GranspearZX

DONE BY SHAENTHEBRAIN I wasn't gonna, but... eh. Couldn't hurt! Arcturus 4 PP to spend: Skills: +4 to Craft (Artistic) [1PP] +4 to Knowledge (Arcane Lore) [1PP] Powers: Regeneration 2 (Bruised [1/standard action]) [2PP] (Hopefully I'm formatting the regen power right...) DONE BY SHAENTHEBRAIN

GM In moments, Supercape traveled the six-mile distance between where the 'accident' had occurred, leaving Sgt. Taylor a bit bewildered by the sudden exit. "...right. I'll just stay here then." He took a deep breath and looked up as other officers helped direct traffic around the wrecks. This would certainly be a long day... ...and even longer for the ambulance speeding across the bridge; When Supercape appeared on the north side of the bridge, he could see the ambulance, veering to the left and headed for the exit leading down into the Fens.

"More serious than you know," Marcus muttered grimly, shaking his head. He sipped his coffee and sighed; the rain had washed away a good portion of the nasty sewer water he'd been covered in, but that was far from his primary concern. He had no idea what to do next, and he didn't want to involve anyone else. "The cult that created it won't be able to control it forever. And when they can't..." He didn't want to think about it, but the moment he stopped talking, the familiar image of the Khimera picture popped into his head. He shuddered involuntarily. "...anyway. Talk later. Shower now."

GM "All I know is that he works for some local pharmaceutical company..." Sgt. Taylor motioned towards the car. "Found a pen with the company name on it in the glove compartment. Might be a couple of other things in there that might help, but I doubt it... still. I'm gonna see if I can get that ambulance stopped." Sgt. Taylor started to head back to his car, when the radio started to crackle to life, reporting an ambulance causing a near accident on the Mona-Glenn Bridge. "...if that's our ambulance... that's way past Southside General."

GM "Other than the money? I thought everyone was accounted for, but..." Sgt. Taylor reached into his back pocket for a notepad. "Ah, here we go. Harold Winters was the man taken in the ambulance; he's the owner of that car and the only one missing. Probably on his way to Southside General as we speak." The officer paused for a few moments in thought, regarding the scene and victims again. Something suddenly didn't smell quite right, and it wasn't from the radiation. At least, he hoped not.

Was it really that obvious? Was Rene reading his mind? Rene shoved the coffee into his hands, and for a moment he tried to pull off a glare of disapproval. Instead, he turned his gaze from Rene to the coffee, as if the answer to all the world's problems were somewhere in the bottom of the cup. "I've got a change of clothes in my trunk. And there's... something down there that's after me. Giant suit of armor... using the Beast Rune to animate it." The clothes in his truck weren't really much--a black hoodie, jeans, and an extra pair of sneakers. In another gym bag, he had socks, underwear, and a couple of towels--he was surprisingly prepared. Then again, given the nature if his magic, it probably wasn't all that surprising at all.

Marcus had forgotten it was raining, and as he surfaced, it seemed to rain even harder, mirroring both his mood and the storm swelling inside him. At first, his grunt was the only response to Rene as he walked deliberately from under the protection of the umbrella, standing in the rain for a few moments before ripping what tattered remains were left of his shirt. Was he a coward for leaving? Had he done the right thing by allowing the leader of the Cult of the Beast and Gauntlet to simply roam free? Everyone seemed adamant on pointing out how little he mattered in comparison to the Beast Rune; the only one who never really made a true distinction between the beast and the man was him... and now, he wasn't so sure. He stood there, steeped in sewer stench and self-pity for a few moments before he finally remembered Rene was there. He looked over at Rene and gave a polite smile and a shake of his head, pretending the pain and anger behind his eyes wasn't real. "I'm okay," he replied, his tone a little too even and saccharine for him. "We should probably talk about it later... somewhere else." He looked down at the manhole cover.... there was no way a little thing like 'distance' was going to stop Gauntlet. He did what he could to solve his smell problem, reaching for the bar of soap he'd been carrying.

Supercape probably has no problem seeing that there's radiation burns all over the truck--lots of them. Furthermore, whatever shot at the truck seems to have shot the last car in the pile-up as well--a single shot, right through the top of the hood. The only way to really see it is because of the latent radiation rising from where it hit.

Arcturus was fighting emotion. It was an exhausting endeavor, bottling one's feelings in like that, but he wasn't ready to deal with it... not now. He was swimming fast enough that there really was no chance for Gauntlet to catch him, but there was even less chance for Arcturus to emotionally invest himself in a fight the way he usually did. The Beast Rune still was silent in his head, and as he approached the sewer access he'd come through in the beginning, he couldn't get the cultist's words out of his head. You can't deny your nature forever... Draw from the well of the Beast Rune... take what you want! Arcturus snarled and lashed out at the wall next to the ladder, driving a large, fist-shaped hole in the stone wall. Shifting back to his natural form, he climbed back up to the surface, physically and mentally exhausted.

And now... I think we're ready for a Notice check. ^^

GM Sgt. Taylor wasn't terribly surprised to see Supercape show up. He'd been hoping someone would, as a quick assessment of the situation made him realize how much more out of his league he really was. "Actually, you just might... Sgt. Jason Taylor, FCPD." He stuck his hand out to shake Supercape's, unable to help but look a little bit relieved. "Got most of the injured out of here already. Nothing too bad; they were just a little shaken. The guards for that truck, though..." The officer walked towards the armored car, where the paramedics were still treating some of the guards. Two of them had multiple burn marks on their upper bodies. The armored truck itself had blown both back tires, and the steel of the back door was riddled with holes where the door itself seemed like it had been torn off; it was nowhere to be seen.

GM "Well, this is one hell of a way to start the day..." Sgt. Jason Taylor adjusted his mirrored shades as an ambulance sped past him, headed further north on State Route 6 into the city. It was a pretty unfortunate 3-car accident--one slamming on its brakes, and two rear-end collisions. It was a wonder that no one was seriously injured, and Sgt. Taylor was certainly grateful for that. What bothered him more was what made the lead car slam on its brakes to begin with--an armored car driving into the city, turned over on its right side with a thin plume of smoke still rising from its hood. It was the main reason there were still paramedics treating people on the scene. It was recent enough that Taylor hadn't started questioning witnesses yet, and judging from the looks of the armored truck, he was pretty certain the news wouldn't be anything good.

OOC thread for the IC thread of the same name. A simple traffic accident--although in Freedom City, nothing is ever, ever simple...

The voice and personality Marcus often associated with the Beast Rune was mysteriously silent. Usually, it would have been goading him to just smash the guy's face in, or, in a rare moment of reason, trying to convince him to keep a level head. This time, there was no 'outside' opinion... Marcus would have to come to this decision on his own. The track record for keepers of the Beast Rune making that choice was generally not a positive outlook. The problem was that even he didn't know what he wanted. Finding the answer had been especially difficult, and he wasn't getting any closer. And now this... "...shut up." He turned around, back in the direction of the water, hesitating only for a second. Was this running away? He wasn't sure. At this point, he wasn't sure of anything. Marcus needed to think... and he needed to leave before he did something he would ultimately regret. Without another word, he dove back into the water--it was about time he saw the surface world again.

Arcturus wasn't entirely sure what to do. The frustration of the situation wore on his face in a rather obvious fashion, making him that much more angry. The fact that this total stranger presumed to know him so well only made the red in his eyes intensify. "You're a terrible liar. No one cares what I want." He wanted to hit the guy. He REALLY wanted to hit the guy. He stepped closer, eyeing the runes surrounding the cultist leader. "That magical chicken scratch won't protect you forever." Arc couldn't be sure of that, of course; just because his own runic magic faded within a certain time period, that didn't necessarily mean that this person's would as well. He looked around, frowning; he could always just leave, but that wouldn't resolve anything... and he refused to run away. Whether that was the Beast Rune's stubbornness or his own, it was difficult to tell...

GM In decidedly short order, Wisp dispatched the remaining five wolves with a series of whimpers and whines, followed by each one bursting into white mist and disappearing altogether. The back lot and alley were mostly quiet... except for the shuffling coming from the dumpster the wolves had surrounded. "A-are they gone?" a muffled voice muttered from the inside. The metal lid rose and a brown-haired young man's head came into view, panic still in his eyes.

I could try GMing something, in an effort to become more rules-savvy.

"I don't need your stupid cult, or anyone else." The disturbing truth was that the cultist wasn't entirely wrong. Every time he tapped into the Beast Rune's power, he could feel that part of his nature amplified. It wasn't something he necessarily found pleasure in doing; using this particular aspect of his magic was just natural. Normal. All animals in the world had their own place in it, and it was frustrating that his humanity was often what was holding him back... Oh God, what the hell am I thinking?! Arcturus could have denied it all day long, but those thoughts weren't the Beast Rune's--they were his own. "I don't really care what you want. Just stay out of my way." He took a quick glance around the area, listening--he really didn't want Gauntlet to show up, and he'd already learned far more than he'd bargained for.

"Who the hell do you think you are?! You might know the Beast Rune... but you don't know me. I'm not running away from anything; I'm just gonna snuff out my annoyance at the source." His eyes narrowed a bit at the knife. "What're you gonna do with that knife besides hurt yourself?" Marcus had bound runes to objects before. In fact, it was a large portion of how runic magic worked. Binding a magical symbol to a terrestrial object causes the symbol's energy to manifest physically. That was the summary of the theory Marcus had learned, word for word. Binding a rune to a human being deliberately was quite the taboo, and Marcus only circumvented that because he was born with his. Animating an object was just as risky, as there was always the off chance that the primal force of the rune would cause it to run amok, turning it into something like Gauntlet. It was why Marcus always kept his runecrafting small--small stones, clothing... certainly nothing fourteen feet tall and built like a tank. "This power you think you want isn't yours to control. 'Chain me in iron', you say... tch. I want to see you try." His toothy grin widened and his eyes turned a brilliant blue. "Really. Because if you want to keep coming after me like I'm some kind of novelty, you should see what you're in for." He lowered his stance a bit, a low rumble of a growl forming in his throat. He doubted this cultist was dumb enough to be lured out of his protective circle that easily... but it was still worth a shot.

Marcus was more surprised than anything that it worked. Being underwater had freaked him out, and it was something he'd never get used to, but the Beast Rune was managing to power him through. The filthy water didn't seem to bother Arcturus at all, and he could breathe. It was the strangest feeling in the world, both natural and foreign at the same time. Arcturus swam as if he'd been doing it his entire life, moving through the water silently, confident that Gauntlet would never be able to follow. He'd managed to follow the scent through the water, surfacing briefly only to gather his bearings. It wasn't long before he found the supposed leader of the cult, meditating and chanting with several runes surrounding him. After having studied wards, he knew exactly what they were for... to keep him out. Arcturus's eyes narrowed as he rose from the water, taking a few silent steps forward towards him and eyeing the runes. If he got too close, he'd revert to his human form again... He wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing yet.

Knowledge (Arcane Lore): (1d20+9=23) Stealth: (1d20+6=12) Not quite there on the Stealth roll, unfortunately.

I think the Beast Rune is going to help out here... by teaching Arcturus a new trick. The idea behind this form is that it doesn't change his stats. Growth, Enhanced STR, and what not are all the same. The only differences come from feats, skills, and other more aquatic-based powers.

Marcus shifted his weight, slamming the cultist into the wall and gripping his robe tightly enough that his fingernails were likely leaving permanent holes in the fabric. "You think this is funny?!" He could feel a very familiar rage building, and the Beast Rune was only making it worse. At the overwhelming urge to hurt this cultist as much as physically possible, Marcus forcefully reeled himself back in. It was like waking up from a bad dream, disorienting and a little bit scary. The idea of swimming--never mind the filthy conditions--was more than he wanted to think about. It was either that or go through Gauntlet, which wasn't impossible, but far more difficult than his bestial half was willing to admit. Fine. If you're not gonna let me turn that guy into scrap metal, at least make it a little easier on yourself. Easy like how? I'm NOT getting in that water. Sure you are. Remember that gator we took out earlier? We're gonna do that. ...how? Let me take care of it. Same as when we met. Marcus hesitated for a moment. It meant giving himself completely over to the Beast Rune, and he'd only ever done that once--by accident. It was how he discovered his magical heritage in the first place... and now here he was, doing it again. Once again, it was a life-or-death decision... ...okay. In that split second of hesitation, the Beast Rune took over, bullying the cultist forward down the corridor to a larger passageway. From there, the not-quite Marcus finally stood upright, grinning with clear malice in his expression. "Let me show you why you shouldn't be sending goons after us." There was a blue flash as Marcus began to transform, his body physically changing as if he were going to assume his bear form again. It happened in seconds, but this time, it was completely different. Where there once had been black fur, he was covered by a green, scaly hide, and his clawed hands and feet were webbed. A long snout filled with razor sharp teeth bore a disturbing, Cheshire cat grin at the cultist, who was now staring at an eight foot tall crocodile. He leaned forward and sniffed at the cultist, those menacing teeth dangerously close to the cultist's fragile form. He figured this 'master' had a scent all his own, and if he could separate it from the cultist's scent... tracking him through the sewers would be a breeze.

You've GOT to be kidding. It made sense, but both Marcus and his feral counterpart had the exact same thought at the exact same time. He didn't have a lot of time for answers... so he'd have to choose his questions carefully. The first was rather obvious, and his ear twitched a bit as the rhythmic pounding of Gauntlet's assault drew closer."Who is this 'master'? And where do I find him?"

Awp. In that case, the Swift feat (which is, essentially, Speed 1). Everything else checks out, I hope. :3 Gonna take 10 on Intimidate via Skill Mastery, giving him a total of 17.