GranspearZX

"You have my word, " Arcturus replied. He gave a quick glance back at Vermin. "And I am NOT your friend. You saw the coin. If you don't hold up your end... remember, I can be way more creative than that." That part, at least, wasn't a bluff. His time separated from Animus had made Marcus a rather resourceful magician. Of course, he doubted Vermin would make any of that easy if it ever came to that. Arcturus was silently seething at being put in the position he was in. Somehow this had gone from a train wreck to... well, a different kind of train wreck. It seemed like a metaphor for his entire life.Above all else, he wasn't going to let Filth be a casualty in a war between rats. That was just silly. If anything, the thought crept into Marcus's mind to talk Filth out of the whole thing. Was he bound to the demon? There had to be some story there... and now he REALLY wanted to find out. That was going to have to wait.

Arcturus took a big, deep breath. At its core, the Beast Rune only cared for Marcus's safety. Marcus, on the other hand, was another matter. The morality was annoying. It wasn't a fight that Animus really wanted to deal with... "Vermin. Stop." Arcturus's voice hadn't changed, but he seemed much more even-keeled, less arrogant. His back was still turned to Vermin, though, and the demon rat could see the magic of the Beast Rune radiating underneath the thick layer of fur. "Let me explain what will happen. If you kill this kid.... I will destroy you. All of you. I'll even resummon the demon JUST to spite you. On the other hand... if you walk away now, you might--MIGHT--have a fighting chance. Those are your choices." I'll admit, the Beast Rune quipped, I didn't see that coming. And you ssid dealing with the demon was a bad idea. OF COURSE it's a bad idea. I'm not doing that. So you're lying? ...color me impressed. Shut up. Arcturus looked back over his shoulder at Vermin. "That means YOU need to back off too."

Once Arcturus had a better handle on the situation, the worse it seemed to become. Though his own mind hadn't been overtaken by the rat collective, it seemed that Filth wasn't so lucky. Marcus at least had Animus to cover him; the Beast Rune was an arrogant taskmaster but they at least shared mutual interests. Filth and Vermin didn't seem to have that kind of relationship. Then again... Vermin was a demon. Seeing the army of 'normal' rats alone made Animus wish Marcus had held onto the warding coin instead of wasting it on the humans in the subway cars. In the meantime, Filth's plight seemed to be 'waking up' Arcturus's human half. "Release him. Now. Or..." Arcturus held the balled up pipe in both hands and gave it a brief but vigorous shake.

"Stronger than any beast... Let's test that." Arcturus reached for the pipes on the wall nearest him. Wholly invested into the motion, he tore the huge pipes off of the wall and began to bend them with a disturbing amount of ease--rats still scrabbling inside them as he closed them off into a tangled, closed-off ball. The great bear growled, annoyed and angry. Marcus wasn't the sort to harm another living creature, no matter how evil, and while Animus felt no such guilt, the Beast Rune was still bound by Marcus's will. It really was rather annoying. Still, it wasn't as if he didn't have options on how to deal with the upstart rat pack.

Arc's Regeneration allows him to heal an Injury as a free action. Or at least, it's supposed to. or am I reading that wrong?

GM The rest of the night went by in a pretty uneventful fashion. Hannah and Taylor were still outside talking when Luther headed back to his room, and they stayed put for quite some tome before heading to their respective rooms. The group had an odd number of men, meaning that Luther had his room completely to himself. It was about 2 a.m. when the howling began. At first, Luther couldn't be sure if he was dreaming it or not. It was distant but distinct, only made stranger by the fact that wolves were NOT native to Louisiana.

Liora spent her time doing what she usually did while not on a mission--reading. Her latest book was some obscure archeological text with no cover title. It looked more like a journal than anything else, complete with random slips and notes protruding fro the sides. She looked up from it, just long enough that she spotted Amara as she walked in. "You're going to give yourself a neck cramp like that," she quipped, offering a comforting smile as she tucked the book underneath her left arm. Liora was no stranger to grief or missing someone. There were plenty of faces among them that made her recall vivid memories that seemed shockingly recent. For all the futures she could see, somehow looking at the past seemed harder. The memorials, nonetheless, were a lovely if somber tribute.

Gonna heal that injury as a free action. As his standard action, Arc is going to put the squeeze on those pipes with his Snare. Wrap up part of Many-Mind in a nice metallic package! (Been a while so I'm not 100% sure what I need to roll for this. Assuming his standard melee attack?)

Definitely something down there... but I don't want to scare them any more than they already are. "I think I understand why you called us.. Would you mind if we took a look at the site of the latest incident?" There was no reason she could think of not to do that.Neither Cavalier nor Moon-Mouth seemed tired from their trip, so it was probably an efficient use of time. Besides that.. Spectra had a nagging feeling that this would happen again, sooner than later. It sounds like it was provoked by the draining... That suggests an intelligence to me. I feel like the difficult part will be convincing them NOT to continue.

Spectra frowned. 'Potential' trouble meant something completely different to her, but she resigned herself to not overthinking the situation. Still, with what was potentially going on behind closed doors and this... Something was definitely converging. "We're on our way," she replied. She gave Queenie an acknowledging nod, othr things clearly on the mentalist's mind as she started walking. It took her a moment before she noticed Queenie was in flight--something she wasn't particularly good at. "Oh! I'm sorry. I really should pay more attention. Her eyes--all three of them--glowed with a soft violet light and space seemed to warp behind her. Light gathered and then expanded forming a purple-bordered gateway. "Here we go!"

GM Kendra raised an eyebrow at the question. "Well, it's already out in the ether now," she said with a teasing chuckle, letting him turn the card over. "The Moon... huh." Kendra looked over at the woman, then at Luther. "That's awfully literal. The Moon represents the unconscious. Dreams and intuition. More to the point, it represents the 'shadow' within us all. I suppose that would mean more to you than me." Kendra looked over at the sleeping young woman again. Almost as if on cue, she mumbled something. It seemed she was coming around. "The Moon also deals with illusion and deception. If your question is any indication... I'd suggest being more careful."

GM Kendra laughed. "Sounds like you've got it all figured out!" Hannah smiled and fished a pack of cigarettes from her purse, taking them outside--along with a piece of Luther's offered pie and a napkin. "I guess it depends on what you want know? It's not so much about knowing what your future holds... but knowing how to avoid the bad ones. I did a reading before coming here but I couldn't really get a good look at anything. It seemed... clouded. But now I think I understand why." As she spoke, she shuffled the cards, then placed the deck between them again. "We'll try one question. Place your hands on the deck and then ask. Then draw a card. Doesn't even have to be the one on the top. Just go with what feels right." She glanced outside and watched Hannah for a moment, one cigarette in her mouth as she 'spoke' to Taylor. It seemed that he couldn't sleep either, and the two of them looked like they were signing back and forth.

GM "Aww. That's very sweet of you." Hannah smiled, taking a cursory glance over her shoulder at the sleeping woman. They had managed to clean her up and put her in cleaner clothes on their own; she was still unconscious, but she looked far more comfortable than she had been earlier. "Honestly not sure who we can call tonight," Hannah said with a sigh. "Poor girl was scared out of her mind. I think I managed to calm her down though." "I slept most of the day, "Kendra said, "so I'll be up all night. Your welcome to stick around if you like. I'll even read you if you want." She tapped a single blue painted finger nail on the deck of cards. "I don't usually do big crowds like everybody else. Something nice and quiet... Plus not everybody wants their business out in the ether. Past, present, OR future." Kendra smiled broadly. "I'm sure you can appreciate that."

Arc is going to move forward (move action) and try to intimidate the rat collective via Fearsome Presence.

"Isn't listening to you suffering enough?" Arcturus stood upright even as the psychic blast struck him. His voice as somehow different, almost as if there were two people speaking at once. His shredded sweatshirt fell away from him and he looked at the amalgamation of rats. His right ar was practically healing on the spot, bone shifting in a very audible fashion. The bear didn't so much as flinch as it was happening. The Beast Rune was awake. "The magus is far more lenient than I am." Arcturus's huge paws burst into flame as he walked forward; a sharp contrast to his glowing green eyes. "The King of Beasts takes orders from NO ONE."

GM It wasn't much of a surprise that Luther was one of only a few customers in the diner. The only other person there was a man in a brown and white trucker hat, sitting in a booth at the far end. He made eye contact onc before proceeding to look out the window again. Luther's presence was more than welcome at Kendra's. "I was just thinking about heading over to that diner." the other woman said, smiling as she stood up. "How thoughtful. i don't think we've officially met. I'm Hannah. Kendra's mother." "Everyone's mother," Kendra chimed in, chuckling. "Oh hush." She moved oer to the bed beside the unconscious woman to check on her. "I guess you an't sleep either?" Kendra otioned to the seat across from her, offering it to Luther.

Will Save: 1d20+8 25

Initiative: 1d20+5 21

Marcus froze. It was a knee-jerk reaction--a result of having known too many intrusive psychics. The first one he'd ever met had, after all, tried to mind control him into hurting someone else, and he'd actually injured the poor guy. All at once, he could feel a panic attack coming on, and he felt like he couldn't breathe. All the while, conversation was happening around him, Beside him. Inside his head. He was sweating bullets and his eyes refused to focus. Even the Animus, who literally lived in Marcus's mind, was trying to talk him down. Nothing was working. He heard that Vermin was a demon. Somehow, he didn't care. As stigmatized as demons were, Vermin and Filth hadn't created this situation. "...get out." His voice started out hoarse and strained, but there was definitely something going on. His form was changing almost involuntarily, and his clawed hands tore small gouges in the wall beside him. Marcus had his issued with Vermin, sure, but this... he wasn't doing this. "I SAID GET OUT OF MY HEAD!" Marcus's fury reached a fever pitch as a wave of magical force erupted outward from him, a small storm of dust and rocks swirling about his expanding form until the great bear was standing in his place again. The whole tunnel shook as Arcturus's magic settled. It seemed to clear his head. If Lobisomem didn't trust the mutant rat collective, that was good enough for him. Better the devil you know.

Spectra listened, not saying or thinking anything as she heard the explanation of the situation at hand. There were a number of reasons that she didn't like how that all sounded. She could feel a faint pull at the strings of fate just thinking about it. It was a feeling the was familiar with--the faint rumblings of potential futures twisting beyond the periphery of her vision. If nothing else, it had taught her to be especially cautions, and never to assume that she knew everything. "I don't suppose you have any surveillance set up in those areas?" She wasn't holding out too much hope for that; if the equipment was destroyed, there was a chance surveillance would have been too. If someone had targeted the miners and their equipment specifically, however... It didn't seem random. "Either way, I think we'd all benefit from seeing what was destroyed. What's left of it, anyway."

Inwardly. Animus bristled. Marcus could quite literally feel the Beast Rune's derision, and the word 'usurper' popped into his head. What do you care? You're not a rat. You're not even a specific species! That's not the point! Arrogant little scavenger... Are you... are you jealous? You're pushing your luck, animagus. Marcus laughed. The Beast Rune was rarely flustered; it actually improved the shapeshifter's disposition. "King of the Rats, huh? Hm... Everything a 'king' does isn't absolute right. Trust me. I'll let you know when it's not." He couldn't help but wonder what sort of insane machinations Vermin had in mind. Existence and survival wasn't necessarily a bad thing... but Filth did have a gun and a knife. How often he'd used them and on whom? "...exactly how long have you been down here?" As he spoke, he checked on Santa as well; Marcus hadn't forgotten about him, and Marcus's waning infection was a subtle reminder. He definitely wanted to keep the guy out of harm's way, even if they were potentially walking right towards it.

GM A good two hours passed. By the time, most of Rougeau's group was unpacked and in their rooms for the night. The diner was still open--it seemed it would stay that way until 2 or three the next morning. Kendra was sitting in her room, letting the woman inside rest peacefully. She positioned one of the small chairs in the window with the curtains wide open, and her door was actually open. Sitting across from her was the other woman that had gotten the keys for everyone. An older woman in her late 40s, she looked remarkably identical to Kendra. The two of them seemed to be having some sort of quiet discussion, with Kendra's tarot cards sitting in the middle of the table between them.

A deal with the rats might not be a bad idea. What the hell are you saying? Heh... Just making an observation. The Beast Rune would think it was a good idea. Animals being as interconnected as they were, urban environments often made Marcus's input a lot more necessary than Animus liked. Marcus could sense his smug grin, and it only annoyed him further. "No one is getting killed or eaten. Stop saying that." Marcus had a vague idea what was going on. This doctor was doing SOMETHING to manipulate plants and animals, and clearly it was bad enough that he couldn't do it in public. Rats on the whole were a lot more intelligent than the average person gave them credit for, but the noises he was hearing in the walls suggested purpose. That couldn't be good. "Natural leader, huh? And I suppose that's him." He looked at Vermin, then at Filth. As much as he didn't trust the rat, he wasn't entirely sure it was necessary to disrupt the 'natural order' as it were.

"We're not killing anyone." Marcus was adamant on that point. He whispered into his closed fist as he walked, casually flicking his warding coin underneath the carriage. He thought it was subtle. Vermin was clearly watching him with an equal amount of suspicion; Animus tended to have that effect on everyone in varying degrees. Marcus didn't seem at all fazed by Vermin's very clear objection. "So you can sense magic then? Okay. The rules are simple then. Stay away from the cars and you'll be fine. And that'll wear off in a day or so. Besides, all it'll do is compel him to walk away. I COULD have had it electrocute anyone who got too close." He walked towards Filth, looking between him and Vermin. His eyes still bore the crimson glow of his reptilian vision, and the expression on his face was hardly one of amusement. "This isn't up for debate or discussion. You're helping on our terms." Marcus was in a bad mood, and it showed. The good doctor was about to catch every bit of it and then some. "So are you showing us where this psycho is hiding or what?"

GM "Taylor's got the rooms covered. Taking care of that now." Benny thumbed out the window, where the broad-shouldered strong man and another woman from the group were already headed inside the main office. It was hard to miss with the neon 'VACANCY' sign flickering in the window. "I was thinking of having her room with Kendra or Harriet but--" "Don't leave her by herself." Kendra's voice was sharp and to-the-point. It was a little unnerving the way her warning gave Benny pause. "Well, of course not; I'm not stupid, girl." Kendra merely smiled at that and shiffled past him and off the bus, her bag draped over her shoulder. She was also carrying a deck of tarot cards, quietly shuffling them as she walked out. "140." "What?" "That's what room we'll be in. 140." And with that, Kendra was off the bus. Benny sighed. "That girl, I swear... Anyway. Not much in these woods IS friendly. Snakes mostly, but who knows... we ought to get her inside either way." Sure enough, when Taylor and the woman with him returned, they started handing the dozen or so members of the group keys. Luther had a room to himself--139. Kendra's was, in fact, 140.