Supercape

GM A little later... "All rise for Judge Judy Pickles presiding!" Judge Pickles was a venerable lady close to retirement. She was sixty, but the years of high pressure work and the more than occasional tipple to relieve the stress left her looking at least ten years older. Grey hair scraped back over a sagging face, only her deep brown eyes blazing with concentration indicated the intelligence and will that were required to get to her position. El Sierpe took the stand first, his figure having lost none of its shape. Seven feet tall with his pot belly, slicked back black hair, and jet black eyes, grinning at the questions. His lawyer, a Mr. Cane (Mr. Cloak now fired and under protection) was no less slimy, and clearly bright. He was very short but had a handsome face and a quick mind. For several minutes he painted questions at El Sierpe, drawing the man as a humble, hard working, Mexican Businessman. Papers were flourished about detailing complex financial and legal arrangements. Soon, Mr. Cane called Heraldo to the floor. "So, Mr. Heraldo" he started, pressing hs hands together in a confident smile. "My client here is charged with assaulting police officers and the abduction of mexican nationals. Of the latter charges, I am sure you will agree there is no basis, due to the illegal status of the Mexicans at the time. No, we are here to press on the more serious of charges. The alleged assault of police in an attempt to escape their false arrest. Now, of course you are aware there are no witnesses to the actual assault. Merely that there was a car crash and that my client escaped. The testimonies of the police officers are suspect due to the concussion they received..." "Let us come to the events on the border of Mexico. Can you please recount to us exactly where you made the eventual arrest of my client, and under what circumstances?"

Carmed smoked quietly as she listened to Kit. "It's as good an answer as any, Sam" she agreed. "I can't say I have any right to be an expert on these matters. Given the nature of the infernal, I don't think anybody can, not even my father, and he was as crafty as they came. I read his diaries when I grew up. One thing always stuck out..." "If you are confident with dealing with the infernal, you have been duped" "Never trust 'em, kid. Always keep your eyes, your ears, and your heart, open" She gestured with the Cantos stick back at her bike were her beaten up leather jacket hung from a handlebar. "Thanks for your offer, kid, but I got it covered" she winked at the pun. She started to walk back to the Motorcycle, slowly, her smouldering boots crunching against the debris of the abandoned junk. She spent the moments contemplating Kit...or Sam. Back at the Motorcycle her smoking stopped and her leathers, silk and studs faded, whilst she slung on her jacket over her self. The remnants of smoke served to obscure her form during the change. "I'll make this deal with you though, Sam. If you ever need any help with that brand, and what it brings, then I'll help. Come to that, I'll hold you to helping me if I ever get in over my head. You may be young, but something tells me you have seen a whole lot of life in those years..."

GM Meanwhile, a little way away... The plume of smoke was there, for all to see. "See, I told you she would be there" hissed the rat to Filth, in rat. The five thugs around Filth were oblivious to the Rat speak - just another one of Filth's hissing pets as far as they can see. The Filth gang were not high up on the ladder of Freedom Cities streets. They were, to be honest, right at the bottom. The rejects no other gang would have. Scrawny, cowardly. The bullied kids who wanted to be bullies but didn't quite have the aptitude for it. It was only the fact that Filth, their leader, had some minor mutant power that they were even on the map at all. The young Filth, a short kid with a scrunched up face, had found, to his delight, that he could control and speak to rodents. And he was building an army in the abandoned railyards where his gang had made a makeshift base of beercans and vaguely intimidating homemade weapons. And then, Filth had found a very special rat. Filth rubbed his stubbled chin as he examined the smoke. It could have been some hobos lighting up a bonfire to keep warm. But he reckoned he had seen a few of those. This looked a bit different. A bit thicker, deeper, somehow. And that rat of his. He seemed to know stuff. Stuff that would lift the Filth gang out of the filth. "I got it I got it" he reassured the rat, and himself.

"You can chew gum just fine, hunny" laughed Pitch, roaring a laugh and flashing a smile. Rachael was growing on her. "And with a tongue like that, I'm sure you can hold your own against uncle Axel". A church...great....Tazel will love that one... Carmen revved the Engine of her bike in a somewhat useless gesture. She could easily keep pace with the Jeep, even talk as they drove. "Well, I guess the old stories often have a truth to them. Even if it is twisted and concealed like a serpent in the grass" she commented. "So I guess you think someone is after your valuables? And, knowing how well you protected them, I guess that they are valuable in the sense that they are some nasty pieces of work..." Pink mist as a gate to another dimension, well - I'll say one thing for this 'Nikki' she sure got some unconventional style...

The anathema burst through the air, taking Carmen by surprise. That's a neat trick she told herself as Kit hopped around the shadows. She could see the hazy blaze of the infernal as she did so, the Cantos stick was good at that. It was designed for that. Despite her disability, she wasn't slow, but she was nowhere near fast enough to follow Kit jumping around and throwing the anathema. Perhaps, with adrenaline and fear, she might have been faster. But she wasn't trying to avoid the blast. She wanted to be struck. The anatheama blazed round her torso, reacting violently to the tattoo on her back that blazed in reaction. Carmen didn't feel a thing. "Very good. Quite the devil, aren't you" she commented, dryly. She held her hands up to her neck covering her chest. Her t shirt wasn't entirely burnt off, but it wasn't the sturdiest thing in the first place, as she tended to wear old and threadbare clothes. It probably maintained her decency, but it wasn't something she wanted to chance. "As you can see, I have a family tattoo down my spine. Shot my nerves to pieces, but no devil power can touch me. I really should take a few precautions about clothes, however..." That really sucks.....she noted, as some charred fabric fell of her despite her attempt to keep it in place. She was hardly a modest girl, and didn't have a body to be modest about, but public displays of nudism were a step too far even for a rock chick. With a burst of flame and smoke from her mouth, her body erupted with churning evil wisps of black fume. Her forearms grew into heavy metal studded bracers, her leathers grew charred and metalled, and a backless top of smoking jet black silk covered her front, leaving her spinal tattoo fully exposed. "Well, I guess this mean's you see me in full gear" she smiled at Kit, her eyes blazing. "I really should have thought that one through" she laughed, more comfortable with the humour of the situation. "I'm immune to your devil fire. Doesn't mean a raggedy old t shirt is. Guess this outfit will do till I get a spare!" She chuckled once more. "But, you proved your point, its infernal magic, no doubt about it. And you seem to control it well enough. I got to ask you though - does it control you?" she asked, a lance of pointedness through her growing friendliness.

Well, ill keep it amusing, maybe even suggestive but PG!

Shadow walk is fine Pitch wont even attempt to move. She is testing the nature of your powers as she has immunity to all infernal effects! It might scorch a few clothes?, but she is unharmed. (To clarify this is not a PvP thing really, just Pitch working out if Kits powers are really infernal!)

Carmen gave a warm loving smile to Axel. She had a conflicted relationships with bikers, falling in and out with them. But she really liked Axel. "Rachael seems good, Axel" she said, he mouth breathing smoke and wisps of flame as Tazel rumbled inside her. "Too good, maybe. But whilst she is foolish enough to hang around with you an me, give her the love, eh?" She turned her attention back to Nikki. "I have heard it. Not for a long while, though. Back when I was a kid" said Pitch to Nikki, revving the engine, and releasing a psychologically generated synchronous plume of smoke from her mouth as the engine exhaust belched. "Bunch of Mexicans found a miracle. A pink mist, leading them to a water in the dried up south. Built a whole town around it, praise the lord, halleluljah and all that jazz. Should have known better than that, if you ask me. Town ended up drying up and ghosting anyway, if I remember..." "Let me guess, you got a new angle on that tale?"

If its ok with you ill just take 10 on that as Carmen is pretty good with pop culture knowledge! (+10)

Carmen considered carefully, experiencing a slight itching along her spinal tattoo. "If your power is infernal, I doubt it would have any effect on me at all" she explained. She said it with some relief. For all the deep problems and twists she had with infernal creatures, she was at least protected. As long as my spine is shown...the ever nagging worry hit her. She was always careful with what she wore. A thread in the wrong place and...well, she would not exactly be vulnerable, but the chink in the armor was there. "Actions speak louder than word, kid!" she replied, growing to Kit even if the trust wasn't there yet. "Show me what you got!" she said with encouragement. "Hit me!"

Carmen nodded, a twang of envy in her. No side effects? yet... "Long may that continue" she replied, stopping for a moment. "It's been my experience - and I can't say it has either been a lot of it - that you never know what's coming around the corner when you deal with infernal" she said, almost to herself. "Need to stay on your guard, kid. Whatever that Brand gives you, I reckon it has two sides, huh?" she smiled, with encouragement. "Still, gotta live with it. Gotta laugh with it, else it's gonna beat you right down. Hell, gotta use it, eh?" She folder her arms, still clutching the Cantos stick. "So, what does that little sigil do, huh? twist hearts? throw fireballs?" she said, looking on expectantly.

Carmen turned to face Kit, slowly, hand on hip and cane, and stared. "Right" she said, her brow furrowing and her lip twitching. The girl was small and scrawny, an odd reflection to Carmen's more full figure. "You can call me Carmen. Or Pitch, if ya being all professional" she explained, straightening up. "Come walk with me. I could do with the exercise, even if I don't walk to fast" she explained, as she moved through the disused Railways. The landscape was sad and beautiful, a corpse to old industry, with refuse and rusting metal everywhere. The tramps and hobo's f Freedom City were here - a few could even be seen sleeping off some booze. "Don't ask me how I came to hear of you, girl. Err...Kit" she corrected herself, with a smile. She had no wish to alienate the young lady, even if she was worried. "Truth is, I don't rightly know myself. And I don't often trust what I hear, I've been lied to so many times. But, thing is, I got wind you are mixed up in something infernal. And I kind of make it my job to make sure that doesn't get out of hand..." She smiled, a wist of ruefullness to it. "Family business, you could say" she shrugged with a little laugh. "Don't worry, I'm not here to bite. Just to help"

Glow and Heraldo face off the slippery El Sierpe and Dr Devil once more, as the action slips off from the Courtroom to Mexico...

GM Friday 21st April 2013 Freedom City Couthouse. It had, of course, taken some time to get El Sierpe (who still refused to give his real name, which remained a mystery despite every effort) to the court. His lawyers and money had tied up the proceedings in every legal loophole there was. It was, from that perspective, a complex case to say the least. Arguments about what crime had been committed, where it had been committed, entrapment, intimidation...the list went on. The public prosecutor thought he could win, but it would be a headache. He had to call in Glow and El Heraldo as witnesses. He sighed as he studied their files. He thought El Heraldo's costume would make his headache worse. He reached for the Asprin. In the courthouse, but outside the courtroom, the press gathered in anticipation of the proceedings. Captain Meddows was there, called up from the border, tanned, handsome, blonde, and sweating slightly. "Hey guys! Over here!" he yelled as the two hero's entered.

OOC for this thread. Rose, I am fudging somehow that Carmen (or Tazel? or someone else?) sent some mystic signal to meet. All manipulation, I am sure! Also, Carmen is starting of fatigued due to her nerve pains. Giving her Pitch 2 HP Kit 1 HP Broadly speaking, this thread starts of a social between Pitch and Kit, turning slightly investigative, and then turning into a detective/action/adventure for (primarily) Kit.

Saturday 21st, Late Afternoon, at an abandoned Railway. What Fortune! A child full of potential, soiled, and ripe for corruption! Shut your mouth Tazel! commanded Carmen Cantos at the demon that flickered and rumbled in her belly. Normally the forked tongue of the demon bound to her would be more subtle and deceptive, or frankly untruthful. However, the infernal creature seemed almost unable to contain itself at the thought of Kit. Not a word to her! unless I command it! And for now, you can keep silent! Whilst she had no trust for Tazel, she was as bound to it as it was to her. She was in a bad mood anyway, today. Pains shot down her leg, making her limp more stiff and her mood more irritable. Some painkillers had helped, but she hadn't slept well. She gripped the Cantos devil stick tightly. It possessed considerable power in itself. It also helped her walk. It was Tazel himself who had alerted her to the presence of Kit. And no amount of coaxing or demanding could make the fiend reveal his sources. Quite possibly, Tazel did not know himself. The signs, vague as they where, was that this devil child was a wild card, a young woman - or girl - branded with some infernal power that was, in all probability, too much to handle. At least, that was what Carmen was worried about. There really was no winning when it came to the mysterious and manipulative creatures of the infernal realms. So, with a little help from Tazel, she had arranged a summons - a whisper through the smoke and fire and metal of the infernal realms, to reach Kit's ears. To meet Carmen here. She did not wear the burning smoke and leathers of Pitch. At least, not yet. The rocker leather trousers were there, with her boots and calliper on her right foot. A simple cut off t-shirt, exposing the Cantos tattoo running down her spine. Her her the usual dirty blonde mess. She looked like the Rock Journalist she was. She even had her Bike parked next to her. And now, she waited...

Velocity - 2 HP - Fatigued Fenris - 2 HP Fenris is strongly inclined to believe that Herr Apfelbaum is acting / bluffing / putting on a show (feel free to post / edit IC according to this)

Could I have DC 20 Sense Motive Checks from Megan and Fenris

GM Herr Apfelbaum appeared at the door. "What is this?" he asked politely, before his eyes widened with shock. "What is this!" he shrieked as he saw Robert's unconscious body. "And...what is that?" he asked with curiosity, pointing at the stopwatch. "This...this is preposterousness!" he said, going red in the face. "Three intruderers in hotel mine! one of them knocked out, or maybe the killed! and you seeking to steal property!" he added, indicating the ornate stopwatch. "I will be not the having it! put that down and I have been the calling the police!" he explained, rudely.

As in, the PC not a pitch for a thread! I'd like to get this character of the ground. Is there any interest or offers? GM or players. Other PCs who might fit might have a musical (rock), journalist or mystic slant, but not necessarily.

NPC Harry almost fumbled over his words at Hectors last statement. "Yeah...sure..." he gabbled, puffing away at his cigar, hoping the profuse exhalations of smoke, in the dim light, would help conceal his face. "I can dig that, for sure. But, that's a hard thing to prove to you, isn't it?" he explained, airily tracing his cigar around in expressive circles, and giving Lucy a desperate eye. "What's the deal? a palm greased with silver? a secret handshake? the right school tie?" he asked, as politely as he could, hoping he wouldn't be asked to do something he shouldn't - or wouldn't.

Thanks, waiting on TiffK before next round.

NPC "What? Why? We been searching all over this damn town! We even got shot at, we ain't..." The Mess slapped a heavy hand on his partner and put a finger to his mouth, indicating he should listen to what Giang had to say. "...gonna be giving you to him" sighed the Hound, as the words sunk in and he pieced together the puzzle far quicker than his partner had. Truth was, it was a relief, it resolved a nagging irritation that something stunk about the whole job. He took out a piece of paper that he had been given all those days ago. The contract. He crumpled it up, took out his lighter, set fire to it, and threw it away carelessly. "Bang goes that pay day" he grumbled. "And we probably got some highly trained ninja assassins gonna kill us now, for not doing our job and letting you go. What a crummy week..." he moaned.

Ok so I am slightly fudging initiatives for the Free Booter and Crimson Tiger. At this point the Free Booter is just moving (a leaping 4 power) onto the Deck of the Prince Edward. For next round his initiative will be: 1D20+4 => 11 Thunder, as we are slightly fudging this round in terms of FB/CT actions, feel free to take an action this round at your leisure as all you have done is speak. Meanwhile... Devil Ray has been tossed out 2500 feet into the cold hard ocean and the storm. Fortunately, he is quite happy there! Unfortunately, he is dazed so no action. The Captain has been bluffed, so he is holding action - however Im stopping at this juncture to check TiffK / Blod is turning off the engines (note the INT DC 5 check).

GM "I have no quarrel with you, feisty one!" laughed the Free Booter, putting his hands on his hips and giving an enormous chuckle. He stopped and pointed his cutlass at Crimson Tiger, which glowed a menacing colour. "But stay out of my way. I'm here to bring down the man, the boot that steps on the hard working docker. No more shall they live or fall at the whims of a suit hiding behind a desk in a penthouse. No, its time for them to fall from their rarefied air and taste the garbage like the rest of us! hahaha!" he said, full of spirit but with a vengeful anger embracing his monologue. And with that, he leapt high and fast, far beyond any human capability, into the darkness and rain - and the deck of the Prince Edward.