ic A-Haunting We Will Go

[Heritage]

Pier 13, Saturday, October 18th, 2014. 10:00 am

GM

A lonely construction trailer sat in the middle of a small sea of concrete at the base of the pier; beyond it stood the long enclosed shed which thrust some eight hundred feet out into the river. The shed was three stories tall and stoutly built, with a dark metal roof, and a concrete walkway some thirty feet wide went all the way around it.

In front of the trailer stood Grimalkin, looking somewhat out of place in her domino mask and black-and-midnight blue leathers at this hour of the morning. Next to her was parked a man in a wheelchair, wearing a black bandana mask similar to the Dread Pirate Roberts from Princess Bride; he had a long salt-and-pepper ponytail and trim beard, and wore an old denim jacket, flannel shirt, jeans and paint-stained work boots. The wheelchair has covered in various rock band, leftist and union bumper stickers.

"This is insane."

"Best idea you ever had, if you ask me."

They both drank their cups of Starbase coffee at the same time.

Edited October 28, 2014 by Heritage

[Tiffany Korta]

Daphne was almost buzzing with excitement Halloween being her second favorite holiday and the first she got to experience in the flesh. Being a telepath it took all her effort not to broadcast her excitement to everyone around her.

She drifted down from the sky currently in a disguise despite her best efforts her Grue nature were still distrusted and she didn’t want to ruin Halloween, so for the duration of her time helping she was Ms Red. She’d altered her appearance to what she hoped looked a rounder more friendlier face with long flowing red hair and a red jumpsuit.

 

“Hi there I’m Ms Red I called ahead I’m here to help you set up.â€

[Heritage]

GM

 

Grim looked from the new arrival to the man in the wheelchair and back again. "Uh, hi! Yeah, I think i remember..." She placed her coffee on a wooden stool that appeared out of nowhere for that exact purpose, drew a circle in mid-air with her finger, and then reached into it (her arm disappearing up to her elbow), and pulled out her smartphone. "Lemme just check...yep, there you are!"

 

The grinning young woman strided over to the redhead, hand outstretched to offer a firm handshake. "Grimalkin, a pleasure to meet you!" She cocked her head to one side. "I've got to admit, I'm not familiar with you or your work; are you a new arrival in Freedom, or...?" She raised her eyebrows slightly.

 

The man in the wheelchair, who looked almost as excited by the arrival of Ms Red as the young woman herself, rolled his chair forward and offered a gloved hand. "Nice to meecha, Red! The name's Butch; I'm kind of the resident 'spookhouse' expert around here." His accent and manner of speech were somewhat reminiscent of Grimalkin's own.

Edited February 13, 2016 by Heritage

[ca_lazerdwarf]

Charlie swung accross town from building to building and finally landed deftly on a building overlooking Pier 13. This was it. He could see people gathering in front of the trailer. He didn't know the organizers here, but that was part of why he was here, to meet the other heroes. Oh, building the haunted house sounded like fun too, but Coiled Lightning needed to spread his name.

 

He snapped out his whip, attached it to the roof and slipped over the side, rappelling down to the street. He adjusted his fedora, straightened out his bodysuit, hitched his whip back to his belt and walked across the street toward the trailer.

 

Approaching Grimalkin, he tipped his hat, "Good Morning, I go by the name Coiled Lightning. I heard you needed help with your haunted house." He turned to flash a smile at the man in the wheelchair and the redhead.

[Tiffany Korta]

If Daphne had one flaw, and if you could call it a flaw, she was a terribly bad liar. So she had paused for a second and picked her words very carefully.

"I've been around for a while but this is the first time I've worn the costume. What you think? I think it needs a cloak, I look good in a cloak.

She gave a little twirl in the air. Though not to fast she was still getting use to flying using her new found Telekinesis.

[Heritage]

GM

 

Grim thoughtfuly studied the redhead for a few seconds, then smiled and nodded. "Fair enough, welcome aboard! So, other than flying, what else can you do?"

 

Meanwhile 'Butch' had been watching Coiled Lightning's progress as he made his way over to the pier. "Nice moves, kid; I like your electro-whip thing!" He offered a strong handshake. "Butch Cassidy, at your service!"

 

The petite shapeshifter rolled her eyes and also shook hands. "Hi Lightning. Don't mind 'Butch'; this is his first time working with, well, people like us."

Edited February 13, 2016 by Heritage

[Tiffany Korta]

Daphne almost bubbled over with excitement again it was a chance to do her party trick. Well actually she hadn’t done it in public yet but she had really been practicing. She stood  looking at Grimalkin mentally framing  it how it would look on a screen. She then shifted her feature until she looked exactly like Grimalkin.

“I’m a shapeshifter.†she kept her own voice even though she could mimic voices as well “I thought it would be handy for you horror house. I can also alter my size up and down and I can row additional limbs.†as she spoke her features shifted back to normal as she spoke.

 

“Oh and I’m also a telepath.†she added in as almost an after thought.

[ca_lazerdwarf]

Coiled lightning took the offered hand and smiled at Butch. "It's quite an amazing gadget, really. More than just a flashy way to get across town. Beats the subway, though."

At Grimalkin's comment, he added "Tell you the truth, I haven't really worked with people like us, either. Just starting out, and took a few lumps working solo. It's good to get a chance to meet you and whoever else comes to help."

"Hope I can find something to do for you," he said, sheepily, "I'm good with my hands, or if you need any electrical work done. Don't see a need to go zapping the guests with my whip, though."

[Heritage]

GM

 

At the sight of young heroine's transformation, Grim suddenly looked delighted. "Wait, you're a shapeshifter, too? That's awesome!"

In a flash, the older heroine's body was obscured by swirling mist, and when it cleared there stood a perfect duplicate of Ms Red! "See, we could be twins! Oh, this is gonna be great!" She quickly resumed her own form in a similar fashion, and then turned to Coiled Lightning.

"Don't worry, we'll find lots for both of you to do. And I remember what it was like to be young and trying to make it on your own; if either of you ever need advice, suggestions or even just someone to talk to, look me up, okay? I'm here for you." Grim stopped when she noticed Butch looking at her, a mixture of pride and sadness on his face. "What?"

He shook his head. "Nothing; you just sound so grown up now." They both looked rather awkward for a moment until Butch finally cleared his throat. "Okay, let's head inside the trailer; any lollygaggers will just have to knock."

Grim stepped behind his wheelchair and began pushing him up the access ramp, where he opened the door at the top; inside, it was dark, though a long low table covered with a tarp was partially visible in the center of the room. Butch sighed. "Oh great, we lost power again! I thought you said Daedalus was some kind of genius, hon!"

Edited February 13, 2016 by Heritage

[EternalPhoenix]

If there was a better straight line, Terrifica couldn’t think of one. And that was saying something. She flicked the light switch on the wall, revealing the full layout of the trailer…and herself, leaning against the outer wall. Even though she knew it would present the wrong impression, she couldn’t help smirking. Best entrance, or best entrance? “Oh, he’s okay. But me? I’m terrific.†She took a few moments to let their surprise (or lack thereof, annoyingly) subside. “I hear you’re planning a Halloween party. Featuring a haunted house to end all haunted houses. You’re going to need my help.â€

[Tiffany Korta]

“Oh cool this is going to be so great!†she had been worried some people seem to react badly to shapeshifters “I’ve been practicing halloween monster, I do a good Zombie though not the Walking Dead kind that would be a bit much.†she babbled slightly as she followed Lynn into the trailer

 

Daphne wasn’t completely surprised, she could often sense the presence of mind before she saw them, but she was a little on guard in case trouble started. She had to quickly remind herself that this was planning for a Halloween fun house.

 

“That was a very... effective entrance. Pleased to meet you I’m Ms Red.†her voice kept it’s normal bubbly upbeat nature.

[ca_lazerdwarf]

Charlie barely had time to fumble with his whip to provide a light when Terrifica took care of the lights herself. He smiled at her entrance, caught enough off guard to earn her a small jump backward. He tipping his hat again. "Nice to meet you, miss. I'm Coiled Lightning. I've always loved Halloween, no doubt this will be a memorable one, with everyone here helping out. I hope the kids have a good time, too."

He walked in to the trailer to have a look around, trying to make out what might be hidden under the tarp.

[Heritage]

Grimalkin grinned; yes, she'd detected Terrifica's presence before the lights went up, but she had absolutely no idea how she'd managed to get into the isolated trailer before that; clearly she was the right woman for the job! For his part, Butch threw his coffee high in the air, only for Grim to nimbly snatch it out of the air; his terrified yelp was also epic.

 

"Gah! Jesus H. Christ, give an old man a heart attack!" He dramatically clutched his chest, then held his thumb and middle finger to his throat as he checked his pulse against his watch.

 

Now that the lights were up, the full details of the trailer could be seen; there was a second table piled high with old and yellowed blueprints, lots of photos of old-fashioned funhouse and dark rides taped to the walls, and a third table at the far end supporting urns of coffee and two boxes of doughnuts. The small narrow place was dominated, however, by the long table in the middle; it was now clear some sort of model waited underneath.

 

"Welcome, Terrifica; glad to see you could make it. And yes, I hope this will indeed be the 'mother of all haunted houses'-"

 

With the wave of her hand, the tarp vanished in a cloud of vapor, revealing an incredibly detailed one hundredth scale model some eight feet long; it depicted the shed broken into three sections by internal walls, each section decorated and laid out in a different theme. The one closest to the shore was labeled 'The Haunted Warehouse', and judging by the tiny tracks and carts it contained, this was a traditional 'dark ride' along the lines of Disney's Haunted Mansion. The next section was designated as 'The Dark Forest', and this looked to be a sort of labyrinth made up of thick trees and thorn bushes, with a number of sinister locations like the Witch's gingerbread house from Hansel and Gretel, Baba Yaga's hut on giant chicken legs, and other horrors associated with fairy tales and folklore. The final section the farthest from land was called 'The Asylum of the Dead', clearly inspired by the zombie films of George Romero and survival horror games, with twisted staircases, padded rooms and pools of foul-looking liquids. Over all three hung a sort of attic or catwalk than would allow someone to watch over the whole operation with ease.

 

"So this is just a little something I conjured up..." Grim cleared her throat with false modesty. "Butch and I have obviously been giving this way more thought than is healthy; nothing is carved in stone yet, but we think it will look more or less like this. Each section is designed for a specific age bracket, roughly paralleling the PG, PG-13 and R ratings of the MPAA; we're looking to cast a fairly wide net in terms of guests, visitors, whatever you might call them."

 

And now Grim began nervously gnawing on a thumbnail as she awaited their reactions. "So whaddya think, am I nuts? And you guys can work on whatever parts you want; if something looks too gross or whatever, we've got it covered." Butch looked from the model to the faces of the heroes and then back again, like an eager teenager hoping his parents liked the gift he made for them in shop class.

Edited February 13, 2016 by Heritage

[Supercape]

Your cortical capacity is severely reduced. It is quite...distasteful, even for a computer. I am feeling rather...nauseated...

 

"Hummm...wrong turn again..." said the ape woman, scratching her head. 

 

The Rat had devolved for security detail. She had figured looking like a six foot ape woman with arms as thick as tree trunks, and hair every where, would look suitably good for Halloween. Unfortunately, what her devolution gained in muscle, it lost in brains. Perhaps twice over. 

 

"Huh huh...Me lost...." she shrugged, after stumbling for the fourth time down the wrong alley. 

 

Listen you primitive fool! You try even my patience...turn left...forward...yes...that's right...if you can lift your knuckles from the ground that would help...yes...now right....no...the other right...there...knock on door...

 

With the Slave System guiding her, the Rat knocked, loudly on the door, splintering it slightly. 

 

"Knock Knock...uh...me late...me sorry...me come in?" she shouted through the door. 

[EternalPhoenix]

Terrifica was actually impressed by the level of detail in the model. However, she kept it off her face. “The plan seems sound enough, if rather ambitious. However, as the saying goes, no plan survives first contact with the enemy. In this case, the enemies are the unknown whims of fate. The proverbial flies in the ointment.†She stepped over to the table full of blueprints. Handling them with care, she began to look them over. “Most of these will need modifications. Building codes have changed since these were first used, and some of the machinery designs are laughably outdated. A modern first year engineering student could do better. I’ve seen middle schoolers do better as well, but those are prodigies. However…†A confident smirk spread across her face. “I’ve finished harder tasks. When do we start?â€

[ca_lazerdwarf]

Charlie walked over to the model of the Warehouse for a closer look. He gave one of the carts a push with his finger and smiled. "Always loved these things. A certain kind of charm, even if they're a bit silly." He was amazed at the detail that had gone in to the model.

 

He found it difficult to pull himself away from the model, but seeing Terrifica's enthusiasm and apparent competance, Charlie was ready to follow her lead, "Do we have all our supplies in? Or are we going to have to run out for lumber?" 

[Heritage]

Grim rolled her eyes at Terrifica's comments about the blueprints. "Well, duh, we're just using those as inspiration; the actual blueprints we're using are just buried under here-" She frowned as she began digging through the pile. "Somewhere..."

 

Butch rolled his chair over to the door, pulled it open, and then just sat there open-mouthed staring up at the Devolved Rat. "Whoaaa." After a few seconds, he regained his composure, and his wits. "Hon, that gorilla you ordered showed up; you want me to sign for it?"

 

"She's a her, Da- uh, Butch. Ah, here they are!" She pulled the roll out in triumph and spread it out on top of the archival plans. "But you're right, Terrifica, they can always be improved. And if you're all up for it, we can start right now."

 

The wheelchair-bound consultant looked from the new arrival to the model, and then to Coiled Lightning. "Actually yeah, we've got a lot of supplies already in the shed; Sandy did a number on amusement piers all up and down the Shore, and we've got tons of perfectly good salvaged lumber and almost half a mile of track." He rolled closer to the model and peered down at it thoughtfully. "Hey hon? Since we got the Whipmeister and Jane the Jungle Girl here, how about we put some extra reinforcements on the catwalks?" He poked a finger into the model. "That way they can swing from 'em if they need to; we can even stick bits of flouro tape on the struts so they can see 'em better in the dark."

 

"I like it, I like it!" Grim finally tore herself away from the plans to face the huge ape woman. "Whoaaa!" She sounded exactly like Butch as she held out a hand in greeting. "Grimalkin; wow, you are amazing!"

 

Butch continued addressing Lightning's earlier question. "We've also got twenty-five junked training room droids from the Freedom League to play with; once we get 'em working again, Grimmie can glamour up some skins to make 'em look like zombies, werewolves or whatever." Then he thrust a finger in the general direction of the shed. "And we're not doing this alone; we've got retired craftsmen, a lot of vets and a crazy pack of college students hoping to score some extra credit, already drinking coffee and wandering amongst the wreckage, ready to go." He grinned and rubbed his hands together with relish. "So, we ready to do something stupid?"

Edited February 13, 2016 by Heritage

[Supercape]

The Rat walked in, dragging knuckles. Her deep set eyes were slightly divergent. 

 

"Hello. Me is Rat. Me come to...come to...."

 

She reached up and scratched her head, turning it slowly to Grimalkin, giving a toothy smile. 

 

"What me come to do?" she asked, shyly. If a six foot six ape woman with arms as thick as most peoples chests could look shy. 

 

Unbelievable! Your brain appears to be smaller than ever! Please do not forget to breathe, you useless lump of meat!

 

You shut up, nasty headthing. Me not stoopid...

 

I refute that. I have seen more brains in a victoria sponge cake. 

 

"Me not stoopid" said the Rat aloud, to nobody in the room. 

[ca_lazerdwarf]

"I'd like to see those droids", Coiled Lightning said, excitedly, "I've seen the League fight that kind of thing, and I've always wondered what they look like up close. Or inside." 

 

"Perfect thing to pop out at a cart full of kids, too. We'll have better animatronics than Disneyworld." 

 

He looked started by the appearance of the Rat. "Nice to meet you, Rat. You came to help with the haunted house?" he said, trying to provide the words she was looking for. The Rat was certainly the strangest thing he'd seen so far in his brief career, he hoped he wasn't being condescending, he was pretty sure she could rip his arms off if he got her mad.

[Supercape]

"Me Rat, who you?" answred the Rat, before answering Coiled Lightnings question. 

 

"Yes Me come to help" smiled the Rat, jumping from foot to foot excitedly. She was only two species away from shouting "oook!"

 

"Me come to help?" she asked Grimalkin. 

 

Yes, you have come to help, you waste of DNA...

 

"What is DNA?" asked the Rat to the room, scratching her head again. 

 

"Anyway, me come to help. Me can lift heavy stuff, and shout at people to make scary if you want. Me good at making scary!"

 

"Raaaaagh!" she roared, beating her chest and momentarily livid with rage. It was, as she said, quite good at making scary. 

 

"You tell me where me go and what me do, and me do it!" she said, proudly. 

[Heritage]

GM

 

For a moment, Grim thought the trailer would not survive the ape woman's excitement, but thankfully the structure held. She reached out and gently patted her massive arm. "I'm sure you'll do fine, sweetie; help yourself to some donuts!"

 

- - -

 

The next week proved to be an exciting and memorable time for all involved; heroes and civilians working side by side towards a common purpose, and having fun doing it! As Butch had described, the rest of the volunteers were a motley crew. Many were carpenters and electricians who maintained the old family fun parks and amusement piers up and down the Eastern Seaboard, some still working, some long retired but eager to pitch in and maybe pass their disappearing craft on to another generation. Several were veterans from a number of recent wars, frequently disabled in some way but still productive and excited by the project. And finally there were the college students, young and idealistic, in awe of the heroes in their midst but not afraid to get their hands dirty beside them.

 

Early on, Grim and Butch had announced the proceeds of the haunted house were to be split evenly between the Our Lady of Mercy Shelter on the Southside and Freedom's Warriors, a local charity for disabled vets, and all three areas of the house were fully wheelchair accessible as a result. This added a few design challenges, but nothing this talented group couldn't handle.

 

Volunteers set their own hours, but Grim and Butch seemed to be everpresent; the 'Mistress of Mystery' not only supervised, but also encouraged, amused and inspired her 'troops', as well as creating a seemingly endless supply of props, set dressing and various structural elements. She especially loved making someone else's ideas a reality, tweaking the glamoured object as they described it until it was just right. She could also been seen flitting about in pixie form, delivering food, coffee and messages to remote corners of the construction zone as needed.

 

For his part, Butch was a rascal, rolling here and there in his chair, popping up when you least expected it, the consumate kibitzer offering his two cents. In time it became clear that he knew a lot about construction, especially carpentry, and possessed a near-encyclopedic knowledge of dark rides, funhouses and horror films, and his suggestions were frequently invaluable.

 

In time, it became obvious to everyone that the leather-clad heroine and masked carpenter were father and daughter, but no one was rude enough to mention it.

Edited February 13, 2016 by Heritage

[ca_lazerdwarf]

Coiled Lightning was excited to get to work, helping the building crue assemble the basic structures. He spent a lot of time chatting with the veterans, swapping stories about the army and listening with sympathy about their injuries and the problems at the VA. He had to leave out key details to keep his identity hidden, but provided enough to convince them of his authenticity.

 

After the Haunted Warehouse's structure and tracks were laid out, Coiled Lightning took upon himself the design of one of the rooms. He set up a room like Dr. Frankenstein's lab, using one of the Freedom League's captured robots as the creature. As the carts moved through the room, lab equipment would explode in a shower of sparks, and the creature would rise to grab at the guests.

 

He was also sure to set up plenty of black lights around the place, intended to highlight his new variant costume, a much darker blue that would blend better in the dark, with black-light sensitive patches shaped like bones adhered on it. 

 

He took every suggestion Butch or Grim made to heart, doing his best to impress, but excited as well to be helping out worthy charities.

[Supercape]

Evolve! Evolve! I cannot abide your cranial deficiency any longer! Evolve! Evolve!

 

It had been a few days now that the devolved Rat had lingered in the simian form. It was the same Rat, underneath it all, but that Rat seemed to like staying in their current state. It was true that she would, sooner or later, spring back to her normal form in a juggling of muscle, sinew, bone and flesh...and even now, her hair was a little less coarse, her knuckles a half inch of the ground, and eyes a little less together. But still, it was the same old devolved rat. 

 

Lifting and carrying. 

 

Carrying and lifting. 

 

That was what she was good for. Instructions often had to be repeated. It was so infuriating that SLAVE had taken to helping her directions, and of sheer frustration. 

[EternalPhoenix]

Terrifica was absent for much of the actual building work, stating that she did have a life of her own to tend to. However, when she was there she made her presence felt. She was a harsh but fair taskmistress. Thoughtless work was banned under penalty of a tongue sharp enough to make grown men cry. However, those who simply did not know what they were doing and asked for help were patiently and terrifically instructed in exactly what to do. She held multiple conversations with Butch and he quickly learned that her knowledge of carpentry rivaled his own. It was her that planned the work shifts around the veterans’ various eccentricities and/or disabilities and placed each college student where he or she would do the most good. This increased productivity to the point where the project was running ahead of schedule. It was her structural modifications that would allow a greater workload for the various attractions. Her knowledge of Asian horror added a disturbing new element to the R-rated section. And she was instrumental in getting the Freedom League’s bots up and running again, along with reprogramming their AI.

With much of the design and physical construction complete, she banished the volunteers (excepting those with engineering or electrician training) from certain segments as she personally set up the electrical systems that would make everything work. She didn’t appear during the day and allow her selected few to do a few basic tasks exactly as she instructed. By this point, every volunteer feared her displeasure and thus fulfilled her instructions to the letter. At night, she worked feverishly, completing in a day what would have taken others two or three. Her designs were ingenious. Multiple redundancies prevented anything essential from shutting down should a fuse blow, a circuit breaker trip, or some wiring fail. It was also energy efficient, consuming 20% less energy than it should have been. Her security camera network had no real gaps in its coverage, and the monitor room was perfectly placed. Even the loudspeakers were well done, able to be heard from anywhere in the building. In short, the electrical systems were a masterwork. The professional electricians were suitably awed.

On the last day, she appeared to have even made a few modifications to her battlesuit’s design. Though, as she quickly explained, this was just dressing it up. Changing it would have been too much of a pain in the butt. She had applied a polymer coating that had turned the blue parts black, and a second one to turn the orange stripes blood red. Both were almost moist to the touch and had the added effect of somehow making her invisible to peripheral vision. Meaning she could just step into someone’s line of sight without them knowing she was there beforehand. She explained that the compound wasn’t particularly practical. It took hours to make, hours to apply, and broke down when exposed to air for too long. And that was with a good batch. It was exceedingly difficult-and expensive-to make, as well.

[Tiffany Korta]

Daphne was a friendly person nature, she  spent almost as much time chatting to everyone as she did working, and it took all her effort not to say anything to Red Rat who’d she met before. Each time that horrid thing  in her head complained she winched and it took so much effort not to have Mother Unit hack the primitive machine and shut it down. But she wasn’t sure if it could do any harm, and besides Mother Unit wasn’t keen on the idea. Instead every now and again she give subtle burst of reassuring emotions to keep her happy and in control.

 

She didn’t have any skills in building or construction, to her this normally happened in a montage, but she had the strength and in her giant form she could reach places that others couldn’t. The sight of a giant hero all in red, her long hair flowing in the breeze, certainly drew some much wanted attention. And some of her time was spent on interview and general heroing.

 

All in all it was a pretty fun couple of days.