[2E] Freedom City Iron Age (IC)

[kenseido]

Enforcer

"Hmmm... looks like I may be hunting several of you down if that's the only way you know how to operate. You have to adapt with your enemy. Kyle's testiomony alone wouldn't be enough. If we really want to get this corporation, we would have to get more. We don't even have to win in court, if we get enough exposure, we can turn the stockholders against them. When their stock tanks because they are linked to the illegal drugs and unethical experimentation, that will do some real damage to them."

[FuzzyBoots]

Pretty Deadly
HP: 1
Status: Bruised 1 / Injured 1

Aika sighed and glanced at the clock readout on her cell phone. "Either way, we're running out of time assuming even one person called the cops. If we take Kyle with us, we can decide what we want to do with him as we discuss this when we're not standing in the aftermath of a battle of supers." She frowned as she considered his other words. "So, just to be clear, you have no problem on us doing a lightning raid on this R&D place to get evidence?"

Privately, she added to herself, Anywhere we pull evidence out, I can stick bombs in... this can still work.

[kenseido]

Enforcer

"Yes, let's depart. As for the R&D labs, that will take a lot more subterfuge then a Pizza Delievery uniform; but if they are cooking up stuff like this, they need to be stopped."

[badpenny]

Nighthawk

Nighthawk nodded. He leaned toward Pretty Deadly's way of handling things, though any method to bring down the bad guys worked for him: bad publicity, raids, fire. Just as long as they were stopped.

[Ysariel]

Skylark
Condition: Bruised 1, Injured 1; Fatigued / HP: 1

"Then let's hurry and get Kyle out before the police get here," Skylark said, picking up the unconscious man and heaving him over one shoulder. She wasn't sure if she wanted to risk flying down to ground level - just carrying him would ruin the aerodynamics. "Uh, taking the stairs sounds like a good idea," she said sheepishly.

[FuzzyBoots]

Pretty Deadly
HP: 1
Status: Bruised 1 / Injured 1

Aika stepped to the top of the stairs in front of Skylark. "If I run into security or the police, I'll yell, 'Commie hit squad' and then try to distract them by fainting. That ought to warn you and buy you enough time to improvise something. Hey, if we get separated, does the Denny's work for everyone again? I figure we all know where it's at..."

OOC: As noted in the OOC thread, this may be the current end of the adventure, but I figured it doesn't hurt to set up a plausible way out for if we do continue this.

[Gilliam]

After a quick discussion about their next course of action, everybody came to the conclusion that it would be better to meet up somewhere else as it was just too quiet even allowing for the time, gunshots and floors collapsing just aren’t a “bump in the night” that can be ignored until morning.

Throwing the limp body of Kyle over her shoulder Skylark was about to carry him down the stairs until Nighthawk without a word grabs him. “Take the stairs,” said Enforcer pointing to Skylark, Gun Girl and Pretty Deadly “We will use the lift and meet in the lobby”

"If we run into security or the police, I'll yell, 'Commie hit squad' and then try to distract them by fainting. That ought to warn you and buy you enough time to improvise something.” quips Pretty Deadly as the three teens then race each other down the stairs as silently as they could manage.

To noones surprise the lobby was empty, the desk unmanned and the couple of security guards nowhere to be seen. “Think they heard something?” was the quiet comment after a quick look in case someone was hiding under the tables or in the cupboard. Using the front door the group of vigilantes exited on to the empty street, a quick look of surprise was exchanged and then without a word they headed across the street towards Liberty Park where they could vanish into the shadows.

“Hands in the air. Drop the hostage freaks,” yells a voice that would not be out of place on a battlefield as from around a corner jog a group of about 10 heavily armed men wearing body armour. Lining up on either side of the man whom had spoken the raise their weapons at the vigilantes.

“I said HANDS UP” screamed the man again as most people recognised the steely visage of Captain Al Miller the head of Freedom City’s elite police unit “Price of Freedom”. With contrasting smiles Gun Girl & Pretty Deadly draw their own weapons in response. For Enforcer it was a struggle not to start a firefight as he recognised that 2 of the “elite” officers were the same ones whom had framed him months ago.

Taking a step forward with hands outstretched Skylark starts to say “It is not what it seems Captain..”

“Are you deaf and dump” Captain Miller yells as he brings his oversized handgun in line with Skylarks head.

“Wait, Captain .. wait” comes a voice from the apartment building as one of the security guards runs towards everyone as fast as he could with a noticeable limp. Stopping between the two groups the guard pauses to regain his breath.

“Spit it out Warren” Miller snarls “I heard you left the force cause of your leg but I thought you would have done better for your self than a doorman”

Standing straight Hank Warren looks Miller in the eye “Don’t know why I am doing this but I am trying to save your worthless skin Captain. These” as his hand points to the vigilantes “.. took out RIOT, left them battered and bruised on the 13th and 14th floors”

“RIOT you say “ Miller relies in a quieter tone as he takes a longer look at Warren and then the rest. The name “RIOT” means something to the other members of “Price of Freedom” as some start to lower their weapons and others seem a tad nervous.

“And the hostage?” asks Miller as there is a thud from Nighthawk dropping Kyle onto the ground “this druggie is all yours” the masked vigilante states in an emotionless voice. Taking the opportunity Enforcer explains about Meta, Harrison and RIOT quickly and concisely trying not to look at the officers from his past.

“Well that is very interesting news. Meta you say” Miller muses “City Hall has been concerned about it and if this man is the source. Guess you have done the city a service BUT you have broken the Moore Act. Take them down”

A volley of gunfire erupts and whether by intent or sheer fluke Pretty Deadly and Gun Girl shoot the weapons out of the officers hands leaving them defenceless “I said they took out RIOT” Warren states with amusement in his voice.

“I will give you 30 seconds to disappear then I’ll …” Miller growls as he tries to retain control of the situation. Exchanging another quick look of amusement the vigilantes head into the park although Nighthawk stops in front of Miller and flicks his nose with his finger “Opps thought I saw a bug” as the 2 men lock eyes and then without another word joins the others in the park as they vanish into the night.

[Gilliam]

ARRESTS AT LIBERTY PARK APARTMENTS

Last night the elite police unit for Freedom City made a significant breakthrough in the META drug problem striking this city. At great risk to them the Price of Freedom not only arrested the alleged kingpin of the META scourge but they also captured the extremist superhuman group known as RIOT.

Extensive damage was reported to the Apartment building but fortunately no loss of life. A spokesman for the Police Department made the following comment

“We have been following up a number of leads in the META trade and we are very pleased to have made an arrest in this matter and capturing RIOT was the icing on the cake. A man is helping us with our enquiries and we expect to provide further comments later this week.”

Anonymous sources report that the arrested individual is Kyle Harrison a marketing manager with Grant Pharmaceuticals.

This paper once again congratulates Mayor Moore and the Police Department for the creation of the elite “Price of Freedom” unit as they have proven their worth time and time again.
Lester Loeb – Daily Herald

LIBERTY APARTMENTS

A superhuman battle was reported in the early hours of the morning at Liberty Apartments, unconfirmed reports indicate that the POF did not arrive until after the fighting was all finished with an unknown small group seen entering Liberty Park at the conclusion of the battle.

Nobody at the Police Department was available to comment and we are left wondering as to what actually happened.
Jerry Jonas – Freedoms Enquirer

DENNYS CLOSED

A representative from City Hall has announced that the Denny’s restaurant on Ditko Street has been closed until further notice due to unsanitary practises after a recent inspection.

Nobody from Denny’s was available for comment.
Lester Loeb – Daily Herald

WAREHOUSE FIRE

Several night ago a large number of Freedom City’s emergency services were involved in bringing a large fire under control in the Fens district. Further investigation has revealed the remains of a large number of bodies in the remains of the building. Police sources refuse to comments apart from stating that it could be the aftermath of a gang battle but that an individual is helping them with their investigation.

Unconfirmed reports have put the wanted felon or “vigilante” known as Enforcer at the scene of a garage robbery not too far from the fire earlier in the evening
Lester Loeb – Daily Herald

DRUG KINGPIN - KYLE HARRISON CHARGED

Kyle Harrison has been formally charged with numerous charges relating to the creation and distribution of the drug known as META. Mr Harrison’s lawyer has refused to comment on the charges and states that he is working on getting his client released from prison as he is a very sensitive soul and that jail is no place for an innocent man.

Spokesperson Toni Grayson from Cabot, Cunningham & Crowley has released a statement on behalf of Grant Conglomerates

“Our client is horrified to learn that one of its former junior employees is involved in the creation and distribution of the drug known as META. They are even more concerned that their groundbreaking research into finding a cure for cancer was misappropriated and abused in such a nefarious manner.

Grant Conglomerates will be providing full assistance to the Freedom City Police Department as well as conducting their own extensive internal enquiry into this matter.

On a happier note Grant Conglomerates will once again be supporting the “Healthy Food for Disadvantaged Children Charity” and urge people to make donations at the usual places.”
Lester Loeb – Daily Herald

DENNYS FLEEING FREEDOM CITY

Denny’s has announced that effective today that they will be closing their 3 remaining restaurants in Freedom City. It was barely a week ago that the Denny restaurant in Ditko Street was closed due to extremely poor health practises. When asked if the closure had anything to do with their departure Denny’s only comment was “Dennys remains committed to the highest standards of food preparation and service and will continue to provide our high standards throughout the rest of the country”.

A representative from City Hall speaking off the record confirmed that it was no secret that Denny’s was struggling in the very competitive restaurant scene in Freedom City and had been caught cutting corners.

"The Health and Safety of the people of Freedom City is of paramount importance and we make no excuses for having and expecting high standards."
Lester Loeb – Daily Herald

RIOT MEMBERS ESCAPE FROM BLACKSTONE

Through unknown means the members of the superhuman criminal group known as the Revolutionary Imperialist Overthrow Team or RIOT have escaped from the hospital wing of Blackstone Prison where they were recovering from their extensive injuries incurred at Liberty Apartments.

Unconfirmed reports indicate a localised power failure allowed RIOT to walk out of the ward and then vanish.

Our sources in the Police Department indicate that members of POF are following up any leads to locate several unnamed superhumans, these efforts have replaced the search for Force-Ops and had started before the RIOT escape from Blackstone so the question is “Who are these superhumans and why are the POF so interested in them?”
Jerry Jonas – Freedom Enquirer

[Gilliam]

SKYLARK

Making contact with Brian Nisbet you arrange to go round to his house one night with some of the Agent X so that he can examine it. Brian’s house has the little white picket fence and was located on the outskirts of the city in one of the nicer suburbs, making your way round to the backdoor you notice that Brian has quite an extensive garden with numerous beds of flowers.

Knocking on the door you are greeted by a grey haired man in his 60s whose blue eyes are very alert and obviously very pleased to meet you as he barely lets you get a word in as he first offers you milk and cookies before heading downstairs to his lab.

You notice a number of photos hanging in the hallway and he explains with a note of sadness that they are his former wife, kids and grandchildren “I was so caught up in my work that my wife left me and it was almost 10 years before I even learnt she was pregnant with twins, my biggest regret”.

Brian’s lab is spotless although the instruments look like museum antiques “appearances can be deceiving” was his comment as he noticed your expression. He reckons that he should be able to give you an update within the week and warns you to watch out for his neighbour, as she is a notorious gossip.

NIGHTHAWK

Standing over the bodies of the 4 would be muggers you still feel frustrated, they had proven no contest even when you had given them a free hit. It had been several nights in a row where you had smashed the the scum on the streets yet you still were not satisfied.

The problem as you reflected back in your apartment was the fight at the apartment where that metallic woman had tossed you round like a sack of potatoes. It rankled and you never want to feel like that again. Lighting a number of different scented candles you allow yourself to relax and enter a deep mediative state where you consider all the possible paths you could have taken from first meeting the old man in the bookstore, your fight with your father and the more recent battles.

After what must have been hours you keep coming back to blood and the vambraces, but Blood Magic hadn’t been a path that you had considered in the past. More internal debating to and forth and you sense that it is the right path for what you want at the moment and The Law of Symmetry means that to embrace it you will have to give up your sorcery.

After nearly a day you awaken from your trance and you know that your talents have changed and you will now be an even more fearsome presence in the night. A smile crosses your lip as the daily paper has a story about the prison escape.

PRETTY DEADLY

Overall Pretty Deadly felt satisfied with how events had turned out that night, she had the chance to cut loose and meet some new acquittances yet Rick Van Danski was the unknown quantity that really bugged her, was he playing her and the others in some twisted game yet she just didn’t know and there was only one way to get some answers.

Using her quick change ability it wasn’t too hard to appear like the other fans or groupies of Van Danski’s music but this was now the third club in the week where Rick had failed to appear for his scheduled gig.

Cornering one of the barmen you play the part of a love struck fan that he is too eager to help. As the barman explains Rick has a reputation of disappearing from the face of the earth with no warning, “he gets inspired and then he has to bring the song to life, the dude is soo intense yet speaks to the heart”.

With a little subtle prompting Pretty Deadly learns that Rick’s normal pattern albeit very random is that he will one night appear unexpectedly in the audience at a club and then will start performing again or announces the release of a new album.

As Pretty Deadly made her way home she had the feeling that someone was following her yet there is nothing that she could observe in the night. Fortunately there seemed to be something going on with the youkai spirits that she would be able to do something about.

GUN GIRL

Waking up in a cold sweet Gun Girl realises that it was only a dream, that woman from the apartment battle had stirred up some painful memories yet as Alice reflected to herself the impact was fading and she would be stronger for the experience.

Making a large cup of hot milo Alice reflected on something that that creep Kyle Harrison had said that still bothered her, the Japanese Mafia was interested in dealing in META with him as a partner. If that was true then the Yakuza were no longer interested in being just a bit player in the Freedom City underworld and that would be problematic for everybody.

Sighing Alice quickly disassembled, cleaned and reassembled her handguns as she thought that something like the Freedom League would be needed to deal with any fallout yet with Mayor Moore there wasn’t a snowballs chance in hell of that happening.

As the sun rose Gun Girl was back on the streets following up leads on a spate of recent murders that the police seemed to have placed in the low priority basket. At least she could investigate and provide a permanent solution if the police were not going to do their job.


ALL

It had been nearly two weeks since the night at Liberty Apartments; you had all expressed an interest in touching base again in a couple of days as you went on your separate ways out of the park.

Like all good intentions it had slipped your mind as other matters came to your attention and it wasn’t until you all crossed paths in the matter of Lord Minamoto and his attempts to use blood sacrifice to produce an army of youkai that you agreed to meet up at Dennys tonight.

Although nobody had encountered Enforcer rumours of his crusade against corruption were on the lips of your contacts and a few quiet words had been left if he wanted to attend the meeting.

Approaching Dennys on Ditko Street you can’t believe how quickly it has turned into a boarded up and almost derelict building since the large corporation had announced their departure from Freedom City. At least now you won’t have to worry about anyone spotting you although there is the chance that someone else has moved into the building.

[badpenny]

Nighthawk

Nighthawk had not known that Denny's had gone under and as he approached the diner, he rather thought it a good idea that it had. Where he had once been able to summon no more than minor magickal effects, he had channeled his blood into a wholly different direction. He no longer felt the presence of the knacks of magick. He now felt power, pure power over blood. It felt marvelous.

With his Eldritch Eyes, he saw every detail as if it were a sunny day. There was no shadow to his eyes. He moved to the back of the building, looking for signs of entry.

Search; Notice (1d20+8=11, 1d20+12=29)

[Ysariel]

Skylark
Condition: Normal / HP: 1

Skylark landed on the roof of the Denny's with scarcely a sound. She rose and for a tense moment surveyed top of the abandoned building, watching out for signs of activity. The outstretched wings on her back were feathered like those of a real bird but, on closer inspection, were made of the same glossy electroactive polymer that her costume was. As she turned, they lost tension to become little more than a feathered cape that hung all the way down to her boots.

In the fortnight that had passed since the caper at Liberty Apartments, Denny's had beat a hasty retreat from Freedom City, starting from this very branch. Skylark felt bad for the employees that worked here, but more than that, she couldn't help wondering if it had anything to do with what transpired during their last visit. She'd read the Herald's article and the closure came too soon after that to be a coincidence. Had their disguise, somehow, been seen through?

Even if it had, though, they'd agreed to meet here again, which left her no choice of venue. Going alone wasn't an option; she needed the help of the others, the only ones she could trust to watch her back in the city now that her father was missing. So Skylark was extra cautious as she skirted the edge of the roof and peered down into the back alley. She just hoped it wouldn't be a SWAT team or worse, P.O.F. looking back up at her.

Rolls Please ignore the disable device roll there.
Notice (see who/what's in the alley) 1d20+9 → [14,9] = (23)
Stealth (remain hidden on the rooftop) 1d20+10 → [13,10] = (23)

[Gilliam]

Nighthawk

Moving round to the back nothing looks out of place as you notice that the back door had been forced open and is jammed shut with a small wooden wedge, beside the door is a tag from one of the youth gangs that are on the rise in this area of town. The tag is several days old and it looks like that was the last time the door had been opened.

You also catch sight of a figure out of the corner of your eye on the roof of Dennys that looks familiar.


Skylark

It was hard to believe how quickly the Dennys branch had degenerated to the state of the nearby buildings in this area of town as you landed on the roof of the building . Moving quietly to the edge of the building you look down and spy a familiar masked man observing the back entrance to Dennys.

[FuzzyBoots]

Pretty Deadly
HP: 2
Status: Fine

Pretty Deadly sulked down the sidewalk, dressed in her full magical girl outfit. Well, that was a bust... even assuming that it really was the same Rick, looks like he likes being Mr. Mysterious. Ah well... It wasn't like things had been boring. There had been that thing with the ghost soldiers -- That was actually kinda cool, and I was able to hock some of those "priceless artifacts" Minamato kept in his lair. Sure, they turned out to fakes, but they were good fakes, and made with authentic materials. Still wonder if I should've kept Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi... it was kind of neat working alongside those guys again. I hadn't realized how much I missed being part of a team. -- and there were always demons to slay. On an impulse, Aika hopped up to a nearby rooftop and surveyed the city.

"Such an odd little town..." she murmured before beginning roof-hopping to where Denny's once stood. Shame they closed down, but based on what I heard about the kitchens... and I thought the demon gorillas who threw flaming poop were bad. Down below, using her binoculars, she spotted a familiar feathered form. Dropping several stories, she landed alongside Skylark.
"Glad I could drop in," she quipped, "So, what's a girl like you doing in a joint like this?"

OOC: Notice: (1d20+6=24)

[baixiwei]

Gun Girl

Alice arrived just after Nighthawk, taking the streets for once although she usually preferred the rooftops. Blending into the shadows and moving with catlike silence had become such a habit for her that she actually had to force herself to make a little noise and stand in the light as she approached the grim vigilante - wouldn't want him to think she was trying to sneak up on him, not that she would likely be able to anyway, given how well he seemed to see in the dark. She nodded to him in greeting and regarded him silently for a moment before speaking. "You seem ... different from before. Scarier, maybe. New cologne?"

Once again she found herself uncharacteristically attempting humor with Nighthawk. Maybe just to set herself at ease - there was something unsettling about him. An asset in their line of work, she supposed.

[Ysariel]

Skylark
Condition: Normal / HP: 1

He's here too, Skylark thought with a smile, waving down at Nighthawk. The next second, she was on her feet, a carbon-fiber feather blade between her fingers. "Don't startle me like that," she gasped at Pretty Deadly. Skylark lowered the feather blade, tucked it into the clip on her utility belt. "I came to see if anyone remembered our date. After that business with the blood sacrifice and Well of Souls, I realized a few things. For one, well..."

"We work really, really well together," she admitted. She looked 'Alisha' up and down, taking in the military-themed Japanese school uniform. "Not delivering pizza tonight?" One could practically feel Skylark's raised eyebrow behind her half-mask.