Gizmo

The sharp crack followed by bubbling indicated both that Winifred had achieved the desired effect with her chemical tinkering and that it was time to move. She couldn't see through her gradually dissipating smoke cloud any better than the Deep Ones - although she had the good sense to keep low to the ground where it was much thinner - but she could hear enough to know they were getting closer. Close enough for the audible reaction to give away her location, certainly. Gathering up her test tubes and leaving the equipment she didn't immediately need behind to be collected later the displaced Victorian moved with a purpose in the direction of Mrs. Faretti's booming voice. "Right, hello! Antidote to psychoactive hallucinogen saliva here! Probably. Only have a few doses ready, though, need more time to make more." Balancing on the balls of her feet as she broke into open air, she took stock of the situation as quickly as she was able. "Ideally with fewer distractions but I so try to be flexible."

10:45 AM The foyer of the Hunter manor was nearly deserted as late morning began to edge toward noon. Those who needed to be there early for one reason or another had long since arrived and most of the wedding attendees weren't expected until later, which left young Yolanda Morales-Espadas guarding the guestbook alone in the big entryway. Characteristically she'd already gotten all of her homework done by the previous night and though she'd brought along the subject of an upcoming book report to get a head start it had quickly been discarded in favour of a novel of her own choosing. Admittedly she'd have rather been up and moving or working with her hands but Erin had asked her to watch the guestbook and like any other responsibility she took it seriously. Even if she could hear the sound of plates being moved in one of the larger dining rooms just down the hall. It was the clicking of atypically-fancy shoes that heralded the arrival of one of those very plates, borne on the fingertips of a young blonde woman who was, in an extraordinary show of self-control, not bearing a smile more befitting a self-satisfied cat. She cast her eyes around for offendable eavesdroppers before adopting the most dour, posh voice she could manage: "Lunch, order for one?" Mara Hallomen deposited the plate on Yolanda’s podium and waved her hand over it, as if introducing only the finest of cuisine to both her 'customer' and Ellie Espadas... who'd had no small part in selecting the meal. "Apple slices, cheeses, tiny meats of unpronounceable origin. The finest of snacks for dutiful bookkeepers, mmh, yes." Her face only broke when she daintily plucked a morsel off the plate, the act of opening her jaws to un-daintily consume it letting her lips twist up in betrayal to her mood. "Thought you might be hungry. Didn't think you’d go find food on your own. Doing okay? Need anything?" "Would've gotten something when I was hungry," Yolanda insisted even as she picked a piece of fruit off of the plate and promptly popped it whole into her mouth. She eyed the rest of the plate with the dilemma of a twelve year old choosing between a healthy appetite and making a point. French braid draped over the shoulder of her jacket tucked herself in beside Mara and slipped an arm around her waist while giving Yolanda an amused look. "Of course. How many times did I have to ask you to put your guitar away and come to dinner on Sunday...?" With an exasperated look the girl made a miniature sandwich for herself from the offerings on the plate. "I was practicing." She didn't say that it was either four or five depending on how one decided to count since the last time hadn't really been 'asking'. "I said I was sorry." "Aw, I know you did, Yoyo, I'm just teasing," Ellie assured her, reaching over to fondly brush a few strands of dirty blonde hair behind her ear. "You've been working hard and it sounds great. You're sure you don't want to play something today? I'm sure Erin would--" "It's not ready!" Yolanda interrupted, sitting up in her chair and hurriedly swallowing the food in her mouth. Eyes wide and jaw jutting out, she looked to Mara for support. "Tell her!" "It's true," Mara admitted, raising her eyebrows in regretful sympathy. "Yoyo isn't ready." She took a moment to grab a piece of cheese, twirling in her fingers thoughtfully. "Would need at least fifteen minutes to warm up, didn’t bring her guitar." Dark blue eyes lit with barely-contained mischief, and the cheese disappeared behind terribly amused teeth. "Brought mine, though; welcome to use it. Been playing violin a lot, good to see the guitar not just collect dust." Yolanda reared back with a look of abject betrayal. Folding her arms and sitting up straighter atop her stool she insisted, "You're not listening! I can't play at this wedding!" The strength of the reaction took Ellie aback for a moment. The twelve year old could get worked up on a subject, certainly, but it usually took far more teasing to get more than a long suffering eyeroll out of her. "Hey, lucero, it's okay. Of course you don’t have to play if you don't want to." She ducked her head a little to try to catch Yolanda's eyes as the girl looked away, embarrassed. "What do you mean 'this wedding'?" Whole face turning increasingly red Yolanda raised her shoulders and curled up enough to exaggerate her stocky frame. She mumbled something unintelligible and twisted her novel back and forth in her hands. Mara was watching the young girl with a kind but critical eye, all mischief having been dropped the moment she'd reacted so strongly. "Genuinely didn't mean to upset you," she said, voice soothing, resting an extended hand on the top of the novel in hopes of keeping its owner from doing any damage she'd regret. "Am kind of curious, though. Anyone else we know getting married? Don't think Steve and his girlfriend are, they're... mmh." She hesitated, something like a wry smile tugging at one end of her mouth. "Don’t think Steve and his girlfriend are. Not the type." Whatever the private joke was the cloudy expression Yolanda gave her said that she hadn't gotten it. Scrunching her eyes shut she fell back on the breathing exercises she'd learned in her martial arts classes until she felt less like she might tear her book in half. "I didn’t mean them," she clarified quietly as she set the novel aside and stared at her now empty hands in her lap. Eventually she looked up and met Ellie's eyes for a significant look, hoping to be spared answering the question aloud. It took the dark haired woman a few moments to connect the dots but finally understanding flashed in her dark blue eyes. "Oh, hun." Ignoring the awkwardness created by the height of the stool and the nearby podium Ellie couched and wrapped her arms around Yolanda's shoulders in a tight hug. "Hey, it's okay." Mara was a step behind Ellie, and in the hug-filled silence one could almost hear clockwork turning in her head as she caught up on the subtext. "...mmh? Oh! Oh. Aww, Yolanda." She moved around the other side, completing the odd family hug with one cheek resting on top of their ward’s head. "I'm sorry," she said, "didn't mean to upset you. Been really busy, and my parents weren't... just didn't think about what you'd meant. I'm sorry. "It's something we need to talk about, when there's time,” she reassured, giving them both a loving squeeze, "but probably not today. Someone else's wedding, and it's important that they get to be the focus. Need to do what we can to make their day good, and then worry about our days later. Okay?" "M'not upset," Yolanda objected even as she pushed her cheek into Ellie's shoulder and found Mara's forearm to grip with one of her hands. Gradually she transitioned from being embarrassed to being embarrassed about being embarrassed with a little frustration over the inherent ridiculousness in that. "Just being stupid." Ellie raised her head enough to share a guilty look with Mara. They'd reached an age where it felt like every time they turned around somebody else was getting engaged or having kids and maybe that was part of why they'd been putting off the conversation. She'd never even considered that Yolanda might have feelings about it. "No, you weren't. Not stupid at all." Leaning back just far enough she kissed the girl's forehead. "Do you want to take a break from watching the guestbook?" The twelve year old shook her head resolutely. "I said I'd do it," she said simply, scrubbing her eyes with the back of her bare forearm and sheepishly straightening her dress. She paused for a moment, taking stock of herself with a small sniff before asking quietly, "Do... do you maybe want to hang out here for a bit, though?" "Yes." The answer was without hesitation, and that decided Mara gave Yolanda a final squeeze before standing back upright. "Would love to hang out. Also, plenty of cheese left. Should eat that; Ellie starts frowning when you skip meals." She nodded, the sagely voice of wisdom, and grabbed another bit of food. "Learned from experience. Very fearsome frowns." "Proper nutrition is very important," Yolanda agreed somberly. It would have been an innocuous enough comment if not for an uncanny impression of the very frown the engineer was referencing. She managed to hold the expression for two full beats before needing to hide a small smile with a bite of apple. With an exaggerated sigh Ellie shook her head, making no attempt to conceal her own smile. "What am I going to do with you two?"

Before I go monkeying around with jury-rigging, could I flavour her existing Healing effect as a cure for the psychotropic spit?

"I might hold off on giving them safe cracking lessons for a few years," Gina suggested dryly before heaving a small sigh and adopting a more serious expression. It was a question that had cost her more than a few hours of sleep, mainly when her children had been much younger. "It's nothing you should ever be completely comfortable with, really, but then most families don't have idiotas with swords showing up to cause trouble every other week either. Which might be worth bringing up when you explain it to Erik. Good luck ther--" She was interrupted by a horn beep from the street. Moving herself over to one the windows she confirmed that her son had arrived with the truck and was already in the process of jogging to the door. "Speak of the devil. Have you got everything you'll want?"

With a dismissive sneer Dam raised a hand and Temperance's hail of icy projectiles melted into ruby red blood, falling into the pool covering the pier with harmless ripples. Ardent's blast of hellfire, on the other hand, was nothing for which the self-proclaimed administrator of divine retribution was prepared. She shouted in surprise and pain as the flames engulfed her momentarily before she managed to raise a smaller version of the sanguine curtain the winged girl had cut through before, shielding herself. Though the tide literally and metaphorically began to turn against Dam her hulking constructs had regrouped and lurched forward to defend their mistress. Tsunami and Temperance dodged viscous body slams and blasts of blood coagulated into jagged spears but one of the golems managed to take advantage of Ardent's focus on her attack to slam a massive fist into her, tossing her back end over end to crash gracelessly into a lamppost further up the boardwalk. Given a moment to regroup Frostbyte was able to find a relatively safe place to set Monsoon down atop a table high enough to rise above the sloshing blood that had invaded the first floor of the historical building. The exiled princess' breathing seemed steady but the sooner they ended the fight and got her real medical attention the better. That sense of urgency raised a sudden question as she looked about: Dam could have easily made it to the bay by a more direct route, so why follow the boardwalk this way? She didn't see why the villain would be interested in a... 'pre-natal ward' judging by the informational plaque half covered by Nina's right arm, though, and there hardly seemed time to dig deeper into the mystery as a look out the widow showed the blood golems seriously jeopardizing her upcoming study date.

Dam Clear Daze Blood Golems Combined Attack vs Tsunami: 2#1d20+7 17 21 Combined Attack vs Temperance: 2#1d20+7 11 17 Combined Attack vs Ardent: 2#1d20+7 11 25 That's a DC 32 Toughness Save for Ardent, unfortunately! Tsunami is up once I put together the IC post. > 26 - Tsunami - Bruised x1, 2HP 25 - Monsoon - Unconscious 20 - Frostbyte - Bruised x1, 4HP 14 - Temperance - Bruised x1, 4HP 12 - Ardent - Bruised x1, 0HP 8 - Dam - Uninjured, Bruised x2 Blood Golems x6 - Uninjured

Sekhmet is dazed this round but I could still get an IC post up if that helps?

Dam Toughness Save vs DC 30: 1d20+12 23 Bruised and Dazed! Go ahead and get the IC post up, Nick. The next GM post will include some info for Cathy, Tiff! 26 - Tsunami - Bruised x1, 2HP 25 - Monsoon - Unconscious 20 - Frostbyte - Bruised x1, 4HP 14 - Temperance - Bruised x1, 4HP 12 - Ardent - Bruised x1, 0HP > 8 - Dam - Uninjured, Bruised x2, Dazed Blood Golems x6 - Uninjured

"Suits me," Erik agreed brightly with Dimitri while taking a stride closer to Talya. He made a show of placating her annoyance with the Russian's poor manners but surreptitiously put the hand hidden from view in position to palm whatever he assumed the blonde woman had taken off of the captain. He hadn't actually been able to spot to lift specifically but where there was proverbial smoke there was felonious fire. "But yeah, no point putting any of your guys in danger," the swordsman added with the casual tone of someone shooing off a friend's suggestion to split the cheque. "A smaller group can usually get around with less fighting anyway and anybody else would just slow us down. No offence, obviously."

"Yes, I'm sure you're completely without resources while you're not in a position to do cartwheels," Gina drawled without looking over her shoulder, wheeling into the living room and over to the stack of smaller boxes filled with more fragile momentos. "Not as though you could talk your way out of it or use a firearm or - crazy thought - ask your partners for helps, hm? Or your live-in super computer or emergency responder sister-in-law or the Russian or the mix-and-match grab bag of armoured, teleporting, regenerating, punching and kicking you've got on speed dial." She began stacking some of the easier to reach parcels on her lap, tone dry and showing no signs of running out of steam as she underlined her point repeatedly. Talya was given reason to suspect that Erik's verboseness didn't come solely from his father's side of the family. "And those powered high schoolers you help teach, I've seen them on the news bringing down a small army when it suits them. Truly, dear, you are helpless and without recourse."

Sekhmet Toughness Save vs DC 25: 1d20+7 16 Set Toughness Save vs DC 25: 1d20+4 7 Toughness Save vs DC 25, HP Reroll: 1d20+4 16 Alright, they're both bruised and dazed, so any power stunting isn't happening this round. Hopefully Huang doesn't mind covering their butts for a bit.

The retired police officer let Talya say her piece without interruption, expression almost as cool and composed as the one the Englishwoman wore. She'd half been expecting a shouting match but that wasn't what she wanted so instead she merely listened closely and took a deep breath as she weighed the words. Eventually she titled her head to one side and allowed herself a wry smirk. "Well, you noticed the 'phenomenally stupid' thing, so that's encouraging," she drawled, wheeling her chair back enough to begin turning it back toward the living room. "And I appreciate your being straight with me about it. I think you see where I'm coming from but I ought to at least be meeting you halfway." Leaning back she rested her chin atop the back of her hand between two knuckles. "I like to think I'm pretty good with this sort of thing but what am I even supposed to call you? I've been using 'daughter-in-law' but if there's a better term or you want something different...?" The tense didn't escape Talya; even if Gina still had reservations she'd evidently made up her mind about the blonde already or when wouldn't have been there helping pack to begin with.

"Hht. Props." At some point Midnight had appeared on Woodsman's other side, barely more than a pair of dimly reflective red eyes floating in a field of black. Something in his measured tone reminded Riley of the look he'd once seen the taller man give a barista during a work break when she'd asked if he wanted room for milk or cream. In the moment he exchanged a brief look with Wander for confirmation that the unconscious man was both properly secured and in no immediate risk of permanent injury before turning his attention back to the teenager. He waited to hear what Woodsman had learned before asking, voice quiet but almost preternaturally clear in the darkened alley, "How do you think you did?"

Gina conceded Talya's point with a short grunt followed by a much longer look when the more-or-less former thief mentioned her mounting boredom again. Her lips pressed into a thin line and her eyes narrowed with the same look her son got when he was about to make an attempt at being diplomatic. "Mmh. Well, I can give you some suggestions for hobbies you can perform while seated," she began dryly in a transparent attempt to ease toward her real question with a bit of humour. "But I want you to answer something honestly for me. What happens when you finally run out of patience for all of this and decide you have better things to be doing? What happens to Erik and Min and the girls then?" There was a lack of heat in the question that was worse in some ways than a shouted accusation. Gina simply folded her arms and looked steadily at Talya, waiting patiently for a response.

"Maybe," Kimber admitted. "But we didn't and you're not." Her coat seemed to fall out of focus for a split second before resolving itself into a a flannel top with plaid in shades of blue and a pair of weathered looking jeans. Lacing her fingers with Tarva's she shifted closer to fit herself against the curves of the taller woman and rest her head on her shoulder. "The people who were here will get help and put their lives back together, hopefully." She lifted her free hand slightly and made a small gesture with her figures that set the top spinning again, a simple trick for a poltergeist. "Aaaaand when you're feeling up for it I'm going to thank you properly for the bank." Her mouth curved upward but stopped short of a smile, concern creasing the corners of her eyes as she watched Tarva and tried to imagine what she was thinking. "Do you want to just sit here for a while? We don't have to talk if you don't like."

Dam Sense Motive Check vs DC 15: 1d20+14 16 An 18 doesn't beat Dam's Defence, sadly. You can let me know if you want to spend an HP there. In the meantime Ardent is up. 26 - Tsunami - Bruised x1, 2HP 25 - Monsoon - Unconscious 20 - Frostbyte - Bruised x1, 4HP 14 - Temperance - Bruised x1, 4HP > 12 - Ardent - Bruised x1, 0HP 8 - Dam - Uninjured, Bruised x1 Blood Golems x6 - Uninjured

Gina raised an eyebrow at the stacks of currency but extended at hand to request a closer look at the passports. She flipped through the one Talya passed her with eye of someone who knew her way around official documents and made a soft grunt of approval before handing it back. "You're about to be a parent, dear. There's no such thing as 'paranoia' even without... everything." She waved her hand in the air vaguely to encompass international spies and magic swords and giant space heads and all the rest of it. "This must have taken some doing." If she was concerned about the legality of the fake passports or when the money had come from it was obviously overshadowed by the importance of ensuring the safety of her family and she gave Talya a look as though she were reevaluating some of her preconceptions about the other woman.

"I can't say I envy you that," Gina admitted with a none-too-subtle glance to Talya's stomach. Her reaction when the prospect of twins had been confirmed had been best described as nonplussed but like everything involving Talya she'd been making a game effort to roll with it. If those efforts had been punctuated by a fair number of awkward silences and quiet sighs it didn't change that she'd made herself readily available for whatever assistance she could provide where the pregnancy was concerned. "I get the impression Min's hooked up a little differently down there but if you feel the need to vent, have at it." She followed after the blonde woman, navigating around furniture with precision and sure movements. "Is it a concealed weapon?" she asked simply. It was the sort of thing any woman living on her own ought to have around the apartment in Gina's estimation and it certainly would have fit what she knew about Talya's lifestyle.

While Kimber had her suspicions Tarva had never outright confirmed if her mystical training allowed her to sense the approach of spirits; she tended to keep those sorts of preparations and defences to herself unless pressed. Either way the poltergeist made a point of making a small sound in the back of her ethereal throat as she approached silently through the air. "Hey there, boon companion," she greeted with a smile as soft as her voice. She liked to think she'd gotten pretty good at recognizing Tarva's mood from her singing but it didn't take much insight to know the shadow witch was feeling low. Tucking her knees beneath her Kimber floated lower until she was levitating only just above the floor next to her lover. "I know this wasn't much of a champagne and confetti win but you know you did really good today, eh? Helped save a whole bunch of people. Me included, if you thought I'd forgotten." She nudged Tarva lightly with her elbow and looked down at the toy in the taller woman's hands then back up to study her expression.

Winifred weathered Raina's objections with a carefully neutral expression, reminding herself that the witch's concerns were after all entirely reasonable even if her throat did tighten when her 'track record' was brought up.It was no easy thing to be called a fool with good reason and she closed her eyes for a beat longer than could really be called a blink to maintain her composure. When Riley took the vial and eyed it suspiciously, though, she made a small, strangled sound in the back her throat like someone who had been punched in the stomach and was trying very hard not to give any sign of weakness. She'd just about managed to straighten her back again when he abruptly ran out, leaving her to grab the test tube again before it could roll off of the table he'd hastily set it down atop. The alchemist looked back and forth between the open door and the other teens in the room, uncertainty writ large across her face. Finally she took a step over to the bed and placed the vial within Robin's reach on her bedside table with a little more force than had been intentional. "As you will," she mumbled with an uncharacteristic lack of diction, shoulders slumped and generally looking miserable. She hurriedly stepped out of the room as well, as much to avoid looking at Robin or Raina as to follow Riley and looked up and down the hallway for some sign of which way the survivalist had gone.

Gina craned her neck to get a better look at the photo before Talya packed it away, having been more focused on the size of the frame than the contents of the image as she'd pulled it from the low shelf. "Hm, I sometimes forget you served," she admitted mildly as she leaned back into her chair, expression thoughtful. It was one thing to know how old the blonde was and have a broad idea of what she'd lived through but in practice the Espadas matriarch had a very difficult time internalizing that she was actually the younger woman in the room, the one with less life experience. It was also hard to reconcile the woman in front of her with the girl in the photo but Gina knew from experience that the people behind a uniform could come in all shapes and sizes. "The stir crazy I can appreciate," she continued, doing a last visual pass of the room to make sure nothing was being forgotten. "When I was pregnant with Erik was one thing but the second time, well."

"Is there room for one more in that box?" Gina Espadas asked, wheeling herself backward in a tight arc with one hand and holding up a framed photo with the other. "It's one of the bigger ones." The retired police officer and single mother of two was in fully serious organizational mode partly in deference to the task at hand and partly to sidestep some of the lingering awkwardness that resulted from being left alone with the other woman in the room. Talya Browning - Gina had enough aliases to keep straight these days without worrying about whether that was the correct civilian identity for this apartment or safe house or what have you - was on the nearby couch with the last new open cardboard boxes, rearranging pictures to pack them as efficiently as possible. The renovations of the apartment Talya shared with Gina's son and daughter-in-law were close enough to completion to move most of her personal effects over but unsurprisingly there was some last minute packing left to do while Erik retrieved the borrowed truck. That left the two of them to sort things out between them in more than one sense.

Tiff, feel free to give me any Knowledge, Search, Notice, etc rolls you think might be appropriate to learn about the building. In the meantime Temperance is up! 26 - Tsunami - Bruised x1, 2HP 25 - Monsoon - Unconscious 20 - Frostbyte - Bruised x1, 4HP > 14 - Temperance - Bruised x1, 4HP 12 - Ardent - Bruised x1, 0HP 8 - Dam - Uninjured, Bruised x1 Blood Golems x6 - Uninjured

"Well, good luck with that," Winifred muttered largely to herself as the verbose woman in dark blue and orange shared some linguistic theories and ran off. The alchemist was more focused on the loud heroine in the fanciful armour - she really needed to start paying better attention when people introduced themselves - and her idea of procuring a sample. "Alright, Wei, this is the very thing for which that beastly fitness instructor has been running drills. Couldn't possibly end poorly." Taking a deep breath, she dashed out from behind her cover toward the unconscious amphibians Glamazon had laid low. Tugging on a pair of gloves from her equipment as she sprinted, Reagent hunkered down into a crouch next to the first invader she reached. It was difficult to concentrate on what she was doing while simultaneously swivelling her head up and around to keep track of the Deep Ones who were still very much active. Scooping some of the unfortunate creature's saliva into an empty test tube was straight forward enough if nerve wracking and more than a little disgusting. She glanced up at the big, shouting monster and wished that her friends from Claremont were there before setting her jaw resolutely and setting off again for a nearby parked automobile behind which she could begin working.

Jack of all Blades / Jill O'Cure (4) Exes and Ohs (1) [ToV] Vanity (3) Midnight II (2) Bells Will Ring, Sun Will Shine (1) Animal Wrongs (1) Set / Sekhmet (3) [ToV] Darkness Three Days Long (3) Reagent / Alkahest (6) Bad Romance (3) The Past Is In The Past (1) [ToV] Being Green (2) GM / NPC (11*2 = 22) Act of Union (4) Revanche: At the Point of a Sword (2) [ToV] Thicker Than Water (5) Rollover and Ref point can go to Reagent.