ic Foes from the Fens

[Kaede Kimura]

GM

 

Evening, Friday the 1st of March

 

The sun was mostly hidden by the horizon, painting the skyline of Freedom with the fading colours of the last dregs of sunlight, when both Luke and Leon's evenings were interrupted by a message.

 

<NUMBER_BLOCKED>

Come to the abandoned warehouse on #### near Kissinger. Wear costumes.

 

Probably not the most ominous or strange message the pair had received, but certainly one which raised questions. Perhaps one of their teammates had found something and was calling them for backup. Or perhaps something more sinister was occurring...

 

The only question is how the two heroes would respond.

[Spacefurry]

Paper

 

Not the strangest text he’d ever gotten. Leon had debated the text for a moment. It was vague but not stupidly cryptic, so he ruled out Charlie. No one else on the team would be using a blocked number…

Unless…

Leon shook his head. The text had been sent to him and Luke. It wouldn’t be from his brother or sister.

In the end he grabbed some extra paper and headed out. A blank mask of paper with eye slits over his face and a jacket over his usual shirt. It was a new look he was trying out.

[Nerdzul]

Luke had just returned from work when he received the strange invitation, he checked his phone with a puzzled look, wondering who might have sent them this invitation to an abandoned warehouse.

 

"Smells like a trap." He mused, then again he only had one way to find out, plus, to be honest, he didn't knew many supervillains who knew his private number so... 

 

"What to do you think man?" He lazily turned toward Leon. 

 

"Definitely gonna want to scout the place before dashing in..." He continued as he got ready to head out. Unlike his friend Luke didn't really need a mask to conceal his identity, instead, he removed his shirt (he had destroyed too many already) kicked away his sneakers and willed his true nature to resurface, shifting into an hybrid shape of his human and dragon form, clad in black scales and with his claws claws unsheathed. It was a trick he had just recently picked out admittedly, but a handy one at that, no need to carry his Claremont-issued costume anymore...

 

"Whatever... Let's go..." He smirked as he dashed into the night. 

 

OOC - Sorry this took me a while, hopefully I'll be able to catch up with posting a bit in the upcoming weeks.

[Kaede Kimura]

GM

 

The pair made quick time to the location given, the warehouse sagged against itself and one of the doors hung on only one hinge, but other than that and a few broken windows it was reasonably intact.

 

The pair couldn't see anything noteworthy from the street, but Luke could smell ozone and the scent of an in use soldering iron, something he'd grown familiar with after years of sharing a dormitory floor with tech-geniuses.

 

OOC- No worries, just glad to see you back.

Edited May 9 by Kaede Kimura

[Nerdzul]

"Yep... smells like a trap..." Luke muttered. "Literally... there is like some tech stuff around here..." He added, perhaps a frontal assault wasn't the smartest idea and yet he had no trick at his disposal to check what was inside without going and taking things head on. 

"Do you see a side entrance or something man?" He mused giving his flat-mate a nod  as he scanned the area for any sign of a way that would allow them to get inside without being seen. Not like he wouldn't get in if he couldn't find one of course, he didn't follow the strange message just to go back home after all.

 

ooc - Luke will just skill mastery his 20 at perception to check if there is a side entrance and in general if he can spot anything unusual, otherwise he will go inside.

Edited April 28 by Nerdzul

[Spacefurry]

Paper

 

Leon nodded in agreement with Luke.

“If this was anymore of a set-up, there’d be a neon sign with a comical oversized arrow.”

He chuckled. He trusted his best friend's nose. If he said it smelt ‘techie’ he believed him.

“Might be another entrance.”

He nodded.

“I can watch here if you wanna circle around and check.”

 

He reached out with his sense, searching for paper. If anyone was inside he might be able to sense it. Cash (when people still carried it) and collected membership cards, receipts, and BOGO cards. The paper detritus that sometimes finds its way into people’s pockets.

Sometimes he could recognize the way it was gathered and moved around. It wasn’t perfect, but he still tried.

 

OOC: can roll a Search or Perception if you need

[Kaede Kimura]

GM

 

While Luke started to circle around the warehouse to search for other entrances, Leon reached out with his powers to sense the presence of paper within, both of which turned out to be fruitful endeavors.

 

Luke found both a back door, although it was chained shut, and a hole seemed to have been punched through the roof on the left side of the building, likely the result of some cape fight, but now offering an open entrance to those maneuverable enough to reach it. 

 

For Leon's part the search initially turned up nothing which was already suspicious- why would an abandoned warehouse be clean? But quickly he found something more. In the center of the warehouse he could feel small traces of paper that gathered as lint in pockets, spaced around a person. A tall man, seated. Next to him was something even more interesting, a box about the size of a lunchbox filled with a type of paper Leon knew quite well: Rolls of cash.

Edited May 9 by Kaede Kimura

[Nerdzul]

Luke glanced at the locked door, perhaps, he reasoned, he could break through it, although it won't be exactly a quiet endeavor to break through and well, it was likely that whoever had set this up was expecting it anyway... He circled back to his friend. 

 

"Any luck? I got two possible entry points..." He pointed at the the two spots.

 

"They are expecting us though... but what about... a distraction maybe?" He ruffled the crest on the back of his neck, like he used to with his hair, although it was less satisfying. "Dunno wanna bring out Sue back for a walk?" He chuckled, thinking about the paper tyrannosaur trick. One of his illusion could work as well, but a techie would probably see through them, the  were just constructs of the mind after all. "A dragon would have been more stylish I guess..." He teased playfully. 

[Spacefurry]

Paper

 

Leon was focused on the building as Luke returned from his sweep of the building’s perimeter.

 

“I get the sense of two people. One packin some serious cash I think.”

He looked up at Luke and grinned. Sue had become a fast favorite of his.

 

He glanced at the entry points Luke pointed out and thought for a moment.

“Hmm. We could try a two-prong approach.”

He suggested.

“I’ll take the door and you take the hole? If they are expecting us, they’ll have to split their attention. Then it’s just a couple of 1v1s.”

[Kaede Kimura]

GM

 

The pair each made their way into the warehouse, one bursting through the door upon the back of a tide of paper in the shape of a tyrannosaurus, while the other dropped in through the hole in the roof, his fall softened by spectral wings. The inside of the warehouse had been transformed, tall steel racking having been removed and reshaped into large arrays of reinforcement for the walls, with numerous wires and projector dishes mixed into the new framework, all facing inwards. In the center of it all at a desk sat a familiar face; Alice's brother, Aaron in a black trenchcoat and jeans, with a white undershirt. Completing the familiar look was Steel Shade's welding mask sat propped up against a metal lunchbox. His Railpistol sat upon the desk next to them, pointing away from both himself and the door. 

 

He looks slightly shocked at the paper dinosaur bursting through the door, but quickly recovers goes composure, looking about briefly before speaking. 

"Leon. I suppose Luke is around somewhere, or did his work run late? Regardless, just so you don't get any bright ideas, the Dimensional arrays will activate if I shift from this seat, anything that's not either on the desk or wearing the correct IFF inside the warehouse will get a one way trip to a world where a nuclear war destroyed human civilization. We need to have a little talk."

[Nerdzul]

Luke nodded as his friend suggested they split up. Now, doing so ran contrary pretty much to every movie he had seen ever, when jumping into a trap, but then again, this was the real world after all.  "Roger Roger..." He chuckled.

 

As quietly as he could, he darted inside, but was quickly welcomed by a figure that was very much aware of their presence. Someone familiar, albeit unexpectedly

so. 

He was about to reveal himself and offer Aaron (that was now a supervillain?)  some snide remark and yet, if he was asking Leon about him, perhaps the man was not aware of his presence and it was better to keep it concealed, for now, in case thing escalated. So instead he just waited in the dark, listening to what the man had to say. 

 

From all the theatrics, my bet is, nothing pleasant...

 

 

 

[Spacefurry]

Paper

 

The door never stood a chance. Sue burst through them like an unstoppable battering ram. It had served its purpose to focus attention on him while Like snuck in from above.

 

From atop the paper-predator Paper took in the scene. It was like something out of a B-movie.

Behind a desk at the center a man sat. A man he recognized as Alice’s older brother. But the way he was dressed raised even more questions.

 

Aaron knew who he was before he could say anything himself. Wordlessly, he hopped down off the construct. Reaching up he pulled off the white paper face mask and regarded him. He figured Like was here too, but didn’t know where. Leo. Needed to keep him focused on him.

 

“How did you know?”

He asked as he reached out with his senses again. He’d been wrong, Aaron seemed to be alone but the money was still there.

Edited May 28 by Spacefurry

[Kaede Kimura]

Steel Shade

 

Aaron snorted derisively at Leon's question, the anger that had flown through him when he'd seen the pair with Alice returning, although he kept a lid on it. He looked the young hero in his eyes as a grim smile played across his face before he spoke, projectinghis voice so that anyone inside the warehouse could hear him. He was 90% sure that Luke was here, and would hate to need to repeat himself. "Neither of you wore masks during my team's job at Rath & Stromberg. I wasn't exactly about to pry, I happen to have a healthy respect for secret identities." His expression curled, his anger becoming more apparent as he glared at the younger man. "So imagine my surprise when I find you two hanging around my sister."

 

He takes a short moment to regain his composure, it was harder to maintain the distance he had built up as Steel Shade without the mask on. He smiled once again, althoughit never reached his eyes. "Now, I don't much care how you found out who I am, but leave my family out of it. None of them are involved and if I catch either of you, or any of your Young Guardians friends near them I will make sure it's the last thing any of you do." His voice is icy as he says the words. "You got that, Leon?"

[Spacefurry]

Paper

 

Leon tilted his head and scratched his chin.

“Yaaa, guess we were a little reckless back then. To be fair though, we were still cool af.”

He smirked and looked at the helmet on the table.

“Wait a minute, you-“

He shook a finger at Aaron as he recognized the costume.

“You were that armored guy that hit the bank.”

Leon laughed at the irony. Luke was still lurking and it was obvious Aaron figured he was around, but didn’t know where the dragon was. 

 

“Good. Let’s keep it that way.”

He thought.

 

“You think we hit up your sister to try to get to you?”

He said as tried to stop laughing, doing the whole wiping his eyes bit.

“Man, you ain’t all that.”

He taunted.

“We really did bump into her by accident.”

He snickered.

“We had no idea who you were. Then, you go and out yourself to us, that’s just priceless.”

He laughs again hoping that if he can draw Aaron’s anger, the villain would leave himself wide open to Luke.

“Guessing Alice doesn’t know. I mean, I don’t really have any room to judge. Both my brother and sister are career criminals. Hell, I use to be too.”

Edited June 20 by Spacefurry

[Nerdzul]

Really?  

 

"Woah great example  I see... Definitely big brother of the year..." Luke teased sarcastically while clapping slowly, well or at least an image conjured by his magic did so, appearing from an hiding spot roughly on the opposite side of the room compared to the young man hiding place.

 

Well admittedly himself, if he knew that his younger brother was hanging around some bad company (like... the kind that Luke himself used to hang out before Claremont) he would have definitely intervened, but this was the reverse of that, wasn't it?

 

"Wait, what if... Instead of us leaving her alone... You start rethinking a few choices?" 

 

Yeah very likely... Although, ultimately, both himself and Leon had managed to turn things around so yeah, not impossible either.

 

Still, Aaron had some kind of weapon of mass destruction or something still hanging over their heads, apparently one triggered by him leaving his current position... Luke studied the room, trying to find a path that would lead him close enough to Alice's brother and then neutralize him before he could do anything stupid.

[Kaede Kimura]

Steel Shade

 

Aaron grit his teeth at Leon's laughter, unwilling to let the hero get under his skin. Did he really expect him to believe that a pair of heroes in a team with The Raven's former sidekick had just happened upon him by accident? Hardly. Stormcrow was building his team's rep by taking out the smaller scale villains first, like Visor's group. Teams with reputations for escaping the law. Like his team. Still, calling Leon out on this would just lead to a circle of denials and accusations. He didn't care to play that game, and instead moved on.

 

"I am aware of your past life, and Luke's too. A thief and a gangster turning over a new leaf to protect the city. Heartwarming. Regardless, you are correct- My family does not know, and I am going to keep it that way."

 

His eyes flicked to the illusory Luke, and for a brief moment the pair could see him twitch as if to look behind him before he stopped. His lips twisted into a sneer at Luke's comment about his quality as a brother and switching sides, genuine anger flashing across his face. "And you are so much greater. Tell me Luke, what will the mighty Nightscale do when your parents can't afford to send Gabriel to college? What will he do if he gets sick and can't afford the hospital bills? How many meals does your good intentions put on the table?" He pauses, taking a breath to settle himself. Before with a small, bitter smile, he shifted his mask to the side, and slid the lunchbox in front of him. "But, perhaps this unfortunate incident could pay dividends for all three of us. I imagine Leon already knows what's in here, but just to spell it out, it's twenty thousand dollars. In cold hard cash. My offer is as follows. If you happen to meet my team in the field, we'll just manage to escape you, preferably with the loot, but that's not required. In exchange you get five thousand each." His tone holds very little inflection, but for a hint of smugness. "Or, a favour. Perhaps a mechanic decides to do a charity job in a trailer park, or the store of some a**hole manager gets rolled by a group of supervillains. If I needed something, like say a group of rival villains caught one or both of you gets a lead you can take to the Raven's latest adoptee, and again a nice payment. All laundered, if you take the deal of course."

Edited June 28 by Kaede Kimura

[Spacefurry]

Paper

 

Leon honestly wasn’t sure if he should be insulted or not.

He wasn’t ashamed of his past. He had done what he needed to to survive. He and his siblings.

Two or thee years ago, he might have actually given Aaron’s offer some weight.

 

Now though…

He had friends.

A team he was actually proud to be apart of

Again, a year or so ago and that might have weighed the other way, but not now.

And then there was hi as girlfriend.

She was a little firecracker herself. Not afraid to push back as hard as she was pushed, but she was a good girl... but not too good.

He grinned to himself.

 

“Twenty grand? Or some favors? Hmph.”

Leon’s stance shifted to an indifferent slouch as he crossed his arms.

“And all we gotta do is let you and yours slide? Maybe play snitch on your rivals?”

It was a low hill he was standing on he had to admit. Had’t he let his brother and sister off without so much as a token ‘no, stop.’

He tilted his head to look at the projection of Luke.

“What do you think? Are we that cheap?”

[Nerdzul]

On 6/28/2024 at 9:58 AM, Kaede Kimura said:

I am aware of your past life, and Luke's too. A thief and a gangster turning over a new leaf to protect the city. Heartwarming.

 

"You know... you can give that a try too... makes wonders for one conscience..." Luke's image replied. "Besides, it's freakin' easier for you tech guys, I mean, there is only so many places I can be, even with my wings and all, your toys can really do a lot to change people lives for the best, if you just get to it..." 

 

On 6/28/2024 at 9:58 AM, Kaede Kimura said:

 "And you are so much greater. Tell me Luke, what will the mighty Nightscale do when your parents can't afford to send Gabriel to college? What will he do if he gets sick and can't afford the hospital bills? How many meals does your good intentions put on the table?"

 

In a way the man was not completely wrong wasn't him? Being a superhero wasn't exactly a well paid career choice (or better it wasn't paid at all). In truth there was no easy answer to those questions. Still... He had already gone down that path and he had sworn he would not do so again. Although, to be honest life hadn't tested that conviction yet, not strongly enough at least, sure there was the grind of keeping up with both his civilian and superhero life, but so far he was managing ok... Sort off at least...

 

From his hiding spot, the young man ruffled the hair on the back of his neck, the illusion though remained uncaring. 

 

"I'll figure something out. We always do..." Remarked his replica with far more conviction than what the real Luke would have mustered.

 

"Sorry man, but we ain't that cheap. I mean twenty grands that's freakin peanuts mate..." Both the young man and the image smirked at the same time. 

[Kaede Kimura]

Steel Shade 

 

Aaron regarded the pair with cool indifference externally but was seething internally. He had offered the pair two months of wages for the average man each, and they dismissed it as if he was trying to stiff them. He inhaled deeply, his mind working at a solution to the problem, he could afford to double the offer before he would be doubting the value he might get in return, but given how easily the pair had dismissed the first offer he doubted it would tempt them. This didn't make sense, Luke was working constantly to...

 

Ah.

 

"Well, I suppose I can't compete with Stormcrow's payment plan. I just hope he doesn't fly the nest again." He pauses to let his words sink in. "But I guess you must have that all figured out."

 

He slowly reached out and plucked his mask off from the desk, settling it upon his face. "Well, I am afraid that brings an end to our dealings, I have another meeting to get to. Keep what I said in mind, you never know when you might want a friend on the other side." He raised a small device with one hand as he fished his Railpistol off the table with the other. "Unless you have anything else to say, you might want to vacate the warehouse before I teleport. Just a suggestion."

[Nerdzul]

"Stormcrow doesn't pay us by the way..." Luke remarked, in truth, it would make his life much easier, but again, he didn't chosen to become Nightscale to make money in fact, he was doing his best to keep the two sides of his life separate as much as he could. That was one of the reasons after all while he was living in a tiny apartment in the worst part of town rather than in a mansion after all (well that plus his best friend choosing to do the same, admittedly...).

 

"But I know how what I become if I let my morals go to hell and I am not going there anytime soon..." Although once again, he hadn't really been tested yet, truth was, if his family was in danger, the young man wasn't that confident that he would manage to keep following the right path.

 

"F-" Language Luke  "Doing what we do... It's our freakin' choice... And it's yours as well." 

 

"Think about your family ok? How would know make them feel?"

[Spacefurry]

Paper

 

“We’re not doing this for money.”

Not that it wouldn’t have hurt. The mansion was nice and all, but he just could bring himself to live under Charlie’s roof.

Aaron’s jab at Stormcrow wasn’t anything Leon hadn’t thought himself. He was already ready for the text from one of the others saying Charlie had run off or disappeared without a word. But he’d be damned if he was gonna let this joker know that.

 

“Suit yourself tin man. We’ve made our choices, and you’ve made yours. So, run along and see the wizard, just don’t forget to ask for a heart.”

Leon retorted.

“And, I already got friends on the other side.”

 

Well, he used to, he thought. He hadn’t exactly been traveling in those circles in a while, and his brother and sister weren’t talking to him for some reason. Again, wasn’t bringing that up with this guy.

 

Leon’s eyes flickered to the cash box.

“Pretty sure you didn’t get that legally.”

He reached out a hand and made a grabbing and pulling motion, trying to pull it across the room by the cash inside it.

[Kaede Kimura]

Steel Shade 

 

Aaron gave a quiet huff of amusement at the pair's denial of financial support, keeping it quiet enough that the pair couldn't hear. He didn't care for their moralizing, if they wanted to starve themselves helping others that was their choice. He had offered them an out and that was more than required.

 

He tensed for a moment as Paper mentions a wizard before forcing himself to relax. He was just making a reference, not clued in on what was happening. "I'll take heartless over brainless any day, Scarecrow."

 

If Leon had expected a reaction from taking the money, he would be disappointed as Aaron ignored the loss and pressed a button on the small device before turning to face the illusory Luke. "Just so you don't get any funny ideas I have a sensor array at my apartment and shop to detect Schattenwelt energies. If I catch Nacht-Krieger's granddaughter snooping around it won't be pretty." Aaron then presses another button and then vanishes with a crack of displaced air.

 

The large array of technology around them powers up briefly, before a loud buzz echoes and they also vanish.

The heroes now stand alone in an empty warehouse, but for a desk and a lunchbox full of cash. 

[Nerdzul]

"This is gonna be a problem..." Luke jumped down of his hiding spot once the villain had disappeared in too thin air. He especially didn't like him mentioning Muirne in specific, of course, plus that guy knew where his family lived. 

 

 

"Let's go talk outside ok?" He offered Leon, after all strategizing in the villain lair, no matter how it had been emptied out was probably not the smartest plan. "In front of some hot dogs maybe... Debating morality with villains makes me hungry..." He grinned.

 

 

"We need to track him down... And kind fast I think..." He mused, once they were well out of  the earshot of the warehouse. "And I dunno... shall we... I mean... his sister?" He ruffled the hair on the back of his neck. "I dunno, man, I mean I don't want him messing with my family." He continued, lowering his eyes, clenching his fists. For now they were somewhat matched after all sure the man knew their civilian identities, but that ran both ways...

[Spacefurry]

Paper

 

Leon ignored Aaron’s comeback as he caught the lunchbox. He gave the young man a glare before he instinctively shielded his eyes as Aaron vanished. When everything else came to life, he was briefly concerned and then it too vanished leaving the boys alone.

 

He regards the spot where Aaron vanished as Luke suggests moving outside and nods in agreement.

“Yay, good idea.”

 

Outside the old warehouse Leon is unusually quiet at first, only nodding along as Luke tries to talk it out. Leon didn’t have family to worry about, not like Luke did, but he thought he could understand his friend’s feelings.

“She’s our friend, and one of us.”

He said.

“But I don’t think he knows that.”

 

He looked at Luke and frowned.

“If she was a civie, I’d say keep her in the dark. But…, if she winds up running into him suited up-”

Leon shook his head.

“I don’t want your family in danger anymore than you do.”

He squeezed his eyes shut and rubbed the bridge of his nose.