ic Gold is Good

[Supercape]

GM

 

Bedlam City

 

September 28th, Late Evening...

 

It was a brave man to store Gold anywhere in Bedlam, at least anywhere that was not behind six feet of solid steel. Things tended to go missing in Bedlam City, and Gold tended to go missing a lot. 

 

But a rumour had circulated that one of the dozens of corrupt business and officials that infested Bedlam had sequestered a ton of cash - in the form of gold bricks - in the basement of...

 

...a discoteque. 

 

Yes, thats right, a discoteque. 

 

It was called THE BASS BEAT. Although both "B"'s tended to flicker on and off, sometimes for several seconds, much to the amusement of everyone. Probably a bad bit of wiring. Probably a bad bit of wiring nobody was inclined to fix. 

 

NIghtscale had arrived, his Dragon-senses acute to the fact that there was an incredible amount of gold - possibly cursed gold - stored here. And that was something a dragon could not occur. 

 

And Rosa Thorn, Occult Investigator?

 

Nobody had there nose to the ground more than Rosa Thorn. She had caught wind of the number of cursed artifacts pouring into the States like a trickle that was threatening to become a river. And apparently some ancient Chinese Gold, cursed to bring fire and disaster to whoever owned it, had been siphoned off by some crooked pharmaceutical company. And presumably was going to be siphoned off by some crooked official in that crooked company. That was the way of things. 

 

Rosa knew the flow of such things, and had managed to find out (via various means and loose tongues) the location of the cursed gold. The Bass Beat!

Edited October 3 by Supercape

[Nerdzul]

Admittedly Bedlam was a bit far from his usual territory, but then again, the young dragon had decided that it was worth it, apparently there was a new batch of cursed gold on the loose, after the one that he had found in Freedom's city docks, this was suspicious to say the least. Now it could be a coincidence, but given the kinda of world they lived in, it was much more likely the product of some ancient conspiracy or a deranged supervillain. Plus... while he would not admit it out loudly, the dragon side of him found gold strangely fascinating to look at, even if there was no chance in the world that he was gonna get to keep it after this was all over. 

 

He chuckled at the sight of the insignia. "Oh ok..." Somehow he doubted that it was just a matter of faulty wiring and not actually the desired effect. 

 

Whatever. 

 

He could feel that there was gold inside and plenty of it, at least he hadn't left his territory unguarded (well... not that it was exactly abandoned given the concentration of heroes in the area) for nothing. He studied the building for a few moment, before deciding to circle around it to examine the lay of the land, of course he could just waltz in from the main door, but it didn't hurt to search for alternatives first...

 

Edited October 5 by Nerdzul

[Tiffany Korta]

Dr. Rosa Thorne

 

Rosa had never, and still wasn't a social person, despite gentle cajoling she tended to sleep through any party and let Liam do all the schmoozing. The worst were any kind of nightclubs which were always too loud and smelt of alcohol and human desperation to mate. But this time around she'd have to go in herself, they'd had a long complicated argument but finally, it was agreed that Liam would stay in reserve in case real trouble started.

 

A dress was however right out! She'd settled on a crumpled suit, okay so it was basically what she normally wore but comfort was important in these situations and besides selling an image was important in their line of work. Important sartorial details sorted out she set off to make her way to this discotheque and investigate just what was going on there.

 

After a minute or two of arguing with the taxi driver, a sudden increase of cost for danger pay, a not uncommon thing in certain portions of Bedlam, she made her made confidently and obviously for the front door. For now, the direct approach seemed the best way to find out just what was going on!

 

[Supercape]

GM

 

Luke scuttled around the building, eyes slicing through the dim light with ease. 

 

A hobo, half hidden under sodden cardboard and newspaper, smelling of a sewer, called out for money. A drunkard lay sprawled on the floor, face in a muddy puddle. His face had been smashed in by a fist, leaving him unconscious. A 70s disco outfit had been half stripped from his body. The man was going to get cold. 

 

Up above, a steaming vent. Yes, perhaps Luke could squeeze through? And a back entrance, for goods and food and probably all sorts of shady deals, had two fat and middle aged thugs outside, smoking heavily, trying to look cool. 

 

And Dr Thorne caught site of it all!

 

Yes, she saw Luke sliding off around the back of the Bass Beat, into the shadows and darkness of Bedlam City streets. And yet the main door to the club was illuminated, glistening. A steady stream of disco dancing clubbers went past her to pay the heft price. Some were drunk, and some had clearly smashed their brains out on something more than alcohol. But they looked happy, excited. 

 

The entrance was enticing, albeit costly. And yet, would the shadows and the mysterious Luke Nightscale figure be more enticing?

 

"Hey hot stuff, fancy a dance?" said a short fat but ortherwise handsome gentleman, dressed in silvers and golds, with lurid purple star shaped make up over both eyes. He was perhaps late thirties, with a wide and genuine grin, and hips that were already wriggling to the faint beat of the music inside the club. He pulled out a thick leather wallet stuffed full of bills. "I'll pay for you, and we get to dance?"

 

[Tiffany Korta]

Dr Rosa Thorne

 

Jack had caught her eye glowing with an aura of a magic user, such things were pretty rare in Bedlam. It was a mystery, and Rosa hated to have a mystery go uninvestigated! She would have made her way to question the man when she'd got the attention of the man near the door. After a pause to think she chose the greater of the two mysteries to investigate. At times like this, I really wish we could split into two again!

 

"Well I'm not sure if I count as a good dancer!" bluffing wasn't her strong point so she stuck to more or less true "I do however wish to get into the club, so I guess I could attempt a quick, boogie, with you!"

 

Somehow Boogie sounded even less cool than it should for a dated term, at least it was era-appropriate for the stylings of the discotheque.

[Supercape]

GM

 

And so, in the Bass Beat....

 

The Man, who introduced himself as Fabio, or "Fab", was genial, jovial, and full of laughs. He bought two tickets, swayed his hips and tip-toed into the club with an elegance that defied his build. He was a pretty good dancer, for an amateur, and had a kind of bold confidence that made him stand out. A few of the dancers inside gave him a clap and a high five. 

 

The club itself was painted gold, red, silver, in a mock Roman style. Flashing lights pulsed through the smoky air, and disco balls twirled like stars above Rosa.

 

A fat beat, seventies style, with a modern twist, stomped through the speakers and into the crowd, who duly moved their feat, sliding, rotating and clapping. A few even screamed with joy as a new song came on.

 

Various cubby holes had tables, chairs, and relaxing clients. A bar stood to one side, waited and tended by a couple of girls in low cut jump suits and outrageously spiked hair. The barstools were half empty. People were drinking - but they had come for the dancing. That was the priority. 

 

Up above, on a balcony that had wide stairs to the dance floor, was the VIP level. Leaning over, observing the crowd, was a dark skinned man in a blue and gold jumpsuit, revealing a bare and toned chest. His eyes were wide, his grin so fierce it threatened to crack his face, and his hair was in a flamboyant afro, perfectly circular, twice the size of his head. 

Edited October 15 by Supercape

[Tiffany Korta]

Doctor Rosa Thorne

 

The noise and lights were a distraction, a way to keep people on their toes (those not here to have fun at least Liam reminded her), she took a breath holding it in to focus her chi. There were plenty of people who were willing to take advantage of people physically, far more than there should be in a place like Bedlam, but that attracted those who preyed on people's souls. She had to be sure which was which before she tried to push towards whatever this treasure was doing in the building.

 

Sound and colours dulled as she opened her third eye, using her mystical scenes to scan the room looking for anyone who might be using a little supernatural to enhance whatever plot or scheme they were doing right now!

[Supercape]

GM

 

The Disco was magical. But the very sort of mundane non-magical magic that had nothing magical about it at all. It was just a fun place, and that meant that people described it as full of the magic of disco. 

 

Nothing, not a glint, of proper magic. 

 

Except...

 

Except the man on the balcony, with the full afro, the open chested blue and gold jumpsuit, and the mad eyes. He was tainted. Was tainted the right word? Something inbetween curse, and blessing. And insanity. 

 

His mad eyes, his mad grin, they observed the dance floor with - something inmpenetrable. Lust. Fear. Rage. Maybe all three. The man looked like he had imbibed his own body weight in several different pharmacological agents. And not the good ones. 

 

He turned, and made his way down golden stairs and onto the dance floor. 

 

To cheers from the audience. And well deserved! For the man started busting out the most funktastic dance moves!

[Tiffany Korta]

Doctor Rosa Thorne

 

You didn't last long in the world of the occult without realising there were forms and patterns in how things were done. Before you gained access to what you sought you needed to pass a guardian, the trick was it was never totally clear until you reached the threshold. This went for many things, especially in liminal spaces that held certain powers to follow a narrative. The key narrative here would be to dance with the man, impress him with your moves and/or witty banter and then gain access to the prize.

 

Unfortunately for narrative causality, Rosa couldn't dance, indeed she had no sense of rhythm in the slightest. So like a sensible person, she skirted around the edge of the club, whilst everyone was focused on the main event, looking for access to the backroom of the club.

[Supercape]

GM

 

The man's dancing, his presence, or perhaps even his reputation (whatever that was) held the attention of most if not all of the disco. Rosa couldn't quite read the mood of the place. Was it admiration? fear? both?

 

There was sweat, for sure. But then, there was a lot of dancing under raving disco lights. 

 

In any case, it was fairly easy to slip past the security (who where dressed in gold disco costumes) and into the back room of the Bass Beat. There was the "VIP" lounge, where a couple of well-off Bedlam businesspeople cannoodled with less-well off but considerably more attractive Bedlamites. Not much to do there, unless Rosa fancied trying her luck as one of those less well off personages. 

 

The "Staff only" area was more interesting. Yes, there were a lot of boring stuff - costumes, rosters, a computer. Maybe she could hack the system, or study the business accounts. A weapons locker (locked) held some submachine guns. 

 

Or maybe she could pick the lock to the "GOLDFIRE" room. 

[Tiffany Korta]

Doctor Rosa Thorne

 

Typical thought Rosa as she went through the computer records, everything in Bedlam seemed to be stuck in the 1970s (including helpful computer security). The real way to make money, legally or not, was through digital markets and only obsessed two-bit villains would think just in terms of gold. Still enough gang around that would happily use those weapons, and was trouble enough to worry about.

 

Still, she mused, fishing the key from under the desk (so last century), best to see just what kind of weapons they were dealing with! She carefully unlocked the weapon locket to answer just that question.

[Supercape]

GM

 

The weapons locker was a bit dusty, but clearly had been used - many times. It  was stuffed to the brim with automatic weapons, mainly machine pistols and submachine guns, complete with laser targeting. Mounds of ammunition had been dumped in it too, and not - it must be said, in a particularly organised or safe way. 

 

In fact, just opening the door and a machine pistol and two clips of ammunition fell to the floor. Fortunately, not too loud. 

 

Examining the weapons further, they had the serial numbers filed off. Imports, too. No doubt about it - these were the weapons of thugs, and more specifically, thugs preparing for a gang war. 

[Tiffany Korta]

Doctor Rosa Thorne

Rosa considered for a minute, she couldn't leave these guns around to hurt anyone, but reducing them to slag could set them off causing innocents to get hurt. There was another options but it would take a little more effort and time. Not that there was much choice right now, so she wedged a chair under the door to buy her some time, sat cross-legged, and began to concentrate.

 

A lesser principle of alchemy was that everything wanted to return to its original state, every rock dreamed of again being lava. So it was relatively easy to convince elements to separate from each other into their composite parts. Though it took effort so she started small, getting copper and lead to go into two neat piles, before splitting gunpowder into its composites. Then the steel, into iron and charcoal before finally the most difficult returning plastic to the oozing oil of its origins. It was slow and tiring, but hopefully, she could make a large dent in things before they realised what was happening.