Ecalsneerg

Galvanic's hologram flickered to life finally. "Apologysorry," she burst out, waving one hand in apology, the other smoothing down her rumpled coat. "Some uproarpanic commercial district." Sure enough, her holographic image had some black smudges on its cheeks, her hair sticking out in random directions. She was hovering about a foot off the ground, whizzing a few inches to and fro as she adjusted certain items just off the periphery of her image. Chlo'zel suddenly stopped, and looked straight at Paradigm. She looked somewhat older, despite the two having met only a year ago. Especially around the eyes. "People frightened. What can I do to helpaid?"

"I could do better," muttered Chris, in regards to the idea he could be Ellie's boyfriend. "Anyway. Long story short." Chris held up the small paper bag, proffering it at Ellie. "Ms Big Time Adult, your mother sent me down with lunch." He pointed at the bag with his other hand and grunted. "Then I go home and sleep. The team are doing stuff." He waved his hands vaguely. "Not sure what, things are weird." Chris shook his head woozily, and pointed at his own head. "God, I need sleep. I miss sleep. I-" His insomniac babbling was cut off by the crash from the two patients brawling. Chris interposed fairly quickly, shoving his palm hard against the chest of the man not on the ground, and pushing him back one-handed, even with his flailing and aggression. Casually, he slid his foot up onto the other man's thigh so he couldn't get up. "Right! This is a hospital! For sick people. Fight elsewhere. Only don't, we're not children here."

Chris yawned and rubbed at his eyes. He couldn't remember the last time he slept. Crime-fighting and babies was awful, just awful. Was this why Erik was so moody? Possibly, he reflected, as he wandered the corridors of the hospital. Ellie had been down here for some time, helping out, and Gina had insisted he take her a bagged lunch. Which fell to him because, well, he could probably walk off a super-plague. But he also was now half-awake and trying to find one person in a crowded hospital. He was also incognito, as he wasn't so keen on wearing the uniform in hospitals after The Incident. So he had it on underneath his jeans and a baggy green sweater. God, was he exhausted. He leaned against a convenient wall for a second, trying to get his bearings. Eventually, he just resorted to waving a nurse. "Uh, hi, do you know where Ellie Espadas is?" Chris waved the brown paper bag in an explanatory manner.

Update: may not have laptop back until Monday. Hate everything.

Update: the damned company screwed up. Not going to have a laptop until Monday, and that is working under the assumption that they don't screw up again.

Approved

Equinox +1 Ref PP Geckoman Vignette: "Cassandra"

Roll Notice using Super-Senses 8 (Magic Awareness 3 [Mental], Extras: Accurate, Acute, Extended [100ft Notice Increments], Ranged) [8PP]. Skill Mastery on K: Arcane gets her 25 if that's relevant Doing the Troi routine: 1d20+15 23

Equinox strolled into the house after the others at a more languid pace. She didn't move much further than slightly beyond the threshold. If they had to do a more in-depth search, that'd be fine, but it'd be a lot easier if she could sense anything amiss. Besides, if something was lurking inside, she'd much rather know about it in advance. Closing her eyes, the action dimming the glow coming from them, she spread her left hand out in front of her, fingers spread out, trying to feel the very air for anything particularly... amiss.

"Cassandra" Geckoman January 29th, 2016 “Chris, I'm in labour.” “I'm... I'm sorry, what?” Geckoman nearly dropped the phone. He could have misheard. Sometimes the mask muffled phones. “Did you just...?” "I'm in labour, Kenzie,” Liz sighed down the phone, as if it was the most perfunctory thing in the world. “You know, the whole baby thing.” Geckoman pursed his lips and nodded. “I'm familiar, yes.” He glanced around himself, at the several men lying face down with their hands handcuffed behind their backs. “I'm kind of tied up right now?" "Who are you talking t- mmf!” He gently pushed the struggling man's face back into the concrete. "Is that someone you've just hit?” “Yes, dear,” said Geckoman distractedly. A long, put-upon sigh came down the phone. “OK. I'm heading to the hospital now. Get Dick to come collect them, and get your ass over here.” Geckoman looked around blinking. Well, crap. ----------- By the time the FCPD showed up, he was pacing back and forth, and wringing his hands. Dammit, dammit, dammit, why didn't bank robbers have better timing? A weary, stubbled detective in a rumpled suit wandered over, rubbing at his chin. “Kid,” he acknowledged. “Detective Giordano.” Geckoman watched anxiously, as the cops slowly began to read the robbers their Miranda rights, loading them into the cars. “Could we hurry this along? Uh, she's in labour.” They tried not to use names. That way, Dick Giordano wouldn't feel obliged to arrest her. That was the unspoken agreement. “Really?” Giordano shifted to stand beside Geckoman, watching his men work. “I'm sure it'll be fine.” “I just don't know if... if I'll be a good dad.” Chris looked down at his feet, shifting nervously from side to side. Giordano just smiled. “Kid... how long have we known each other? You'll do good. It's tough with the job, but you'll look at that kid, and, well...” He put a hand on the other man's shoulder. “You won't have a damn stupid thing to say, I'll tell you that.” Chris burst out laughing. “I would really not advise you to put any money on that.” The detective patted his shoulder, and walked over to join his men. “We'll see. Get going. Go see your kid.” “Cheers, Dick!” Geckoman immediately turned and began to sprint, calling down the Pitchoo en route. ----------- Chris skidded into the hospital ward, hair ruffled, wearing sweats and an old t-shirt he'd found under his pilot's chair. His face was red and sweat trickling down his face. “Lawlett?” he breathlessly gasped to the nurse on the station. She smiled wryly, having seen this exact situation over and over again. “Right this way,” she said, leading him to the delivery room. ----------- Liz lay, a little sleepily on the bed, holding their baby in a pale yellow blanket. After the requisite screaming and wailing and cutting, she'd eventually fallen asleep, eyes closed, tiny fists clenched. Chris curled up on the bed beside her, one arm around her shoulders. “So, did we agree on Cassandra?” she said, glancing at Chris. “Yeah,” said Chris slowly. “I mean, this family is all going to have long names which nobody ever calls them. It's traditional.” “Yeah.” Liz sighed. “Isn't she the cutest thing?” She turned, holding up the blanket. “Do you want to hold her?” He awkwardly took the bundle from her. Support the head, right? He nervously sat, tensely, scared of dropping her. Chris looked down at the little bundle in his arms. His lips opened and shut, but he didn't really have anything to say. She was so tiny. The most beautiful thing he ever saw. She stirred a little in the blanket, and a huge smile formed on his lips. “Hello, Cassie,” he said. “I'm your dad." Cassandra Jean Lawlett-Kenzie Born 29th February 2016

I'll be very scarce until Sunday, away in Edinburgh

Equinox And He Built A Crooked House (1) Geckoman Count Your Blessings (1) Galvanic +1 Ref pp

Chris and Liz stayed resolutely on the couch. They had no intention of going in there. None whatsoever. So they just settled down to watch the kids eating chocolate and listening to the Frozen soundtrack. "See, it'll be easy. You can corral a kid with music and chocolate." Liz smiled wryly. "I'm not sure that's a solid long-term solution. We presumably have to feed it properly." "What does healthy food look like?" "You know all the aisles you don't go into? Like that." She punched Chris lightly on the shoulder. "I'm not listening to Frozen over and over, though." "Eeeeeh. I read some thing where kids learn faster and better if they rewatch and relisten to the same stuff over and over. Think of it as karma. You're stupidly smart. You were probably much, much worse." His eyes went wide. "Oh god, and we were hoping the kids would be like you." Liz's facial expression echoed Chris's. "Wait, so we get endless Frozen, or have to keep whitewashing the ceiling tiles? Oh, come the hell on. That's just... oh, that's not fair." She leaned back into the cushions more and smiled faintly as the kids played. "Worth it, though?" They sat and talked quietly together for a while, trying to ignore the next room, before the quiet and distinct lack of shouting and hurling things and suffering of Erik because he said something really dumb. Chris sidled across the room, trying to keep out of the eyeline of the doorway. No way in hell was he going in there. He just wandered over, shuffling over next to Steve in a sidelong hustle. "Well. This is awkward, Steve." He glanced over his shoulder. "I'm waiting for the gunshots. Do you hear gunshots?"

Equinox looked pensive. "It's a good question. Could be a number of reasons. Common one is, well..." She shrugged, dislodging the raccoon, which chittered and clawed at her coat to hold on. "Sorry. Well, it could be he didn't quite know what he was dealing with. I mean, we're professionals." She gestured at Nick and Kimber. "And we still spend half our time now knowing what's going on. Alternately, he could have just not known something spooky was up with the house, or the package. Or it's not actually him, it's someone masquerading as him, or enthralling him so they don't need to make themselves traceable." Siobhan grinned at the younger man. "Man, we need less terrifying jobs."

The front door suddenly shoved open, and a couple of footsteps could be heard. "Hi, sorry we're late!" came Chris's voice from the hallway. "I was on the phone to my mom." He didn't rush through as he usually did, appearing in the living room, helping a heavily pregnant Liz, in a black maternity dress into the room and onto a couch. As soon as she was safely settled, he casually hurled himself into the other corner of the sofa. He was wearing a dark green suit, which looked rumpled and slept in. "Man, I glanced in the kitchen. Looks crammed as hell. So many women, so little space." Liz rolled her eyes. "Thank you for having us," she intoned monotonously. "See, not hard?" She shook her head, and looked over at Erik and Steve. She didn't know Steve well, but they'd spoken a few times at HAX. "Espadas. Hi, Steve, how's it going? Didn't think they'd manage to rope you into one of these things."

Equinox And He Built A Crooked House Geckoman So Great A Cause (2015) December is the worst month.

Geckoman lowered himself back into the saddle, relieved. She was safe. They were safe. Thank God. He put his face in his hands for a second, and took a deep breath, shakily raising himself back up as the adrenaline wore off. If anything had happened, anything at all... He took a few more breaths, letting the colour return to his face. Then he turned to Mara. "I let me have a dinosaur! Poor Roary." Geckoman patted the great beast on its flank. "His owner was a bad man. He ran experiments on him. Awful experiments." He shrugged. "After we learned that, standard operating procedure. Fearless Leader hit some things, I steal the wheels, and well, I think he likes me." Chris leaned over the front of the saddle, vigorously rubbing the dino's scales with both hands. "Who's a good boy? You are! You are! Good giant dinosaur."

"Nick, why do we have a menagerie?" came a wry voice from behind the group. Equinox strode up towards them, coat trailing behind her, a raccoon perched on one shoulder. "I mean, when you said infestation, I thought you meant ectoplasm, not fur." Her raccoon chittered angrily, and slapped her on the ear. She closed the distance between her and the group, boots stomping on the ground. She inclined her head to Ghost Girl. "Ghost Girl, good to see you. And... I don't believe we're been acquainted." She held her hand out to the nervous looking young man. "I'm Equinox. Siobhan if you prefer and can pronounce it. This is Hayley. Don't get her wet or feed her after midnight."

Chris wheeled on the dinosaur, face ashen. "Liz was here?" Sensing something, the dinosaur began to growl a little, the rumble able to be felt by everyone in the vicinity. Chris stood up in the saddle to look down on the group. "Why? Why was she here?" His eyes tracked to the rubble, and the magnitude of the fight that'd gone on began to sink in. The dinosaur took a couple of steps forward, the ground shaking beneath its feet. "Where is she? Is she alright? WHERE IS SHE?" he demanded, knuckles clenched tight on the saddle, almost ready to lunge down and leap off the dinosaur.

Arrowhawk A Bundle of Pish (2) Win Or Lose (2) Equinox Hell Week (2) Ref pp Geckoman So Great A Cause (3) So Great A Cause (2015) (2)

Trying to steer the dinosaur to start digging: Dig dinosaur: 1d20+9 15

Geckoman pulled the robot reins on his dinosaur as they emerged into the present day, Roary disorientated, confused, and likely to get very pissed off at the world around him. "It's OK, big guy, it's OK," he whispered soothingly, not feeling it himself as he looked at the carnage around them. The hell had gone on here? He slowly, as carefully as he could, steered the big dino along the street towards the rubble Min was tossing through. Who was under there? Was it Bombshell? What had happened? He rummaged in his belt, pulling out a battered old remote. The Pitchoo was online. They were definitely back in the right timeline. Which meant whatever had happened had definitely happened to his versions of his friends. He felt a lump in the back of his throat. He coaxed at the dinosaur, trying to figure out how to convince it to start lifting rubble out with its mouth. The dinosaur began biting up large chunks of rubble, and lightly tossing them off to the side as Chris made his new steed slowly, carefully dig through the wreckage.

Arrowhawk flicked a contemptuous gaze towards the house. Could the arsehole be any more of a walking stereotype? You go away for a few years, and apparently it all degenerates into an episode of Still Game. He turned his gaze back to the other cape. The new Foreshadow, if he wasn't mistaken. "Very funny. But you know what the Tories're like, I'm fairly sure you could make a case for privatising metahuman intervention if you were that desperate for a paycheck. Y'know, if you want to be the one to tell that to Her in Charge." The first Britannia was one of a handful of people even he wouldn't try to mess with. "We can sort this out once we get rid of all them trying to play silly buggers with laser guns. This is Scotland, not the bloody Enterprise."

Siobhan raised an eyebrow at the other superhero, and at the elderly guard. Daaaamn, grandpa. At least someone's taking this seriously. "Well, yes," she said crisply, looking the two younger guards up and down. "Myself and my... associate here are here to investigate the horn. See, you may not believe this, but it's got a powerful enchantment that lets one summon the spirits of the dead. You can imagine why we'd prefer it not be unaccounted for on Halloween night." She gestured towards the museum. "If you could show us where it was taken from, gentlemen?"

Geckonitiative: 1d20+12 29