Supercape

GM The song took a bit of adaptation - sound carried differently in water, and this wasn't regular water. It had colours, it had sparkles, and every swirl and current seemed to carry its on note. All in all, Musicworld was full of music, and excellent music. But it was like a mountain of toffee. Everyone (or at least most people) liked a bit of toffee from time to time, but when your entire world was toffee, when that was all you could see and taste, then it would drive you mad. Too much of a good thing. The song (and Summer's beat) reverberated, twisted, magnified. Suddenly the world was spinning, dissolving, morphing. "Wait for me!" cried the Leprachaun... diving into the lake with a splash that sounded like the call of trumpets. "I can't stand it here! Take me with you!" They were, Bernadette realised, on the verge of going back to the real world...

Captain Cosmos Sure, why not? He floated to the ground and finished the journey on foot. It made him feel a bit more normal, with concrete under his boots. Transdimensional power cut a knife into his brain and carved out his sanity, if used too much. He took a breath and refocussed his body back to three dimensions. Not as strong, but strong enough. "Pleased to meet you. Both of you," he started, offering his hand. "Seems the danger is over. For now. But I guess the story has ended quite yet. With your permission, I would like to try and get to the bottom of this mess, before someone gets hurt..."

Gamma Buzz "Oh yes, that's right," coughed Baz, a puff of glowing green air spluttering against his three fingered hands. "I mean, the Headmistress and club, and equipment, right. But is it Rock n Roll? I mean, doing things all legal and by the book, I mean, is it as fun?" he said to Lawrence, with a wink. "Is it as fun as a radioactive pirate station based in the sewers of Freedom City pumping out 300bpm raves that last twenty four hours!" He paused. "Wait, maybe thats getting a bit ahead of ourselves. A club, it is!" "See, we are tons of fun!" he added to Vikki. "And naughty, too!"

GM Summer looked around, her fingers instictively splitting and forming her uncanny 20 digits. "Errr..." The fish looked pretty relaxed about the whole thing. Until one was caught in a torrent of fingers. Summer had let all twenty fingers loose from her hands and they had shot like torpedoes to a brightly coloured pink and green (yes, the colours did clash) bladder fish, with two enormous balloon like sacs on either side. The fingers of one hand carried on gripping the bladder fish, and the other ten started tapping out a rudimentary beat. Bd-bd-bd-bd-bd-diddy bdbd. "I'm not really a drummer, but here you go..." she said, doing the best she could. It was in time, at least!

Gamma Buzz "As for me, I have fully mastered my non-lethal radioactive powers!" said Baz, giving them all the thumbs up. "I am only a little bit radioactive, unless I lose control or fall asleep or someone upsets me or you aren't my friend." He winked. "But I guess thats why we are all here, right? So we dont cause nuclear fallout to rain armageddon over Freedom City? At least, thats my take." "As for fun, I am going trying to persuade Laurence to help me set up a pirate I mean totally legit radio station so we can flood the airways with illeg-I mean totally legal buzzing tunes!"

Captain Cosmos "Do we really have to tangle again?" asked Captain Cosmos. "We aren't on the same side of the fence, but it doesn't mean we should be flinging turds at each other over the top." He was quite pleased at that one. "Respecful enemies. That can be done, you know. We can keep deals, or at least I can. If the time ever comes when you have those claws round my thought, remember this moment. I could have crushed you, but I didn't." "And smoking is bad for your health," he added, as he flew up and away. Time to check on that girl, that cage, and Bear Knuckle's word. Perhaps there were more clues to be gathered...

Captain Cosmos It sounded honest. And Captain Cosmos could not find it in himself to be too critical. Maybe that was the interviewer, the reporter in him. He had to examine a lot of angles. He had a brute locked in his arm, but the brute was also a man - coming to the end of his life, without meaning or purpose, offered a blaze of youth before the end. How many would take that, even if the price was dear? He started to descending - not letting Bear Knuckles out of his grip, but no longer squeezing. "Then you need to let the girl go. Deal's a deal, my friend. Or you can break your word and nobody will trust you again - including the Ringmaster, or whoever else is behind this." Captain Comsos' boots touched the ground. "So, time to honour your word, friend," he said to the camera's and Bear Knuckles. "Let the girl go."

Red Rat Vignette (1200 words) -> Roll to Haven Rev VIgenette (1305 words) -> Roll to Haven Diamondlight Let the Bodies Hit the Ground (2 Posts) -> Roll to Haven Captain Cosmos Glory Days are Here Again (14 Posts) Gamma Buzz Golden Student (3 Posts) Through the Paces (6 Posts) Deviantions (1 Post) This Side of the Pond (4 Posts) Quirkombat (5 Posts) GM Precious Metals 17 Posts Curse of the Swamp Hag 9 Posts Double the Treble 5 Posts Golden Dead 3 Posts Total GM Posts = 34 = 68 Bonus Posts Allocate 25 to Haven (3 PP) Allocate 11 to Captain Cosmos to bump up to 25 (3 PP) Allocate 10 to Snake Bite (2 PP) Allocate 10 to Echohead (2 PP) Allocate 1 to Peak (1 PP) Allocate 6 to bump up Gamma Buzz to 25 (3 PP) 5 Posts left lost to the void.

GM The Golden Dead were moving as slowly as a lazy glacier now, making it hard to notice they were moving at all. The flesh, anyway. The gold was another matter. Beaten but unbroken, and featsing on the newly minted gold created by Nightwing, it started to flow, bubble, warp and deform. It crept up the sides of the container, the new and old gold merging into some fluid mass that started creeping out of the rusty holes of the container. It was apparent now that the corpses were just dust. The real energy, the real curse, the real necromancy... Was the gold itself! The dead were just vehicles.

@Spacefurry if you wish, the blowback of the curse / divination mess can effect Blackstaff. Not worth an HP if its simply a matter of regaining consciousness or dusting off burnt clothes but may be fun. If you can think of something else that might cause complications (and HP) down the line, shout out. For instance, a temporary (or even permenant for the future) curse such as going blind in moonlight or something. As you may have guessed from the threat title, something Witch-Hag or Swamp related would make sense. Or he may develop PTSD of blizzards Or even just something silly like unable to wear hats. Entirely up to you - he can come out entirely unscathed if you wish (although narratively the power is considerable)

GM Continuing on from Precious Metals The mist parted, with a little sparkling of gold, and a blizzard of snow. For a few seconds, only the snow could be seen. Then, bursting through from the mist came the strangest sight... The shining Golden Star, carrying a lithe man (Mr. Tom Dickens, to be precise) dressed in orange spandex and wearing a golden wreath on his brow. What strange magic was this! Blackstaff felt the cursed blowback, the eldritch distortion of his divination spell. Something was bending the magical energies, creating a sickly fire of green across the room. The divination spell had warped into a cursed transportation spell. In the blink of an eye, the room had filled with snow - the blizard coming from the golden fingertips of Mr. Dickens. "What?" yelled Mr. Dickens, face equally laughing and agahst. "We ain't in Kansas anymore, Dorothy?" Indeed not, said the face of Professor Armitage, covered in snow, and neck deep in a snowdrift.

Captain Cosmos Buddy felt a pang of guilt. He was indeed no spring chicken, with flecks of grey in his hair and lines on his face that make up artists couldn't fudge. But since drawing on the power of the multiverse, he no longer aged - or if he did, he didn't notice it. He could still lift a bench press a tank. Would he live for ever? He didn't know. But it was he was fortunate beyond most mortal lives. "The Ringmaster, eh?" Sounded like a supervillain mastermind. "Sounds like he took you for a fool and played you," he said, without taunting or cruelty in the words. "Just another pawn on his chessboard. Why are you fighting me, when you could be fighting him?" "

Yes, but you cant really miss A hit! IC coming up

GM "Why, I would be delighted to observe. I am more of an antiquarian, an academic. I rarely see genuine practice of the Eldritch arts." The Professors eyes were alive with interest, and he stroked his bristling beard with enthusiasm. "Just let me know if I get in the way. And, er, pardonn the yo yo. An idle distraction for when I am bored, no doubt a relic of my schoolboy days in shorts and a cap. Not the most pleasant of times, the teachers were mainly interested in beating rote learning into you. I confess I have a good memory, perhaps in part because of that harsh and uninspiring lecture. But the cost, mmm, the cost. They were brutal times, school." He let out a pained sigh. "Fortunately they did not crush my love of learning. So, please, abracadabra away. I shall watch with interest."

Baz is activating his radioactive Nauseate Aura. in case someone punches him by surprise.

Gamma Buzz "Hey, I'm evolved! I'm Gamma Buzz, baby!" said Baz, puffing his chest. The Caramel-skinned woman looked pretty hot in her unitard. Baz could feel his antennae swelling. "And its pretty uncool to impose your will on human's. They have a mind of their own, ya know?" His mouth was yabbering, but he was on the alert. It felt awfully like they were all about to get clobbered. Or, with a bit of luck, they would get clobbered back. "Keep em talking!" he said to the others. "Then may be we can surprise sucker punch them with a surprise blow that catches them by suprise. Wait, did I say that out aloud?" He started glowing green. Just in case...

GM "Green AND Red! See, I knew you had a festive spark in you! Balloons, baubles... and snow! Yes. we need snow! Whats Christmas without snow?" giggled Mr Dickens. Balloons sprouted out of thin air, and, as per Golden Star's advice, they were both green and yellow. A few cheers went up from the crowds below. And then the snow! Glistening, white, shiny - imperfectly probable snow poured forth from his fingertips, leaving a trail of blizzard behind them as they flew. This, it seemed, did not cause as much cheer, except from children. Fortunately nobody drove very fast in the shopping season of Freedom City, and the crunches of cars colliding and sliding were mercifully low impact. The horns, the curses, and the occasional fight broke out. And the kids laughed and threw snowballs at each other. "What a pretty sight!" laughed Mr. DIckens. "Look, its pretty as a picture!" he commented as they flew southwards. Continued in Curse of the Swamp Hag

24

GM "That's right!" nodded a manic Mr Dickens. "You can't fool me because I am too clever. And furthermore, I am to clever to be fooled. Whatsmore, the reason I cant be fooled is because I am to clever, and my cleverness prevents you from fooling me. Ha! Full points to me, I think!" he yammered, voice getting more frantic with every word. "I want to go to Professor Armitage's house! Its not far. Just fifty miles south of Freedom City, 66 Golem Drive. Quite swish! Its got curtains, and everything! He knows what to do with real power!" He frowned. "No diamonds at all! Bah! Well, no diamonds then! But i will create a sea of balloons! Thats festive! Green or Red, what do you think?"

Gamma Buzz Baz didn't dress up. He couldnt afford it, and besides, most tailors didn't accomodate his physique. Armour plates tended to screw things up, for starters. So, it was a red (festive) t shirt and jeans. And he was green. Green was festive! "Hey hey, its Gamma Buzz, Baby!" he said, firing two green laser beams from his eyes into the sky. "Full of festive cheer! Mulled wine and cake! Yummageddon!" He looked around for festive treats. He was hungry enough to eat a rat. And he could, to, with his stomach. "So what do we do now?" he asked Lawrence. "I mean, what would make us look really cool? Not that we aren't cool. I mean obviously we are cool. PhD in Cool studies. But what would make us look cool?"

GM The Professor patted his pockets. "A hand written note? Is this some divination spell?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "Or do you mean... do I know where he is? Forgive me, the nuances of eldritch practice escape me. I know plenty about the occult, mythology, history, the theory. But the practice escapes me." He emptied some of his tweed jackets pockets ont othe table in front of him. There was an antique mobile phone (which did have Mr Dickens number on it, but alas, the professor explained there was no answer). There were some sweets, a pipe, tobacco, a notebook full of barely legible scrawlings and ideas (including the address of Blackstaff investigations), and a yo yo. And a hand written note from Mr. Dickens. "Going to be busy next few days - leave a message if you need me. TD" "Is this the kind of thing that would help with your divinations?" asked the Professor. "I am no expert on the casting of spells, but I understand - from a historical perspective you see - that an item of the target helps with scrying and so forth?"

GM And into the lurid lake they jumped. It was water - that much was clear. But it was water in the way that sparkling mineral water was water. Bubbles that went up your nose and a fresh, clear texture. No normal lake would be so gloriously free of grime, dirt, sediment. No normal lake would have glowing fishes that swam past your face singing an opera. And singing it well, too. This was a lake, squared. Bernadette had correctly deduced that sound travels differently underwater, and so the Musical Antibodies (the two that remained) merely danced on the surface, quite unsure what to do. The only problem was that the assorted gang had to breathe underwater. And... They could! "Hey! I can breathe underwater!" yelled Summer, spluttering and gulping at the same time. "This water is very refreshing! You could bottle it and sell it for a fortune!" agreed the Duke.

Absolutely - they are essentially helpless at the moment. Moving an inch a second (as an explanation)

Captain Cosmos It was a tempting offer. Buddy weighed up the deal. On the one hand, Bear Knuckle was a dangerous villain, and merely letting him go would be opening up the doors to chaos to come. But on the other hand, a girls life was in the balance right here, right now. He chewed his tongue trying to wrap his head around the delicate balance. Ultimately, he chose what he considered the selfish option. The girl. He couldn't live with himself if the girl came to harm. Sure, he could try and smash up Bear Knuckle right here, right now, and hope that Bear Knuckle would keep to his word. But would he? Who knew what that collar had in store, what was going on behind the scenes? And the kicker... would Bear Knuckle keep to the new deal? He decided to exert more leverage. "No deal," he said bluntly. "I could just drop you right here, right now, and I win the fight, and took out a supervillain as a bonus. So you aren't offering me anything." He paused. "Unless...." Here it came. "Unless you offer me something more than that kid's life. Like who set this all up? I'll give respect to your fists, big respect. You should have been a vigilante, not a crook. But your brains? You haven't got the patience to set something like this up. So spill the beans!"

GM "Carrying? pfah!" The Man in Orange squirmed his forehead, trying to wrap his head around the bamboozling word-play of Golden Star. "Are you being... whats the word... fillo-sofyikal?" he asked, lips quivering with the effort of mastering abstract thought processes. "Bah! You're just trying to trick me! Well, let me tell you, sucker, nobody tricks Mr Thomas Dickens! You ain't fooling me into revealing my name... wait... uh.... dang!" Bored and frustrated with Golden Star, Mr. Dickens (for it is he) shouted down to the crowd. "Murder! Arson! Whoever saves me gets a free Diamond as big as a a truck!" "And here's a taster!" he added. Lo, from his finger tips, a small rain of small diamonds started to fall...