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Bedlam City October 31, 2020 - Sundown "H-hey, how long is this gonna take already?" Robert Meza asked for the dozenth time, fiddling with the expensive looking watch on his wrist and looking about the interrogation room as though he was going to spot something new inside the four dour walls. His chair creaked as he shifted his weight about and his flop sweat made his dark hair fall limply against his forehead. "You got somewhere you'd rather be, Meza? There's the door," Detective Montgomery snapped irritably. Heavyset and red faced he'd left his jacket draped over the back of the chair across from Meza while he paced back and forth in front of the two-way mirror. "The ADA's running late is all. Once she gets your statement, we get you out of the city for a while, like you asked. So until then, just shaddup, yeah?" Meza drew his shoulders together and ducked his head slightly then looked about the room again. "Yeah, yeah, okay. But what's he doing here?" The third man in the room, lounging in a chair in the corner raised an eyebrow over one ice blue eye. "Lucky for you your lawyer knows a police station is a pretty stupid place to go if you wanna avoid anybody on the Mara's payroll," Lou Lubrano replied dryly, smirking in Montgomery's direction. He tugged at the cuffs on his rumpled suit jacket. "Consider me insurance. You like insurance, right Robbie? Firebug like you?" The informant looked away but set his jaw, hands palm down on the table in front of him. "Look, I'm not saying I'm no angel. But I hadda do something this time. Th-they was just kids, y'know? Ain't right." Lubrano's expression remained impassive, partially concealed by his black beard but he paused in silence for a moment. "Yeah, Robbie. I know." A tinny rendition of a cheerful pop tune broke the heavy silence permeating the room. "@#$% ringtone," Montgomery swore as he stomped back to the table and fished a phone out of his jacket pocket. "Yeah?! Of course I'm-- what? You got held up by what?!" With a sudden groan Meza collapsed over the table in front of him, muscles spasming. Lubrano was on his feet in an instant but stopped mid-step at a screeching noise. Mesa's fingernails, suddenly more bestial talons than anything, were carving deep trails in the metal surface. When his head shot up it was with luminous yellow eyes and teeth too large and too sharp for his jaw. He opened his mouth to ask a question but all that came out was a confused growl. He thrashed with another spasm and the table was tossed away from him, torn free of the rusted bolts attaching it to the floor. Montgomery went for his sidearm but was caught in the shoulder by the flying furniture on its way to smash into the two-way mirror, spiderweb cracking but not quite shattering. With tearing polyester, cracking bone and popping watch links Meza's form doubled then tripled in size, becoming a hulking creature covered in dark fur that towered over Lubrano. The beast stumbled froward a step before throwing its head back in a deafening howl, a sound that could be heard faintly echoed through the walls of the police station. Suddenly seized by a need to get away Meza leapt forward, swatting Lubrano aside like a straw dummy and crashing through the mirror in a rain of broken glass. Forcing himself back to his feet and ignoring Montgomery's attempts to free himself from under the dented table, Lubrano looked through the broken pane to see the path the werewolf had torn through the adjoining room and out of the building. Pulling a pack of cigarettes from his pocket he shook one loose without looking away and put it unlit between his lips. "...huh."

The house has 3 ranks of the Concealed feature, which adds +20 to the DC of any checks made to find the house or learn anything about it - Gather Info, Knowledge, Search, etc. The descriptor is the psychic perception filter created by the house's unholy aura. All 3 heroes have skills high enough to find it eventually, but none of them would be able to just take 10, which is why I described it as taking multiple attempts to keep it in their minds. EDIT: I don't need any actual rolls from any of you.

GM The house was both "there", and "not there". The house physically existed, or, at least, it seemed to. There were pipes and cables connecting it to the rest of Bedlam City's infrastructure. But it was a blank spot on every map. There were no utility bills, no tax assessments, nothing on a scrap of paper in any office that Gremlin could break into or a single file in any database that L0vel@ce could hack open which proved that the house existed. No one Hitter asked knew anything about it, no matter how nice or how hard he asked them. And the investigation was complicated by the fact that all three of them kept having difficulty remembering that they were conducting an investigation in the first place. The house just kept slipping their minds. When they finally made the trek across the river to Greely Point to view the house in person, they had trouble looking directly at it. They stood in one spot for several minutes as their attention kept wandering away from it. The few people they saw walking around the neighborhood in the warm summer night seemed to look everywhere but at the house, even as they crossed the street to avoid it. Some were walking their dogs, and the dogs barked and growled and whimpered at the house, but their owners barely reacted. Hitter in particular was distracted with thoughts of how close they were to the Gorganzua syndicate's territory, a group who wouldn't look kindly on an Asian, a Latina, and a one of Scarpia's soldiers, retired or not. The house was surrounded by other mansions just like it, except the others were smaller, and the trees and grass near those houses were still alive.

Pier 6 was a nightclub nestled among the warehouses of Bedlam's docks, which despite its location maintained a modest reputation of a safe space where people from all walks of life could mix and mingle, engage in discreet business, or simply drink and dance the worries of the city away. The industrial aesthetic of brick walls and exposed steel combined with leather seating and wood surfaces gave the club a contrasting, if comforting interior. But none of that mattered at the moment, for it was closing time. The patrons of Pier 6 were disgorging into the street and Chance had settled back behind his own bar with a drink, toasting another relatively quiet night.

*CN: Violence, Police Brutality, Racism, Sexism* *Bang Bang BANG* "Bedlam PD!" preceded the shattering of door and frame as the boys in blue spilled into three apartments across Bedlam. *** In Wolverton the office door declaring Excelsior Investigations shattered under the blow the police spilling in with full tactical loadout weapons raised as if the middle aged resident kneeling in the center of the room next to a half empty cup of coffee was the greatest threat to public safety the city had known. Xavier Steadman was slammed to the ground bloodying his nose as he was cuffed and taken into custody. He knew better than to antagonize them with questions about his rights or the charges and patiently accepted the abuse as each badge number and face was committed to a memory more refined than most artificial data stores. *** Not far away in Hardwick park the sizzle of some kind of heavily spiced breakfast meats sizzled as Abuela Orellana called not for the first time to her school age grandchildren to dress and pack for school. The Garage downstairs was already open with her son hard at work for hte day when the police came. Only the elderly woman's rapid fire demands of "What did you do?!" threatened to drown out the SWAT teams demands the residents of hte crowded apartment get on the ground. When the family was all restrained and no few of the struggling families meager belongings shattered the apparent lead detective stomped up and down the line of hispanic faces glaring at each, "Somebody shut her UP!" he bellowed as Abuela Orellana continued her lamentations in non-stop spanish. "Sophia Orellana!" he demanded as he tried to place his quarry which seemed to finally silence the old woman just in time given the raised rifle butt one officer had aimed her direction. All eyes turned in shock to Sophia removing any chance of hiding who she was from the police and the young woman was quickly hauled to her feet and shoved toward the door and a waiting cruiser to snickers behind masked faces as to her upcoming popularity. *** The secluded Downtown apartment Alice currently called home should not have been a thing the police could find even if they did have reason to look for her. So it came as quite the shock when she found herself surrounded with eagle eyed tactical officers with guns leveled at her before she had the opportunity to even consider fleeing. The beefy detective that followed the officers in barely even looked at her before nodding to an officer behind her. There was a sharp pain on the back of her skull then everything went black. *** Lou sat in the lockup sleeping off last nights drunk, his continued presence in dry out a sign that someone wanted him here, maybe he made a pass at a wise guys arm candy, or maybe someone had a reason for him to be here. He woke to the door slamming open as an unlikely trio of perps were thrust into his cell the smallest in a barely stirring heap on the ground. The middle aged African American man made his way to the sink to begin to clear some of the blood from his face as the young hispanic woman was thrust into the cell behind him. Even by Bedlam PDs lax standards for inmate safety this was far from regulation. Xavier looked up at the others warily as he settled in to carefully dab at his nose and check it for a break, "I don't suppose they were more forthcoming with any of you as to why we are here?" he inquired with unusual calm for an honest man thrust amongst what one could only assume were hardened criminals.

So HP to Gremlin for the railroading but teleporting kinda wrecks this whole set up Alice will be coming too without more than minor bruising whenever Fox wants to post. At most Gremlin, L0vel@ce and Savant might have heard something about Bedlam Savings and Loan getting hit last night by an organized crew. Obviously you all are in some way suspects. Lou knows nothing about the bank job but does know he's supposed to be scouting for a crew to pull a delicate heist for the Scarpia family that can't use their usual guys without risking tipping off the other families to what they are pulling. Lots of delicate physical and computer security to get past among other issues. Government building important records that sort of thing.

Initiative time!

Character Name: Alice Ishikawa Power Level: 8-13 (8.5 w/ Sneak Attack) (180/208PP) Trade-Offs: +4 Attack / -4 Damage, +2 Defense / -2 Toughness Unspent Power Points: 28PP In Brief: Young sneak-thief without a sense of purpose. Residence: Bedlam. Alternate Identity: The Gremlin (pejorative) Identity: Secret-ish. Birthplace: USA Occupation: Thief. Affiliations: The Fix, assorted Bedlam criminal groups Family: Estranged (mother, father, brother). Description: Age: 21 Apparent Age: 21 Gender: Female Ethnicity: Japanese Height: 5'1" Weight: 110lb Eyes: Brown Hair: Black/Brown When she was a child, she dreamed of being the tall, classy cat burglar - elegant, curvy, and devastating. It wasn't in the cards. Alice Ishikawa is a lot of mischief packed into just over five feet of body (five feet one, she'd insist), and she manages to leverage a surprising amount of strength and stamina out of such a slight frame. A lifetime of good training and diligent attention to her health (in service to her profession) has rendered her fit, acrobatic, and flexible. As second-story work is not typically a daytime activity, her skin tends to be on the fair side, though she's somehow managed to get this far without earning many obvious permanent marks or blemishes. She keeps her dark hair short, largely for practical purposes, not coincidentally framing her delicately-featured face and complimenting a pair of equally-dark eyes that manage to be as sharp as they are playful. Her personal fashion demonstrates a fondness for old t-shirts (often of bands she's never heard play), odd accessories (apparently on pure whim), and reliable footwear (even if she could scale a building in sandals or heels)...unless she's working, in which case her clothing is close-fitting, durable, disposable, unmarked, and darkly-colored, with as much skin covered as possible and any sleeves or pant legs tied down with wrappings or tucked away where they can't interfere. History: Alice's life has been nothing if not defined by theft, even from birth. When a lab accident at Mr. and Mrs. Ishikawa's research station threatened the latter's late-term pregnancy, the over-funded and under-supervised military group in charge were only too happy to provide medical care. When their new child presented otherwise-inexplicable abilities, said group was entirely willing to take the child to a remote facility for testing...and somewhat less willing to give her back. She wasn't going to change the world, but with proper training perhaps she could have been molded into quite the asset. It was a sentiment that the criminals of Bedlam shared. When a cargo ship pushed its luck too far and fell out of local protection, its raiders expected valuables, drugs...but not a young metahuman on ice ("secured for transport", as decreased funding had called for the consolidation of various off-the-books facilities). At first she was a novelty, but once they realized what she was capable of she was a tool. Need something stolen? Send the kid to do it, worst case is she gets killed or captured...and while the former never happened, the latter became something of a game between the leaderships of the various Bedlam powers. Who's got the little gremlin now? What's she after, and what can we use her for if we catch her? Even she lost track of how many times she changed hands, but while she liked some "employers" more than others her age and upbringing left her feeling that she was without better options. Teenagers, however, are notoriously harder to control...and stealthy, teleporting teenagers doubly so. Eventually she tired of games and being ordered around and stole herself, vanishing into the city as soon as she could do so without angering anyone she couldn't handle. Since then, bereft of other purpose and knowing little else, Alice has worked freelance: if you need something stolen, if you need a sneak-thief or second-story artist, put the word out. Maybe the gremlin's bored. Personality & Motivation: Alice has few problems taking orders and frankly enjoys her work, but operating at the behest of a long series of handlers and thugs (not to mention being a constant outsider and red-headed stepchild) has left the young woman somewhat ill-equipped to pursue her own passions, if she even knew what those passions were...outside of her craft, which she continues to hold to a high (and proud) standard. She can take care of herself, but doesn't know where she fits in with the world at large. Her obedience should not be mistaken for blind servitude. She expects a certain level of disrespect and discrimination but blatant disregard for her person or autonomy will be met with sass and equal disregard for the interests of her would-be employer. Even on the job she is playful, mischievous, and impolite. Powers & Tactics: Alice is of the opinion that if fighting has started, something has gone very, very wrong and her best option is to get out of dodge. She's a reasonably-skilled hand-to-hand fighter and carries a collapsible staff for utility and personal protection, but both are weapons of last resort when working; get in, go unnoticed, and get back out - no getting caught on cameras, no getting seen by guards. If truly necessary she'll allow for the latter if it's a half-second of pre-unconscious panic as she descends on one she can't circumvent, but one of her hard rules is never, ever any killing - it invites more trouble than it's worth. Surprisingly few know about her teleportation, considering; she uses it sparingly and at some point she just became "the weirdly effective thief asset" instead of "that weird metahuman girl", especially among the lesser powers of the city. Alice prefers it that way: the fewer who know her secrets, the better they are at getting her out of trouble when she needs them the most. Power Descriptions: Alice's one and only super power opens temporary windows in space: these perfect but short-lived ellipses allow her to jump to another nearby location she can see. Complications: Family: Alice's parents don't know what came of her, but they're still out there, somewhere, and could be used as leverage. Missing Asset: It was a while ago now, but Alice was, theoretically, a military project - and likely not the only one. Records are scarce (curiously, acquiring and training children is not popular with many higher-ups who get wind of such things) but somewhere out there may exist a group or groups who'd love to reclaim their investment. Reputation: She never held membership with any of them, but many gangs and organized powers in the city at least know of 'that little gremlin', and very likely used her on a job at some point, somewhere. Opinions may vary, depending on performance and whether she was used for or against them, but among those in charge she's a known factor and her teleportation is unlikely to be a surprise to anyone very highly-placed. Sticky Fingers: Alice just...really likes taking things. She really likes taking things. Presented with the opportunity during a job, she's hard-pressed to not acquire goodies on the side if she thinks she can get away with it and it won't harm anyone she doesn't think has it coming. Teleportal: Alice's teleport is, in fact, a teleportal: she creates a window in space and either moves through it, or moves it around her. This makes it useless for getting out of grapples or bindings, as she can't be selective about what does and does not get teleported. Abilities: 4 + 12 + 8 + 4 + 2 + 4 = 34PP Strength: 14 (+2) Dexterity: 22 (+6) Constitution: 18 (+4) Intelligence: 14 (+2) Wisdom: 12 (+1) Charisma: 14 (+2) Combat: 16 + 16 = 32PP Initiative: +14 Attack: +12 Melee, +8 Ranged Grapple: +18 Defense: +10 (+8 Base, +2 Dodge Focus), +4 Flat-Footed Knockback: -3/-2 Saving Throws: 5 + 7 + 6 = 18PP Toughness: +6/+4 (+4 Con, +2 Defensive Roll) Fortitude: +9 (+4 Con, +5) Reflex: +13 (+6 Dex, +7) Will: +7 (+1 Wis, +6) Skills: 156R = 39PP Acrobatics 13 (+19)SM Bluff 5 (+7) Climb 13 (+15)SM Computers 3 (+5) Concentration 4 (+5) Disable Device 13 (+16, +18 w/ masterwork tools)SM, SC Disguise 4 (+6) Escape Artist 13 (+19)SM Knowledge [Current Events] 3 (+5) Knowledge [Streetwise] 8 (+10) Knowledge [Tactics] 8 (+10) Language 2 (English [native], Italian, Spanish) Medicine 4 (+5) Notice 11 (+12)SM Perform [Dance] 8 (+10) Search 13 (+15)SM Sense Motive 5 (+6) Sleight of Hand 13 (+19)SM Stealth 13 (+19)SM, SC Feats: 43PP Acrobatic Bluff Attack Focus (Melee) 4 Attractive Blind-Fight Defensive Roll 1 Dodge Focus 2 Elusive Target Equipment 5 Evasion 2 Fast Task 2 (Feint, Trick) Grappling Finesse Hide in Plain Sight Improved Initiative 2 Improvised Tools Instant Up Luck 3 Master Plan 2 Move-By Action Power Attack Prone Fighting Second Chance 2 (Disable Device, Stealth) Skill Mastery 2 (Acrobatics, Climb, Disable Device, Escape Artist, Notice, Search, Sleight of Hand, Stealth) Sneak Attack Ultimate Effort (Stealth) Uncanny Dodge 2 (Auditory, VIsual) Redirect Equipment: 5 ranks = 25ep Binoculars [1ep] Climbing Equipment [1ep] Concealable Microphone [1ep] Knife [4ep] Masterwork Lockpicks [1ep] Medical Kit [1ep] Mini-Tracer [1ep] Night-Vision Goggles [1ep] Hideout [14ep] A forgotten and carefully-secured section of what was once an unfinished tower for high-class residents (now a mostly-empty home for squatters who don't want trouble); unremarkable and somewhat cramped, and nearly inaccessible from the outside without foreknowledge and the ability to teleport, it's home sweet home none the less. Toughness: 20 [3ep] Size: Tiny [-1ep] Features [12ep]: Communications Concealed 5 [DC +30] Fire Prevention System Gym Living Space Security System 3 [DC 30] Powers: 5+4+5 = 14PP Device 1 (5dp earbud; Flaws: Hard-to-Lose; Feats: Subtle) [5pp] Communication Link 4 (other earbuds; Feats: Subtle) [5dp] Device 1 (5dp collapsible staff; Flaws: Easy-to-Lose; Feats: Subtle) [4pp] Damage 2 (Feats: Extended Reach, Improved Trip, Mighty) [5dp] Teleport 3 (300'; Flaws: Short-Range; Feats: Change Direction, Turnabout) [5pp] Drawbacks: -0PP DC Block ATTACK RANGE SAVE EFFECT Unarmed Melee DC17 Toughness Damage (Staged) Knife Melee DC18 Toughness (19-20) Damage (Staged) Staff Melee +5' DC19 Toughness Damage (Staged) Totals: Abilities (34) + Combat (32) + Saving Throws (18) + Skills (39) + Feats (43) + Powers (14) - Drawbacks (0) = 180/208 Power Point