ic The Obsidian Prison: The Petty Tyrant

[Lone_Star]

"...pork?" El asked, not understanding the reference. "Whatever you say, Leon." This time period is so weird!

 

El nodded in agreement. What he said made sense - El would not have recognized the building had she visited it in her timeline, so she trusted his judgement. Besides, she was not going to be the one to say that she didn't know where they were going. She assumed that the Ex-Prisoner would have some sort of...trail of destruction left in his wake.

 

"I see your powers of porcine detection have worked again, Leon. But I do not understand what pigs have to do with the sheriff's office? Please explain this to me later."

 

 

Edited June 16, 2021 by Lone_Star

[secondling]

GM

 

The teens traveled through the streets of Rodney, which are surprisingly empty for this time of day - apparently, the tyrant's hand was heavy enough that people weren't really willing to come out of their homes. As they go, they passed by several police cars driving past them - towards where they had left the car behind. Continuing their journey, the heroes came across more and more signs that Ex-Prisoner had been practicing his powers - obsidian spikes are increasingly commonplace "decorations" on storefronts and streets. They even saw a few people sealed in vast chunks of the same material, their expressions frozen in horror.

[Spacefurry]

Leon thought he was going to choke for a moment as he bit back the laugh at El’s unintentional, straightman delivery.

“I will be happy to explain it later.” He managed as the trio continued along the nearly empty streets. Several times cop cars passed them and Leon wanted to spit on them, but he kept his saliva to himself. His good humor quickly soured further as they began to come across victims of this ‘Ex-Prisoner’ character.

He pauses for a moment, getting as close as he dared to one of the mineral-prisons, staring deep into it at the poor soul trapped within.

“Think they’re... dead?” He asked in a solemn tone neither girl would probably associate with the normally light-hearted and joking, goof-off. 

[Lone_Star]

Elena froze in horror. How could someone do this - subject someone to such a fate? Her blood boiled, and she had to stop herself from simply trying to rip the obsidian chunks apart, and pulling the person out. But she knew it wouldn't be a good idea, especially with how she didn't know exactly what it would do to the person inside. Still, such cruelty must be punished. She gripped her fist, keeping her anger in check, though her knuckles turned white with the effort.

 

"I don't know, Leon. This is surely the work of the Ex-Prisoner, but I wish there was something we could do. Any ideas?"

Edited June 21, 2021 by Lone_Star

[secondling]

GM

 

The sirens, which had been fading, slowly began to become louder once more. The teens' car had likely been discovered, along with the signs that they had passed through the guarded entryway without much trouble. It sounded like the patrol cars were now out looking for them.

[Kaede Kimura]

Muirne gulped as she looked over the frozen men and Leon asked if they were alive. She licked her lips despite her mouth having gone dry before speaking up. "It's hard to say, but depending on how long they've been in there and how fast they got trapped they could be. The longer it's been and the longer it took the more likely it is that they're dead." Her throat worked as she contemplated trying to get them out, but before she could say any more the sirens started getting louder.

Let me out. I want to tear this Ex-Prisoner apart.

 

So do I. For now sit back, I need to help Leon and El. After we find him... Who knows.

 

Her voice was hard and cold as flint when she spoke again, quietly to avoid notifying anyone outside the group. "Let's keep moving. Ic behéfðu oþ bréotan þæt eoten¹."

 

 

¹ I want to kill that bastard

[Spacefurry]

Leon frowned, but it was quickly replaced with a look of determination.

“Muirne’s right. We keep moving and find this psycho. Then, we bring him and his lackeys down.”

He stepped back from the obsidian prison and turned in the direction of the station again.

“It can’t be too much further.”

He commented, half lost in thought.

“If he’s not there, I guess we can let El knock some heads until they tell us where he is.”

[Lone_Star]

El cracked her neck, then her knuckles. She was determined to take the Ex-Prisoner down - anyone who could exhibit such casual cruelty needed to be put away for a long, long time.

 

"I agree. And believe me, I'm more than willing to 'knock some heads' of those who work with this monster. Let's forge onward, and if they catch up with us, then so be it."

 

She had never faced such evil before, but she was ready for a fight. She pulled her grav-hammer from the sling on her back, and held it close to her. Just in case someone tried to ambush them. She then continued on with her friends, ready for the battle ahead.

[secondling]

GM

Having firmed their resolve, the teens moved onwards to the police station. Once they arrived, however, they found things might be a bit harder to deal with than they'd anticipated. First, there were several armed guards immediately obvious, just from the outside of the front of the building - they wore SWAT armor and held the heavier weaponry associated with that group.

 

Meanwhile, the first floor windows were encased in shells similar to the ones that had entrapped so many along their way there. Breaking those would probably be harder (and louder) than breaking the windows. Worst of all, there were signs of movement inside the building - probably guards, but possibly civilians - and thus, potential hostages.

[Lone_Star]

El wanted to knock some heads in, badly. This was her element - overwhelming odds, outnumbered, and with little chance of success. But there were other factors that had to be considered, like who those people were in the building. This is what makes a hero - what you do when the odds are against you. Just take a deep breath, El. Going in head-first isn't going to be the way to solve this.

 

"So, what's our plan here? Is there a way we can enter the building other than the front door - perhaps through a roof access? Hopefully the Ex-Prisoner doesn't have guards up there, too."

 

She grinned. Maybe going in head-first doesn't have to be such a bad idea. "Perhaps I can distract the guards?"

[Spacefurry]

Leon eyed the building, noting the obsidian covering the lower windows.  He didn’t like all the armed men he saw moving around.

He shook his head at El. “We need to be sneaky until we get inside. Normally I’d say we look for a fire exit or garage door. But this time I think we need to scout ahead.”

Reaching into his jacket he holds a hand out of the girls. “Let me see one of your phones.”

Pulling his own out he accepts lone of the other’s. Using their phone he video calls his own and hands it back. “Hold on to this for a minute. I use to use this trick with my siblings when we, ah, worked a job.” He admitted as he pull paper from his back pack. Wrapping it around the phone he tossed it lightly into the air. With a quiet rustle of paper the ball of paper unfurled into a paper bird that flew off towards the second floor of the police station.

On the phone the girls had they could see the video from the camera on Leon’s phone as it moved to look inside, window by window. 

[Kaede Kimura]

Muirne handed her phone over to Leon without hesitation, trying hard to keep in physical contact with the pair despite needing a hand. "I do like the idea of just charging in and beating all of them up, but I'm not sure if they have ways to run away." 

 

And we don't want them to. Aoife provided unnecessarily.

 

"If Le- Paper finds an escape route, we should make sure to block it off. I have some abilities that are good for stopping large numbers of people if we need to take on lots of them. What about you two?" She hadn't seen either of them fight much, and never against large groups as far as she knew. As much as her being sang for blood, she knew that the smart thing to do would be to make sure they were all on the same page ability-wise.

[Lone_Star]

On 7/7/2021 at 2:27 PM, Spacefurry said:

Leon eyed the building, noting the obsidian covering the lower windows.  He didn’t like all the armed men he saw moving around.

He shook his head at El. “We need to be sneaky until we get inside. Normally I’d say we look for a fire exit or garage door. But this time I think we need to scout ahead.”

Reaching into his jacket he holds a hand out of the girls. “Let me see one of your phones.”

Pulling his own out he accepts lone of the other’s. Using their phone he video calls his own and hands it back. “Hold on to this for a minute. I use to use this trick with my siblings when we, ah, worked a job.” He admitted as he pull paper from his back pack. Wrapping it around the phone he tossed it lightly into the air. With a quiet rustle of paper the ball of paper unfurled into a paper bird that flew off towards the second floor of the police station.

On the phone the girls had they could see the video from the camera on Leon’s phone as it moved to look inside, window by window. 

 

"Unfortunately, I do not have a phone at the moment," El said, somewhat embarassed. Everyone at Claremont had their own phone, everyone, it seemed, except for her. Hopefully Danica could help facilitate that transaction. Luckily, Muirne had one, and gave it to Leon. As she watched him use the phone as an improptu drone, she whistled. "That is quite a neat trick. How exactly did you use that to work your job?"

 

19 minutes ago, Kaede Kimura said:

Muirne handed her phone over to Leon without hesitation, trying hard to keep in physical contact with the pair despite needing a hand. "I do like the idea of just charging in and beating all of them up, but I'm not sure if they have ways to run away." 

 

And we don't want them to. Aoife provided unnecessarily.

 

"If Le- Paper finds an escape route, we should make sure to block it off. I have some abilities that are good for stopping large numbers of people if we need to take on lots of them. What about you two?" She hadn't seen either of them fight much, and never against large groups as far as she knew. As much as her being sang for blood, she knew that the smart thing to do would be to make sure they were all on the same page ability-wise.

 

"I think that sounds like a good idea, Muirne. If they have nowhere to run, they'll have to go through us. I have a few abilities myself that can handle large groups of people, and can back you up on that. Leon - I mean - Paper, can you sneak inside while we cause a distraction?"

 

She felt more confident now that there was some semblance of a plan. Her natural instinct to tackle a problem head-on was temporarily abated, though she still itched for a fight. Maybe this would be the best of both worlds, and it seemed to work well with their abilities.

[Spacefurry]

Leon thanked Muirne as he watched the screen on her phone. He gave her an an approving nod when she switch to calling him Paper. Code names from here on would be a smart move.

He gave El a quick glance when she mentioned not having a phone of her own. “Need to get you one when we get back.”

When she asked about his old job he gave her a mischievous grin and turned his attention back to the video. “I‘ll tell you later. Just add it to the list.” He chuckled as he watched.

He looked for hostiles and hostages as his paper bird continued its circuit of the exterior windows.

 

14 hours ago, Lone_Star said:

"I think that sounds like a good idea, Muirne. If they have nowhere to run, they'll have to go through us. I have a few abilities myself that can handle large groups of people, and can back you up on that. Leon - I mean - Paper, can you sneak inside while we cause a distraction?"

 

Paper thinks about it for a moment as he watches the video, then nods.

“Ya, I think I can.” He looks between the girls. “If you two are sure you want to draw their attention.”

“And Shadowborne’s right, hero names from here on.” He adds as he has his paper bird crests the roof on its final leg around the building, just to get a peek up there. 

[secondling]

GM

 

Leon's phone showed the outside of the police station's second floor, the viewpoint floating from one window to the next. Within, the teens saw a few police officers, still dressed in uniform (albeit with somewhat sloppier formality than the usual fare). Several of them wore uniforms that were different - marked with the word SWAT. In one room the camera revealed a mixture of a dozen-odd uniformed police along with people in casual clothing - civilians, by the looks of them, given their lack of weapons, but it's possible they were complicit in the takeover of the town.

 

Throughout the whole building, the teens could see more than a dozen spikes of the obsidian-like growths across the rooms. Around the back, there were about three windows covered by the stuff, blocking vision in or out. Fortunately, they did spy an exit out the back - probably intended for emergencies.

[Lone_Star]

"Think we can get the bad guys out here?" El asked Muirne. "I'm ready to start this distraction whenever you are. Paper, if you sneak in the back while everyone's out here fighting us, you should be able to rescue any hostages hidden away. I would check the cells first. If you need us, or if you find the Ex-Prisoner in there, do not engage by yourself. Call Shadowborne, and find somewhere to hide."

 

She grinned widely, taking a few practice swings with her hammer. She was more than ready for some combat!

Edited July 13, 2021 by Lone_Star

[Spacefurry]

Paper  nodded at Outrider and looked at Muirne giving her a nod as well.

“Watch the screen, I’ll signal you.”

He slipped away from the girls and circled around to the back of building, the girls could watch him as his paper bird/phone followed him.

 

At the rear exit he eyed the door carefully. Pulling a few pieces of paper from his hip sheath and approached it. They could see him probing the door gaps for a few moments.

Edited July 16, 2021 by Spacefurry

[secondling]

GM

 

Paper moved forwards, around the back of the police station. After jumping over a fence, circling around a guard, and ducking under a low-hanging fire-escape, he arrived. Taking a quick look at the door, he noticed that several things would bar his progress forwards - first, the door was locked. Second, it looked like a fire door, which might set off an alarm if it was opened carelessly. Third and finally, he was pretty sure he could see some sort of wire on the inside, which might be a trap.

 

Thus, the young ex-thief carefully began the task of disabling what he can. The lock was first, and he picked it easily - it had no chance against his skills. Next, the trap - slipping a piece of paper beneath the door, he carefully wrapped it tightly around the wire before yanking on it. The wire snapped, propelling a spike of obsidian to thunk into the door at head height.

 

Finally, the alarm - and that was easy. He slid a piece of paper between the door and its frame, where the latch was. Keeping the paper pressed against the frame - and thus, the pressure on the alarm trigger - he pulled the door open and was inside. Looking around, he found himself in a stairwell, with one flight of stairs heading upwards, and another door leading deeper into the hallways of the station.

[Spacefurry]

Paper was grinning nearly ear to ear as he, step by step, worked his way through the door’s security measures. He hadn’t felt this comfortable and confident in some time, like riding a bike. He was sure Pan would would give him a side-eye for feeling this excited about breaking and entering, but he didn’t care. His siblings would’ve appreciated his skill.

“Just like the old days.” He whispered to himself.  Nevermind that the ‘old days’ were only about a year ago.

When he finally cracked open the door to silence had smiled. The paper bird carrying his phone came down beside him and he looked at it, giving the girls a nod and thumps up to go ahead. With that he slipped inside quiet as a mouse.

 

Paper glanced up the stairs, listening. Satisfied he was alone in the stairwell he crept up to the door and listened at it. Holding cells are normally on the first floor or basement if the building had one. But, offices and interrogation rooms tended to be on the upper floors

“If they were smart, they’d have stripped anyone they didn’t trust of phones and weapons, then locked them up. Cells would be the obvious choice.” He whispered to himself again.

“Unless they were just encased like those people on the street.” He thought grimly, but shook his head. Couldn’t let himself start thinking like that. He cracked the door and peeked out into the hall.

“With the windows covered, hopefully they’ll think they’re secure and the first floor won’t be as well guarded.” He thought as he looked around and slipped out of the stairwell.

[Lone_Star]

El looked at Muirne, and grinned, patting her on the back. "I hope you're ready. This may get a little intense. But I know we've got each other's backs. So let's do this."

 

She charged her grav-hammer with energy, and smashed it against the ground, hard. It cracked the pavement. Then she smashed it again, and again, trying to make as much noise as possible. She nodded with satisfaction, then shouted: "Hey, Ex-Prisoner! Think you're tough enough to fight two teenage girls? Come on out and face us, if you think you're tough enough! Don't keep us waiting!

 

There, that sound do it, she thought. Whose reputation would be able to survive being scared of teenagers? He will surely face us head on.

 

 

[Kaede Kimura]

Muirne glared up at the building as she let the invisibility fade from herself and El, her shadows forming a corona of darkness and cold around herself. She grinned viciously to herself as she looked up at the building. "Let's bring him down."

 

She tried to suppress laughter as El bellowed out her challenge, as the darkness coalesced around her. "What do you say to some darkness, Outrider? Blind all the guys in there, give Paper some cover, and then if they don't come out we kick in the door and hunt them down?"

[secondling]

GM

Five people rush out of the front of the police station - two in the uniform of the local police force, and two wearing less formal, if thick clothing. All five hold pistols. "Who the hell are you all? Throw down your weapons before we're forced to shoot!" One of the officers shouts.

 

One of the grunts, a woman with short-shorn blond hair, lifts her pistol, prepared to fire at the teens.

Edited August 25, 2021 by secondling

[Kaede Kimura]

Shadowborne

 

Muirne suppressed a laugh at the demand to drop their weapons as they pointed guns at them. Grinning wryly she turned to her friend, "Oh no, Outrider! Whatever shall we do!? They have guns!" Upon the final word she released a wave of her darkness, imposing the shadows and cold of the Schattenwelt onto the world around her. She quickly stepped to the side to avoid any panicked gunfire. She looked towards the gunmen, tightening her grasp on her spear. She hoped that El and Leon weren't too bothered by the darkness. Or the cold for that matter, but she was willing to bet that it was at least a good distraction for Leon.

[Lone_Star]

El grinned back, and picked up her hammer. "Well, Shadowborne, I guess we'll just have to...drop our weapons!" she said, remembering to use codenames while out in public. That seemed important!

 

She raised her hammer high in the air, and brought it crashing down to the ground, glowing with energy. As it hit the ground, a shockwave flew through the air, cracking the pavement as it went. At this point, El was less concerned about property damage, and more focused on giving Leon a proper distraction to enter the police station. But it was very satisfying to lay down some hurt on the henchmen of the Ex-Prisoner!

[Spacefurry]

Paper could hear people moving hurriedly as he crept along the hall and using his phone to peek around corners. He hoped his experience with police stations would help him locate the holding cells. He was sure there would be at least one person guarding them, but he'd cross that bridge when he got to it.

 

He felt the ground shake and hesitated for a moment. "Sounds like the party's started outside." He thought with a soft chuckle to himself, almost wishing he was out there with the girls. But he had his part of the job to do, and he was a professional. Paper continued to work his way deeper into the building.