Search the Community

Here we go again with a group of three.

GM Madden's West Freedom, Freedom City, NJMonday, September 12th, 2016 6:00 PM Samantha Vance and Tona were enjoying a cozy dinner in one of the popular Madden franchise's. The cozy atmosphere, did nothing to hide a notable peculiarity from the pair. They were being watched. Every other patron in the restaurant gave subtle nonverbal tics that revealed themselves to be law enforcement, or possibly even military. The distinction was very thin. None had made any overt signs of aggression. In fact, up to this point the rest of the restaurant seemed content on letting the couple enjoy their meal.

For all the rolls that come up in this adventure.

June 27th, 2016 Freedom City, New Jersey Late Afternoon The 129 sat at the station, a humming silver bullet of sophistication and technology, energy gathering in its mighty electric engines as the passengers and luggage was loaded. In a car new the end of the train, Tona Baudin walked down one corridor, a bulky bag over her shoulder. For one she was glad that the world was built to a larger scale than she was. Otherwise, she would been walking down the hallway sideways, like so many other passengers who insisted on bringing bags with them, and that just looked uncomfortable. She trailed her hand along the wall, checking each metal plate in turn and keeping an eye out for one in particular. Finally she found it, nearly at the end of the car; she used a key and let herself in, once again finding that her small size made maneuvering in the tiny room easy. The archer stowed her bag quickly and sat next to the bright, wide window. She smiled at the woman across from her, reaching over and taking Sam’s hand in her own. “Thank you,” she said. “For all of…” She trailed off, twirling her free hand in the air to indicate the entire locomotive. Tona had some issues traveling by plane, and neither of them wanted to drive all the way to Miami, and a ship would take even longer; which left only a few options. She was just grateful her girlfriend could afford it all, and that Sam had agreed to take the slow route. “I’m happy you’re not going out on your own, this time.”

Freedom City January 2nd, 2016 Later Afternoon Sometimes Tona Baudin regretted working just below where she lived. After a long day at work, she didn’t have to walk several blocks or ride a bus to get home; all she had to do was walk up a set of stairs. It was convenient, but it meant that she had no time to decompress and process what had happened during the day. After work she was immediately at home and had to deal with things there. So she was already figuring how her evening when she walked through the door and saw her smartphone on the kitchen table, blinking. She didn’t reach down to feel where it normally was, since she had obviously forgotten it this morning; instead she just crossed over quickly and checked her messages. Tona’s heart skipped a beat when she saw that her phone was full of messages from Sam’s number, but her mood soured when the first few messages revealed that they were from Miss Vance, Sam’s benefactor. Vance’s texts were short and to the point, letting Tona know that she was invited to dinner at Chicago with Vance and Sam. In fact, Vance was going to show up with a car at… The young woman glanced up to double-check the time and confirmed that she had about ten minutes before Miss Vance’s car arrived to pick her up. She didn’t have much time, but Tona still managed to waver over which shirt to wear and grab a few essentials. She was outside the store, wearing a green hoodie and carrying a small bag, when the cab pulled up.

December 17, 2014. The West End, Silverman’s Books. Unknown Parallel Earth. Unknown amount of time after sunset. The books were getting a little dusty. Wynn Epstein hadn’t been inside in a few months, since the rebellion’s last gasp took a few employees…off the payroll. But today she was back, and cleaning up. New glass windows to replace the boarded up and broken ones. In the morning, a few new eager employees from Claremont would be by to help out, and best of all, a Carson security robot was schedules for delivery to keep things orderly. Everything was going to go just fine, and soon enough, the store would reopen. That was the plan. Meanwhile, Cerwyn Pefr was chasing down a thief. Yes, the world was largely peaceful and crime-free since the rebellion had been put down, but crime didn’t just magically go away. Heh, magically. The thief was fast. No. She was a teleporter. Moving from shadow to shadow. He touched his commlink. “Kit, it’s Blod. Can you catch this one? I’m having some trouble here. Seems she’s a teleporter.†Christina Vance, alias Kit, rolled her eyes. “She’s not a ‘porter. Just faster than eyes. I’ll get her.†Chris wasn’t what anyone would call subtle about it, either. A massive ball of fire flashed past the thief, stopping her short. She glanced around for a hiding spot-and found a store with the lights still on. She bolted inside, never bothering to notice that the fireball didn’t actually damage anything. In fact, there wasn’t even a wisp of smoke to prove it was ever there. Blod frowned. “You call that getting her?†He jogged up near the store, stepped into a shadow, and vanished from sight. “The freshmen can do better.†Kit popped out of the shadow next to him. She towered over the diminuative Welsh boy. “She’s off the street, isn’t she?†Inside the shop, Wynn was quite surprised by her guest’s sudden appearance. “I’m sorry, but we’re not open yet. Try again in a week?†This young woman was an archer, judging by the bow on her back. And, as Lynn abruptly learned as she stepped up to Wynn in the blink of an eyes, she was very fast. “I’m sorry. There’s a couple of people after me. They’ve got bad intentions and I’m not anywhere near invulnerable, so I’ve been on the run for a bit. Can I hide out for a few minutes?†Wynn was prepared to tell her to leave now, please…but on closer examination she bore a striking resemblance to one of her lost employees. Her heartstrings twinged, and she sighed. “All right. Bathroom’s in the back. Water…should work.†But before either of them could do anything else, Blod and Kit burst into the store. The young woman tossed a glance that screamed “HELP!†in Wynn’s direction. The timid young woman refused to lose her dear employee a second time, and she activated her fae magic. Blod and Kit had no choice but to defend themselves. Magic twisted, clashed, and surprisingly melded. There was a brilliant flash of light, and the store was empty. December 17, 2014. The West End, Silberman’s Books. Earth Prime. 7:43 PM. Cerys Pefr was taking Lynn Epstein’s offer of visiting the store. The Welsh girl and the fairy were having one of the most disjointed conversations of all time when the store was abruptly illuminated by a bright light and four people tumbled out of the air and onto the floor. The lone male of the group grumbled in a familiar accent to Cerys.“Gods curse it, Toni. You couldn’t just give me back my vid, could you?†The boy could almost be from Wales, but something was slightly off. “Now, again. We’re in another dimension, again. We’re gonna have to figure out where we are so Kit can port us back. Again.†For the parts of Tona Baudlin and Samantha Vance, the two lovebirds were enjoying a night in, when the hubbub distracted them from their activities. Specifically, Robin Hood: Men in Tights (along with a few other choice Mel Brooks movies) and a truly ridiculous amount of snacks. A certain mutual acquaintance had recommended the man’s work, and well…so far, so good.

Well, you all know what this is for.

In Chicago, Sam paces her bedroom, circling her bed with the nervous energy of a caged tiger. She'd had an ear to the ground for years, waiting for this day. And now... Three letters. Three independent sources. Three clues, all pointing the same way. Dammit, why now? Not that later would be any better. Gotta go, gotta get to... but there's so much going on right now. To drop everything... But... She stops, and sighs. She may not like it, but the decision is obvious. She looks out her window to the vast, snow-covered lawn and sighs. A thief must always be ready to pack up and move. She's gathered too many attachments. This is not a mistake, but it has a price. Time to pay up. She pulls out a phone and sends her girlfriend a text, actually using proper grammar. "Hey, Tona. Something came up. We need to talk. It's important. Mind making sure there's space in the broom closet? -Sam" This is going to suck.

OOC for >this thread

GM Leaf Fields Inc. Hanover, Freedom City New Jersey Monday, June 23, 2014 8:48 PM Leaf Fields Inc was far from an industry leader in any field. With the only real significant technological advancements they have made being found on television ads. The sheer number of products that LFI was able to engineer had at least made their profit margins very profitable. Then came their first real breakthrough. The Gravimatrix armor. A power armor that was designed to allow the wearer to manipulate gravitons to control the force of gravity within a limited radius around the suit. The potential applications were numerous. LFI would have been put on the map. If only the suit hadn't been stolen two weeks ago. There wasn't a single shred of evidence of whom the thief was. And they had made sure to completely wreck the R&D lab in the process of stealing the suit. The Freedom City police were on the case of course. Ever vigilant in their search. But, no one had so much as found a breadcrumb leading back to the robber. Then the robberies started. Several members of Freedom City's morally questionable yet sufficiently affluent elite found their homes broken into. The signs of a tremendous force ripping even the most tremendous safe apart as if it were thin sheets of paper. Anything stolen could not be reported to the police, thanks to the legal ramifications that the owners would face. Those with the right ear to the ground noticed a sudden influx of anonymous donations to the Freedom City orphanages and various charities after every robbery. The LFI only focused on the fact that they could easily recognized the signs of their own technology at work. With the police at a dead end, they began to seek assistance elsewhere. Letting it be known through more unsavory elements that they were willing to pay for the return of their suit. Whereas, those whom had the insult of being stolen from had more ruthless intention. Going so far as to hire out criminal elements to eliminate the thief and any competition in the pursuit of recovering all their profits and sending a message. The situation soon became hard for AEGIS to ignore tasking a field agent on to the case. Samantha Vance, otherwise known as Kit, had found out. And Nevermore had come upon the knowledge while making a grown man realize the forgotten sensation of pure terror from several stories above the pavement.

The West End, Freedom City, New Jersey Monday, December 8th, 2013 5:16 PM The cool Winter breeze did nothing to slow down the liveliness in the West End. The spiritual epicenter of Freedom City had a penchant for celebration that was not to be taken lightly. Today in particular the streets were filled to the brim with exquisite wooden floats in celebration of Bodhi Day, also known as the Day of Enlightenment or Vesak in which Buddha experienced spiritual enlightenment. The community welcomed any and all to come and participate in the celebration. There were stands as far as the eye could see with vendors marketing exotic foods an trinkets. On the floats performance artists could be seen wowing the crowd with their various talents. Including some mystics whom had prepared a spell for a firework like display to light up the streets without leaving any residue. There were various pamphlets being passed abound to educate people in the meaning of the celebration while wishing upon them good fortune. All in all it was to be a joyous party. Or at least that was the scene before everything turned to utter chaos. An orange float shaped like a demonic looking cat had suddenly joined the parade. Laughing mischieviously with a cheshire grin plastered on its face, the cat would begin to grow exponentially in size before finally popping like a balloon. Goo had covered every inch of the scene with the unfortunate onlookers drenched in the monster's gooey insides. Including the two unfortunate teenage heroines whom had found themselves at the scene.

OOC for >this thread.

A Plateau in South America Friday, February 7, 2014 Giang Trang stood near the edge of a rocky plateau, looking out over a vast stretch of jungle down below. A few exotic birds could be seen flying up over the jungle canopy, and similar bird calls could be heard from the jungle trees up on the plateau as well. It was just over a year ago that the Asian teen had first stood here, waiting for Zandar, the jungle lord of the Lost World. The attractive Asian teen was dressed almost exactly as she had been during that last trip, in a dark blue cami top, over which she had a dark khaki long-sleeved shirt, which was currently unbuttoned and had the sleeves rolled up to just below her elbows in the humid jungle heat. She had on a pair of olive cargo shorts, and a pair of hiking boots, which had been brand new a year ago, but were now well worn, having gone through the Lost World once, as well as a trip to Africa. A backpack sat on the ground near one of her feet, filled with some changes of clothing and some other survival gear. Giang turned back to look at the others gathered on the plateau with her, her expression calm and serene. During the last trip, she had been the newcomer, having not even been at Claremont Academy a week. Now, the eighteen year old was the senior student for the trip, at least in terms of age and grade level. Samantha Vance was the next oldest of the group, and had actually been at Claremont longer than Giang. She was also the member of the group Giang knew best, but even then it was mainly through their mutual friendships with Mali, Cerys and Tona. The other three gathered students were some of the newest to Claremont, Cho Paige Lee, Juno Dempsey and Eugene King. While Giang had seen Juno and Gene around campus, Cho was the only one she really had had much in the way of interaction with before now. Of course, trips such as this made a good opportunity to learn more about her fellow students. "It should not be long before our guide arrives." She stated to break the silence.

Silberman's Books. Saturday, October 25th, 2014. 5:01 pm Kiki, assistant manager extraordinaire, escorted the last customers out the front door, and then thankfully locked it; with her best friend and boss Lynn 'Grimalkin' Epstein being so focused on her big charity haunted house on Pier 13, most of the day-to-day operations of the store were resting firmly on her shoulders until after the 31st, and to be honest it was exhausting. When Lynn had mentioned closing early for an office Halloween party, Kiki surprised even herself with her excitement at the idea. "The customers, they are no more." That would be Gretchen on the intercom. Kiki adjusted her artistically-damaged thrift shop jacket and primly marched to the middle of the sales floor; she'd decided to go with a scarecrow for her costume, primarily because it was cheap and would allow her to wear a hat. "Boys and girls, we are closed; let the party begin!" There were whoops of delight, and Gretchen started up her new playlist, which started with a special spooky remix of 'Everybody (Backstreet's Back)' she'd put together. Lance the barista, dressed as one of the zombie football players from Beetlejuice, was serving up punch behind the bar. "Hey, where's Boss Lady? I thought this whole thing was her idea?" Kiki rolled her eyes as she scratched at the straw poking out of her sleeves. "I think she's working on a dramatic entrance..." She indicated the door to the owners' office with a nod; there was a strange mist creeping out from under the door...

GM Private Plane en route to New Freedom (Half an hour away) Saturday, June 07, 2014 6:18 PM Even before the school year ended, rumors had been flowing around the Claremont campus that Headmaster Summers had been growing increasingly sour. A few students had even mentioned seeing him speaking less than cordially with a woman inside of his office. But as all the rumors related to Headmaster Summers the truth was shrouded in mystery. Then the volunteer forms appeared inside of the dorm rooms, of a select number of the student body. Giving students the opportunity to represent their school in an interschool competition. With the reward for participation being quote as field experience, extra credit [pre-emptively guaranteed for any who would be graduating before the summer came], and a free vacation. The catch? The opposing school was New Freedom's Academy for Exemplary Individuals. Getting students excited to visit New Freedom was no easy endeavor. It was made clear to those whom had been sent the invites that ultimately no one was forced to volunteer. Five students were ultimately picked from those that expressed their interest. Devin Yeager, or Coach as he expressedly wished to be called, was the only member of the faculty whom had chosen to accompany the student competitors. Not counting Headmaster Summers of course. Once the agreed upon came to pass the Claremont students were taken to a private jet in the middle of the evening so as to arrive at their destination in style.

This is the OOC for >this thread.

It was a brand-new day in every conceivable use of the word. The sun had risen barely an hour earlier, but Tona Baudin had worked hard the other day, saving her entire homeplanet, and so she had celebrated by sleeping in for a time. Of course, there was even more work to do this morning, and a lot of special people to visit. One person in particular had been her priority. Tona walked through the front door of the infirmary carrying a large mixing bowl, covered with a dish towel, lovely smells drifting out from under it as the girl's movements caused it to flutter in the breezes. She hummed a light, tuneless song to herself as she checked the various beds, until she found the one containing a slim redhead still curled in sleep. Tona set the bowl down on the nightstand next to the bed and crouched down so that her head was level with Sam's. She watched her girlfriend slumber, marveling at the look of peace on her face. Just yesterday this (beautiful, brave, clever) girl had teleported a few thousand people many miles out of danger, and it had cost her mightily. But looking at her now, Tona couldn't imagine that there was anything wrong with her, anything wrong with the entire world. She reached out and brushed Sam's hair back, resting her hand on the other woman's cheek. "Bonjour," she said softly, not wanting to disturb the rest of the patients in the infirmary. "Time to wake up, mon amour."

OOC for >this thread.

GM The Gateway, the Nucleus, Goodman Building, 1961 40th. Avenue, Midtown, Freedom City, United States of America, North America, Earth, the Solar System, Milky Way Galaxy, Earth-Prime. 10.47 AM, March 17th, Monday, 2014. The silence had grown almost unbearable as Maximus and Tesla Atom prepared the circular arch placed on raised steps in the center of the starkly-lit room. Hands tapped out short commands on the aged yet ruthlessly advanced control panels on either side as power thrummed through the portal, a kaleidoscopic miasma of shifting colors and shapes revolving in the center as dimensional energies were harnessed for a journey to the uttermost depth of the omniverse. While the the older siblings did their work, Victoria and Chase watched the bulky readout monitors beside them, once or twice calling out a word that touched faintly the edges of the visiting teen's scientific knowledge. Cosmo had a job as well, the blue primate flashing from shoulder to shoulder as he searched carefully for errant insects suck in unwieldy human hair. The destination for the four young superheroines was felt long before it was seen. A prickling across the skin, a sense of rawness in the air and a growing sense of something horrible drawing nearer had gone on for agonizing minutes before- "Got it," Tesla Atom's voice rang out suddenly, a hint of satisfaction behind the steely words as she swept her hand across a quartet of buttons, green energy flowing from her fingers to keep the triggers down, "incoming door locked." she looked up, ponytail bouncing against her neck as she quickly checked on her brother "Max?" "Everything's fine, Tess. Outgoing door just locked, no problems." The older Atom answered with a momentary glance to her. Maximus briefly flickered and passed wraith-like through the panel, solidified enough to check an errant power cable, give it a cautious nudge, and then drifted back to his station with a a relieved smile. It soon vanished though, replaced by a deep frown. "Stand by, Terminus Tunnel opening...now!" And with that, the mouth opened. Air rushed through the Gateway, a deep howling that had begun as the last word fell rose to a deep thunder, and the room trembled as a roiling whirlpool of red and white gaped before the four heroines and four Atoms. Cosmo screamed and vanished in a flash of light to reappear trembling on a rafter, and for a moment nobody said anything more, until Chase stepped over to the visitors. Regarding them with his earnest, penetrating eyes, he said in a quiet voice that cut through the howling wind "We'll shut the outgoing door the moment we know you're through, but like we said earlier, just trigger the Passport," a small metal box sheathed in a faint yellow aura slid out of his pocket and floated over to Blue Jay, "and Max and Tess will reposition the passage to Sanctuary. We will transport you and anyone you can save out of the Terminus. I guess you'll want a 'good luck'. I wish you success." he gave a stiff nod and retreated to Tesla's station. Victoria gave the foursome an encouraging grin "Don't worry, Chase, it's not like they're racing in to beat up Shady Ironpants or anything, just a quick and quiet trip there, Tona grabs her people, they get back, yadda yadda, everything's gonna be fine." Reaching up to the ceiling with an elastic arm, she gently scratched the family Moon Monkey behind his ears "Sucks we're not coming with, I want to meet this 'Steam General' jerk and show him my new Atom Punch! But this is your gig, we'll stay put unless you need us." Miming a boxing motion she turned her legs into a stool and sat with Cosmo on her lap, stroking him gently from long practice. Tesla smiled a little "What Vicky said. Keep in touch, and good luck. I'm sorry we can't go with you. Could be there's someone we know trapped in there too." The maw of the Terminus Tunnel never ceased its seething, its flickering blood-bone colors giving the sere room an ugly feel.

GM J.P. Morgan & Chase Bank, Mcullough-Adams, Bayview, Freedom City July 2nd, Wednesday, 2.45 PM, 2014 The day had begun like most others on a summer day on the American east coast. For Freedom City it had been even more mundane than usual, everything that made the city such a dazzling gem of multi-faceted weirdness lying low as the sun beat down. As the day had veered into afternoon, hopes had slowly strengthened that maybe today, today nothing would happen. The bank tellers at Bayview's biggest Chase branch had begun to relax, smiling in relief as the hours ticked down to closing. They were cheerfully helping the last trickles of patrons before the big late-afternoon rush, chatting idly with each other when the burning men crashed through the roof, landing on the floor in a stream of flaming wreckage. One, covered in something like an astronaut's ">suit but red and emblazoned with a yellow lizard on the shoulders and chest, pointed a square black thing vaguely shaped like a gun at the tellers. "Out." his voice was soft as it crackled over a radio, but icily compelling "Now." "You heard him, gents!" sang out another of the gang, similarly-suited but weaponless save for a flickering heatwave around her "That insurance money won't steal itself! And we don't wanna hurt you, but-" a wave of heat slammed into one of the steel walls as she gestured carelessly with a hand, melting a hole clean through it "-we sure won't cry if we have to!" The other two were silent, the stocky one in a black suit opening their helmet to release a cloud of smoke that drifted up to the ceiling, starting the fire alarms' screaming wail. The last, a spindly figure in vivid yellow, snapped their fingers. To the terrified eyes of the tellers, guards, and patrons, flames seemed to leap from the floor, heading straight for them! From outside things weren't much better. A comet seemed to flash out of the sky and hit the bank, the fire alarms went off and the people inside came charging out, screaming and frantically beating at themselves. It was the kind of sight that made every nearby Freedonian look reflexively up at the sky, and wonder why, just why it always happened here...

OOC thread, for resolutions and discussion, this thread. Playing with fire, playing with lives.

Outside Silberman's Books, the corner of Pratt and Frederick. Monday, August 4th, 2014. 9:58 am Sitting on the stoop in front of her shop, Lynn checked the time on her smartphone again; whoever these girls were, they were far from late, but she really just wanted to get this over with as soon as possible. Her ad had introduced the store owner and future landlady to a broad spectrum of Freedom's citizens, and she was being to feel discouraged. She was basically inviting someone to move into her house, so yes, she was being rather picky, but so far...eyugh. The Poodle Twins. Mr. and Mrs. Bowling Shirt. Patchouli Pete and his Amazing Jacket of Many Smells. I just want some who's more or less normal but still interesting; is that so much to ask? Or have I turned into an old fart? Lynn had on her favorite style of sunglasses, big clunky plastic things from a time gone by, a faded Willy Wonka t-shirt, boot-cut jeans and a pair of light hiking boots; her hair was in a practical ponytail and she fiddled with the ring that hung around her neck.

January 12, 2014 Stone Stadium Freedom City College It's halftime, and the Harlem Globetrotters are in fine form. They've packed Wading Way Arena to nearly two-thirds of its 10,000 seat capacity and have held the crowd's attention with their trademark brand of basketball shenanigans and good fundamentals. Freedom City appreciates people in funny costumes with fantastic abilities, and between the cartwheels that scored that last three-point shot and the backflip slamdunk, the Globetrotters have the crowd eating out of the palm of their collective hand. Will they come from behind and make up their current two-point deficit against the hated Washington Generals? The crowd certainly hopes so! But it's half-time now, time for a bathroom or stretch break, or perhaps to make your way to the famously overflowing concession stand. Freedom City College has always been particularly international in its cuisine, and whether or not it's true that the concession stand's manager Maurice is really an alien, his hotdogs really are 'out of this world'! The crowd is happy, the game is going great - It's a good day to be alive.

June 10th, Chicago, Illinois. GM The plan was simple. Mr. Landis organized some of the kids from the last trip, though this one was less involved in showing the woods and general survival tips (though the two students who demonstrated skill in the outdoors was a small bit of surprise). So this time it was a shift to an urban environment. Specifically his old stomping grounds given that he went to college at Northwestern. And since it was the end of the term, it made things even easier. Plus, cheating thanks to Sam's ability to teleport. Though the first day was largely getting the everyone there, and settled in the hotel, plus some Chicago style stuffed crust pizza. Today was a bit more of the tourist thing. "Alright everyone, today we are going to the Museum Campus on the lake, so we should be able to see three museums, give or take how fast we feel like going. Also, no one is allowed to replicate anything from Ferris Bueller's Day Off, andTona? No riding on top of the L, unless absolutely necessary." Said as he hustled the herd of kids up to the train, as otherwise it was a several mile trek out to the museums, instead of a cozy walk.

August 24th, 2013 10:03 AM Freedom City Tona Baudin was caught in the horns of a dilemma. "I want something that flows," she said, staring down at the magazine in her hands. "I want something that would billow and can present a larger target, you know?" She showed the magazine to Sam Vance, the girl sitting next to her on the rail car. "Like these ladies are wearing." The periodical wasn't what Tona usually read. Flight of Fashion chronicled fashion designs based off superhero costumes; most of the pieces had one or two dominant colors, and fit close to the body. The pages Tona was looking at were showing off tall, slim models wearing longcoats. Each was in the act of turning, the tails of their coats fanning out dramatically. "Something like that," she said, pointing at the coats. "That's what I want to find at the mall."