Those Halcyon Days of Youth (Inactive)

Game Master Stalwart

At Alliance HQ:

Praetoria nods, and Rory can see tears of anger and fear in her eyes. As she walks, she reaches out and takes his hand. ”I’m losing everyone. One by one.”

As Kayla flies off, Psyche leaves a tendril in her mind, along with the brief sensation of a quick, tight embrace. "Here if you need anything."

"Can Gothic geolocate? Could they be coordinates?"

Press conference

"As you know, my only role with that organization is aspirational, but I think it is more appropriate to focus on the tremendous fundraising and good works that the Church has accomplished instead of cherry picking the tweets of a few misguided, anonymous souls.

"My work battling Shard and his fanatics should make my opinion of the Chosen quite clear."

"I don't know. I doubt it, but Gothic's never been one to overshare," Whippoorwill says as she walks around to try to look over Apotheosis's shoulder to see what code he punched in.

"Nothing here. It was out of Gothic's field of vision, and whatever it is, it looks like it's just a sequence to open the cage."

She turns around and starts studying the walls and equipment in the vision. "No, our best bet would be to look for clues for the location within the lab itself."

Foray turns to face Ballista. "Or, we ask the member of the Chosen who has ostensibly turned over a new leaf."

Hoshiko steps back from Foray's glare and looks away.

"Well? Do you recognize this place? What do you know?"

"Scorch, does Frostbite's relationship with Praetoria make it difficult to follow her orders?" "Some experts have suggested that team bylaws against fraternization would make for a safer Halcyon, Do you disagree with this policy because of Frostbite and Praetoria, or are you carrying a torch, Scorch?" "After your battle with The Crab you left after saying, 'Get out of my head.' Can you comment on any friction between you and Psyche?" "Is Psyche being truthful when she claims not to use her powers on the team?"

"What, um, No. It's easy, she's the leader. She's nice enough." Scorch says, as she's assailed by reporters. "Fraternization. Huh? No that's stupid. You can't stop people getting together if they want. Carrying a torch? Huh.,, um.. no., ur,.. not rea,.. Psyche? No. She's great. I mean sometimes she,... Umm. No. She doesn't use her powers on us." Scorch seems to be shrinking back away from the incessant questions and she gratefully looks up as Imagerie stops the questions and ushers them into the HQ.

"Shard shared a little about the grand scheme with her, but Hoshiko doesn't know all that much about the details," Shin interjects, stepping between his grand daughter and Foray. "That man is Apotheosis. The plan appears to be trying to give him the power to remake the entire world into one great utopia. For the Chosen, the Mongrels - I think he promised all of those teams whatever they want in this new world. Which is why they're working together on all of this. Dr. Dread I don't think she knew about."

He turns to Hoshiko. "Any detail you can think of that will help? Was Trapdoor the only way to reach this place, or maybe there's another physical entrance? Shard mentioned?"

Rory walks hand in hand with Kayla, trying to offer silent comfort because words seemed to be failing him at the moment, at last they reach the end of the concourse Rory looks at the press still lingering around the walkway like sharks in chummed water, and shakes his head. "I don't know how I can help but I will do whatever I can to help you, even if it is just to sit in silence and hold each other." Rory lifts her hand up and kisses the back of it. "Fly safe, and watch out for other airborne objects, however, if my sis is to be believed whatever you collide with will lose." Rory releases her hand and watches her disappear into the distance then slowly walks back to the briefing room.

"I think we should use Shard's knowledge."

"No offense to Ballista, but it's not as though she's the only avenue we have, and Shard's far more likely to have the answers we need."

She turned her focus to Imagerie, "I can just skim during questioning to make sure he's being truthful, but I can get a lot more if I go deeper."

Provoke: 2d6 + 2 - 2 ⇒ (3, 6) + 2 - 2 = 9 Trying to get Imagerie to let her off the leash for a serious probe.

Mattie looks doubtfully at Shin. "She may not know details." she says to the others, "but she must know something." she turns to Ballista. "What did Shard tell you and the others about Apotheosis and his plan? What made you agree to work with the Mongrels and attack the research facilities? You may not know the whole plan, but you must know what the aim was. Or do you just do whatever Shard tells you to?"

Kayla giggles a bit at Rory’s comment. She starts to walk away, but pauses. She then turns around and walks back to Rory, the pair still out of sight from the reporter crowd, and pulls him to her by the front of his shirt, kissing him passionately for several seconds before turning away again and walking outside and flying off to the hospital.

"Mattie!" Shin snaps at Scorch. "Apologize. She's here voluntarily. You can ask her questions, politely and with the respect that she deserves for making the extremely difficult decision to be here and cooperating. If you can't do that, then we're done."

Horizon looks at the rest of the Alliance and the Sentinels. "That goes for everyone. I will not tolerate a single snipe, insinuation, or anything else that has no purpose but to make her feel bad like you're lording over her. So measure your words, because you should feel shame for treating someone who is trying her best to be a good person like a criminal! As far as I'm concerned, the blackboard's wiped for her. Treat her exactly as you've all welcomed me into your fold, even though you all know what I might become. Because we're heroes, and we have to be better than that."

His flare up of righteous anger that has been welling up since Isaiah nearly pushed her back into the dark settles, as he turns to Hoshiko and smiles. "We can leave now if you want. But anything you think might help them locate Gothic might be a good idea."

Whippoorwill glares at Horizon. Her already tall figure is framed by her impressive wings, making her seem even larger. "You will stand down! You do not get to give orders here, and she is not free to go until we say so. We have a protocol for when someone wants to switch sides, and we will follow it."

Ballista puts a hand on Shin's shoulder and pushes him aside. "Let me handle this, Ojiisan." Then she gives Scorch a defiant look and folds her arms, standing directly in front of her. "I used to do everything he said. And yeah, Shard told me some of the plan. We were going to finally change things, he said."

She looks around. "I know this place. This is the lab we set up for Chiros after we busted him and the rest of the Mongrels out. It's in an old middle school building in Springdale."

Whippoorwill and Foray exchange a surprised look then turn to Ballista with half-believing expressions. "You mean the suburb?" Foray asks.

She nods. "Yeah, about twenty miles outside Halcyon. Why are you looking at me like that?"

Whippoorwill blinks a few times. "'Cause usually it's way harder to find out your secret lairs." Her deadpan attempt at humor over, she spins to face the oversized robotic alien. "Ordnance, speed configuration. 'Maj, Foray, get on board. Cap'll join us on the way."

The illusion of the middle-school science lab fades. Ordnance smoothly reconfigures himself into a sleek-looking jet and the Alliance members start boarding.

Whippoorwill turns, suddenly remembering you. "Ah, good job. We've got this. Stay and watch the HQ, please?" She touches a comm device in her ear as she boards Ordnance. "Rendezvous? You'll never believe this..."

As the Ordnance jet blasts off, Yeoman clomps up to you all. "Refreshment?"

Mattie's expression hardens at Shin's words. "Polite?" she says, "The respect she deserves? You've shown you're on the right side Shin. You've done a lot of good. You,.. you stopped me from hurting Rory and I can't, I won't forget that. But Ballista is a criminal. I'll be more than happy to accept that she's changed once she's shown that she has." Her voice raises in volume, letting her anger through. But The 'Chosen' have hurt a lot of people. A LOT of people in their misguided quest! She's hurt a lot of people. You can't just forget that and pretend it never happened. You can't just forget that she thinks she's better than the the people she calls 'mundanes'. You can't forget that just because she's your granddaughter! That doesn't make it OK! That doesn't bring people back to life! What are you going to tell her victims? What are you going to tell the children who don't have parents any more because of what she's done? You don't just get to walk away from that! You have to earn forgiveness, and a part of that is being sorry, really sorry for what you've done."

Ninja'd by Stalwart. For flow assume this post is just before Ballista's reply. I think that makes sense?

Piling on mentally

"Shin, knock it off! Yes Mattie got a bit snotty at the end there, but there's a mile of difference between what you could one day do, and what Ballista has actually done of her own free will. Just because someone's related to you doesn't mean everyone else has to pretend she's not a villain!

If you really want her to go straight, it's reasonable to ask her to make amends."

Rory finally makes it back, "So... What did I miss?

Okay, Shin, let's back the heck up. Holly says. You don't have power here, Like Whippoorwill said. Furthermore, don't talk to me like that. Don't talk to any of us like that!

And as for the slate being wiped clean... My god, i don't even have words for how monumentally stupid that is! She's shown that she's willing to use monstrous methods. It doesn't matter what her end was, how just it was or wasn't. If you can do the things she's done... I don't think she'll ever be able to make up for it. She, and you, shouldn't be upset when we don't trust her! Holly says. light spirals around her as she shouts.

Chill out and sit down and stop acting like you're the leader!

Provoke?

Provoke? Erm, I can see it going either way. How serious are you?

Ballista steps back, hugging her shoulders as the exchanges get more heated. Though, when Yeoman comes within range she grabs a water off his tray.

"It's all right, really. I know I'm not going to be trusted at first. Unless you're really all that stupid," she says trying to help.

Kayla’s voice comes through the communicator to the whole team. ”Okay, a couple of things. One, you have GOT to get used to these communicators Horizon. Yours is active. Two, you are not the end all be all of authority, none of us are! So you can stop the Dusk impersonation. Now, if you guys don’t mind, I’m going to go check on my Grammie, because I may not get to for much longer. Is that acceptable to everyone?” her voice is starting to crack with emotional stutters by the time she finishes her short rant.

Shin takes Scorch's berating quietly, absorbing what she's said. He takes the time after Whippoorwill's reaming of him and Hoshiko volunteering the location of the lab to think over everyone's words. When the Alliance finally leaves, he's the first to speak up to Yeoman.

"Yeoman, can you please tell us all about the first crime that Shin Akebono, codename Dusk, committed as the police report details it?"

The ancient robot whirs as it considers the request. "I am aware it occurred on August 9th, 1964. As Dusk had been a member in absentium from the Alliance at that point, the head of the Alliance at the time, Elsewhere, requested jurisdiction over the crime. The details...are not particularly meant for the ears of children," Yeoman says.

"I'd like to know. I'd like them all to know," Shin says quietly.

"...In total, five chapters of the Knights of America, four chapters of the Purity Council, and two chapters of the Brotherhood of Liberty were attacked during that night. First officers on the scene responded to emergency calls from witnesses hearing screams from the chapter buildings. The scene as they found it in that first building found seventeen men, later identified as members of the Knights of America, all in critical conditions. Emergency medical teams were requested to assist, though none of the men in question were in any condition to identify their attackers."

"What condition were they in?" He asked hoarsely.

Yeoman paused, before continuing. "The victims had been exposed to massive amounts of ionizing radiation, controlled and localized to avoid their vital organs but effectively burning nearly 90% of their flesh with third degree burns. Victims were blinded and their eardrums burst, and all had to be sedated to prevent them from struggling and screaming as they were rushed to the hospitals. Similar scenes were found in the other chapters. The total victim count at the end stood at one hundred and eighty three."

"No one was actually killed though?" Horizon asked, disguising his horror.

"Correct. All the victims were alive, but incapacitated to the point where many considered if euthanasia was an acceptable treatment option. The last victim of this incident, Grand Knight Steven Smalls died March 24th, 1971, from complications arising from infection. While Shin Akebono was the primary suspect in this case, he was not seen in Halcyon City until February 13th, 1969, where he started the Dusk Guard. It is assumed that he had fled the country shortly after the crime spree known by police as the Whiteout." Yeoman whirs again. "...Would you perhaps like a refreshment now?"

"Thank you. Some green tea would be nice," Shin says as he looks at the rest of the team. "If Hoshiko has done anything worse than that, then maybe you're right to not want to try to give her the benefit of the doubt. She's here, because I will never stop believing that people can change for the better. I think that it's important to try and convince everyone like Hoshiko that it's better to work for good than for misguided reasons. Stop hating her for her past. Try to help her make a brighter future."

He turns to Holly. "To be frank, I don't want to be the leader. Because that's a step closer to being Dusk. And I want to stay as far away from that as I possibly can." He looks at his communicator. "That's why I've been pushing Prae and Frostbite to try and step up."

Isaiah looked back and forth between the arguing sides, and rolled his eyes.

"Can we have the angry arguments at a time when there aren't pressing, world-scale threats on the loose? If that experiment of Apotheosis' goes south, do you really want this to be the last thing you did? How about we talk plans instead? I for one think that the apparent location of this lab is a bit too convenient. If we're dealing with an actual mastermind here, that's probably either a decoy, or if it is the real thing its a massive trap. And an assault on this HQ while the defenders are out would be fitting the observed pattern, so how about we talk defense plans and alternative methods of locating Apotheosis? In fact, if he's really clever, he may not have even told Shard the actual location. I certainly wouldn't trust Shard with something that important."

Meanwhile, Inqiury came to the conclusion that it didn't really need the Alliance's permission to do a scan. Launching into the air, it began to do a targeted sensor sweep across Halcyon City and its surroundings, potent sensor equipment straining to detect even the smallest signs of reality alterations. Barring the Null-Space Compressors used in its own construction, of course, and keeping track of where Ordnance likely carried some of the same.

Unleah Powers: 2d6 + 2 ⇒ (5, 5) + 2 = 12
Extending senses.

Kayla nods to her Uncle’s suggestion, and steps out to see what Shane was doing. She could have guessed, still playing a game on his damned phone. She rolls her eyes and floats away, forming the Regalia as she does.

She reaches the rooftop entrance and flies off to Praetor Tower. Wow...it’s already getting dark...I didn’t realize so much time had gone by in there...

Kayla landed at Praetor Tower and went inside through the aerial entrance. She rode the elevator down to their private living quarters and made her way inside. The place felt so empty right now, despite the sound of the hustle and bustle far below. She paused a moment at the door to the dining room, thinking back to the last conversation she had with Eternia, before heading on to her room. She quickly changed into something fitting for not just physical combat, but something she could use to try and blend in as best she could if need be. She ultimately settled on some black leggings and a black tank top. She tucked a ball cap into the side of her leggings waist band in case she wanted to try and obscure her blonde hair or face at some point. She made her way over to a mirror and gave herself a once over as she pulled her hair back into a ponytail. The last thing she does is takes the communicator out of her ear. She looks at it for a moment, then sets it on her nightstand beside a music box her dad had gotten her. She didn’t want any chance of distractions.

I'm coming Mom. I'm coming Dad.

She then let the Regalia form over top of her outfit and made her way back to the roof and into the sky. She flew up above the city lights until she was certain nobody could still be tracking her with a high power camera lens or anything, and then changed directions and headed off to where her parents were last seen. She had overheard her father saying something about Bayside, so that was where Praetoria was headed...

Holly spits back All you're proving is that Dusk is an even more misguided, even more monstrous person what are you tring to- Holly starts, before Isaiah speaks. she she stays quiet, cooling off for a moment before saying You're right, Isaiah. What should we do. If it is a trap, backing them up might just get us caufght too. we could stay here, and see if they pull a repeat stunt.. or... Yeoman, is Shard sedated, or otherwise fully neutralized? have you double checked? Holly says.

Psyche, please ask Isaiah if he could make some kind of sedatie in Inquiry.

Shin looks incredibly frustrated as Isaiah dismisses the intelligence that Hoshiko had just given on a place she said she's been, and Holly failed to understand his point. "The Mongrels just assaulted this place and failed. That was their distraction to get us off guard. It's a common enough tactic to divide our attention. You're also failing to see that Apotheosis might be the power, but he's not the mastermind," Shin said, holding up his communicator to let Prae in on the conversation.

"It seems more likely that Dr. Dread is the woman pulling the strings here. Prae probably knows more about that line, but I remember a Dr. Dread from my time." Now that he thought about it, it seemed clear that a Dr. Dread had been the villain involved in the fight that had led to him getting his powers in the first place. Strange that the mantle had been passed down the generations.

"Hoshiko, you said that Shard gave you part of the plan. What was going to happen after you got Psyche or Gothic? Were you guys planning on taking another run on the tech you didn't get from yesterday's raid?" He asks.

Thinking to Psyche

Kylie, how in the world is Hoshiko going to want to make amends when everyone else besides me treats her like a prisoner to be interrogated? She's not going to want to help anyone if they keep whispering threats, or saying she's Shard's willing lackey. They don't understand, they just see her as a bad guy and want to put her in a camp like the rest of us!

Mattie goes pale as Dusk's crime is described by the computer and her anger fades as she listens in horror. There's a difference Shin, " she says, placing her hand on his shoulder. You didn't do that. Dusk did that. You can change, make the choice not to do it. You're not Dusk. He's what you could become, but you can still make a choice not to become him. Not to do,.. that."

Isaiah flies high up into the air and begins his scan. He quickly realizes that it will be much more difficult a task. This is Halcyon City; disruptions in reality are surprisingly commonplace. He detects eighty-seven magical anomalies including two active conflicts between magic users, and six extradimensional hotspots. Thirteen of the anomalies appear to be of specific religious origin, and nine are fae.

After filtering out those, Inquiry scans what he believes to be Ordnance heading out to a patch of warped reality roughly twenty miles northeast of the Halcyon City limits.

Inside Alliance HQ, Yeoman answers Holly with his tinny, polite voice. "Ma'am, Shard is detained in CLASSIFIED. He will be inaccessible until a ranking Alliance member authorizes access. Refreshment?"

Ballista shakes her head. "I think Chiros was going to make due with what we got. And Psyche was the big prize. Gothic was the consolation. They'll probably need to find another pure telekinetic, since Gothic isn't. Psyche was the first choice because she's both."

A bolt of anger crackles across Psyche's mind, but she keeps most of it out of her reply, "Shin. This is not the same, I promise. I'll make sure you get the chance to visit her. I'll give telepathic testimony if you want. But you can't fix her by pretending Shard and Dusk didn't damage her."

More broadly she muses, "Well, if you're trying to build a Psyche, you'd start with Gothic and add a..." Yeoman, are Ciandra's whereabouts currently known? "[/i]

And did Imagerie respond to my provoke?

Do you know what I've always hated? That we're so sure that the best way to treat criminals is to put them outside of the rest of the world. We never think that maybe it's more important to get them to become a part of it. If Hoshiko has any hope of becoming more than a villain, then she has to be surrounded by heroes who will welcome her and treat her equally. I know she's damaged. I damaged her. Shard damaged her. But you can't fix damage by ignoring that she's still a person with feelings, either. So do me a favor. Apologize to her. Verbally. Show her you're willing to bury the hatchet, even if the rest of the team won't do it.

He looks at Scorch a bit sadly. "Here's the thing, Mattie. I could imagine myself doing something exactly like that. The impulse to simply remove bad men from the equation is always going to be there. But if I'm going to be a better person, I have to see that everyone else is willing to try to be their better selves also. I don't know the details of Hoshiko's crimes, but you seem to know. After hearing what I might do, does it matter? She's here and she's helping us. So please, give her a chance. Get to know who she is, not Ballista. Like you've gotten to know me, and not Dusk. I believe you have it in you to not let your prejudice rule you. You're a good person, so be an example for Hoshiko to follow."

Support Scorch: 2d6 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (3, 5) + 2 + 1 = 11

If she opens up and tries to make good with Ballista, Scorch can mark potential, clear a condition or Shift Labels. I'll also add another Team to the pool.

He lets out a breath, looking tired even though he probably exerted himself the least among the team today. He takes his tea from Yeoman and sips it slowly. He brings out his comm, keying into the channel to talk to Whippoorwill. "I wanted to apologize. I don't know your protocols. But I don't want to see family locked up either. I hope that you get there in time to rescue Gothic. But listen, Psyche was their prime target because they need telepathy and telekinesis. Psyche thinks they'll go after someone named Ciandra next."

He pauses, looking at the rest of the team. "...So does anyone else think that we should go find Ciandra and bring her in?"

Kylie, Isaiah is right. This feels like a trojan horse attack. like the season 3 finale. How the hell is it that WE beat Shard!. hes escaped capture for almost a decade. Unless he wanted to be caught. and we were so ready to beleive it, so ready to be better than him.

she leans lose to Isaiah, pushing him slightly to get him away from Shin Do you have anything like a sedative, something I or Gallow could use against Shard, if I'm right, and he isn't as retrained as we hope he is

"Shin... We won't keep her out of the world. We just have to be cautious. But, you're right. Making her feel isolated won't help."

She turned to Ballista, to Hoshiko, "I'm sorry how we've handled this. If nothing else, leaving you in doubt as to what would be done with you was unkind. We will be following the Alliance's protocols, both for our safety, and to give you the best chance of breaking free from destructive patterns. Please make the most of this chance; I hope you see how hard Shin is fighting to give it to you.

"We all hope you're able to live up to what he sees in you."

That's as far as I can go, Shin. Please, take it.
Provoke: 2d6 + 2 - 2 + 1 ⇒ (6, 5) + 2 - 2 + 1 = 12

**

"Holly. Shard wasn't playing rope-a-dope. If you keep him from using his powers he's just a man. Even if this is some scheme, which I doubt, there's nothing to stop us from beating him again."

Horizon's message is almost cut off by Whippoorwill. "Little busy now, Shin, can this wait--" until he mentions Ciandra. "NO!! No, under no circumstances are you to-- You'd better be listening here, kid! Ciandra once threw a battleship at Captain Stalwart, so do you have any idea of the power she has?? No, absolutely not. Damn, we're inbound. We'll discuss this later. Whippoorwill out."

Yeoman manages to somehow look timid when asked about Ciandra. "I'm sorry, Ma'am, but Ciandra's current whereabouts are CLASSIFIED."

Would that be stumbling, erring, or overreacting?

More like not being susceptible to your words. You're basically asking her to break the law -- and a big one.

Mattie turns from Shin, shaking her head. "I'm willing to give her a chance." she says, "but that doesn't mean pretending that she's never done any of the things she's done, hasn't hurt any of the people she's hurt. She can make amends, she can help, but she can't, we can't, forget the things she's done. That's not how forgiveness works. There's a difference between forgiving what someone's done and forgetting it. Of course she gets a chance to prove that she's changed. Everyone deserves that. But she does have to prove it, I hope she does Shin. I really do, but a part of that is remembering, remembering and admitting all the bad things she's done and trying to make up for them."

Thank You, Shin thinks to Psyche in a measure of relief, affection and pride for her.

Listening to Mattie, he looks sad but simply nods his head. "She can prove it. But she needs help. All our help. I'm not asking you to forget. Just don't rub it in her face, okay?"

After the conversation with Whippoorwill on the comms, he's thoughtful. "Ciandra might be insanely powerful, but even I don't think that it would be impossible for them to nab her like they did to Gothic. Worse, she might be willing to work with them freely," he says, pacing the room.

"Yeoman, are there any genetic samples from Ciandra in storage here or anywhere else in the city? They might go after an easier target instead of her directly. If not, then...then I think maybe we should at least find and attempt to protect her. We have a chance now to get ahead of their plans. I don't think we can wait," he says, looking at the team. "What does everyone else think? Psyche? Gallowglass?"

"Even if we don't do anything more than put her on her guard, that could be useful enough."

And we might have options for information past Yeoman.

Sending her mind questing along the tendril she'd left in Praetoria's mind, Psyche called out gently, "Kayla? Can you talk?"

Before I reply, I just wanna check, but do you not have any limits on your powers range? Even Professor X had to rely on Cerebro for long range stuff. So I was just asking before I replied. For example: Judge is an EXTREMELY powerful telepath, but even he can’t just tap into peoples minds on the other side of the city.

Hell with it. I’ll just go ahead and say you just do happen to maintain enough contact for now.

As Psyche strengthens the connection between her and Kayla, she overheard some things Kayla is mulling over:

...crushing on a teammate...but to be honest...I feel like I’m crushing on a few...but is that normal? It must be, right? After being in home-school prison for four years. I don’t really think I’m stringing him along, because I DO like him. Ugh! Why is this so confusing! And why is all this happening now, all at once? It’s insane!

Then, the telepathic equivalent of a gasp comes through and you hear back ::Kylie? Oh my god did you just...did you just hear that?::

"I'mdon't think pursuing Ciandra is the best idea. If she's in cahoots, then they've already got what then need. If not, then they probably struck at her around the same time as Gothic. And, as mentioned, she's extremely dangerous. Let's not go out of our way to get ourselves squashed right now, alright?"

Isaiah was thoughtful for a moment.

"Hmmm... Yeoman, can you bring up feeds into Shard and Vespid's cells? If anyone tries to bust them out, we want to know about it. Also, this place... it was a ship once, wasn't it? How many of its systems still work?"

Inquiry continued scanning, searching for signs of a reality warping device powerful enough to do what Apotheosis planned. What could have such power, to rewrite reality on a planetary scale? A derelict Realm Engine from the First Federation? No, those wouldn't have the necessary area of effect. Newer Iron Federation models would be prevented from doing so due to hardwired safeties... and besides, they kept track of where they lost such devices. Could it be?... No, he would have noticed an Apocalypse Core. Hard to miss a device with the size and mass of a large moon. It doubted even one of these often-mighty supers would really have enough brute range and power to affect such a wide-scale change. Hmm, he needed several additional ingredients. Genetic ones. Perhaps some form of biotech? An artificially enhanced super, spliced with the necessary additional powers needed to truly wield such a mighty effect? That could be... very dangerous. Experimental biotech was often very unstable, especially when dealing with such power. Still, better add unusually strong life auras to his search.

"...Some of it. Sorry. I wanted to check in and see how you're doing, but I didn't mean to listen in... You know I wouldn't ever tell people what I overhear, from you or from anyone, right?"

::It’s...it’s okay I guess...but maybe...maybe we should talk when I get back? I dunno. Thanks for checking on me. I wanted to try and see if I could find clues about my parents, since it would seem no one else is::

::But...it seems either I’m not a good clue finder, or too much time has passed to spot anything connected to them.::

Oh. Talk.

"I'm sorry you're doing that alone. I promise, once everything stops exploding, we'll see if Isaiah can whip something up to track them, or see what we can pull out of Infini-Corp.

"But since things are exploding... Do you know if there are any files back at the Tower on where we might find Ciandra? Hopefully Isaiah can find their lair, but if not, she could be next on Apotheosis's shopping list."

::I...I dunno. They only let me into their “super” facilities during training under their supervision. Otherwise I didn’t have security clearance. Said it was for my safety.::

"Well... You're Praetoria now. That's going to have to change. But I don't want to push too far for a maybe."

"Well, I should check back in with the Team. I'll keep you posted on what we decide to do. And..." Make sure you're not conflating a moment of physical attraction or aesthetic appreciation with the emotional engagement of a crush? "...I hope we see you soon."

::Okay...I’ll see you guys back at base here soon. Gonna walk a bit and clear my head...::

A couple minutes later, your connection to Praetoria is abruptly lost.

Timing, which I’m not certain about, but I’ve got some stuff wrote up that I’ve been up to while off by myself, and based on where I’m inserting this, it’s sometime shortly after dark.

"Yeoman's not going to give us any information that's going to potentially cause us to get in trouble, I think. We don't get access to the big stuff because we're just 'kids'," Shin points out, looking at Rory and Scorch. " But you guys have had access to Silver Shield's stuff. Maybe you know where we can start a search? If you think that we should try and get ahead of their plans. The rest of the Alliance and the Heralds are all task focused on chasing them and rescuing Gothic. Are we really just going to sit on our hands and hope for the best?"

He looks at Hoshiko. "Hoshiko, do you know where Ciandra is, or was last seen? I'm sure the Chosen have tried to recruit her before, right?"

So, a list of 'Why I'm Here At the new Museum of the Alliance':

Praetoria, Frostbite & Scorch: Kidnapped and brainwashed! Dusk is using these new heroes to send a message to the old guard!

Inquiry and Isaiah: Investigating, incognito probably, learning more about the city's history of its heroes, when suddenly DANGER HAPPENS!

Mosaic, Psyche and Gallowglass: School Field Trip! Seems like the best solution for why they were there. Though if Gallowglass prefers to stick with the homeschooled route, maybe she's there's on her own just for fun.

Horizon: I Fell Out Of A Tube! I like the idea of dumping him directly into chaos with no way until everything calms down to take a moment and realize things have gone completely awry. Appearing out of the old time chamber after it gets knocked around in the fight and causing a moment of bafflement for everyone seems right here.

I think we're waiting on Mosaic and Gallowglass' suggestions for their part of when the team came together. I'm happy to pitch ideas if you're stuck.

Hmm, the shapeshifting angle could actually be pretty interesting, I think I'll go with that; Profile updated. Amazing what you can do with creative use of modular parts and rapid manaforging, isn't it?

One interesting aspect that the other members of the team might want to note is that Isaiah and Inquiry know of solutions to a surprisingly large number of supernatural problesms... If you think to ask, and when its allowed to talk about them. Some things just work better if you figure them out on your own.

I'm OK with the mind control angle.... also, misread something (was scanning the playbook on my phone - I shouldn't have any moves from the Protege book, I think).

Also, to explain my Labels a bit:

Your Labels start off the same as your other half ’s, but you may
shift up any one Label, and shift down any one Label.

+1 to Danger (bringing it to 0): Mattie suspects that she may have actually been responsible for her mother's death - No one seems willing to talk to her about it though. Thus, she sees herself as a potential danger to others.
-1 from Superior (bringing it to 1): Mattie is a bit less sure of herself, and her control of her powers, than her brother.

Sorry about that. Hope the fix helps... turns out bolded stuff doesn't show bolded in the header.

As for Getting the Media on our side... that one's trickier. Maybe Mosaic was mic-ed, as she was going to speak at the unveiling, and the tape of the event was leaked... Hmm, I don't love it, but maybe something along those lines

What about using your mother's assistance by pulling connections at the company?

The Museum is pretty new, so it's likely there was already a news team on site when the attack happens doing a puff piece. They probably got a whole mess of people watching, including many of Holly's fans who recognize her in the middle of the fray. Despite the odds, we come out looking like the dawn of a new generation of heroes, and Mosaic (By the cameraman's focus on her) comes out looking like the leader. Media can then go nuts, maybe calling us the Mosaic Marauders or something like that.

Thanks, Mosaic. It does help.

As far as the major media outlet that's turned its attention to you and the team... I like the idea of you being mic-ed, maybe you were planning a podcast of some sort? Maybe it's an online teen magazine of some sort that's decided to bank on your rise to stardom. Or a television station determined to pull you out of the realm of scripted drama and into Reality TV!

Scorch: I noticed that too, though I'm not sure if that was intentional. It seems odd that you would have zero playbook moves. I looked for some errata, but my google-fu is weak. I'm seriously considering allowing you to have the two moves anyway. I really think you're meant to have them.

All: This is coming along great! I'm really excited to get the game in earnest started. We're very close to finalizing the "When the Team Came Together" event, so I'm looking ahead to the very first session.

What I need before that is for you all to put a brief synopsis (it doesn't have to be a full write-up, bullet points or some other means will be fine) of the next few days after the big event at the museum. No real team-worthy threats arise during that time, but the usual petty crooks and small-time thieves are still at work so there's room for heroics if that's your thing. But what I'm really looking for is how the group has settled in during the aftermath. I might have a few prompts for each of you, just to see how you're dealing with your own lives given this new turn of events -- forming the newest super hero team in Halcyon City!

Maybe this was the first time Mosaic fought crime outside the show? Then you've got people thrilled for her come back, and assorted media companies competing for the rights.

Oh, I totally love that. This was Holly's first time actually using her powers in a fight. She was... honestly, really surprised how effective it was, she had spent most of her life assuming her power was like stained glass, pretty fragile.

And, yeah. people are thrilled to see her actually doing, after a little while on the bench after "Behind the Mask" was cancelled. Her mom has had her on the interview circuit for the past few days.

After the big fight, when the dust settles and the authorities swoop in for the clean up, Horizon finds himself under a lot of scrutiny. This is where he finally comes to terms with being trapped in a strange future with odd people around him, and the fact that his future self is a really bad guy!

He'll answer questions to the police or other big name heroes that show up, knowing that he can't really hide the fact that he's completely out of place in this time period. Hopefully someone like Praetorius or Silver Shield will help to take him in - he needs a place to stay in the city, like Frostbite and Scorch's hidden base or on the Inquiry if its big enough for him to get a room for himself.

His next step will be trying to catch up on the time period and figure out the bullet points of history - he'll be pretty shocked about how the country entered the Second World War, as he probably left before America got involved. He'll also be looking for his family, his kid sister and younger brother, trying to trace their paths and maybe find family of his own here.

Researching Dusk's history is also on Horizon's agenda, as is catching up on a host of scientific journals to try and figure out how all of these new consumer goods and electronics work. He's going to probably ask Gallowglass to help him and Isaiah acclimate and show them the ropes, since one's an outsider and the other isn't used to the idea of frozen yogurt shops. He might try to get Praetoria's help if he needs to access secure files on his counterpart.

The last thing on his list is important - finding a safe space to test out his powers and what he can do. He saw his future self do a ton of impressive feats - create walls, create an armor of energy around him, even make weapons that could cut through steel and concrete like butter! Learning his own limits and training to be better and more proficient with his powers will make him a better hero when it comes to the next team up.

One more thing - he's got to register for school! Hopefully someone can help him get into Halcyon Prep, because he's got to keep up with his studies for when he finally goes back to his own time. He doesn't want to fall behind, and going to school helps him feel normal and connected to what other people are doing. Course his placement tests might stick him in the same class as either Mosaic or Psyche, so that's good for some fun.

Lots of ideas! I my get to add them tonight, otherwise tomorrow.

Scorch: I noticed that too, though I'm not sure if that was intentional. It seems odd that you would have zero playbook moves. I looked for some errata, but my google-fu is weak. I'm seriously considering allowing you to have the two moves anyway. I really think you're meant to have them.

Would be great if I did get them,... just getting an extra resource seems comparatively weak in comparison to what The Joined gets from other playbooks. Even just one would be good (i'd go with Venting frustration.. I think that Scorch isn't quite as committed to their mentor as her brother and is a bit more frustrated by the commitments of training etc. - If Frostbite thinks we should go to school then she's annoyed at not being able to join in extra-curricular activities. If homeschooled then she's annoyed by not being able to go out and do stuff like a regular person (I'm happy with whatever schooling arrangement Frostbite thinks would work best for them)... Either way, she's really loving the idea of being in a team and getting to know some new people.

Scorch, the more I think about it (and reread the playbook), I think you're supposed to get the two moves -- one shared with your other and one for yourself. I doubt it'll be game-breaking if I'm wrong.

As for your other question about the extent of your powers -- the great thing is that there's no defined limits to them. What you've described certainly works for me. It certainly seems like the proper dichotomy of the ice/fire dynamic. So unless Frostbite has some other ideas that take both your powers in another direction, I'm good with what you've got.

Mosaic and Psyche, that's awesome. I'm happy to say that several media outlets are circling around Mosaic like sharks, but there should be one that's a bit more aggressive -- thoughts on what that one would be? Your mom's company? Or a rival to hers?

School
Being in school together would be fun. That said, I'd gone with home schooled and from in the country outside of town because it's hard to imagine her finding the time to train obsessively enough to become a strong archer and acrobat (and maker of trick arrows) if she was in school. (Archery seems easier to practice in the country too.)

If we stick with homeschooled, I'd say she moved to the Big City a few months ago, to try her hand as a hero. She met Frostbite (and maybe Scorch and their mentor) and worked with them a bit. Through Frostbite she met Praetoria and Mosaic.

As far as the first big battle...Ness moved to Halcyon City without her parents. She probably has a cheap apartment and a job. Maybe she'd just gotten hired as a docent for museum (a job she'd be excited about)..and now need to find another way to pay the bills quickly (since the museum has been destroyed) or she'll lose her apartment.

I'm open to her keeping her apartment and getting a new job, or moving into The Base and living off of someone's generosity.

We found signs that this incident was just the start of something bigger. What were the signs?
My first thought was that we found evidence of Infini-Corp tech (let's say tht mind control device used the proprietary chip set)...and my second was that we found evidence that the space time continuum was fractured by whatever brought Horizon here: perhaps we saw echoes of past and future events starting to blend together, and we suspect that there's some repair needed or the fracture will get worse.

Might as well say both!

EDIT: The last few days
Ness is fully enrolled in Shin's project. She's offered to teach him about computers and the internet and Google (and maybe hire to type) and is trying to help him understand Dusk's history.

She's also gone back to the drawing board, looking for a job that'll help her pay rent. She's sent her resume (such as it is) out and is answering help wanted ads.

Given that she feels he needs her help, let's make Horizon the 3rd person Gallowglass gives influence to.

-----

Oh, you mind opening Gameplay to dot?

Edit: had posted some post-get-together-stuff, but I was falling asleep during writing it and wanna wait until I’m actually awake to make it better.

As requested, the gameplay thread is up for dotting!

Please, to avoid the inevitable string of posts that just say "dot", delete the post immediately after making it. It'll still show up on your campaign page, and it won't clutter the gameplay thread.

Thanks!

Isaiah will spend some time settling in; if he's going to hang around for a while, he needs to get some things set up. Most importantly, either locate a local source of compatible fuel, or spend some time and effort putting together a small mana distillery to siphon off some of the excess energy floating around (Halcyon certainly has enough of it) and condense it down into starship fuel.

Isaiah is likely to be quite interested in any mind-control or time travel related stuff showing up; both technologies are pretty heavily outlawed in the Iron Federation, and for Very Good Reasons. These are the kinds of things where he can actually justify interfering; both have the potential to make major, world-scale messes, not just irrelevant localized disruptions.

Kayla will also try and settle in, but after her incident in the park with Frostbite, her family will mandate her to return to Praetor Tower for a couple nights for some lecturing. But she will be back after a couple days and face the awkwardness of it all.

She's not had much actual field experience, so while the Taylor family is watching the team's actions closely, they are going to let Kayla have a bit more free reign to see how she handles herself, to see if she can possibly fill some of the void left in the superhero community by her parents disappearance.

Psyche doesn't have a lot of patience for the mundane aspects of getting Isaiah and Shin acclimated or otherwise installed into the real world, but she's quietly thrilled about Praetoria and Frostbite's entanglement. Publicity and interpersonal consequences aside, she's a shipper at heart too.

She quickly claims a room/bunk in the girls' dorm in the Hideout (which needs a name). She's not particularly invested in training with the group, but it's obvious that it's important to her that they are a Team, and she's the first to push people to go out and patrol in small groups. "What better way to grow some bonds while doing some good?"

Psyche specifically keeps up a high profile for herself in the next couple of days. A part of her is definitely concerned that some of the established heroes (especially Gothic) are going to have a sitdown and tell her to get back on the sidelines, so she's trying to preempt that conversation by riding their publicity wave into the lenses of as many cameras as she can manage.

She'll show 'em. She's got it all under control.

Age: I like the Upperclassmen/Underclassmen idea. Frostbite would be an upperclassman hence having a vehicle.

School: I figured I'd do homeschooling/online schooling, less commuting; more training.

Powers and such:My idea for Frostbite is having powers nearly identical to Sub-Zero from MKX, throwing ice balls, freezing stuff, sliding around, ice wall/ice clone for defense, that sort of and maybe some oyher stuff here and there. If we want to play it up as Tank (Frostbite)/Striker (Scorch) I think we can pull that off.

Hey all, I found the playbooks in text here, which makes it much easier to make a text-based profile.

Hmmm... while Psyche might not really pay much attention to Isaiah on the acclimatization front, as the local telepath she's probably the first to notice that his mind is far from normal. While she can contact it, even read it, if she does any real poking she'll find that under a thin veneer of fabricated, innocuous surface thoughts, his actual mind is more of an incomprehensible mess of quantum computing, alien languages, seemingly random gibberish, indecipherable arcane runes, and so forth (though it does have a great background soundtrack).

Still need to decide who the recipient of Isaiah's 'crush' is going to be. Probably whoever has the most unusual powers, though that is a highly subjective question...

Okay, cool! I was going to ask what your thoughts were on how opaque Isaiah would be to her telepathy.

Oh, and also, we've heard what Praetoria and her family think about the kiss. What has Frostbite's reaction been?

If we're all piling into Frostbite and Scorch's Hideout, then that's where Horizon is probably going to be as well. Which hopefully gives him the opportunity to test out the limits of his powers. Isaiah with his alien knowledge might be able to help Shin out with that, and maybe even Scorch can help him out by them comparing each other's powers (And Shin's always there to lend her an ear about her and her issues with her brother and Praetoria).

Horizon is less enthused about going on patrol however, especially if the media is able to make the connection to him and the notorious Dusk. He's also not entirely sure that he deserves to be out in the field until he's gotten a better opportunity to control his abilities and adapt to this strange future. Learning how to use a computer from Gallowglass seems like the first step for him, as well as answer any of the extreme culture shock questions that he'll have. Things that might be really awkward to talk about to the group.

He'll also need a superhero outfit, as he appeared in this world in nothing but his glasses and clothes more fashionable for 1940 than now. Hopefully Silver Shield will take a little pity on him and help to get him equipped with something that provides a little protection. He'll be happy to tinker around to make it more suitable for his powers - maybe even modify a mind control device to slip in for protection against mind powers after his incident with Psyche.

Yeah, the idea is that Isaiah is 'alive' enough that he does show up for psychics, and he projects enough of a façade to fool casual brushings with telepaths, but there's only so much he can do to conceal that ultimately, if an ordinary human's mind is a book, Isaiah's is a misleadingly labeled box of weirdly formatted cassette tapes...in Klingon. You could theoretically read it, but would need specialized training and an understanding of the language it is in first.

And yeah, we do still need to hear what Frostbite and Scorch have been up to. Are they loving the media attention? Hiding from it? Desperately hoping people will get over the whole kiss thing? There's plenty of options.

And to Horizon (I started that last post before you did yours, so I didn't see it);

Isaiah might be able to help with your powers... but these things tend to work better if you figure them out yourself. He'd encourage practice, and maybe some creativity; powers sometimes act the way you think they will, or can be improved with effort. Just because you can't do something now doesn't mean you never will... and its possible that you may even find applications Dusk hasn't, if you try.

Give him some fabric and a request, and he can easily fab up an outfit for you (or for anyone who thinks to ask, really). Anti-mind-control is trickier, though; that'll take some work to do (at least without using tech he isn't allowed to spread around).

Psyche will definitely offer to give Horizon a quick memory dump (not that I expect he'd agree). Sort of a 'Close your eyes and get a 10 second migraine-montage of 70 years of history.'

Also, if there's ever something that he really wants to ask, but feels too awkward to say, but he keeps thinking about it, there's a reasonable chance he might get a very quiet answer whispered into his mind. e.g. ...and that's what she meant by twerking. Don't be so embarrassed, I've overheard worse.

Scorch's thoughts:

Frostbite: My big brother - he's waaaay to trusting and kind of embarrassing to be around - especially when he treats me like a little kid, but he's all the family I've got left and I love him.

Inquiry and Isaiah: Is just kind of,... weird. Not really sure what to think of him.

Gallowglass: She's nice - much more than the other girls and not as stuck up. She does kind of hero-worship Mosaic and Praetoria but she's OK.

Praetoria, Mosaic & Psyche: Remind me a lot of the popular kids at school who used to think they were so much better than me just because they had money.

Praetoria: Kind of intimidating that we've got someone on the team with her background... I'm not sure what she sees in my brother but she'd better not hurt him or else I'll kick her ass, no matter what her background is.

Mosaic: Is massively spoilt and we don't have all that much in common - I wasn't really a fan of Behind the Mask but lots of kids at school were - but mostly the rich stuck-up bimbos and jocks who I didn't hang out with. - They'd die if they new I was on the team with her.

Psyche: Kind of stuck-up and I do not like the idea of her reading my thoughts.

Horizon: So, usually Scorch is a bit slow to trust - so why does she already trust Horizon so much?.. Makes sense to me that the person he saved Frostbite from was,.... Scorch herself (while she was being mind controlled), this has particular resonance since she (secretly) suspects that she might have killed her mother\. This also helps explain why Frostbite isn't Horizon's biggest fan - In stopping her hurt Frostbite he somehow hurt Scorch.

He stopped me killing my brother. That's kind of all that needs to be said, although he seems nice too. I can't imagine how he's supposed to become Dusk, but I'll help him avoid it if I can.

..., we do still need to hear what Frostbite and Scorch have been up to. Are they loving the media attention? Hiding from it? Desperately hoping people will get over the whole kiss thing? There's plenty of options.

Waiting to hear from Frostbite, but I'd suggest we're been being trained and debriefed with our mentor following the fight. - That and showing people around the base... Scorch would have had to spend at least a day tidying the girls' room after having had it to herself for so long and not being a naturally tidy person. - She's secretly loving the media attention - depending on what Frostbite thinks about whether we have secret identities, she's either kind of annoyed that no-one knows who she is, or loving the thought of the stuck-up kids at her old school knowing that she's a superhero and knows real celebrities.

Great stuff, everyone! Though, there's lots of good stuff to mine actually in character. I kept it at a couple days so there's a little time for everyone to get their bearings, but all the good interpersonal drama can be explored in-game.

I'm just about ready to get the first real game post up. I think the only real question we have to resolve is... Why does Frostbite have a leopard as his avatar image? :-) Hopefully it's just a result of the wonkiness of the avatar image selection these days.

Although, I think we'd also like to know what sort of "hidden base" your mentor has provided to you. Let us know, or if you need the group to throw out some ideas. Underground cave? Disguised building? Abandoned observatory? Haunted dormitory? The possibilities are endless!

Also, I think we've got everyone figured out regarding who's got Influence over whom. If I'm not mistaken, it's:

Frostbite: Has Influence on Praetoria, Psyche, Scorch, Isaiah
One thing: you're supposed to give Influence to two characters, though Scorch gets Influence on you for free. You can give Influence to another character, if you'd like.

Gallowglass: Has Influence on Praetoria, Isaiah

Horizon: Has Influence on Praetoria, Scorch, Isaiah

Isaiah: Has Influence on Praetoria, Horizon,

Mosaic: Has Influence on Gallowglass, Praetoria, Psyche, Isaiah
I don't see where Holly has given Influence to anyone

Praetoria: Has Influence on Gallowglass, Frostbite, Psyche, Horizon, Isaiah

Psyche: Has Influence on Praetoria,Isaiah

Scorch: Has Influence on Praetoria, Frostbite, Isaiah

Please put these in your headers on your character sheets, so you'll know for easy reference who has Influence. Remember, if you have Influence over someone, you get a +1 on every Move made towards that character.

Whoops, totally forgot to say

I think Mosaic is very insecure in her position/abilities as a real hero. As such, I think She'd listen to:

Rory, because He's been training for this, an knows what he's doing.

Praetoria, because her family has been prepping her to tak he mantle (she assumes).

And toss up between Mattie, for much the same reason as Rory, And Gallowglass, because She's been training so hard for this, and she's just going for it.

on the Balance, Mattie is kinda young, and that shifts the balace to Gallowglass

Frostbite initially tried to have a secret identity but having been caught on camera with Praetoria he figures the media will put 2 and 2 together, so he really puts no real effort into it anymore, although he recommends that Scorch keep her identity a secret if possible but wont chide her if she chooses not to.

I will give Influence to Isaiah.

Psyche: Frostbite is cautious of her due to his recent experience with mind control.

Horizon: Silver Shield asked Frostbite to keep an eye one him warning that time travel can be both marvelous and disastrous.

Isaiah: Weird, pretty awesome but weird, real nice guy.

Gallowglass: Worked with her twice before, might be too into Mosaic.

Mosaic: Not sure what to make of her.

Scorch: Little sis, 'nuff said.

Praetoria: ... uh yeah... so... I'm going punch that photographer....

Quick tip: if you post with the wrong avatar and catch it within an hour, you can always hit the "edit" tab and change it to the correct one.

Psyche's expecting Praetoria to take the lead.

Should we post our goal now, or wait till we've established our leader for this battle?

If you all would have chosen a leader at some point during the media frenzy, then I'd say discuss it here and choose. If you don't think it ever came up, then you'll need to figure it out quickly in-game, in character.

As far as your goal, I'd prefer you put it in your post, either as an in-character thought or using OOC text. I don't think it's necessary to wait for the leader to be established first.

Isaiah generally shies away from the leadership position, unless we encounter situations where his infiltration abilities or familiarity with alien/precursor technology become important.

Ah, I don't think we've been organized enough to have voted on a leader or anything in the last couple days, so unless someone starts shouting commands, Psyche's not even going to wonder who should be leading.

I don't see where Frostbite has described the secret base that his mentor has provided for him and Scorch. Any thoughts on what it might be?

I was thinking abandoned warehouse? That way we're close to the action, another idea was underground base beneath a lake house. I am open to input from others.

I'm thinking that it would be fun to have a secret hideout underneath an inexplicably still open movie rental business. No one goes there anyone, but for some reason they still have employees who are paid by a dummy corporate office to keep it up.

Ooooo I like that

Man, is that how the video store down the street stays open?!

Missed Shin’s post... will head in to help Praetoria in a mo.

You guys have been taking powerful blows like champs. But since that's a regular part of the game, I thought I'd post some of the commentary about what happens when you roll a hit.

If you get a 7-9, you have to choose one:

If you choose lash out verbally, you're required to provoke a teammate to some sort of ill-advised action, or you have to take advantage of the influence you have on someone to inflict a condition.

If you choose to give ground, you fall back, or you hesitate or otherwise leave an opening for the opposition. The GM gets to decide what that opening is.

If you choose to struggle past the pain, mark two conditions. You're hurt, but can keep going.

If you get a 10 or higher, you have to either choose two of the 7-9 set, remove yourself from the scene. That means you're out until the next scene, either knocked out, you've retreated, or some other way. You get to decide, but it should make sense for what's going on in the story. If you lose control of yourself or your powers in a terrible way, the GM gets to say what ultimately happens (you've lost control). If it's your powers, they go haywire, usually causing lots of collateral damage. If it's you, you say or do something awful.

The fight is about winding down, so if there's any rules questions, let's ask and answer them here in the discussion thread.

How many actions are you allowing per post? I don't want to overdo it on the dice rolls, and I know there are also actions that don't really require rolling, such as making conversation or flying around or making a snowman. I know we're getting better at determining for ourselves what needs a role and what doesnt, and I thought we should discuss it when it starts to get to pvp rolling - because TEEN ANGST.

Mainly I'd like for there to only be one action per post while we're in combat, so no one really gets left behind too much. But things that can be accomplished in a comics panel -- or even things that would logically happen "in the gutters" (i.e. in the space between panels because it's not too interesting), feel free to write them up. I want to keep the fights kinetic and interesting, but I also hate for someone who can't post for a day miss out on half a fight. Certainly, if you have to take a powerful blow, you can also perform a follow-up move.

If, during downtime, you want to do a write-up on a day on the town, or a little solo heroing that will explore you're character, the sky's the limit. You really don't need to roll unless you want to let the dice decide something for you.

When PvP comes up (which is usually frowned upon, but like you said, this is TEEN ANGST), you really should limit it to one move at a time (not counting taking powerful blows).

Okay, I know that part of the Influence means that we can semi control other PCs if we exert that influence. I'd call that pvp when the result is something that the character doesn't want (if not the player, for dramatic tension).

Like, say that Psyche has Influence on Horizon, and uses it to tell him how the world works. The GM gets to shift Horizon's Labels accordingly, but Horizon can try to resist this change with a roll.

Likewise, if Psyche takes advantage of her Influence to effect Horizon, she loses it but can cause powerful effects like add a condition to him or boost a roll on him like Pierce The Mask.

I fully expect that all of us will try to Pierce each other's Mask at one point or another, so I think it would be good advice to figure out the answers you'd probably give to the others for the specified questions.

When you start piercing each others' masks, it doesn't always have to be the same answer every time. There's always a time and place consideration. If you ask 'How can I gain influence over you?' when someone is feeling down and depressed, it would be a different answer than if you ask that question when you're both at a party and having a good time.

The use of influence is to encourage interaction and growth, even if sometimes it's growth in the opposite direction -- there's a lot of ups and downs in teenaged relationships, so explore it! Don't feel like that's something that automatically will be a negative. Even if characters come to blows, it's not necessarily the end of the team. Sometimes a little physical conflict resolution is just what the doctor ordered!

We can note that exercising influence and piercing masks and so forth doesn't necessarily have to be malicious. We could be trying to find out how best to comfort someone, or attempting to get them to grow/realize their full potential/etc. (though what one thinks is improvement might not always be felt as such by another). Of course, there will probably be a fair share of plain old snooping and trying to figure each other out as well.

On a related note, I think I'll put up that Isaiah has probably let the whole team in on the 'alien robot spy' thing, but has yet to tell anyone that Inquiry is the one with the AI core, not Isaiah. People outside the team likely know even less, to the point of not even knowing he's a robot and not organic, much less that he's spying on everyone (albeit in a rather friendly fashion).