Log:Sudafelony
From C2Wiki
| Sudafelony | |
|---|---|
| Emitter | Deirdre |
| Players | Noah Browning, Detective Krateros, Nebula, Shade, Singularity |
| NPCs | The Acid Queen, Ecstasy, Speedball |
| Place | Liberty Plaza CVS |
| Time (IC) | July 16th, 2012 |
| Time (OOC) | July 16th, 2007 |
CVS. Convenience, Value and Service! Consumer Value Stores! An enormous pharmacy. It is just about noontime, and the store is bustling with people filling prescriptions, buying greeting cards, stocking up on shampoo, and doing whatever else it is one does at a CVS. It is the picture of American consumerism, and surely nothing horrible will occur to disrupt the shopping excursions of Port Liberty's fine citizens. Or WILL it?!
Helen is buying grooming products, it looks like. Shampoo and body wash and junk like that. Oh, and because no trip is complete without junk food, a bag of Funyons. She's humming some song to herself as she browses, brows furrowing as she debates between multicolored brands of foaming cleanser. Her fingers tap the side of her little shopping basket.
Jacqueline picks a pair of sunglasses off a small display cabinet, and tries them on. Her last pair was broken in a fiasco at a beach, and she needs something to wear while driving. And hiding her eyes from people in general. Yes, these will do nicely. She holds them carefully as she walks up and down aisles, seeking out and finding... ah. Hair care. Oh, there's a sale on hair dye? That's handy. She narrows her eyes slightly as she applies her mind to money-saving and quality-buying strategies, arms folded over her chest.
Even when you suddenly find you're an /extra-wanted/ man -- you were only normal-wanted before -- you still have a vital need for things like soap and shampoo, and being poor and on the run leaves little time for either. Noah Browning keeps his baseball cap down on his eyes and doesn't look anybody in the eye, picking out a few things. The cheapest soap, shampoo, deoderant, that he can find, all fall into his little cart. See? Nobody notices or cares. Everything nice and smoothly-like.
Moving slowly down an aisle, Nathan is shopping. What for? Apparently more nicotine gum and one or two other necessities. Footsteps bring the man towards one of the counters as he leans against it, looking at the products arrayed upon it with a shake of his head. Who really /needs/ all that crap?
When in mock-civilian mode, Manny keeps his blazer on. It is bad enough looming around as he does, wearing a firearm openly would make social interactions awkward. Naturally, the shampoo he prefers is stocked on the very bottom shelf. Sigh. The off-duty detective crouches down with some joint cracking in protest so he can poke through bottles.
A rubenesque 40something blonde at the front of the line seems to be having some sort of trouble with the cashier. "I need a -lot- of sudafed," she says. Her voice is very nasal and brassy. "Like twelve boxes."
The cashier looks apologetic. "I'm sorry, we really can't sell you that much. People use it to make meth."
"Do I -look- like a drug dealer?" the blonde bellows, incredulous.
Helen glances down the aisle at the fellow in the baseball cap slung low over his eyes and sort of /glares/. It's not entirely hostile, but it is a look full of judgement. It's Cop Look. It's also 'you're in my way' look. And he is. Right in front of the thing she was looking for, some toothpaste or something. So Noah gets an authority glare, until the bellow from the front of the store draws Helen's attention abruptly. Some people.
Jacqueline finally makes her selection; one day she may be a brunette, it seems. She turns to make her way down the hair-care aisle, toward the cash registers, and nearly bumps into Manny. She takes a quick step back, murmuring a "Pardo--" And then her head whips to the side as she peers toward the front of the store. She can't see anything, of course, but it is enough to hear. She slips past the big guy to investigate. Why not? She was headed that way anyway.
Noah's mastered the art of not being noticed. The trick is not to do anything at all unexpected; so, when there's a bit of a fuss, he waits on line obediently, burying his face in the contents of a magazine he's not going to buy once he actually gets up to the register. All is wel--crap! Is that that freaking cop from before?!
Nathan is close enough to the front to see this, and he shakes his head, muttering under his breath, "Some people just cannot behave." His voice is low, a soft, ironic baritone that trails off as he casually drops a small bottle of vitamins into his basket. His dark brown gaze watches this disturbance, a half-smile hovering upon his solemn features.
"S'okay," Manny says, when Jacqueline scoots by. When the shouting happens, he lightly pinches the bridge of his nose, then puts the bottle of American Crew back for the moment, just in case. Perhaps the shouting is nothing. But probably not.
The cashier shrugs. "I'm sorry, I really can't make exceptions."
The blonde chuckles to herself. "That's fine. I was -gonna- pay you, but I guess I can just take it." Glancing over her shoulder, she calls out to the back of the store. "It's time!" And with that, she lays a hand on the counter. There is a hissing, bubbling sort of sound as the surface begins to warp and melt into a twisted parody of itself. "I'll be taking all of it. And whatever opiates and painkillers you got. Capisce?"
<Init> Deirdremitter rolls initiative for The Acid Queen with a modifier of 4 and gets: 22
<Init> Deirdremitter rolls initiative for Speedball with a modifier of 40 and gets: 57
<Init> Deirdremitter rolls initiative for Ecstasy with a modifier of 5 and gets: 21
Initiative Listing:
Speedball .......... 57 (40)
Helen .............. 54 (45)
Jacqueline ......... 23 (3)
The Acid Queen ..... 22 (4)
Ecstasy ............ 21 (5)
Noah ............... 16 (1)
Nathan ............. 13 (2)
Manny .............. 1 (0)
Helen's gaze remains fixed at the front as a weird hush falls over the store--and then the shout. And her own instincts suddenly sing. She drops her basket to the floor with an abrupt clatter and heads--rushes--back into the restroom area. There may be a bit of a crush, but she's pretty quick on her feet. Once in there, she's out of the store via the magic of teleportation to her stashed costume--and back in again quickly after that, but this time at the front. So she can survey the disturbance. And also not be that blonde woman who ran into the restroom. "There a problem here, citizen?"
Jacqueline steps back, quietly rattling some display case. She twists around it to avoid making a disturbance -- although she thinks others may just have that covered -- and reaches into her questionably hot-for-July trenchcoat pocket to pull out a cellphone. She calls 911. Again. She speaks quietly: store name, nearest intersection, incredibly short sitrep. And just on the off chance she might get the same operator as the other day, she drops the French accent, lest she get a 'What the, do you chase metahumans or something?' response.
"Oh. Great." Noah looks over both shoulders. That cop is totally there. Right here! In the goddamn CVS. Not more than five yards away. He probably has a gun! His gun probably has bullets!
This is a really shitty situation, isn't it?
"Uh," he says. It's a battle cry, really, if you think about it. "Hey! Hey... /you/," he says. Already? Metahumans? Singularity's arrival in under six seconds is perhaps the most jarring thing to Noah. It's like they can see everything that's happening all the time. Why didn't he get that power? "The bandit girl--" That's Singularity, so named for her scarf. "--is totally going to mess up your day. Trust me! I've seen her on TV. You better just take a hike. A peaceful, sudden, but altogether quiet hike. Right?"
A soft sigh escapes Nathan's lips. "Why do they do this when I've got appointments?" It's very low. Almost prosaic if not for the indrawn breath, as if to steady himself. These things are still new to him, and they rattle even -his- composure at times. Then, he's ducking behind the counter, careful to avoid cameras in the process. A flash of silver-and-black light, and the man's sheathed in darkness, silver-crimson-blue motes flowing over his form in a -- dare we say it -- personal nebula of color around the man. He rises from the other side of the counter, and says quietly, deeper voice carrying, "I think, miss, you might wish to surrender. The police will be here momentarily, and you can go with them. It would be simpler and far better for you than to resist and possibly cause a mess."
"God damn it," Manny mutters to himself. Then he is rising to his full height, drawing the pistol from his shoulder holster, hidden under his jacket. Lifting the flap of the little badge wallet clipped at his belt to reveal said badge, he raises his deep voice and booms at the acid blonde, "This is the police. Get on the floor and put your hands on your head." He does steal a glance back, since the woman was calling out to someone. "...metahumans. Okay. Look, don't interfere in this and I won't have to--"
At that moment, a swarthy youth in a black leather jacket hurtles out from behind a shelf at astonishing speed, punching Manny square in the back of the head and sending the cop crumpling to the ground, unconscious. He zips up to where the blonde is standing.
"God Almighty," the blonde says, with a dramatic sigh. "Do you all shop at the same stores or something? What the hell is this?"
The bigger they are, the harder they fall. When Manny topples he takes out the entire shelving unit beside him with a loud crash. His pistol clatters to the ground skittering away a few feet.
GAME: Singularity rolls 1d20 + 10: 19 for a total of 29.
GAME (Private): Deirdremitter rolls 1d20 + 15: 5 for a total of 20.
"Price and convenience all at one location? Can't top it." Singularity answers the blonde woman. "Now, I'll have to ask you to step away from the meth-making supplies and come along quietly before I--" And here she stops talking for like half a second, because she totally has to hit a guy. The fast guy. As she moves, the air distorts and warps behind her--and then twists in front of her fist as she pops Speedball square in the mouth. Apparently, whatever kinetic energy she was able to impart by twisting physics to her will was fairly considerable, as he goes flying back into a wall, there to seem a bit stunned. "--have to restrain you." She finishes.
GAME: Jacqueline rolls 1d20 + 7: 5 for a total of 12.
GAME: Jacqueline spends a hero point.
GAME: Jacqueline rolls 1d20 + 7: 20 for a total of 27.
GAME (Private): Deirdremitter rolls 1d20 + 7: 10 for a total of 17.
GAME: Deirdremitter awards a hero point to Jacqueline. (GM fiat)
As the shelving unit nearby crashes, Jacqueline drops into a crouch and raises an arm as though to ward off debris. Much as the officer's gun went skittering, she loses her cellphone -- in favor of setting her hand upon the ground for extra balance. Quickly she sizes up the situation. Cameras will not capture her; people tend to forget her. But Singularity knows her alter-ego. She slides a hand over her face, quickly. Then she acts.
The shades go on. She pulls her hair back into a severe ponytail, courtesy of a rubber band in her pocket. The collar of her coat is turned up. She takes a single deep breath...
And rolls out of the aisle. Dark leather fluttering in a manner both confusing and dramatic, the whirlwind of motion ends as Jacqueline deftly picks up Manny's gun and lifts it in a smooth motion to train it upon the original troublemaker, the Acid Queen.
There is no address -- neither insult nor taunt nor battle cry, however respectable 'uh' may have been. There is merely the tiniest quirk of a smile -- and nary a flinch -- as she pulls the trigger. The volume of the report rocks through the store, and blood blossoms on the Queen's shoulder, half-spinning the blonde woman about.
"Fucking BITCH!" the Acid Queen screams. "Oh my God! She shot me! She fucking shot me! What gives you people the right to shoot people! JESUS!" She's patting at her shoulder now, and looks really quite irate. After a moment, she stalks up to Jacqueline and lunges for the other woman, missing by an inch. There is another hissing, bubbling sound in the air.
Meanwhile, a very well-built and handsome young man steps out from behind another shelf, and... tears his shirt off. Flexing dramatically, he gives the horrified crowd a Cheshire grin. "Do you -see- what those crazy metahumans are doing to that poor woman? Maybe you should help her out. It would mean a lot to me."
For a moment, nothing happens. And then, almost all the women in the store (and a few of the men) start bellowing with rage and storming after our heroes.
<Init> Deirdremitter rolls initiative for Mesmerized Cvs Patrons with a modifier of 2 and gets: 12
Initiative Listing:
Speedball .......... 57 (40)
Singularity ........ 54 (45)
Jacqueline ......... 23 (3)
The Acid Queen ..... 22 (4)
Ecstasy ............ 21 (5)
Noah ............... 16 (1)
Nathan ............. 13 (2)
Mesmerized Cvs Patro 12 (2)
Manny .............. 1 (0
Deep breath, Noah. You've been practicing for this. Right? Things are happening fast--really fast, and when the people of the CVS find themselves reduced to a lurching throng of zombies--
Everything goes white. The entire store finds itself an icebox, ice covering literally every single surface in the place, fierce winds and snows falling and preventing even movement from the air. Everything is all but impossible terrain to traverse. The cold doesn't penetrate flesh and it isn't biting enough, but the flash-freeze alone--icicles descend from counter-tops, and the CVS's entire non-waterproof stock may well be ruined. If one were to stand outside, the chill would spread for nearly ten yards outside of the store in every direction.
Exhaling sharply, Noah takes in a deep breath. The cold seems to radiate from him. "--don't--" he gasps. "Just let them go."
<< ALL MOVEMENT REDUCED TO 1/4th >>
Oh dear. As the police officer goes down, Nebula lifts his hand. Shadow and light, darkness and silver motes gather around his fist as he gestures and a stream of energy flows from his hand towards Manny. He observes to the woman, voice dry, "It's your unlucky day, miss." As the civillians begin to rush forward, more wall appears in front of them, black shot with silver-red-blue motes that swirl within the energy field. His voice is scornful, "You have to include innocents in your twisted games, hoping they get into trouble?" He gestuers with one hand, hovering just above the floor, "Why don't you just surrender so the officer can arrest you." Pause. "When he wakes up."
GM uses a VP, Hero Points Awarded.
GAME (Private): Deirdremitter rolls 1d20 + 10: 4 for a total of 14.
The angry CVS patrons bang on the energy fields, looking quite irate. They are yammering about nothing in particular and seethe back and forth in an attempt to break the barricades.
Speedball, meanwhile, shakes off his stunned condition and zooms at Singularity with a fist outstretched... but zooms right on by her.
GAME: Singularity rolls 1d20 + 10: 14 for a total of 24.
GAME (Private): Deirdremitter rolls 1d20 + 5: 17 for a total of 22.
Whiff! Singularity blinks a bit as Speedball's fist whizzes by her in not-slow-motion. That doesn't happen to her very much anymore. Her eyes narrow even as she studies the points of blood slowly exploding out of Acid Queen's shirt and the freezing numbing horrible cold that suddenly chills her to the bone. First things first, though. She dodges and weaves around a couple of enraged shopperettes and spreads her hands before herself, a thin web of of the air shimmering there. This she pushes forward so it envelops Speedball's head, warping his perception of time so that he observes the last few seconds over and over and over--his own getting punched, then his boss getting shot. IT's enough to make him stumble, though the effect is unstable. Singularity can already see it collapsing. Then she wheels at Noah, the apparent origin of the cold. "Let WHO go?! What the hell!"
GAME: Jacqueline rolls 1d20 + 7: 1 for a total of 8.
GAME: Jacqueline spends a hero point.
GAME: Jacqueline rolls 1d20 + 7: 3 for a total of 10.
GAME: Deirdremitter awards a hero point to Jacqueline. (GM fiat)
GAME (Private): Deirdremitter rolls 1d20 + 7: 19 for a total of 26.
"Do /not/. Ruin. The coat." This Jacqueline hisses quietly to the Acid Queen, who has squared off against her. While she's at it she fakes a British accent of some stripe; just a veneer for what she's trying to pull off, here.
Of course, she sees nothing wrong with making an attempt at ruining the Queen's health, and, doing her best to keep her grip steady even while her footing is not, she points the gun downward, arm braced with the opposite hand, and at point blank range fires once more, a bullet nicking the Acid Queen's leg but -- amazingly -- doing little damage, if any.
"Why don't you people think to rob stores /after/ hours?" she asks, her tone quiet but laden with disdain.
GAME: Jacqueline rolls 1d20 + 5: 15 for a total of 20.
The Acid Queen just stares at Jacqueline for a moment. "You know, that's actually not a bad idea." She flexes her hands, which make that hissing, crackling noise again, and then dives forward... not for Jacqueline, but for the ground. There's a sizzling noise as she tunnels through the floor and vanishes from sight.
Ecstasy, meanwhile, leans forward to rub Jacqueline's shoulders. "Now now, no need to be so violent." But nothing seems to come of this, putting him in a rather inconvenient position.
Villain Escapes, Hero Points Awarded.<OOC> Deirdremitter says, "(Villain escape.)"
Manny stirs. When he blinks his eyes open he just stares for a moment, because rising from unconsciousness is always confusing. The current situation is no help, it looks like it may be the same dream. Or nightmare, in this case.
GAME (Private): Deirdremitter rolls 1d20 + 5: 3 for a total of 8.
GAME (Private): Deirdremitter rolls 1d20: 11 for a total of 11.
GAME: Deirdremitter awards a hero point to Noah. (GM fiat)
"What, did you miss the CVS zombies?!" Noah says, biting the inside of his cheek. Too much cold, again. So much for finesse. It's his first superhuman battle, cut him some slack. "Okay, too much--" Noah drops to a single knee, his fingle resting against the slick ice he's laid against the surface of the CVS. Blue eyes dart left and right, tracking Speedball as he rushes every which way.
"Why don't guys like you ever--give--up?!" And in the blink of an eye, Speedball is an icecube. The blast of frost stretches straight away from Noah, countless little icicles on his body all pointing away from the young man. He's not dead, but he's not happy. There wasn't even a build up. He just--enjoyed a split-second at near-absolute zero.
Noah whirls around, crystals coalescing out of mid-air around him as he holds a hand out to Ecstasy, who remains left behind. "Whatever you did to them--" he hisses, regarding the patrons. "--stop." Icicles begin to form off the tips of Noah's fingers, stopping once they're each nearly two inches long. "--Now."
<< SPEEDBALL is UNCONSCIOUS. >>
GAME: Nathan rolls 1d20 + 9: 1 for a total of 10.
GAME: Nathan spends a hero point.
GAME: Nathan rolls 1d20 + 9: 12 for a total of 21.
GAME (Private): Deirdremitter rolls 1d20: 6 for a total of 6.
<Init> Deirdremitter clears the initiative list.
Even as the poor bystanders bang on his force shielding, Nebula lifts his hand. He murmurs to Jacqueline, "Because they aren't too bright?" It's asked with an uplifted brow, barely visible through the shadowy light covering his features. The shadow-shrouded light streaks from the man's hand, and strikes Ecstasy; as it does, it seems to phase /into/ him and expand outwards in an overlaid sphere, much like a double negative in a photograph. The man's skin bulges and flexes, blood vessels bursting as he starts to bruise, and then the man passes out. The darkness fades quickly at this point, even as the poor innocent bystanders return to their senses. At this point, Nebula gestures with a hand, and the glowing force barriers fade away, as he moves towards Manny, meaning to look the man over.
Singularity relaxes fractionally as Speedball and then Ecstacy are knocked out. She lowers her hands from high fight-stance anyway, and looks around the frozen room and all the (hopefully former) zombies. "Well. It might actually be a good thing if she's dumb enough to take the suggestion of after hours to mean the same store." This isn't addressed directly to Jackie, but rather while Singularity is doing her quick once-over in search of remaining foes. "That was pretty slick, also." That's to Nathen. "The double-cube thing." She makes a square sort of thrusting gesture with her hands, lacking a vocubulary for exactly what it was.
Manny has his hand to the back of his head as he sits up. Another concussion. He'd barely recovered from the -last- one. The detective may be seeing double, but he manages to say, "One. Where is my firearm. Two, what the hell with the ice?"
Noah stands, momentarily, in the middle of a frozen-solid CVS. "Crap," he mumbles. Once the fighting is over, however, he has a job to do: That job being Manny. He moves quickly to the police officer, crouching down beside him. "Don't say or do anything. Open your eyes," he says, reaching out to check him for a concussion. "And don't move."
"Blondes?" the woman in the trenchcoat inquires of Nathan. "Or metahumans?" She smiles faintly, then turns to the fellow who'd tried to... persuade her. "A shame we had to meet under such circumstances," Jacqueline muses, although she keeps the gun pointed at Ecstasy's still form until she is well and truly satisfied he is out cold. Only then is she reminded that it's not her gun; she should return it. She does take a moment to look at the piece in her hand, and shakes her head at some thought, before she sets it on the icy ground and slides it over to Manny.
Noah gets to Manny first; Nebula kneels beside him as well, murmuring, "Is he all right?" As he says this, his hand clenches, small tendrils of force forming this time not into an ice bag--not made of black and silver energy--and offers it to Manny, "Are you all right, Officer? You took quite the blow." To Jacqueline he murmurs dryly, "Criminals, mostly. Well, that sort, anyway, technically all of us are to some extent or another--" He pauses, and shrugs, responding to Singularity, "I've been practicing." The man adds, "Name's Nebula, by the by. Or that's what you can call me, anyway" He adds this last bit with a wry smile.
"..yeah. I think so. I'm not sure what happened," Manny admits, a little distantly. "I think I was arresting someone and then, nothing."
"Okay. You've got a concussion. Probably grade I. You'll be fine. You just can't operate heavy machinery or firearms for a while. Just sit tight," Noah says. And then he stands up and b-lines out of the store. Despite the still-frozen surface of the store, Noah somehow finds no difficulty gaining traction and running full-tilt.
"Singularity." The time controller states easily, looking sympathetically at Manny as he awakens. "And I am officially sympathetic to all the bullshit paperwork you'll have to put up with." She says more quietly towards Manny. Jackie gets something of an odd look, and she steps back slightly to inspect Acid Queen's tunnel, taking some care not to touch it. She certainly isn't going down there. Her nostrils flare slightly.
"Nice to meet you," Nebula says to her. To Manny, he states, "Just take the icepack. Let me make sure they don't leave. Or at least, hopefully they don't." With this he sets down the icepack, he rises and moves over to the unconscious persons, and light streams from his hand, solidifying into chains of glowing energy. He comments over his shoulder, "It'll fade away in a few hours, so you'll have to get them locked up before then." He considers, then idly puts another strip over Ecstasy's mouth. Hey. Mind Controller. It -might- stop him, who knows? He talked before!
Jacqueline retrieves her cellphone with a somewhat shaky hand, and pockets it. She rubs lightly at her throat, as though only belatedly realizing she could have been in for a world of hurt -- even death. "I think I am going to be sick," she murmurs to nobody in particular.
Manny does take the icepack. He is clearly slightly out of it, as he has made no move to even pick up his gun, yet, much less try to arrest anyone. With a wince, he presses the pack to the back of his head, and mutters, "I don't remember if I was able to call in... did anyone call 911, yet?"
"Bathroom is that way." Singularity comments with a gentle tone towards Jacqueline and a jerk of her thumb. "You okay with getting out of here in time?" This question is directed at Nebula, as Singularity remains a few moments longer to watch the fallen villains for signs of consciousness or a return-ambush by their leader. She's visibly antsy from the thought of further police arrival, however.
The 'British' woman nods her thanks to Singularity, and murmurs it as well. Jacqueline will take that gift horse, and so heads to the aforementioned restroom. She will not, in fact, "be sick" there. But she does peer at herself in the mirror for a time, hoping that such stalling will allow the folks outside to forget her. She herself isn't quite sure how that weird effect works. She can only hope.
"I'm leaving, yes," Nebula says to Singularity; "I just wanted to make sure the officer was all right first." He glances at Manny, then adds to Jacqueline, "I know the feeling." It doesn't -look- like he does, though. He takes a breath, and releases it, saying, "The cameras should have a good rendition of events, so they can be properly arraigned." With this, his ring flares brightly, and silver-and-black light forms into a portal that rolls over him and he disappears from sight.
Singularity just sort of quirks her eyebrows at the whole scene, then shrugs. "Good luck with the scene report." She adds to Manny, and then zips out in turn, at very, very high speed; off to somewhere else to change back, and then maybe try to finish her shopping at some other drug store. One without a special on meth addicted meta-villains.
Manny manages to get his radio. "Ah. Detective Krateros at the CVS at Liberty Plaza. Need a medic and backup, code 666, now over." He finally gets to his feet and teeters just a little bit, but fortunately he does not fall over onto anyone. He does, however, finally reclaim his firearm.
In the restroom, Jacqueline checks her watch. She can make a guesstimate at the cops' ETA; once she reaches that mark, she simply... phases through walls until she hits the streets. She doubts many metahumans lingered. She should be free to go.
