen to me. stop Wing constantly overriding me. maybe actually make the team like it should have been. it could work... but it couldn't/ the other would catch on. her words, His mouth doesn't work when you are that close.

I do. but I can't, I can;t just tell you what to do. We could just unofficially reinstate wing and flip the SCA off. or you could do it, and try to make it go well enough. you could work as a central hub, with comms and camera's. if you listened to our input, you might even surpass wing.

"I'll make you some sketches. What I can remember. But it's important you never, ever attempt to approach them on your own. Everyone of them is as dangerous as me," Alexis points out to Shaun. "Some are even more dangerous than me."

After that conversation

Alexis looks at Bronwyn as she exits, noting that Shayera had flown off somewhere. Which was rather upsetting to say the least. He wanted a chance to talk to her after the meeting. But he supposed talking to Bronwyn would also work out for now.

"...I called Whippoorwill. I asked that she let Kaoru out of the team," He whispered to her. "He's not fit for service. He went into shock during the meeting tonight. If that happened during a mission, he could get really hurt, or someone else. I think it's better if he stays a normal student. He doesn't need to put himself in danger anymore."

Bronwyn will also notice that Alexis has taken some notebook paper, and drawn some rather deformed sketches of individuals, with some varied features, most of them scowling. Some just have question marks as faces. Underneath each, he's written some names: Caritas, Avaritia, Temperantia, Gula, Humilitas, Superbia, Industria, Acedia.

"...I think that maybe I need to take a break from school. I need to try and control myself better. I can't break down like that during the meeting in the middle of school." He still felt embarrassed about that. More so for the reactions it had gotten from everyone.

"Yea', yea', I hear ya' 'Lex..."

- - -

After Conversation

Shaun waves vaguely at Bronwyn as he studies the sketches. "Okay...so, Car'tas goes wi'Avaritia, Indust'ra wi'Acedia, but who goes with Superbia again?" As he talks, he takes out his phone and snaps pictures of the sketches. They're s!!+ty, but it's more than I've gotten yet, and it's something to go on...

"...I think that maybe I need to take a break from school. I need to try and control myself better. I can't break down like that during the meeting in the middle of school." He still felt embarrassed about that. More so for the reactions it had gotten from everyone.

The Scotsman scratches his chin thoughtfully. "Y'know, I don't got any plans f'tomorrow. I could, I dunno, give ya'a lesson in bein' normal? Maybe grab some new duds (on Shayera's card)? At ta' very least we could find ya'somethin' better than...whatever sitcom Old-Shadow got those outta."

Bronwyn nodded carefully. "I'm glad you called Whip. I do think Kaoru shouldn't be stuck on the team if he doesn't want to be, but... Well, what do you think upset him? Because I don't think it's anything that's likely to surprise him in the field. Now I'm not sure, I've just got a bunch of guesses all tied together. The only person who could be sure is Kaoru himself.

"But I think he'll surprise you."

She sat down next to Alexis to take a closer look at his drawings.
Does it mean anything if you were named after a virtue or a vice? I'll have to check later. She certainly didn't snuggle up to him, but she wasn't shying away from any incidental contact. "I'm really sorry that we didn't make sure Kaoru knew about your new body. I know that the way he reacted can't have made you feel welcome or seen for who you are. Aside from making sure you get a break from school, is there anything I can do that would help?"

Alexis takes the opportunity to discuss the Triakosia with the two team members there Or three if Cassie wants to write herself into the room. "The Triakosia, we all work in pairs. Everyone on it has abilities that work with their partner. Some I don't know, like Invidia and Humanitas. Either I've never met them or I've forgotten because I've died too many times," Alexis says, trying to get into a flow. It felt good to work this out and not focus on the more upsetting things.

"This is Superbia. He's partnered with Humilitas," He points to a sketch of a young man with short black hair and almond eyes, as well as a woman with wavy brown hair (He'd broken out the colored pencils for this). "They are extremely dangerous. He can make anything break apart with a touch, and she can put anything back together with a touch as well. She likes to use glass rods, break them, then reform them in the middle of people," He warned. He figured they wouldn't take her power seriously if they didn't understand how dangerous it could be.

"This is Caritas and Avaritia," He pointed to the two who looked similar to each other, with hair long on one side and shaved on the opposite. "They can move things they can see. She can move things only towards her, and he can move things only away from him. But together, they can even move bullets to curve into people firing at them. The best way to beat them is to separate them from each other."

He pauses as he looks at Industria and Acedia. "I don't think they will be hunting me. You won't find them on the street. They both control machines. She only controls mechanical things, like guns and tanks. He's the data specialist, and anything electrical he can access. They're a scout-sniper pair, usually."

The others on the page have question marks over their faces, as he frowns and leans back in his chair. "I can't remember what the others look like or what they can do. It's been too long since I've worked with them, I think. Too many deaths, and I'll even forget the both of you," He admits to Bronwyn and Shaun.

When Brownyn asks, he looks at his attire. "Clothes," He said in reply. "I need to wear something that feels more like me."

Oh yeah, that would make sense. The weaknesss being "I'm still messed up about my dad even though I really should have gotten over it by now." Labels changed and team added. I'll let you decide if I get the potential. Team pool: 6

Kaoru didn't 100% buy Alexandra's argument about Wingblade and Alexis. Even if they didn't understand their powers, that didn't mean that they couldn't work with people who did instead. She had a point that she might be able to figure this stuff out though. It didn't change the fact that someone who already had a PhD or two should have already been doing this work. And it wouldn't help in the however many years it took her to get up to speed. But she was certainly smart enough. Ugg, but low-level biology was all memorization. King Phillip something something Soup. "I do like genetics at least. And I've always wanted to check out nanotech." She gave a short laugh. "And mom would be thrilled at me going 2/3 of the way to her idea of my dream job: Dr software engineering concert pianist. Learn to hack the human body and all that." She sighed. "Guess this means I need to put myself on a rescheduled placement exam, so the school stops thinking I'm an idiot and lets me into AP Bio and AP Chem. I was supposed to be taking them junior year anyway. Until...everything." It was nice to hear that someone believed in her. Especially since Alexandra believed in her in a way that was actually her and not just what she wanted to see. Like Alexis and Bronwyn with the whole "hero" schtick; trying to make her into the person they wanted her to be rather than who she actually was.

She didn't comment on the fact that Alexandra had left herself out of her analysis of parental issues. It was pretty clear from other comments she had made that her father had crazy high expectations and expected a lot out of her. Is that why she thought she couldn't be leader? Because her dad and pounded it into her head that she wasn't good enough? Or would adding the mantle of "leader" simply be too much of a burden in addition to the Silver Shadow title?

Alexandra was right in that she could just unofficially make Wingblade the leader, just serving as her beard, as it were. Or...mask maybe? She didn't really want to be a hairy beard. The rest of the team would certainly listen to her more than Kaoru. As well they should since she had more experience. But that didn't change the fact that she wasn't sure she trusted the heroine yet. She hadn't trusted Alexandra with the van, and she seemed more interested in fighting than leading.

The tears had finally stopped. She sighed. "I guess I should call a team meeting. I'll send an email out after the escape room I'm doing with Alexis." Part of her really wanted to cancel that and just spend the afternoon with Alexandra. Doing what exactly, she didn't know or care. Just that spending the time here with her was nice. She was starting to regret waiting so long to call her. If she had done it earlier, she may have been able to get more of this. But she had already bought tickets and it would be both rude and inconsiderate to cancel so soon before the event. "You're welcome to come if you want. There are probably still open spots. Bronwyn said she couldn't make it, and Wingblade never responded." She gave a tired laugh. "At least with this whole sex-change thing, Alexis won't be trying to date me any more."

Cassie sat stunned at Shayera’s words. It made a perverted kind of sense, and Alexandra, of course, had it just right… this was al about making sure that the team failed. But what did it mean? Ironically, in some ways, Kaoru actually made a better leader, on paper at least,.. Wingblade was, in the end, too straightforward, but it made everything tougher… at least Cassie hadn’t tied herself too closely to the flier. What made it problematic was that Kaoru certainly didn’t want the job – and that the decision had been made without consulting him or anyone else, and if it was that easy for them to do it once, they could do it again. It was all too unpredictable….

After the meeting she’d made her way back home – back to work on her new get-up. The charm was all very well but relying on a satchel for her gear was just dumb – also, satchels were waaay too hipster! She’d never tried to make clothes before, and sure couldn’t sew, but a little research and she’d found the perfect spell to alter fabrics.. OK, so the first few tries hadn’t gone well, but she was pretty confident,.. this time.

The next day at 4:00 Cassie shows up in the park shortly after a few of the others. She’d hung around near the venue with her charm on until a couple had appeared and then slipped it off and approached. As usual she’d worn fairly normal clothes – a shirt and a short skirt under a new-looking long grey sleeveless jacket. Her satchel is nowhere to be seen.

Bronwyn's expression went blank while she pondered Alexis's descriptions, the tip of her tongue poking out to her top lip as she blinked quickly through her ruminations. He can't mean 'Break apart **anything**' and 'Put **anything** back together'. Maybe if it's magic. Then there could be some kind of concept of wholeness or the reality of objects that would actually have some kind of mystic resonance. 'Cause, physically speaking, I don't think objects exist enough as a cohesive whole to have that kind of power work at all reliably...
She must put the rods back together through the meat of people too. Bones are way too strong to just be... what, replaced? Shunted off to the side? Drilled through regardless of the hardness of the materials involved? Okay no, this is too many unknowns to be useful.

"Can you explain more about Superbia and Humilitas? Like do their powers work on anything-anything? Like gases and liquids or like, organic materials too? And how much of something does Humilitas have to have to reform it? Like would a single piece of shrapnel let her get a grenade back together? It's fine if you don't know, or you don't remember anymore. I'm just trying to figure out what might work against them. Oh, and are they magic? Some of these powers seem like they aren't just the application of forces and energies, and magic means Cassie and Bran and me would want to prepare differently." She glanced over at a potted orchid sitting a little too close to the window of Shayera's loft.

"By the way, Shayera mentioned that we were going to go shopping with you tomorrow, I don't know if she'd told you that yet, but yeah, you won't be stuck in borrowed clothes for long." She grinned self-deprecatingly, "I don't know how much help I'll be with the intricacies of men's fashion, but I'm sure I can at least give you a helpful yes/no outside opinion."

I'm impressed they didn't notice the scores were wrong already. Alexandra says, Giving Kaoru a quick squeeze. You'll be brilliant. and it just so happens that your girlfriend is doing so well in those classes, most people are sure she's cheating.

Take the potential

Escape room? what time is that? she says Cause, I didn't want to tell you earlier, but I called a partial team meeting a 4, everyone but Wing and Alexis, about some pretty heavy stuff. and you'd be helpful. she says.

Alexis considers the question about their powers, before snapping his fingers, running into the kitchen, and coming back with a couple bags full of potato chips.

"Okay, so, Superbia's touch," he points out, patting the bag, "If he touched this, the bag would go away. Crumble away to something like dust. But," He said, tearing it open and dumping the chips on the coffee table, "Everything inside would be the same. If he doesn't touch it, he can't destroy it."

He picks up a chip, and snaps it apart. "Humilitas can put together things like this back like they were before they were broken. She could put the bag back as it was before it was opened, but the chips would stay outside. She couldn't make the chips back into a potato. I think there's too many steps past for that. And the biggest thing I've seen her make whole again was a steel door, eight feet by three," He tells Bronwyn.

He looks excited about shopping. "As early as we can, okay?" he asks. "Can I invite..."

Not Kaoru. Kaoru probably didn't even want to go to the escape room anymore.

"Um, Cassie?" He asks, picking up his phone to text her.

I'm fine to move on to Saturday from here, by the way.

As Alexis breaks down her former-fellow super-soldiers, Shaun taps out quick notes on his phone. "Well, I'm almost certain I'm gonna mix these f~#~ers up, but at least now I know ta' be lookin' f'anybody showin' powers like this." He gives the heroine a genuine smile. "Thanks 'Lex. F'r, ah, trustin' me with this. Means a lot."

"Okay then! Shoppin' tomorrow mornin'! I won't be buyin'anythin' but hey! Window shoppin' never hurt nobody. Plus, I've been havin'ta' pick out clothes that're battle-ready f'a while now. Mind, never had ta' deal with super-strength," he says gesturing at Alexis, "but I'm guessin'ta' ideas are ta' same."

For some reason, Shaun found himself beaming. He hadn't really realized it until that point, but he'd been pretty-well ignored by most of the others when it came to group activities. It felt nice to be included. Almost as nice as getting to spend more time with both Cassie and the new Ale-BRAIN I SWEAR TO GOD-!

I'm good to move on too, but Alexandra's got a few texts from Shaun waiting. Just a friendly reminder. :)

- - -

<(Dolled up means in Costume.)
(ah ok)>
(ill b there)>
Shaun seriously considers telling Wingblade and Mercy right then and there, but he doesn't. Alexandra could still blow my whole life wide open with what she knows. Probably best not to piss her off right now. But...if it does become clear I should talk to them about what we talked about, I will.

But the bag's all just the bag. Even if some of it has a slightly different makeup because of the color of the materials it was made with or painted with. Okay, magic. Maybe a mental block where it can only be what he can hold in his head if it's not magic, but... Okay. Serious business powers. That's the walkaway.

"And she could put the potato chip bag back together around my finger to chop it off? Or only with stronger stuff?" Bronwyn scrunched up her face with a small shudder. "Sorry, vivid image of opening up some snacks to find someone's severed finger."

"That's a good point Shaun. You should definitely listen to him about what guy-clothes might not be as easy to hero in. Probably easier on average than girl-stuff, but still, I'm sure there're some pitfalls."

Wing and I have a couple posts for late Friday night, but it's nothing that should stop Saturday

Wingblade slips through the open window of the corner office in the nondescript high-rise building where her father worked. He had the lights off, with only the blue-white glow of the multiple computer screens to pierce the darkness. When she steps inside, he touches a button on his desk and a soft, warm light illuminates the lush office. Screens shift over the windows and the outside world is blocked off.

The Man in the White Coat leans back in his chair as Xiu Ying moves to stand before him. She waits dutifully for him to speak first. <How have you been?> he asks.

She inclines her head. <I've been well. I've missed you.>

<Well?> He rises to his feet and stands over her. <From what I've heard, you've led your team to a victory in the park, defeated swathes of enemies, and rescued many lives.> He gives her a smile. <I'm extremely proud of you.>

Xiu Ying beams and steps in to give him a hug. <Thank you, Father.>

He runs a hand over her hair. <So imagine my distress when I've heard that you have been removed as leader by those small minds at the Supers Containment Authority.>

She looks up at him, enjoying the gestures of affection and missing how deadly his voice has gotten. <I'm sorry Father. I could have avoided this if I'd done better.>

The Man in the White Coat shakes his head and steps away from her, moving to the tinted window. <No, there was no avoiding this. You were a pawn in a game between Whippoorwill and the SCA.> He looks over his shoulder, his face set in a stern expression. <And that is unacceptable.>

Xiu Ying's shoulders sag, feeling crushed by her Father's disapproval. She didn't know what to say, so she worked her brain to try to figure out what she could have done to avoid getting demoted if Innis had been planning it from the start.

<I shall be taking steps to have you reinstated. It may take a few days, but the overseer will-->

<No, Father!> Xiu Ying interrupts. <I want to see if we can outmaneuver him.> The Man turns around to face her, initially taken aback at her interruption, but her statement causes him to pause. His eyebrow arches as she continues. <His ultimate goal is to destroy the team. To make Whippoorwill look bad. If our current leader is effective, and he makes her step down anyway, and then next one, and the next, it will show that he is purposely sabotaging the team.>

Her father is silent for a time while he thinks. Finally, he nods his head. <You have thought this through. All right. I can appreciate taking a long approach. I approve, Daughter.>

Xiu Ying straightens and gives him a smile. The Man in the White Coat walks back to the desk and taps a button. <Yes, I think this will be advantageous. Plus it will give you more time to spend with your other team.>

Xiu Ying's smile fades instantly. <I don't really--> A look silences her.

After several moments, three girls in identical Chinese masks step out of the shadows. They turn in unison to look at Xiu Ying with their blank expressions. The winged girl sighs and says, <Shadow>, which causes her outfit and wings to fade and be replaced by a black, skintight suit. She goes to a pedestal at the corner of the office and dons the stylized tiger mask that had been resting on it.

<You called for us?> the four girls ask in unison.

<Indeed. Here's what I require. The Busted Flush Mob's tinker savant has a new toy called the Shuffler.> There's a pause as he rolls his eyes behind his thick glasses. <Always with the playing card theme. You shall infiltrate their headquarters, bypass their guards and defenses, and acquire the device. Bring it here for containment and study. If it does what I fear, it is too dangerous to be left in the Mob's hands.>

The four girls nod together, then step back until they disappear into the shadows.

============================
Shayera's apartment

At roughly 11:30, Wingblade lands hard on the balcony and then stumbles inside. She giggles a bit as she makes her way towards her bedroom. She jumps a bit when she sees Bronwyn on the big chair in front of Abacus. "哦!布朗溫！ 你還在這裡！" She shakes her head and switches to English. "You're still here! That's so great!" She checks the time and gets a bit remorseful. "Sorry it took me so long..."

Om nom, potential.
"Well, I've only been in school two weeks. Plus it's a big school and I get the impression a lot of the teachers are kind of checked out. Except for Herman's dad, who's also new. Though the shop teacher already loves me and my Chinese teacher keeps trying to get me more involved. I think she likes the fact that I seem to be the only student not struggling with tones or...whatever the Chinese word for kanji was again. I'm pretty far behind on all the vocab though..."

Kaoru rolled her eyes at the 'other students.' "That's dumb. How hard is it to figure out that cells produce energy via hydrolysis to turn ATP into ADP?" She put on a fake, dumb person voice. "Durrr...how can fructose and glucose have the same chemical formula but be different?" She tried not to think too much about the fact that Alexandra had just labeled herself as her 'girlfriend' (and she was pretty sure she had meant it spelled exactly that way, without the space). Or how she felt about that. She was a little sad that besides the stuff you had to learn by rote, she had never struggled with the sciences; it meant she was unlikely to need a tutor in the subject. Though given how tv seemed to think couple tutoring sessions went, perhaps that wasn't too bad? It would certainly make things less complicated. It would at least delay thinking about how she felt about the physical side of their relationship and what her lack of a reaction or desire implied about her feelings.

She shook her head slightly to clear it of those slightly anxiety-producing thoughts, returning to her normal tone of voice. "Oh, the escape room's at 1:30, but I said to meet at 1:15 so they can start promptly on time. It should only take maybe an hour, or an hour and a half with all the explanation of rules and then the walkthrough of the puzzles and their solutions. So should be done in plenty of time for this other thing you want to do." She considered asking why exactly they were excluding Wingblade and Alexis but assumed Alexandra had a good reason for it. If it didn't become obvious during the course of the meeting, she could ask about it later.

Bronwyn looked up, amused. "Ha! Is that how you say my name in Mandarin? Of course I'm still here. I would have told you if I was going to be gone when you came back." She unfolded herself from the chair to give Shayera a quick hug and a kiss before turning around and leading Shayera into her kitchen, with a quick tug to wrap her bedrobe more tightly around herself. "Are you hungry? You've got leftover fajitas in your Giant fridge for you to eat sometime, and I'd be happy to heat up a skillet-full. How'd things go with him? I'm guessing he couldn't have been too happy. Did he offer to try to fix what the SCA did or anything?"

Shayera realizes she actually is *very* hungry, and accepts the offer of leftover fajitas.

She sits down in one of the chairs against the counter and props her head up. "Yeah, he was pissed at me being a pawn in the pissing contest between Innis and Whip. And yeah, he offered. I turned him down, though."

After scarfing down one fajita, she waves the fork around. "It's not fair to Kaoru any way you look at it, but if he wants to take this chance to step up, I'm not going to take that away." She shrugs. "Depends on what Alexandra says to him."

She gets serious. "Bron, you can be honest with me, since I think you're the only one who would give it to me straight. Did I do okay? I know I wasn't leader for long, and no one threatened to 'port me into space this time so it was better than last time... but what'd you think?"

Bronwyn snuck an extra pepper, snatching it from the still sizzling skillet. It gave her a moment to think. Is His influence in the SCA just money? Or does he have real allies?

"I think... That the ways things went wrong weren't controllable, and that once whoever had gotten in a cheap shot was through, that you stuck to the mission and kept us working together, even through a haze of mind control and a real pileup of problems. I don't think you were perfect, but yeah, you are a good leader. You'll get to show that again too."

"So, umm, for tonight. If you wanted I could stay a little longer, just till you're asleep." Her grin faded for an instant, [ b]"Unless that's the step back Mary-Beth said you wanted to take? 'Cause I can totally just go instead."[/b]

Shayera's eyes go wide and she nearly has an accident with her bite of her second fajita. "I wanted?" she finally gasps once she swallows. She shakes her head vehemently. "I didn't want to take a step back. But I'm going to be very patient and understanding if you wanted to. We took a big step forward last night, so it's only natural to sometimes want to take a step back."

Bronwyn looks at Shayera in amused surprise. "Okay, you are one-hundred percent quoting someone."

She laughed silently to herself for a moment, waving her hand to forestall any reply. "It's fine, it's fine. I'm glad you've got someone to talk to about us. I've never wanted to take any steps back from you Shayera. That's why I'm so careful about taking steps farther forward than I think we should. Look, what we did last night was a special circumstance, but that was the plan! And it's not what we're going to do all the time." A heavy blink dispelled the images that leapt to the front of her mind. "Or... not yet anyways. So I'm not moving in, or sleeping over, or... other things. But staying with you until you fall asleep? I'd love to do that as often as I can."

Shayera's cheeks flush in embarrassment. She looks abashed and stares down at her fajita until it's evident Bronwyn wasn't upset about her assumption. Her eyes creep upwards until she's looking at her girlfriend again.

"Okay," she finally says. She takes a moment to consider the "new normal" in their relationship. She frowns slightly. "So, that means that I, the one who can fly, get to fall asleep in my bed and then you have to run all the way back to where you're staying?"

Her wings open and close in demonstration. "Why don't I fly you back?"

Bronwyn's eyes sparkled as Shayera spread her wings, "We can do that too. But late at night is also my best time for full speed training anyways. I mean, if I don't get the chance to really stretch my legs I'll never figure out how fast I can really go. Sure there's something to be said for life and death situations motivating new PB's, but snapping an ankle because I'm trying to make a turn at a new speed for the first time is no good."

"Besides, this way I get to snuggle with you til you fall asleep. That's good enough to pass on flying some nights, right?"

I suppose... Alexandra concedes Yeah, sometimes it's frustrating, being ahead while everyone else is struggling.

Awesome. Tryto avoid the lounge Pachyderm, she's had a week. Alexandra says. And, she's been being weird, since the incident. keeps repeating "I'm still me", like she doesn't believe it.

Shayera nods in agreement, then finishes off her last fajita while wearing a goofy smile.

With her late supper consumed, she stretches and surreptitiously gives herself a sniff. "Well, I think I'm going to shower before bed. You want to use it before or after me? And this time, you're going to take some of these clothes I've got for you here." She arches an eyebrow with a playfully stern expression.

"I mean, I *think* I understand the principal of being on your own and showing that you can manage, but come on." She spreads her hands, waving at all the opulence surrounding them. "What sort of girlfriend am I being if I don't give you the basic necessities when I have more than enough for the both of us?"

==============
While Bronwyn's taking her shower:
Shayera relaxes in the comfy chair in front of the Abacus console and notices that she's had collected a fair amount of email messages. She sifts through them, noting the various school updates and adverts, but then is surprised when she sees two messages from Kaoru from earlier in the day.

Bronwyn gives a sad, small smile as Shayera talks about basic necessities. "I really don't... Okay. For what it's worth, I do have the basic necessities. And this whole thing with my parents isn't forever, I'm sure it'll blow over." She sighed, "But if you're making me, I'll take them. I'm leaving all the loungewear and pajamas and everything here though, okay?"

"You can go ahead and grab the shower now. I'll take one after my run." The mischievous light returned to her eyes, and she stuck out her tongue, "Unless that was some kind of hint."

Saturday Morning

Shaun is up even earlier than Alexis (I pressume), once again cooking a breakfast spread that fills the counter. He smiles brightly when Alexis finally investigates the smells of bacon and waffles. "Mornin'Lex! Already got a stack of toast waitin' for ya'." He gestures with a spatula as he adds a parsley garnish to an omelet. "A'ight, so I did some Googlin' last night, worked out some good stops f'us ta' hit today. But, good startin' spot's ta' mall. Ye've been there before yea'? Any preference on look?

"I'll tell ya' now, don't get too fancy. Keepin'thin's simple and tough is a good rule'a thumb. Think canvas, work clothes, denim and leather, ta' such. I've got an army surplus store in mind that should have some old fatigues we could work with. I'll give ya' more when we get there, but! Big question, right now:

"Boxers or briefs?"

Feel free to come in anytime Wingblade.

Saturday Morning

"...I don't know. And I want to look nice," Alexis said as he stood there in the clothes from yesterday. They were all that he had which would fit him. He did however bring up some of the fashion magazines that Shayera had lying around the house. They had men's fashion as well as girl's, as he flipped them open and showed off some of the interesting styles inside. He seemed particularly enamored by waistcoats and button up shirts, looking excited by them.

'I'll need a hair cut. My hair it too long right now. I need to cut it so that I don't have to tuck it into my helmet," He told Shaun, grabbing his toast and starting to tear through the stacks. "You should cut your hair, too." He thought about the question for a few more moments.

"I like both. Let's get both."

Later, the shopping mall

Alexis was serious about getting clothes that fit him and a haircut that would suit his new style. He vehemently vetoed anything that could be considered a military fatigue. He only got workout clothes that were loose and easy to put on and take off. He also wanted to try on every suit that he saw on a dummy mannequin.

At the very least, he was at the mercy of Wingblade's budget for this shopping trip. But he wanted to make sure that when he walked out, he looked close to one of the model in one of her fashion magazines. Particularly the one with the sculpted jaw and piercing blue eyes that was interesting to stare at and imagine him looking at Alexis for real.

Shaun slowly raises a skeptical eyebrow at the fashion spreads. ”Uh...ah-HM, ‘Lex, these aren’t gonna work. Ta’ second y’start havin’ta’ actually use your body, like start movin’, this would all get in ta’ way. Er, well, I guess in your case ye’d just rip it apart in seconds. But still, bad idea.” He flips a page over to a style he thinks is intended to be more outdoors-y. ”Okay this is closer, but those shoes are never gonna f&!%in’ happen.”

The Scotsman looks genuinely confused and slight affronted. ”Wha-? What’s wrong with my hair?” He idyll ruffles the mess of semi-spiked red. ”I think it’s fine.”

”...huh. Unique answer. Uh...guess we’ll jusy see what strikes ya’.”

- - -

Mall Crawl

Shaun rolls his eyes for what feels like the hundredth time. ”’Lex, ya’ need less fabric. Not more. An’ satin isn’t gonna do s*&* against a knife. Could ya’ at least try ta’ stick ta’ cotton? That at least has some flex ta’ it.”

He (along with Alexis for a time) stand out from the generally well-attired clientele of the stores the super-soldier gravitates towards. On multiple occasions Shaun has to give the stink-eye to people muttering behind his back. It doesn’t help that his adversity to sleeves is on high-alert, and every time Alexis grabs some pastel-colored dress shirt he can feel his own arms cringe (metaphorically). The second he has to throw a punch in one of those ridiculous get-ups, he’s gonna get a reality check...

Putting back yet another suit coat, Shaun turns back around to face the rabid shopper, but spies something that might actually not be the worst thing in the world. ”Hey ‘Lex.” He walks over to him, holding a bright red bow tie. ”How ‘bout this? It’s not no combat boots, but hell, at least it’s not another of those multi-shirt nightmares...”

I suppose... Alexandra concedes Yeah, sometimes it's frustrating, being ahead while everyone else is struggling.

Awesome. Tryto avoid the lounge Pachyderm, she's had a week. Alexandra says. And, she's been being weird, since the incident. keeps repeating "I'm still me", like she doesn't believe it.

Kaoru smirked slightly. "Eh, it's not too bad. I typically just zone out and do other work on my computer. It means most of my classes are basically just free periods where I have to stay in a specific room."

She frowned slightly at the elephant comment. "You mean Alexis? I mean, he's going to be at the escape room. He was the one that wanted to hang out after all. He kept suggesting shopping, but I typically do most of mine online, so he asked me to pick something and that's what I went with. But we should have an hour or more between the end of that and your meeting, so there should be plenty of time to break off after."

She glanced at her watch, sighing heavily. As warm and comfy as she was, if she didn't want to be horribly late, she'd probably need to leave soon. Relucantly she pulled herself away from Alexandra. "If I'm going to get there in time from here, I'm going to have to leave soon. And I should probably feed Shadow and wash my face before leaving. Again, you are more than welcome to join. When I grab my phone, I can double check if there are still slots."

She dashed off, first to the kitchen to feed the cat. As soon as he heard the tin can being opened, a large black shape dashed to the food dish. His attempt to continue acting aloof and annoyed by the long delay was undermined by the very loud purring as the wet food hit his plate, and he began gobbling it up. Really hope he doesn't just end up throwing that up later... While she was there, she grabbed a few granola bars. She still wasn't really hungry, but she could feel her stomach starting to complain. Plus she wasn't sure it was a good idea to go to this event on an empty stomach.

From there she dashed upstairs to the bathroom adjoining her room and quickly scrubbed all signs of crying from her face. Or at least as much as she could. She then grabbed her phone from where it had been sitting next to her bed. She quickly navigated to the room's website, calling out as she started to head downstairs. "Yeah, I was right. Looks like still plenty of slots left." She quickly flips over to email. "And looks like Wingblade's coming too. You want me to buy you a ticket?"

As she waits for a response from Alexandra, she types out a quick reply to Wingblade.

She didn't add it to the email, but she couldn't help but think there were much better options for people to imitate than Shaun, even if you were trying to stay away from well-known capes.

She then quickly flipped over to text messages to read what Bronwyn had written. Except that she wasn't sure how to respond to. It was sweet, but kinda dumb. Exactly how did the girl think she was going to protect her from getting killed? She'd probably just end up getting them both killed. Or making it a lot harder for Kaoru to make a distraction and slip away unnoticed. She shook her head, putting her phone back away. She had no obvious response nor was it clear what Bronwyn wanted her to say. Lie maybe? Say something dumbly positive and upbeat? Whatever. The message had been sent over 12 hours ago, so waiting until after the escape room probably wouldn't hurt anything.

Kaoru quickly pulled on her shoes and grabbed a jacket, ready to head back to the Tower District. Possibly with Alexandra in tow.

Mall Crawl - but blatantly responding to some things that technically happened before Bronwyn met up with the crew :-p

Bronwyn had met up with the penthouse crew at the mall itself, dressed in a plain, freshly laundered tanktop and cutoffs.

"Well... Shaun doesn't wear a helmet, so I guess he doesn't need a haircut. And his hair is so... distinctive? Fashion's so idiosyncratic anyways, you know?" Gratefully she moved on from trying to avoid talking about whether or not she liked Shaun's hair. "Shaun is kinda right though. About making sure you get some clothes that are good for everyday I mean, or when you might need to move. But let's definitely get you some nice suits, Alexis. No reason for everything in your wardrobe to be all designed for the same things."

Can I just trust that Shaun'll make sure he gets the right umm... supportive-stuff too? I don't know how much fighting or running around Alexis has done with his current... equipment, but there's nothing fun about torsion. Oh God. Shaun's no help; he fights in a kilt. 'Authentically' too.

Do I really need to make them think about Bran in his boxer-briefs?

Oh no. Silver Shadow in a puzzle... How do you expect that to go? she says. But, I'll drive you to the mall. I have stuff I want to do there. She says What's your favorite colour?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Butting into the Mall scene~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Alexandra walks past the group, a bag stashed under her arm

Oh, didn't expect you guys to be here. We getting Alex some real clothes? she asks, trying to keep her voice down.

Bronwyn gives a sad, small smile as Shayera talks about basic necessities. "I really don't... Okay. For what it's worth, I do have the basic necessities. And this whole thing with my parents isn't forever, I'm sure it'll blow over." She sighed, "But if you're making me, I'll take them. I'm leaving all the loungewear and pajamas and everything here though, okay?"

"You can go ahead and grab the shower now. I'll take one after my run." The mischievous light returned to her eyes, and she stuck out her tongue, "Unless that was some kind of hint."

Shayera grins and shakes her head. "No, you always smell good when you're not soaked in pond water. You smell a bit like fajitas at the moment, but that's fine."

She gets up to wash and put away the dishes, accepting Bronwyn's help in the domestic task if she offers.

She then takes her shower and enjoys the rest of the evening.

Thinking this is a good enough end for Friday night.

================

Shayera tags along with the shopping excursion, footing the bill with nary a complaint or bit of hesitation.

She doesn't give much feedback regarding Alexis choosing a style, but once he picks suits and jackets she does her level best to find the right ones for him.

With a little help from Abacus, she finds a standalone store near the mall that sells suits made from more durable fabrics that also are cut to afford greater movement. A place like Halcyon City obviously has a market for action-wear suits.

"Oh hi Alexandra. Yeah, he needs a whole new wardrobe, and your dad's hand-me-downs were only going to work for so long."

She moved in closer, trying to keep from calling her out, and discretely muttered, "Oh, and he's still going by Alexis, no name change necessary."

The store that Shayera had picked out was interesting for the reason that it was owned by a Bronze Age ex-con, a former villain named Alton Finch. A speedster who had gone by Rush Job, his short career ended after losing his right leg above the knee. He turned his life around, and now the older man was a tailor, able to modify anything for anyone in record time. That talent was useful in a city where super-strength, multiple limbs and molten skin was only an uncommon occurance.

Alton walked with the help of a cane and a prosthetic, dressing his best to advertise his craftsmanship. He noted the special requirements for Alexis' attire. "What's your strength ranking ?" He asked him, the prematurely balding man speaking with a professional lilt to his voice.

Alexis blinked, thinking for a moment. "...Um. I can lift a car and throw it about ten meters."

"Not too difficult. I can modify some of my off the rack suits and have them ready in half an hour," He told Alexis, wrapping up the tape he had. He'd taken the boy's numbers in the time it had taken to tell him how strong he was.

"The shirts, slacks and waistcoat will be rated for being able to fight in without tearing. I'll give you a few options for accessories, though I would advise against bow ties. Some simple solid neckties will work better for you," He would point out, hobbling over to his work station.

Alexis was fascinated by how once Alton stopped, his while torso seemed to blur as he worked at super speed to modify the suits he had available for him. He was glad that he was getting the opportunity to have such nice clothes.

The Escape Room

Alexis was already waiting when Kaoru showed up. He looked completely different to the point it would be difficult to recognize him from last night. His hair had been cut into wavy black that framed his face, with a part that swept bangs across one side of his forehead and over the costume black frame glasses over his eyes. The grey waistcoat over the white dress shirt and a dark red tie fitted perfectly over his broad shoulders, the matching slacks and black dress shoes adding to the feeling that he was cut out of a fashion magazine.

Shopping

Once Alexis seems to have the hang of shopping, Shayera tries to nudge Bronwyn into a few shops for teen girls. "No sense for Alexis to have all the fun. You should pick out something that you like."

Escape Room

Shayera had ventured out wearing a comfortable but fashionable combo of blouse and shorts small enough that they would violate the school dress code. Her pendant as usual disguised her wings.

When the others arrive, she gives a 'ta-daa' motion towards Alexis. "He cleans up nice, doesn't he?" she asks to no one in particular.

Seeing Kaoru arrive, she smiles at him and takes an opportunity while the others are ooh-ing over Alexis' new look to drift over to stand next to him. "So, escape room. Neat idea. I promise no powers, and, um, well. It's a nice, low-pressure way to team build, I gotta say. You should take the lead, if, um, you're interested?"

Oh no. Silver Shadow in a puzzle... How do you expect that to go? she says. But, I'll drive you to the mall. I have stuff I want to do there. She says What's your favorite colour?

Kaoru smirked slightly, "We escape the room in record time and get listed as the top players by a large margin?" She shrugged. "But if you want to go shopping instead, so be it. I guess I'll see you at 4 then." She blinked at the color question. "Ummm, some shade of green? Maybe, like forest green? Or possibly jade. One of the vibrant shades anyway."

I'm assuming Alexandra tell Kaoru where to meet at 4 and that she should also be dressed up.

Apparently Kaoru had chosen a bad spot to wait for the others when Alexandra had dropped her off. She didn't notice until she was anxiously looking around 5 minutes past the meet up time that the rest of the group had congregated elsewhere. On the bright side, the room was only a 5 minute walk from where the meet up location was, meaning they still had plenty of time to get there.

She hurriedly walked over, briefly surprised by Alexis' attire. The good news was that he was less horribly dressed than the day before. The awkward news was that his outfit was rather impractical for an escape room (and she personally disagreed with his choice of knots for his necktie). Hopefully this room doesn't have a section where you have to crawl on your hands and knees through a tunnel... Probably the worst thing though was that Alexis had only been a guy 2 days, meaning he had paid an exorbitant price to get the suit custom tailored. Clearly, Wingblade's lack of financial senses was rubbing off. She looked away before the sick feeling in her gut made her throw up what little she had in her stomach only to find Wingblade standing right next to her.

"Yeah, no powers is good. I doubt the people running the room would appreciate it if our group trashed the entire place. Not really sure how much 'leading' there is though. I've done a couple of these things before, so I at least have some idea of what to expect though."

Heads up, I'm going to start the escape room scene tomorrow/in 12ish hours unless there are objections.

Bronwyn gave a quick smile, but shook her head. "Thanks sweetie, but... I'm not in the mood to shop right now. Let's just focus on Alexis, okay?"

She glanced down at Shayera, and then over at the stores she was pointing out, "Or if you see something you legs, that could be fun too."

Just. stay. quiet. Maybe she didn't hear it.
Then again if she did she might wear these shorts more often...

Well, I'll be marrying off my little brother around then - so a perfect time for Bronwyn to be off pretending to be busy :-p

Escape the Space Elevator
Kaoru cleared her throat, speaking up to get everyone's attention. "Ahem, we should head over to the room now. They generally want you to sign waivers ahead of time in case you do something dumb and hurt yourself."

If Shaun is there, Kaoru will inform him that he'll need to buy tickets at the location.

Kaoru sets a brisk pace, leading the group a short walk from the courtyard to a neighboring skyscraper where the escape room is located on the first floor amid what appears to be a variety of shops. The particular area she heads towards is located by the corner of the building and labeled as the Houdini Company Escape Rooms, offering a variety of options across multiple locations throughout Halcyon City. The group arrives with just enough time for extra tickets to be bought and consent forms signed. There are a couple of other groups excitedly chatting as they prepare to do their respective escape rooms. There also appears to be a tan, lanky teenaged boy with sun-bleached hair and a pale, slightly goth-looking college girl with dyed black hair, both who seemed to have bought tickets to the same room Kaoru did. The two identify themselves as Jeremy and Erica.

Shortly a man in a white lab coat appears, leading the group down a short hallway to a waiting room with lockers to store any extra bags people might have on them. The man then addresses the group. "Good afternoon, fellow scientists! On behalf of everybody else here at Space Z, we are so happy you've agreed to help the world-renowned Dr. Samuel Cape in his attempts to establish communication with neighboring solar systems. As you have no doubt heard, Dr. Cape is currently residing in his research laboratory on the moon. Now, to facilitate his work, we here at Space Z have built our very own space elevator right from this location all the way to the moon! But before I send you to begin your journey, let me cover a few ground rules."

"1) Please do not stand on the furniture. I assure you, there is no need as nothing you need to reach will be above this height." He holds his hand up to indicate a point about five and a half feet off the ground.
"2) Please do not disassemble anything or use excessive force. Nothing should require more strength than that needed to lift a glass of water."
"3) Please leave you cell phones in your pockets. No pictures can be taken during the course of your voyage nor will any internet usage be required; all information you will need will be in the elevator."
"4) Last but not least, your voyage will last approximately an hour during which time you will be unable to leave. If you need to use the restroom, I suggest you do so before we get started."

That taken care of, he leads the group through a doorway into the "space elevator." The room is large enough to fit in comfortably though it's a little on the small side, a fact that is emphasized by the lack of any windows and the furniture, which seems a little too large for the space. The north wall is dominated by a large, flatscreen tv hanging over a series of cabinets. The tv currently displays a picture of the Earth and the moon, with a little blip most likely to represent your current location. The east wall is decorated with a number of posters, most of which display different forms of communication ranging from the well known braille and morse code to the more obscure flag symbols known as semaphores and something labeled as pigpen. In addition, there's a large periodic table of the elements. The south wall contains the door you just came through in addition to a table with a small, desktop computer and a few display cases that seem to contain pictures and a few books. The west wall has a relatively large, roll top desk next to a comfortable looking arm chair.

As soon as you enter, Kaoru's eyes immediately begin darting around, analyzing everything even as the door behind you slides down with a pneumatic hissss. A moment later the image on the tv screen is replaced by the smiling face of the man who escorted you to the room. "Everybody doing ok in there? I've sealed the room, so you should be all set for your journey. Now, you might feel a slight jolt as the elevator gets started..." The entire room seems to lurch upwards causing Kaoru to stumble slightly, a surprised look on her face. "Now, Dr. Cape has prepared an hour long tutorial video for you to watch while-"

The image distorts briefly before cutting out to display only static. It's then replaced by a pale man in a black suit with a hooked nose, tophat, and almost cartoonishly long, curled mustache. "We interrupt your regularly scheduled broadcasting to bring you...me! Dr. Fobes! Bwahahaha! Now, I'm afraid Sammy boy really doesn't need you interlopers helping him with his research, so I've arranged for you little elevator to go...off the rails, shall we say. Perhaps take a little journey to the sun? Mmmm? Don't worry though, there's nothing you can do to stop my masterful plan. So just sit back, sip some tropical drinks, and enjoy getting a tan. You there especially look like you could use one." He seems to be pointing at the goth girl. "I mean seriously, do you even know what the sun is? Yesh. Anyway, enjoy your last hour among the living before you all die in fiery agony. Toodles."

The image cuts out to be replaced once more by your host. "Oh dear, that was Zeno, wasn't it? No doubt with yet another plan to kill you all before you can reach Dr. Cape? Don't worry though, he does this a lot and we've put a number of counter measures in place. You just have to find your way to the command consoles, enter the password, and we'll have you back here in a jiffy! Now to do that you'll just need to..." You see the man shuffling some papers around with growing panic. Finally he stops, putting on a clearly fake smile, and addresses you again. "Haha...now, it looks like I may have forgotten to write down what the password is. Or where we put the command consoles. We...have to rearrange things a lot. But! We always leave clues for just such a situation, so I have every confidence you can figure it out before you reach your final destination. And if not...well...you did sign those liability papers already. Hope you read the fine print! Best of luck to you all." The tv returns to the image of the Earth and the moon, now expanded to include the sun and the planets in between. A 1-hour countdown starts.

Kaoru almost immediately addresses the group. "Ok, so generally the best approach is to try to find as many things as you can in the first 5 minutes and then regroup to go over what you've found. So everybody, start looking for things until I call time." Without waiting for agreement, Kaoru rushes off to start checking in cabinets and drawers, Erica and Jeremy quickly following suit. For simplicity sake, just going to assume at least some people go along with this plan.

After 5 minutes, you all have a pile of various odds and ends stacked on a table in the middle of the room, which Kaoru quickly begins sorting into similar piles as she talks. "Ok, we'll keep active clues here. When you solve a puzzle, put the used clues on top of the rolling back desk, so we know they're no longer relevant. Also just be aware that the desk is movable; we found a small door with a 6 character word lock on it behind it. We'll split into two teams of puzzles solvers. I'll work with Jeremy and Erica and the rest of you form the second team. Keep in mind that there are often multiple rooms as part of an escape room, so we might not have enough information yet to solve everything. Like, this one key we found doesn't currently seem to fit any locks. But anyway, we'll take these puzzles while you guys take these other two." She pushes over 2 books, 3 pages that seem to have been torn from the books, as well as 6 small scraps of paper. "Also, there appears to be an email from Dr Cape on the computer. I've checked and it's not tech-y, so you all should take a look at it." With that, she grabs her own puzzles and moves to work with Jeremy and Erica.

I know puzzles can be a little iffy in game that aren't specifically puzzle focused, but I do have a number of hints/insights I can give for each puzzle. If need be, we can resolve things with dice rolls, but I'd prefer for everyone who wants to solve puzzles manually get a chance to do so first. Similarly, if you're a puzzle whiz, please make sure others have a chance to try as well. Also feel free to discuss the puzzles with each other either in character or in discussion.

Alexis looks quite confused as they enter the room, wondering how a space elevator could be inside of a building. It didn't seem tall enough to actually go to space as far as he could see. Though it was supposed to be a game, so it might be that this was all playing pretend?

Though the sudden jolt from underneath the floor did make him wonder if that was supposed to be a part of the game. The announcement that they'd be launched into the sun gave him pause. On the one hand, it seemed farfetched an elevator could be driven off course to fly into the sun within an hour's time. On the other hand...

Well, he doubted even he could come back from that. He tampered down his thrill, looking over the clues and latching onto the e-mail to start, noticing some things right away.

The other stuff Alexis hasn't solved, but I think he got the scrap papers puzzle, so don't look at the spoiler unless you want to know the possible solution. The other one he's offering some clues for to the others, but hasn't figured that out yet.

Alexis puts the code into the lock. It opens, the doorway sliding up to reveal a low, dark passage, perhaps 4 feet tall. Before anyone has a chance to walk down it, the walls abruptly switch from opaque to a translucent pale blue color. It's opaque enough that you have no trouble seeing where the barriers are but transparent enough to give a clear view of Halcyon City, which appears to be several hundred feet below you. The elevator continues to move upwards at faster and faster speeds, though there's no actual sensation of movement from inside. Below you are the glittering metal skyscrapers of the Tower District. Beyond that, you can see the dull browns and reds of the older buildings across town as well as the smattering of green parks here and there. It's all quite beautiful if you ignore the timer continuing to countdown behind you (42 minutes remaining) or the suddenly cold breeze whipping through the room seemingly without a source.

A completely awe-struck looking Kaoru gapes at breathtaking scenery for a moment before snapping out of it and dropping another book and page on the table. "Hey, so it turns out the tv can be rolled up slightly. In a cavity behind it we found this book and after we solved this musical puzzle, a secret panel on the desk popped upon dropping this page."

The book is entitled
Volume 5
Attenuating Errors by Newton
and the page says "Perhaps together, one leading emissary might yet".

Despite the change in the walls, the tunnel remains dark. Trying to see where it goes through the translucent walls makes it appear as though it's merely a 4x4 black square painted on the side of the elevator despite the fact that you can clearly stick your hand into it. Finally noticing the unlocked door, Kaoru's face lights up as she immediately ducks down and rushes through it. "Secret passage!" She disappears from sight almost immediately and shortly thereafter you hear a noise coming from above you. Through the translucent ceiling, you can Kaoru standing above you, looking around. "Hey, I think we found the first control console!" It looks like Kaoru is interacting with various things, but as far as you can tell, there's nothing on top of the elevator except her. A moment later, Kaoru dashes towards the edge of the elevator, disappearing from sight and shortly re-emerging from the tunnel with more clues for the puzzles she, Erica, and Jeremy were working on. "I only did a quick pass for things related to the puzzles we're working on, so you guys should take a closer look up there." She then dashes off to rejoin her own group.

"I'll give you a few options for accessories, though I would advise against bow ties. Some simple solid neckties will work better for you,"

With a non-pulsed expression and a backward toss, Shaun sends the bow tie spinning away. GOD I hate these fancy suit f~~*s...

- - -

Outside the Escape Room

Shaun waves a dismissive hand when asked if he'll be participating in the escape room. "No thanks. Tried one of these in Milwaukee. They got rrreeeeaal pissy when I just kicked ta' exit door down." The hint of a smug smile plays at his lips. "Ta' look on their faces was priceless...but, uh, yea', I've got somethin' I need ta' get ready for anyway, so I'll just say bye f'now." As he leaves, he shoots Alexandra a significant glance.

Don't mean to be a butt non-team player here, I just don't think Shaun in an escape room would end well. Plus, now I have an opportunity for a personal scene...

- - -

Shortly Thereafter...

"That's gonna be $2.45 kid."

Shaun nods and fishes out his wallet. On his way back to the apartment, he'd decided to stop at a hole-in-the-wall restaurant advertising something called "shwarma." He didn't have a clue what shwarma was, but he was curious and hungry enough to try.

The red-head could feel his stomach sink as his wallet disgorges only $2. "Uh...s@**. You said $2.45?"

The stern-looking man behind the counter doesn't so much as blink.

"...right. Uh...do you think y'could-?"

"No."

"But I didn't even-!"

"NO. I don't tolerate bums in my shop. Get out."

"Wh-?! HEY! I'm not a bum y'money-gurbbin'-!"

BOYS, boys! Please! Can't you let a girl eat in peace?" Shaun turns to his side to see a drop-dead gorgeous blonde seated in a secluded corner booth. She is dressed simply, but very well, with designer(?) jeans and a tied-off top made out of a sky-blue t-shirt. Her table is packed to the brim with what must have been one of everything on the menu. (No way in hell is that all for her...!)

The cashier harrumphs with almost cartoonish exaggeration. "If he cannot pay, he will not eat."

She waves a hand dismissively, her blue eyes never leaving Shaun. "Nonsense! Now, let's give him his food, hm?"

For a moment, the cashier's entire body stiffens, then relaxes. "Of course miss. Please give me a moment."

As the man turns away, Shaun returns the Blonde's evaluating look with a inquisitive one. "Uh, thanks doll...neat trick."

She chuckles lightly. ""Doll." So brutish...yes, well, I'm a girl of many talents."

Random side note, for any of you haven't actually had shwarma, do so. It's amazing.

Bronwyn gave a quick smile, but shook her head. "Thanks sweetie, but... I'm not in the mood to shop right now. Let's just focus on Alexis, okay?"

She glanced down at Shayera, and then over at the stores she was pointing out, "Or if you see something you legs, that could be fun too."

Just. stay. quiet. Maybe she didn't hear it.
Then again if she did she might wear these shorts more often...

Shayera's mouth twists. "I can multitask, you know. You left your parents' place with a duffel bag. Maybe... I can get you something for church?" A devious smile crosses her face. "Or, you know, I could look at some of this fancy sleepwear. If I'm going to have an audience when I go to sleep,"

Escape room
Shayera doesn't say anything When Shaun opts out, though she looks disappointed. She is quiet and attentive when they are given the rules, and tries to consider the fantasy that ordinary people experience when going into a place like this. For her, villainous deathtraps are a way of life, and one where there are no rules. But she tries to ignore her senses that inform her of the fact that they clearly are not hurtling toward the sun or on any of the other clues that she's not supposed to notice.

"...Sixth is cage. That becomes...I don't know. Why would people pray during a meal?"

"Grace," Shayera offers, though Alexis manages to guess the final letter anyway.

She looks at the pages and books and notices something else. "Hey, I think the first letter of these sentences create a word. Check this out. The first page spells out 'Galileo,' and the one Kaoru just found is 'Ptolemy.' But the next ones don't make much sense. 'Feaatearsp' and 'efdac.' The second doesn't mean anything to me, but the third could be music?"

Something about the layout of the room seemed strange to Alexis. Heading into the secret tunnel and ending up seemingly on top of the other room, he wondered how that was even possible that he could see the others but not anything in the room with them.

"Kaoru, do you think that there's something we have to do that needs us to see each other like this?" He asks him, the young man thinking as he looks around the smaller room. He figures there has to be a way to deal with the e-mail puzzle. They needed that code to unlock the station after all.

Plus, seeing Kaoru so excited about this, so engaged and not forlorn and depressed made Alexis very happy. He wanted to win this for him.

Assess the Situation: 2d6 + 1 ⇒ (4, 2) + 1 = 7

What here can I use to solve the e-mail puzzle?

Kaoru looks up from where she was lying under a table, apparently looking at something written on the bottom of it. "Hmmm, oh that's cool!" Apparently she hadn't noticed before that the room oddly offuscated all put the people involved. "Well...typically when they put people in positions where different people have different information, the goal is to force them to communicate. It's like that game, Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes where one person sees a bomb but doesn't know how to defuse it and the other knows how to defuse it but can't see it."

@Alexis: You've already noticed that the numbers don't match up with the typical A = 1, Z = 26 encoding. If they did, then what would be the point of the .'s, -'s, and x's? Perhaps instead the numbers are related to those symbols? There seems to be exactly half as many numbers as there are symbols. One of the posters also seems relevant (though you seem to have already figured that out? Might want to double check your translation)

Kaoru jumped up to look at the pages Wingblade was examining. "What was that about music?" She looks at the page in question, quickly humming the notes and frowning. "It doesn't sound like any music I'm familiar with. And these things typically don't require special knowledge unless they provide it, so it can't be something fancy about music theory and it'd have to be a well-known song. Hey, did you notice all the pages we've found thus far mention a number? Do you think that's important?"

Jeremy stuck his head out from under the table. "Dude, you done chatting? We need the extra pair of hands, bro."

Kaoru gave Wingblade an encouraging pat on the back and quick smile before throwing herself back under the table with whatever it was she was working on.

The elevator had now left Halcyon city far below it and was now above the clouds. Everywhere below was just an expanse of white fluffiness. The room was also noticeably much, much colder. Enough to make you wish for a jacket but not enough to be more than an annoyance.

Seems like the poster is actually wrong, because it labels G, F and B as their mirror codes (.-- for G when that's supposed to be --.). Hence how Mercy got sidetracked (Though as I was attempting to play it as Mercy actually knowing Morse Code, that doesn't track anymore.)

Alexis ponders how to make things work now. He decides to go back to the morse code puzzle, since no one else seems to be working on that. "Does it want the numbers in morse code? That doesn't do anything to clarify what the code is supposed to be..." He mutters as he looks it over. What was he missing? This seemed frustratingly complicated.

"...wait." Alexis paused for a brief moment. His eyes suddenly widened as he grinned, grabbing a pencil and starting to write stuff down.

I feel a little bad that Alexis is getting all of these puzzles solved - then again, he's striving to have a good friendship with Kaoru. I'd say it's working.

D'oh! Is it really too much to ask for that a randomly chosen image of morse code actually be correct? I guess this is what I get for just using an app for that sort of thing... :-/

Kaoru seems to be busy getting a 3D printer to work, but Erica comes to look at the answer. "I thought the email was supposed to give us access to the command console. Not be the actual password. Wait a moment..." She pauses, looking at the word and then around the room. "Hey Jeremy, didn't you say there was something weird about the periodic table?"

Jeremy saunters over, dropping another book on the table:
Volume 3
Lasting Colonization by Galileo

"Yeah, when you, like, poke it, the squares, like, light up and stuff. Kinda rad."

Erica walks over the periodic table, studying it and muttering under her breath. Eyes lighting up, she slowly presses some of the squares: Rhenium, Selenium, Argon, Carbon, and finally Hydrogen. There’s a brief moment where nothing happens, and then the entire poster begins to deform, pushing outward and away from the room to form a small, circular alcove large enough for just one person. Stepping into the alcove, Erica immediately disappears. Noises from above immediately indicate she has arrived in a room above the elevator, though once again, all you can see of the room is her in it.

Kaoru grabs the output of the 3D printer, wincing slightly as the slightly too hot metal forces her to juggle it between each hand. "I got the other key!" She takes it and the key from the beginning into the tunnel, calling out to the rest from the first control room. "Ok, so only one of the keys fits in here. When I turn it, it says 'Control Room 2 Keyboard Unlocked,' but I basically have to hold it here to keep it unlocked. My guess is the other key fits the other control room? And we have to hold the keys turned while people input their passwords"

By now the space elevator has left Earth’s orbit as is well on its way to the sun. Thankfully, the airtight enclosure shows no evidence of running out of breathable air and the chilly breeze of the upper atmosphere has disappeared. However, bit by bit you can feel the temperature starting to rise as the countdown continues: 23 minutes remaining.

Since Wingblade was already working on this puzzle, might make sense to at least give Stalwart an opportunity to finish solving it.

Shayera puzzles over the pages and the book titles. "Clearly each page has a number in the sentence -- like Kay pointed out. But only two match up with the authors, Ptolemy and Galileo. Is that a red herring? Or maybe a clue to how we're supposed to order the number sequence. Ptolemy's volume is the last... meaning the last number could be one... But I don't even know if we need a numeric sequence."

She shakes her head clear and tries to look at the puzzle from another perspective.

I'm banging my head against a wall -- let's see how a trained superhero can perform.

Superior: 2d6 + 2 ⇒ (4, 3) + 2 = 9

Any clues?

The two pages that spell out "Ptolemy" and "Galileo" also include the number "one" on them. The other pages include numbers from 2 to 4.

Also, in case it was buried in the text in the spoiler, you are currently looking for a 6-character password for control console 1 and a 7-character password for control console 2.