The Las Vegas strip is among the strangest places in the modern world.  Despite its postion in the middle of the Nevada desert, this strip is filled with verdant gardens and flowing fountains. Almost no one actually lives there, yet it is heavily populated, with people constantly coming and going.  The scenery is strange, with towering structures of conflicting design vying for the eye of travelers and a greater share of the tourist trade, like giant plants competing in an alien jungle of iron, neon, and concrete.

The strip is a study in contrasts. It is a vacation spot, and people come here from around the world to enjoy themselves, yet most leave with far less than they arrived with, and a current of manic desperation and despair underlies the entertainment.  The city is amoral and faithless, but yet there is an almost religious fervor in those that come here, with visitors showing a dedication to the dual faiths of Money and Decadence that they seldom if ever showed to their religiuos life back home.  Everything is for sale here, yet no one ever leaves with what they actually want... or need.

This is the place where T2M trainees from UtopiaNevada will spend their liesure hours.  The Bellagio has agreed to host the trainees on their weekends, in exchange for a few hours of public entertainment on the weekends... A non-proft show, the proceeds of which will go to several worthwhile charities of course.  With a reasonable hosting fee going to the hotel.  This also serves Utopia, by introducing their new team to the public in a postive and non-threatening manner, while allowing the new recruits to learn how to deal with their prestige and to gain public relations skills.

Transport is accomplished by a government owned shuttle reserved for this purpose.  The trip is a little under an hour.  Upon arrival you are showed to your rooms, and your few bags are taken up for you.  It appears people have been assigned adjoining suites, with people paired off... Frostburn explains that you will be on a buddy system of sorts during your first few visits, in hopes that if one person does something stupid or gets in over their head, their buddy will stop them.

---

Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)

Prodigal & Zero
Phantasm & Solitaire
Comstock & Quinton
Impetus & Samual

---

The suites are luxurious, with two small bedrooms opening onto a central living area.  Room service is only a call away, and at least on your first stay, you have few obligations (your shows will come later).  You are free to do as you will...

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Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)

At this point it looks like people are going to split up for their first forray into the city, which is fine.  I would prefer people to figure out what they are doing for the early evening, and then all meet at the nova club, just for plot purposes.  I will deal with the individual stuff first; so far we've got the art show, poker with the baselines, and clubing with the baselines.  If people would group however they want, I will address each of you.  Once all that is done, I will move on to the nova club.  There is hopefully fun stuff to be had there...

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This message was last edited by the GM at 21:09, Fri 30 Aug 2013.

Imp flops down on the bed, feels himself sink into the high quality mattress, chuckles.  he bounces back up and looks out the window, gazing out at the neon lights below, above and all around.  He looks over at Samuel, "Alright Sam, my lad, lets go paint the town red, or neon red.  He checks out the window again, "looks like someone beat us to it.  I'm gonna head across the street to Caesars, the management know who we are here and might take an unhealthy interest if we start doing well at the tables they might pull the plug on the frivolities.  You gonna go check out the art show?" While waiting for Sam's response Imp wandered around the room, poked his head into the bathroom, opened up the minifridge.  "Oh, hey, if I don't come back tonight don't be too worried, I'll be out experiencing the local culture, and will be back in the morning."

---

Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)
if i'm holding people up by not posting at regular times, just assume that i head over to Caesars' with anybody else who wants to play some cards.

---

"Wow, Doc, have you ever seen anything so amazing? All the lights...the different people, the women..oops..." David says looking away from the scantily clad women, blushing at them shyly.

Sameul stretches lazily on the bed, trying to get accustomed to it. "Yeah. I'm g-g-gonna hit the art show w-w-with David." He pauses for a moment. "I d-d-don't think I'll check out the c-c-casinos. G-G-G-otta keep th-th-this away f-f-f-f-f-f..." He takes a deep breath and tries again. "Gotta keep th-th-this away from the slot machines." His tendril slithers down his side in response. "And I'm n-n-not gonna worry. I know exactly where y-y-you'll be."

Solitaire whistles, impressed. "Nice place." She comments to Phantasm, "Wonder how much a night here costs. Glad I'm not paying it. What're your plans tonight? I was planning on playing cards with Impetus, your welcome to come, unless you have something you'd rather do." She wanders around the room, feeling the bed, admiring the view, examining anything of interest. It was good to be decadent sometimes, Solitaire decided.

Phantasm pauses at the door to look around the room, seeming to be a bit shocked by the level of luxury.  "Wow, they really spent a lot.  I knew that our life styles would change, but it just didn't hit me before... Huh."

After she looks around a bit, Phantasm goes to the bed and makes a nest out of the blankets before pulling out a couple of books to read, and turning on the TV.

"I don't know really.  I guess I wouldn't mind going with you guys.  I've never really been to Vegas, or even gambled, before. At least that I can remember that is. I might take a quick look at the art show downstairs, since its on the way out."

Zero turns around to appreciate the aesthetics of the female form. The doctor turns back and keeps walking next to David. After a moment, Z's head slumps down. "I want to go home..." the person under the mask confesses. Dr. Z straightens up and changes the subject. "Eh, I used to work in the Big Apple, Kiddo. I've seen a lot of this already, but I have to admit, not with the same sense of... shamelessness. It's impressive." Zero stops in a moment, gestures dramatically up to a big neon billboard. "Soon! Our names will be up on in these lights! Soon, my friend! What do you think? What do you think they will say about us? Remember us..."

Zero looks into a restaurant as they walk by. The doctor fumbles in empty pockets. "Crud. Hey, Kid. When do we get paid?" Zero pulls out forty bucks out of a back pocket it missed and looks at it hard. "I guess we're eating at the cheep place, if there is one around here." Z looks around until noticing something under its shoe and sees a flier for Caesars.

"You know, I've had some pretty bad luck all my life, Kid, but ever since I met this one woman, my luck's been quite unbelievable." Zero carefully picks up the flier, staring at it thoughtfully. "She must be Lady Luck's favorite daughter. Hmmm... the Good Book says 'God favors those who help themselves,' right Kid? I think I'm going to go to Caesar's latter tonight."

"I think I'll 'give Caesar his due.'"
This message was last edited by the player at 13:30, Thu 16 Apr 2009.

"Lady? Are you married Doc? I've never heard you talk about your wife, do you have any kids? Actually..now that I think of it...how old are you?" David asked, surprising himself with his influx of questions. "Er...sorry Doc, that's not something I normally do"

"Well, now that you ask, I am 23. I am married to the most fascinating woman by the name of Selina Wayne. My birth name is Bruce Wayne, and I decided to join crime-fighting when my parents where shot. It was a tragic event, and though I do blame the shooter, I do acknowledge that my parents where pretty damn dumb to go walking in a back alley, filled with vagrants, in their finest jewelry."

"All right, I'm kidding. I've actually been a Nova before the Fireman erupted. Decades before. I'm joining Project Utopia to find out the real reason for Novas." Zero laughs to itself.

"Dear Lord, kid! Do you see this mask? It means 'Mysterious,' with a capital 'M.' Dang, chatty kids. Now, did you spot a place to eat that looked like shit, because I think that is all we can afford for the night."
This message was last edited by the player at 18:27, Thu 16 Apr 2009.

Dillon got his keycard from Quentin and stashed his things.  Hesitation.  He peeked out the window at brightly lit canyon of lights, full of gridlock and herds of grazing tourists.  The whole strip was a lot brighter than he remembered.  Radiant.  It was giving him a headache.  He concentrated a bit and started discerning more shapes.

"Did you figure out anything you wanted to do?" he asked Quentin.  "I'm probably just going to walk a bit, hit the Nova Club, get some new clothes, find a poker table, y'know?"  And figure out what Phantasm's deal is.  "Frostburn probably has spending money for us."

Playing around with his sight, he pulled a bit of Quantum out of his node.  His vision acquired dozens of extra, indescribable tones and colors.  Skeletons and metal stood out through skin.  "Hey ... Quentin ... have you been developing any new powers?"  He turned this way and that, got a sense of the sheer density of the hotel-casino, and did his best to shut down his new senses.  "Like, looking through walls or seeing gravity?"

Imp tosses a pillow at Sam.  "I'm that predictable, am i?"  He smirks.  "I suppose I am, god knows I have years of not getting any to make up for..." He sighs  "Alright, bud, lets go give Vegas our best shot..." Imp grabs his wallet and heads out the door into the hall where he waits for the others, looking idly through the pictures in his wallet.

Quentin had also gone to the room and was mostly piddling about, checking out the accomidations, briefly flipping through channels before leaving it on the hotel's "Learn how to gamble!" station.

"Yeah, sort of. I've been able to feel gravity since my eruption. Well, more than just the general sense of 'down' that everyone has," he pointed down. "All things have their own gravity, every atom in every object, and I can sense all of that, all the time. Its basically impossible to actually filter it all, though." He shrugged, "I can see with my eyes shut, though - if that makes any sense - just by feeling the gravity of objects so I don't run into them. I'd like to train to expand what I can do. Like, I can fly, by creating and manipulating gravity to pull myself up, but its hard. Also, gravity is related to a lot of things very tightly, mostly space. The best example is a black hole, so much gravity that it warps space around it. I've never really pushed to see how much gravity I can create, but I'd like to try. I just need a safe environment to do that sort of experiementation in."

"Sorry, I get kind of wordy, probably comes from having to teach lab classes."
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:27, Thu 16 Apr 2009.

"Well, keep out of trouble. Imp mentioned Caesars earlier, I expect thats where we'll be, otherwise it'll probably be the club." Solitaire gives Phantasm a wave before pocketing the keycard and stepping out into the hall. She spots imp waiting outside his room and strides over to him.

"So, anybody else show an interest? Or will it be just us?"

Phantasm stands still for a moment, as though considering, then follows Solitaire out the door.

"I'll just go with you guys.  I'd rather stay with people, since I don't really know my way around here.  Do you think we could stop by the art show on the way down to the exit though?  It won't take me very long, I just wanted to see some of it up close.  I've seen books full of art, but it's supposed to be totally different up close.  And didn't some of the other say they were going to be going there?"

"No problem."  Quentin's talk was dizzying.  Dillon rubbed his eyes.  "I think I'm seeing things." he said, stepping out of his room to meet the other.  "Worry about it later.  Come on."

He peeked his head out the suite door into the hallway, noticing Solitaire and the others.  "Want to head with the others?  Or head somewhere else?"

Quentin could only shrug, "Whichever. I don't really know the city, and we're supposed to vaguely stay together, so I'll opt for sticking with the others."

As they continued to walk down the hall he spoke again, "What sort of things are you seeing? It could be a new manifestation of your power. It isn't unheard of for us to be able to extend things that we can do."

"Lights are way to bright.  Extra colors.  Skeletons.  Building frames.  I'll try it again later, right now my head's killing me."  He laughed.  "Superman never got hang-overs from this kind of thing."

They neared the larger group.  "Hey guys.  Did Zero and David already head out?"

"No idea, they might've, or not, haven't seen them. I don't mind waiting if they want to come as well. More people, more for me to win." Solitaire grins and looks around, tapping a toe on the floor as she does so."Should we check their room?"

"Might as well.  Although being seen with the good Dr. and David may spoil our chances of passing as baselines."  Imp heads over and raps on their door.

---

Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)
if they come out, more dialogue, then Imp will head over to Caesars with whoever else wants to go, the cards and the cash await

---

This message was last edited by the player at 03:29, Fri 17 Apr 2009.

"I hope he c-c-c-comes out soon, I'd l-l-like to hear his... un-n-n-nique opinion on the g-gallery."

Dillon shook his head.  "They've got phones and so do we.  Alright.  Art gallery, then cards."  He tried to hazard a glance through the walls, and couldn't see them through the wash of other inputs, radiation, wiring, and support structure.  By the time he summoned the elevator and checked back to see if anyone was following, he was seeing in the usual spectrum again.  The elevator arrived with an inviting chime.

---

Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)
Just wanted to keep things moving along.  Based on Dr. Zero's mention of a restaurant and all that, I am assuming I don't see them.  We can still meet up with them downstairs.

---

ooc: actually he mentioned the walking, could been looking out the window. I'll go with it though.


"Hey doc, we better get back, we are supposed to meet up with the others to go to the gallery and then that novas only club,," David says floating in the other direction now.

"I should probably pick up some sunglasses at a giftshop while we're out and about. Its sort of a pathetic disguise, but hey, it worked for Superman, right?" As if to underscore just how ineffective sunglasses would probably be in the long-run, another rippling wave raced out from his body. Quentin grimaced, not in pain, just in frustration. "Not much I can do about that, though. Here's hoping most of this town is too intoxicated to notice something like that."

The group as a whole wanders down to the lower levels, passing through elegant but not overstated halls on the way.  The people in the Bellagio are a more calm crowd than those in the surrounding hotels. They pay for luxury, and the right to privacy; they expect the same in return.  Though many cannot help but stare at you as you pass by. Full of youthful beauty and chiseled bodies, your group cannot help but draw attention even without your nova identities being on display.

When you reach the ground floor, you find signs pointing you directly towards the art show, making it easy for anyone wishing to visit to find their way. When those attending arrive, they find that the show is apparently dedicated to contemporary art this season.

http://www.bellagio.com/amenit...ery-of-fine-art.aspx

Imp strolls casually through the art gallery, taking not of the strange, the sublime and the surreal.  He likes the work, but it just didn't seem to have enough flavour to draw him in, art never had.  He grinned, it was nice that some things never changed.  He caught the eye of some of the others and nodded towards the doors.  As soon as everybody who was going was gathered he headed across the street to Caesars and went to the cashier.  He pushed a few hundred across the counter and gathered his chips, then headed down into the pit.  Time to see if his ability to read people worked as well as he thought it did.  He walked with an easy swagger, casual, cocky, charming.  The lingering looks from the women in the room made his heart race, his breath quicken.  "Thank god I'm not a pathetic loser anymore," he breathed.  "If I died right now, I'd be happy."  Imp slid into a chair at a 10/20 table, ordered a G&T, and waited to be dealt in.

"God, I'm ranting again, and not even on purpose. You are right. Let us sample the Baseline culture. Do you have any artistic talents, young David?"

At the Art Gallery:

OOC: Does anyone act differently to Z given his 'eccentric' attire?'



Zero walks up to Impetus. "I think I prefer your architecture to most of what I see here, Mr. Impetus. Though I do love Andy Warhol's works. The Sol LeWitt sculpture does please me as well, but I like funny sculptures. Something about the use of space. Anyway, I have a question for you. How much do you think the casinos lose in a night to Novas who... use their gifts to alter the odds?"

"Uh..welll...my mom says I can sing like an angel...guess it worked out huh doc?" David smiling, thinking of his mom for a second I wonder what she's up to about now...maybe I can try to talk to her when we get back on the phone or something...I miss her...


At the museum

David walks around admiring the differents works of art and trying not to feel like a sore thumb, while everyone is staring at him and acquiesses to a few people asking to touch his wings and flapped them for a sad little boy blowing the little boy's hair out of his face.

Samuel watches the baselines crowd around his companion with a smile. "W-Well, now." he gives him a nudge. "Looks like y-y-you've alr-ready got yourself a some g-groupies." He proceeds to saunter around the museum, looking very closely at the various artworks. He finds the underlying textures of it just amazing.

David smiles a little at Samuel, "I wouldn't say that but at least no one is chasing me with a pitchfork or anything,"

At no point in Dillon's life had he ever truly been exposed to fine art.  A picture in a history text.  Images in an advertisement.  That was all.  He didn't know what to do with himself at the Art gallery, so he paid for an audio tour wand and made his way from painting to painting while other patrons stared.  Dr. Zero's arrival didn't help.  He did find himself strangely attracted to the geometric forms of George W. Hart, but everything else seemed stupidly irrelevant.

"So you used to do this stuff, Solitaire?" Dillon asked in the gift shop.  "Art I mean."

Sameul's smile turns to a confused frown. "You g-g-gonna tell m-me 'bout your p-p-powers yet? What's all th-this Heaven and Hell b-b-business?!"

"Well as far as my blessings go, we can discuss those back at the base, but it's your soul you're concerned about, I'd be glad to discuss verses with you at the hotel, in fact I was going to search for a church that I could attend, I'd be happy to let you know when I'm going to attend.  Oh! Perhaps a good bible study might be more up your alley..." David trailed off a bit "Let me find a good few passages to share with you, I'll let you know later."

In reply to Comstock (msg #30):

Solitaire wanders absent-mindedly, taking in the whole place, though mainly focusing on Warhol and some Lichtenstein. She loved they way he took completely mundane and boring objects, and made them fine art. She was staring at a painting of soup cans when she heard Comstock's question.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, but I've got nothing on these guys.  Still, its something I enjoy. " She turns back to the cans. "He definitely had, something." Solitaire says with admiration. She looks back, and spies the headphones. "Not much of an art person, eh, Dillon?" She figured it was better not to call people by code-names right at the moment, this would likely be some of the last anonymity they would get, pity to spoil it so soon. She catches Imps nod out of the corner of her eye, and follows. "Well, time to go play some cards."

Solitaire takes the seat across from Imp, smiling. This is gonna be fun.

With little or no background in art beyond poorly drawing ellipses on planes to represent orbits, Quentin had never developed much appreciation for art in general. This went double for modern art, which lacked the historical value many "classical" pieces did and were often, in his opinion, just random crap that someone was trying to pass off as professional.

He tried not to look bored, and mostly failed. Instead he looked restless, uninterested, and eventually excused himself to a gift shop to purchase the sunglasses he'd mentioned previously obtaining to hide his obviously inhuman eyes.

The other visitors at the show flock around Dr. Zero, assuming him to be some artist's commentary on the emerging nova population.  Or perhaps a stylized representation of the Great War.  Or maybe he's one of the artists, disguised so that he can watch people viewing his work... People comment on what Zero "really" is, and then move on by.

Quentin is less of a success, and people instinctively shy away (unless soothe is in use) as he comes near.  While they often don't immediately point and scream (people really don't expect novas, or anything "supernatural", so they often miss obvious things like the ripple of space and the black eyes), they do walk the other way, and cluster more tightly together, at his approach.

)))))))))))))))))))

The low dollar card tables are active tonight (the high rollers have yet to come out apparently), and the place looks to be a bit understaffed this evening.  The tables are largely full, and there is a line to get chips.  The crowd is a talkative one, more so than normal (perhaps there is a convention, since many people seem to know one another here?), and you have a bit of trouble finding two chairs at the same table due to the lack of dealers (though you eventually manage if you so choose).

In response to Zero:
"I'd imagine that's only gonna happen a couple times before they hire one of us to watch out for that kind of thing, and to deal with someone who uses their powers like that."  Imp smirks.  "Good think I'm not one of those n'ere do wells."

At Caesars:
After working their way through the crowd and finally finding some seats together Imp grins back at Solitaire.  He pick up his cards and, as he loosens his control on his powers, he becomes even better looking than he was moments ago.  Appearance shifts slightly for everyone watching to become that much sexier, mannerisms become those guaranteed to seduce, but unconsciously so.  Imp enjoys playing here, surrounded by people.  The convention that many of the people were here for, "The impact of Novas on the economy and what it will mean for the rest of us" seemed to draw many mid-sized business owners, wealthy enough to be able to afford losing some money, grasping enough to try to win it back.  They never did.  The hands that Solitaire didn't win usually went to Imp.  He didn't have her obvious experience with playing cards, but he was soon able to pick up on the subtleties of the game.  The chips kept stacking up in front of him, and people at the table didn't even seem to angry about losing. This was heaven.
This message was last edited by the player at 12:27, Sat 18 Apr 2009.

Of note, while Impetus is killing the table, Solitaire is mostly just making sure that her money doesn't leave too quickly.  Her appearance occasionally distracts someone into losing their money, but on the whole she's just not keeping up with the Imp...

Impetus has somehow managed to collect the majority of the money at his table, and have everyone like him at the same time.  An impressive feat indeed.

Solitaire sits at the table, having a blast, even if she's only managing to win just enough to stay in the game. That was enough, she didn't care about winning, it was only the game that mattered. She usually managed to walk away with about what she started with, and so never really lost anything, but nor did she often win, and tonight was business as usual. Still, it had been ages since Solitaire had such a game, and was enjoying every minute of it.

After a couple hours, and a few thousand dollars up, Imp decides he's had enough.  He nods to Solitaire and gets up, gathering his impressive stack of chips while he does so.  He tosses the dealer a hundred dollar chip and, as he's about to head to the cashier, gets a key slipped into his pocket by one of the women who've been watching him.  Imp gets Solitaire's attention, mouthes "Meet you at the Archon" and heads to the elevators after cashing out.

Solitaire sighs with a smile, and gives Imp a wave. "Have fun." She calls after him. Leaving Caesars, she wanders down the strip in the general direction of Archon, taking in the sights, the lights, the art, the people, whatever Vegas deigned to show her. It was fascinating, in a way the stories couldn't quite capture. She strolled past pirates, half-naked dancers, tourists, gamblers, and a couple people who defied easy description. It was a interesting place, Solitaire would give it that much, and she wanted to see what else it had to offer.

"Nah ... not much of an art person," Dillon muttered to himself.  He dragged Phantasm, Quentin and anyone else who was interested through the halls of the Bellagio, finding the indoor botanical gardens ("this is always awesome at Chinese new year"), the Chilhuly Glass sculptures ("The word is that Steve Wynn is blind, and this thing always looked like mushrooms to me"), and the forum shops at Caesars ("expensive as hell").  He hadn't been to the strip in about a year.  Felt good to stretch the legs and see the old sights.

On his mind was Phantasm's surreptitious note, at odds with the frank sincerity of her amnesia claims.  At an opportune moment, away from Quentin and the others, Dillon nodded awkwardly to Phantasm.  "Alright ... so, is this a good time to ask questions?"  He wasn't a stranger to lies and slipping away.  Tall ceilings and a crowd made for some decent privacy.  "I mean, I don't want to pry into your memory or anything but, but you know, if you need someone to talk to or ..."  Smooth, moron, now she's going to think you're creepy or worse.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:17, Sat 18 Apr 2009.

If there is one thing that almost all professionals in the sciences share, it is an acute ability to recognize patterns. It doesn't take long for Quentin to recognize that people are, perhaps even unconsciously, avoiding him. Despite his eccentric attire, they do not seem to have the same problem with Dr. Zero. Prodigal's wings also seemed to fascinate people more than repel them. His brow creased briefly, though he forced himself to relax the expression - no need to provoke anyone by making them think he was also angry.

He tried to calm himself down to see if he could, at the very least, stop the spatial rippling that seemed to plague him. He really couldn't do much about his eyes other than hide them. Fortunately, some people in Vegas did things far more eccentric than simply wear sunglasses indoors or at night, so this was remarkably ordinary for the city. Still, it wouldn't do to be scaring people while they were out and about enjoying themselves, so he tried to focus himself on negating the rippling effect and generally calming down. [Private to GM: This, of course, constitutes spending the 1QP to activate Sooth which, I should note, has a 10m radius.]

As Solitaire and Impetus left, phantasm mumbled a bit.
"I... but I was going to play too..."
Phantasm seemed disappointed, but the art was interesting, and the poker was somewhat intimidating, so it only lasted a moment.


"You know, this is all so different than you see in art books.  Textures are such a huge part of the art.  I don't think I'll ever bother with pictures of art again."
Phantasm sweeps the room with her eyes as she says this, rapidly taking in everything she sees.  She moves closer to a few pieces, examining them from different angles. Those watching her would probably assume she was uninterested in the art, because of how little time she spent looking at it, but she stood around staring of into space for a long while as the rest of her group was finishing their tour of the exhibition, just contemplating it.

As she noticed Dillon coming over, she realized that she would have to talk to him about that note soon... Was that a good idea?  She had to talk to someone, couldn't just keep this up without someone to help.  Phantasm was smart enough to realize that trying to go it alone would drive her crazy.

"Thanks Dillon... I gave you that note, so you aren't really prying.  I gave you that because you seemed like a nice guy.  You kind of remind me of my older brother.

You have to keep this to yourself though.  If you don't promise me that you won't say anything, then I won't be able to say anything more.  Even though I'd really like someone to talk to."
This message was last edited by the player at 21:37, Sat 18 Apr 2009.

"Cross my heart.  Won't say a word," he responded without hesitation.  "So ... you have an older brother?  Any idea where?"  Nearby, animatronic statues of Bacchus and other gods began a show with lights and music from atop a marble fountain.  A camera-laden crowd of tourists packed tight around it.

"Probably still back home.

So, I don't really know how to explain this, but I need someone to understand, so I'm just going to start by showing you..."

Phantasm's body changes subtly as Dillon watches: she loses several inches in height, her bone structure shifts subtly, and her figure becomes less defined.  She looks to be somewhere around 15 years old, maybe a little younger.

"This is what I really look like.  I think.  It's been a while, so I might have forgotten something..."

Quickly she shifts her features back to the older, more ambiguously aged, form.

"I remember everything.  Even the stuff I don't want to remember.  I erupted after I was kidnapped by a nova, and had been strapped down in his basement for a week, and used as a guinea pig.  He wanted to explore his "nova nature" and he needed people to "help" him.  And I think he wanted to play out his sick fantasies from before he erupted too.

But anyway, I... Got away.  Went home, pretended like nothing happened.  I couldn't stay there anymore.  I never really fit in back in school, or even at home, but after erupting... I just couldn't do it.  I also wanted to know what I could do, and I NEEDED to do something to protect people from novas.

So I came to utopia. I told them this whole story about amnesia, shifted myself so their scans wouldn't figure out who I was.  When I erupted I... I learned how to lie really well, and how to figure out problems, and how to keep people out of my head.  I guess it was what I needed to keep me alive at the time.  But it also helped me get halfway across the country and trick Utopia."

Phantasm, after her long and rapidly stated explanation, manages to look relieved and panicked at the same time.  Then she starts to cry a little.

"I need to be here, but I also can't do this all alone.  It's too much, and too fast, and I can't take it all in.  I think so fast now, I see everything, and I... I can process it all, but it doesn't help me UNDERSTAND, and it doesn't help me deal with all the feelings and... I'm sorry, I'm a mess, its just been like this for months and..."

"Damn ... that's ... sorry."  He looked around to make sure they weren't attracting attention.  Bacchus was still spinning around in place and making a racket, so no one seemed the wiser.  "Hey, don't cry.  It's alright."  Now the awkward part ... hug or no hug?  He fidgeted a bit, trying to decide what was best.  "I'm not gonna tell on you or anything.  Secret's safe."  He looked around, saw a cafe with fake outdoor seating and snagged a cloth napkin for her.  "Long way from home, huh?"
This message was last edited by the player at 00:43, Sun 19 Apr 2009.

"It's- it's ok. Sorry to make a scene. I'm better now. I just, it's weird talking about this after so long.

Why don't we just meet the others over at that nova club?"

“Oh? You sing. I would like to hear you perform latter, David. I’ve always wanted to sing. Perhaps I will ask for your tutoring. Tell me, does your mother live far away? We could get go on a road trip and see her after we settle down here.”

In the Gallery:


“‘N'ere do well.’ Hm. I like the ring to that.” Zero mused to itself.



If they could see the Nova’s face under the mask, it would be beaming. “Finally. People who appreciate my art,” the Doctor muses to itself.

Z's head is held high.

At Caesars:

An ugly looking, hunched over man is sitting at the bar. He’s got the kind of face that is so uninteresting that you feel good about your looks while talking to him, but not hideous enough to make you feel uncomfortable to look at his face. He’s got a nervous smile, like he want everyone to be his friend and is nervous to offended. He slaps $20 on the bar and asks the bartender to give him the strongest thing that’ll buy. “I’ve lost a grand at the table. God, I wish I was a Nova. ‘Could just mind them dice and win every time! God.” The man tries to warm up to the bartender, and then slowly directs the questions down to how much the casinos fear they have been loosing to Novas. “They’ve got to have an idea. I mean, if ya just compare the numbers from before the Fireman to today, ya know, ya know? Damn Aberrants just ‘ave it too good!”

OOC: Zero wants a cut of the casino’s profit. The doctor is too much of a pragmatist to bother with gambling. The idea is that the casinos need a Nova to sniff out cheating Novas, but Zero wants a ballpark figure before he talks to someone in charge. Zero is trying to snoop and find out what the rough figure of nightly damages to the casino’s to haggle, and will talk to several employees to get a feel for the situation. I am guessing these would be Investigation Rolls?

Edit: Did roll:
10:30, Today: Dr. Zero rolled 9 successes using 14d10 with the Target Number system with a target of 7 with rolls of 7,7,2,9,1,8,10,4,1,10,10,2,7,10. Investigative Check, 1 Die Mega. .
10:29, Today: Dr. Zero rolled 3 successes using 6d10 with the Target Number system with a target of 7 with rolls of 1,8,9,4,7,3. Investigative Prodigy, 1 Mega Die.

Those should be a total of 10 successes on the last Investigation Roll, as the first die was a Mega-Die.

This message was last edited by the player at 14:33, Sun 19 Apr 2009.

"Yeah, sure.  Uh ... you might want to put your ... face back on first."  They started walking, keeping an eye out for any of the others.

"So ... don't mean to pry, but ... what should I call you?  Do you have a name?  And does your family know you're out here?  I mean, like, I'll back you up with them and Utopia and all.  But I'm going to want some help with my homework, alright?"  He laughed a bit, trying to lighten the mood.

"Umm Doc, I said my MOM says I sing like an angel I think I sound like a drowning cat...that's dead....heh," David says obviously uncomfortable.  "I also..nevermind, we can talk later...you know you kind of remind of the guy I met when I first came to Utopia..Silent Knight I think it was...."

"You can just keep calling me Phantasm.  It works on multiple levels.

They don't know where I am exactly, but before I left I told them what I was, and why I wanted to leave.  They weren't too happy about what I'd become, and they never came looking for me... I hung around for a while to make sure.  They did file a police report, but I think it was to cover themselves.

And yeah, if you need help with your work, I'll be there"

"Alright, P.  And hey," he shot her a smile, "we're all weird here, right?"

They set out to find the others and make their way to Archon.

Imp quietly rolled out of bed and made his eufiber take on his usual suit.  The woman, Mandy, was sound asleep, and was likely to remain so for an hour more at least.  He grinned, left her a short note, nothing sleazy, just thanks for a great time and that Imp hoped he'd bump into her again soon, and headed to the Archon.  This should be an eye opener, a nova only club.  He just hoped that Crimson Dawn wouldn't be there.  That'd suck.

Before the Gallery:


"'Silent Knight,' eh? I bet there are a few that wish I was. I used to go by another quirky, ridiculous name. I'll tell you, but you must promise to keep it between us, and only the two of us." The Doctor points at both of them to make the point crystal clear.



"I do love that title, though. Mind if I use it? I know someone who needs a... 'code-name.'" The sarcasm drips off of Zero's tongue when referring to Nova names.
This message was last edited by the player at 14:28, Sun 19 Apr 2009.

David shrugs "Wasn't my name, you'd have to take it up with him, I'm fairly sure he said Silent Knight cause everyone wished he WOULD stay silent, heh heh, Are you saying that your name is really Zero? That's an interesting last name Doc, but yeah, I can keep a secret," David's face gets a little mroe focus at this possible new revelation.

Investigation:
Dr. Zero finds that the casino has in fact had a few problems with unscrupulous novas in the past.  Most were caught and removed, though one did start a fight that required not only a great deal of effort to stop, but also a great deal of money to cover up (the casinos have to maintain a veneer of control and safety to stay in business).

At first, your questioning and odd attire nearly get you thrown out, but your deft questioning and the potential you represent eventually gets you a meeting with one of the casino's managers, Don Castano.

"Not sure what to think of you sir, I'll just be blunt.  You come in hear looking like this, asking questions you've got no business asking... But if you really are a nova, we could use someone on our payroll to ensure the security of the place.  So, if you've got some sort of proposal, let's here it."

))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

At the Archon:
The Archon is expensive.  The cover is $100 just to walk in the door for Novas, and $1000 for baselines (all novas have to display an ability before they walk in the door, which also makes the club a tourist trap all its own, since people are lined up all around the area just to get a look at nova powers in action).

Upon entering you are escorted, by a scantily clad hostess, into the club proper, after dropping off anything you don't want to be wearing at the check in desk.

The decor is both tacky, and impressive.  The walls are covered in electronics, with TV screens replaying the most impressive displays of nova power ever recorded, while "high-tech" devices glow and pulse in time with the blasting music.  Baseline staff (all exceptionally attractive, and of both sexes) in skintight outfits (that leave nothing to the imagination) provide guests with whatever they like (which is sometimes more than is appropriate).

The club has a single large dance floor, on which several novas are dancing with groups of rich human groupies, and displaying their powers in flashy and flamboyant fashion.  Behind the dance floor a bar serves liquor to those more interested in socializing than dancing.

Above the ground floor are rooms reserved for private parties, and a large sitting area for the more refined nova to get a bit to eat and drink while the watch their less evolved brethren through a layer of soundproof glass.  Looking up, one can barely make out the people in the upper rooms.

The young woman escorting your yells loudly over the music:
"I can take your drink orders if ya want, and I can reserve you a table up top.  Just let anyone with a name badge on know what you need and we'll be happy to provide anything ya need." The way she said "anything" makes it clear that the services provided for the nova guests extend beyond those in more mundane establishments.

---

Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)
You can go where you like in here.  The three areas of interest are the dance floor, the bar, and the upper floors.  More discussion goes on in the upper area, but for those looking to have fun and be active, the bottom floor is the place to be.

---

David waits for the bouncer(?) to check his id...."Excuse me, I was just wondering if it'd be ok for me to go in there if I promise that I won't be having any alcohol? I'd just like to go where I hear things are fun for novas," David says politely.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:17, Mon 20 Apr 2009.

The "bouncer", a short, wiry, nerdy looking guy wearing an expensive suit, just laughs.

"We're nova's kid, do you think anyone's going to check your ID?  Seriously.  Get in there and have some fun.  Just don't cause any trouble, or I'll have to toss you out."

The Gallery

The thought of discussing the bible with David makes Samuel rather nervous, but he decides to accept the invitation. "Sure," he says with a smile "it's alw-w-ways good to learn someth-thing new."

The Casino

Since he's not particularly good at cards, Samuel decides to stick with the slot machines, despite his earlier desire to stay away from them. His first few cranks result in nothing, but a little accidental shock results in a jackpot. He was afraid someone would call him out on it, but no one seemed to notice. He grinned. Very nice.

The Archon

Samuel had the misfortune of being stuck behind David as he nervously addressed the bouncer. "Y-Y-You'll have to exc-c-cuse my friend here." he said to the bouncer while nudging David. "He's n-not quite used t-t-to special the treatment that c-c-c-comes with being a n-nova yet."

David looks at the bouncer then at Samuel, obviously bewildered. "I'm confused, shouldn't we more have to adhere to the law, because we have been blessed with such gifts that allow us to...." He trails off after getting nudged by Samuel and walks into the club. "OH MY..." He averts his eyes at some of the goings on and smiles quickly at the coat check girl's friendliness "Thank you very much"

"Not a problem.  We're all new to it really.  Just remember, the world's your if you want it, you just have to play your cards right...

Hey.  If you guys need anything in Vegas, show tickets, a get outa jail free card, that sorta thing, let me know.  And when I'm in your neck of the woods, maybe you can hook me up... Oop gotta go, they're frisky tonight..."

The bouncer hands both Samuel and David a card before running off to stop a Nova guest from being mobbed by the autograph seeking crowd.  The bouncer's power is apparently to create some sort of force field or force wave, as the crowd is pushed back from the area long enough to allow the nova entrance.

The card, btw, simply says:
"Adam Bower, The Shield
Nova Bodyguard
(939)555-9383"

David puts the card in his pocket before speaking to the coat check girl.

Imp walks up to the club, "Well, I guess my cover's blown." he sighs as he walks towards the doorman.  "Hey buddy, how's it going?  My name's Impetus." Imp drops a quarter and, just as it's about to hit the ground manipulates its momentum so that it arcs left, then up then drops back into Imp's hand.  "Is that enough?"  After getting a nod of assent, and a quick check of his quarter to see if there were strings, Imp pays his fee and walks in, scanning the people inside fore the telltale quantum signatures of his teammates.  He stops at the bar, buys a vegetable juice, and moves over to his friends with a friendly wave.  "Hey guys, is this place crazy or what?"

---

Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)
I assume that i will arrive last. just posted cause i don't know when/if i will be back at the computer today.

---

This message was last edited by the player at 03:40, Mon 20 Apr 2009.

"So ... this is different."

With Phantasm and everyone else he could find in tow, Comstock walked to the front of the line.  Once he had a better idea of how things worked, he turned to Phantasm.  "Alright ... let's see if we can sneak you in without showing off your ... changing thing. 'kay?"  The crowd, the camera flashes, the shouting ... he turned to the hungry onlookers and let the metal out.  A gleaming, polished, argent marvel, gleaming in the neon and lcd jungle.  "Thank you ... thank you ... can I get inside now?"

The best thing, Dillon decided, about being a metal man, was that he couldn't sweat, and his expression was too stiff to show fear.

Solitaire makes her way down the strip to Archon, getting sidetracked here and there, it wasn't hard to spot, you could tell by the massive ring of people and cameras around the place. That, and and Comstock was in metal mode right outside, so it must be the right place. She could see him quite clearly, ways off though she was, her eyesight was very good.

The crowd was too dense to get through easily, after several Nova's showing up in succession, so Solitaire decided to do this the easy way. She coiled back and sprang forward, launching herself up and over the heads of the assembled gawkers. Halfway through her arc, she concentrates and slows down, lowering herself toward the red carpet. She loses focus a foot from the ground, but drops gracefully even so, landing lightly on her feet. She strides up to the doorman, shakes his hand and inquires, "Busy night, eh? I don't envy you having to deal with this crowd all the time. Call me Solitaire." She offers him a hand and flashes a smile in greeting.
This message was last edited by the player at 04:12, Mon 20 Apr 2009.

Phantasm leans in close enough that only Dillon can hear "I can do other stuff too.  I just don't like to because it creeps people out."

I sickly green light begins to cling to Phantasm's skin, glowing brightly for a moment before flickering out.  Something about it turns off the crowd, causing them to feel a sudden sense of anxiety.

"That should get me in.  Though I think they liked you better."

---

Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)
For those that care, I took a unique weakness that makes that magnifies taint while it is in effect.  It basically causes fear and trepidation in those looking at it in use.

---

Quentin had only stayed in the casinos for about half an hour, trying to actively avoid games in which he might have been tempted to abuse his powers. It just didn't seem fair. This largely meant slot machines, video blackjack, and other automated games were about all he played.

He looked up after exhausting the credits on the machine he was playing to notice that he couldn't find anyone else. They'd been planning on meeting at that club anyway, so it hardly seemed to matter.

He tried to keep up a pleasant demeanor as he approached the nova club, and, arriving at the door, tipped down the sunglasses he was still wearing, even though it was dark to reveal his totally black eyes to the doorman. "Is this enough, or should I do something a bit more showy?" He jerked his head subtly to the crowd clustered haphazardly around the entrance - many of which were simply waiting for a show. [Private to GM: Trying to keep Sooth up so that they don't all get a bad impression of T2M's newest members - though they don't know who we are...]
This message was last edited by the GM at 05:13, Mon 20 Apr 2009.

Two hundred dollars down and coat checked in.  "Alright ... we're going to have to sit down and talk about all those cool little tricks and things, P.  Because that was weird, seriously weird."  He was about to say more, but it took him a few moments to suppress his "natural" sheen.  Enough time for the hypocrisy to sink in.

It didn't take too long to notice Prodigal and Samuel, but Dillon took a moment or two to scan the whole dance floor before heading over to meet them.  He tried taking a count of the number of novas actually present.  He started looking for obvious powers, too.  "Quentin's going to go nuts when he gets here.  Hope he won some money gambling after we lost him."

Shield to Impetus: "Sorry about that, they get a kick out of the pretty ones. I sometimes think the groupies have a sixth sense for quantum, 'cuz you look pretty normal to me"

Shield to Solitair: "Hello Solitaire, nice to meet you. Good show there, they love seeing people fly. And yes, it is getting a bit old dealing with the crowd, though they were pretty entertaining when I started-"
A force bubble catches a lace thong that almost landed on Solitaire's head
"and occasionally they are still worth a laugh.  Looks like you've got a special friend out there..."

Shield to Phantasm and Comstock: "Yeah, that's enough, you two get on in.  Crowds goin' kinda weird... oh, and by the way, that metal thing is a good look for you. You should stick with it."

Shield to Gravitas: "Yeah, that's enough, unless you feel like doing something fun for them [gestures toward the crowd]. The green chick creeped them out a bit, happens sometimes, but they calmed right down when you walked up... Not sure what you shtick is though, and I don't want to impose."

Quentin pushed his glasses back up onto his nose and threw a half-grin to Shield. "Nah," he replied with a glance back at the crowd, "let 'em speculate. I'm sure you'll all know before too long. Its hard for people like us to hide in plain sight."

He waved briefly at the crowd before ducking into the building. "Geh," was the only sound he could make upon seeing the collected patrons of the club. His mind, always racing, kicked into overdrive analyzing peoples abilities, cataloging their faces for future reference, and conjecturing upon the limits of not only the powers of the people present, but also expanding his definition of possible powers a nova might posses. Certainly some of this information would end up being useful later in either an experimental or an intel-gathering sense. Part of his mind briefly focused on his node to get a general sense of how many novas were present and, perhaps more importantly, how strong they were. [Private to GM: This is, of course, a Node ping.]

"I wonder if the others are here yet," he muttered to himself as he started to look around. He'd never really done much clubbing or anything. His social activities had been mostly limited to quiet bars and bistros where one could go for a few drinks a good chat. The Vegas night scene was something that he didn't have much experience with. Hopefully there'd be somewhere slightly quieter where he could simply relax.

Solitaire reaches up and grabs the thong floating above her head. She looks at, laughing, "I guess so. That's quality right there, why would you want to get rid of it?. I'll take it as a compliment." She spins, giving the crowd a dazzling smile and a blowing them a kiss. Turning back to the bouncer, she says, "I'd love to keep talking, but I think I'll head in before I end up with any more underthings thrown at me.  I've got enough of my own already. Keep up the good work." Solitaire pats him on the shoulder and walks inside.

 Solitaire follows the bodysuited greeter into the main part of the club, the light was low, but that didn't bother her. The music was loud, she liked it that way. The people were beautiful, it just kept getting better. She idly wondered if there was anything this place didn't have, though they would probably get it, should she ask. Now this, is a nice place.

After getting some whiskey from the bar, she just asked for a bottle, Solitaire heads over to the table  where everyone else is gathered. She gives them a wave, then realizes she still has the thong in her hand. "Ah..." She says, looking at it a moment, pockets it, and continues on as if she hadn't been holding a a bottle of hard liquor in hand and a lacy feminine undergarment in the other. "This place rocks. What'cha guys think?"
This message was last edited by the player at 17:22, Mon 20 Apr 2009.

"Uhm..the floor looks very nice," David says trying to be louder than the music playing and still looking down covering his eyes a bit. "It's also a bit loud in here, I wonder if they will play any hymns or even gospel music if we were to ask..."

Samuel stares at David, stupified that he would even mention such a thing. "Uh, David..." he says while trying to stifle his laughter, " I d-d-don't they're g-going to be playing any g-gospel in here of all p-p-places. I don't know m-m-much about the p-place myself, b-b-but I believe it's c-c-c-called Sin City for a r-r-reason."
This message was last edited by the player at 16:09, Mon 20 Apr 2009.

Making his way through the building, Quentin finally found the others and caught the tail end of David's comment. "I seriously doubt that," he found himself a seat to people-watch from, "Samuel's right. Sin City isn't likely to even have music like that on file."

He flagged down one of the pretty waitresses and ordered something that could probably double as jet fuel. He gestured at her backside as she walked away, "Particularly not in a place like this. You might have some better luck with that kind of thing at one of the drive-thru wedding chapels."

David looked at his friends quizzacally, "I can't be the only one who..." He looked around again. "Nevermind" He drops puts his chin on his balled up fists as his elbows rest on his knees.

Dillon's eyes were crawling over the dance floor despite himself.  Even the dorky and ugly novas were getting groupies.  "You want churches, you got to West Las Vegas.  They've got some street corners there where you can see seven or eight churches at a time.  You pray for luck."  Dillon tried some beer.  The flavor was lost on him, and the alcohol was doing nothing.  "If you're really upset I know a Catholic church a little ways away.  Make midnight mass or ... whatever.

"I'm thinking about the baser parts of the human soul, myself."  He stopped looking at pretty girls for a few moments to scan the other booths, updating his mental count of novas present.  "And making friends.  Anyone make any friends yet?  Or want to?"

---

Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)
OOC: special attention paid to big faces, names, things like that.  All this attention and Dillon's new job as big-bro has his ego and hero-instincts firing off.  He's looking for any novas with severe body mods like himself or Prodigal and anyone who looks like a villain or potential problem.

---

Before the Gallery



"Er, yeah."



"We will see. I used to call myself 'Phantom 9.' If I feel I can trust you further, I will tell you more. But now that I have shared something with you, I would like to know something, when I have the time for the question. But it is late. Let us go to the gallery."

The Casino


OOC: (Face-palm.) Forgot to mention change of clothes with the disguise. Dang.



The Doctor straightens up visibly. His demeanor becomes relaxed, and his voice drops to a smooth bass. "Oh, I don't know. I must admit, I wouldn't be asking if I knew the fair market price for these services. But a man in your profession probably knew that. I propose this. Why don't you tell me what it is worth to you. I'll mull it over tonight, come back and show you what I can do and for how much. If you like both, we will do business. If not, you won't have to see me again. Would that work for you?"

The Archon
Doctor Zero arrives just in time to see Prodigal & Samuel talk to the bouncer and get escorted through the door. The Doctor stops to change appearance back to it's normal getup with a trench-coat & 'Sam Spade' hat, and walks up to the bouncer. "Display, huh? Hm. I'll give you my best..." The doctor flips twenty feet backwards, landing in the middle of the crowd, and, without missing a beat, break-dances with all the Doctor can muster! Poperatzy are freely used for gymnastic balance beams (amazingly with no harm to them). If that fails Z, a volley if Martial Arts moves in performed and weaved into the moves, using and abusing the Nova body's inhuman dexterity & stamina.

---

Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)
OOC:
17:39, Today: Dr. Zero rolled 4 successes using 11d10 with the Target Number system with a target of 7 with rolls of 5,5,10,5,5,2,6,8,9,6,7. Zero's Killer Moves! 1 Mega. Dexterity + Martial Arts.
17:38, Today: Dr. Zero rolled 5 successes using 10d10 with the Target Number system with a target of 7 with rolls of 9,5,10,7,2,9,10,6,5,6. 1Mega, Break-Dance Zero! Dance! .  Dexterity + Athletics.

---

Edit:
"Can't touch this!"
Busts a move.
"Can't touch this!"
Busts a move.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:03, Tue 21 Apr 2009.

The bottom level of the club has roughly 50 people dancing, mingling, and drinking, 7 of whom are obviously novas.  There are 3 females and 4 males, all recognizable either due to obvious powers/aberrations, or their fame.  One of the dancers is a famous Nova athlete calling himself the Olympian (his power suite is, predictably, physical perfection). Splash from Team Tomorrow is dancing up a storm (no pun intended), while your soon-to-be powers instructor Frostburn is attempting to get wasted at the bar with only moderate success. There could be more novas here that are less obvious, and there are very likely several lounging on the top floor, away from the noise.

None of the novas look particularly hostile, as most are here just to have a good time. But the night is young, the drinks haven't begun to truly flow, and the club is only at a fraction of its full capacity.

And speaking of the crowd... The place is crazy. People are wearing next to nothing, sweating freely, and throwing themselves all over the novas.  Every nova on the floor has at least 3 groupies giving their undivided attention, and those that can't crowd around the novas are still acting wild, like they're getting a quantum contact high... hell, maybe they are; no one really knows the full impact of the energies novas wield.

The novas themselves are all having a good time, though they each have different ways of going about it. Splash is here to dance, and that seems to be about it; when people get more frisky than she is comfortable with, they get blown off (literally), and she just keeps on moving to the music (she requests a few indian songs as the night goes on).  The Olympian on the other hand is all about the worship; he has a small crowd of people clustered around him, gyrating and losing themselves in his glorious presence.  A few of the more showy novas are displaying energistic powers, or great feats of acrobatics.

A waiter comes around to see if anyone wants more drinks. The regular bevarages are fairly affordable for the novas (you get a discount) but they also have more dubious beverages loaded with caffeine, herbal supplements, and other, more exotic substances.

The floor manager looks at Zero for a moment, then replies:
"I can't really say what it would be worth to me. That's for my bosses to decide. But I'll let them know you're interested. If they're interested, is there a place they can get ahold of you? And is there anything special you can do that would make you worth the pay?  Pickin up trucks and throwing fireballs is great and all, but it don't do much for an establishment like ours...

))))))))))))

Shield looks on impassively as Zero wins himself the adoration of the crowd. Several paparazzi try to get a comment from the acrobatic nova, and the crowd closes in to fondle the good doctor.

When Zero finally extracts himself from the group, Shield simply opens the door, says "good show", and ushers Zero in.

Imp is almost overwhelmed by the press of bodies.  Almost turned off by the sheer wanton lust etched across the faces of the men and women adhered to the novas.  Almost.  He gets into it, forgets that they are thinking breathing human beings and embraces the totality of the moment.  He lets himself get pulled, pawed, clawed and kissed.  That is, until, he looks at the mirrors on the walls and sees what kind of carnival freakshow this place is.  Nova gods worshipped by desperate sycophants.  Amdirers so willing to debase themselves that they look like some desperate junkie willing to do anything for their next hit.  Imp pushes his way fee of the junkies and heads up the stairs, feeling dirty.  He sits down at the bar and orders the strongest thing they have.  Then another, then another, then another.  "You'd never want her to come to a place like this and do that, would you Jason?" He thinks to himself.  He'd never thought there could be too much free tail, too easy a mark.  He chuckled ruefully, "I guess Vegas really does show you that no matter how far down you think you are, there's always somebody a mile further down than you are, hunh?" He asks the bartender.

Upstairs bartendener:
"If this city is good for anything, it is putting things into perspective."

The upstairs is much more tasteful than the gaudy, noisy dance floor below.  A few clusters of people chat quietly as they lounge in comfortable overstuffed chairs, and sip at beverages.  Several are obviously novas, some are more ambiguous.

The "bartender", or at least the man behind the bar anyway, finishes making a drink for himself, looking contemplative. Dressed in casually in slacks and a partially buttoned dress shirt, he looks very much like any well-off baseline, but something about him is calming and encourages trust.

"Now that the edge is off your troubles, maybe you would like to talk, yes? My name is Raoul. You would be...?"
[Private to Impetus: ooc - not sure, but I'm thinking about using your enemy later in the scene, could you refresh my memory on why he hates you?]

))))))))))))))))

Back on the dance floor, a petite female nova, crackling with some sort of energistic discharge, shakes off her throng of now dissapointed followers and wraps herself around Comstock.

The Olympian too is distracted by the arrival of fresh mea- er- faces, and and walks over towards where Phantasm and Solitaire are standing, and looks them both up and down, flashing a winning smile... Despite his arrogance, one can't help but be attracted to him; he oozes charisma and is gorgeous to look at, the ideal of athletic perfection.

Quentin gets a good show, if people watching is all he wants.  Eventually Frostburn stops drinking and chatting with her friends long enough to notice him sitting by her near the bar, and greets him with slightly slurred speach (how much does it take to get a nova drunk?)
[Private to Quentin Abernathy: I keep forgetting to tell you node ping results. 8 on the ground at least that many upstairs.  aside from yourselves that is.  only a few are very powerful, with both Splash and Frostburn qualifying]
This message was last edited by the GM at 08:52, Tue 21 Apr 2009.

"Oh, hey, you made it.  I figuured you'd show up sometime.  They told me ta babysit you, but you're big kids.  Hey, let me buy you a round.  And introduce you to Splashy over there.  Don't call her that though, she hates it.  HEY PRATIMA, GET YOUR SOGGY ASS OVER HERE AND MEET YOUR NEW TEAMMATEs TO BE!  She'll be here in a second, I froze her ass cheeks together to get her ta notice us, so be prepared for the worst... God she is a blast to tease... You want a drink? Somebody get him what I'm having..."

The Casino


"Oh course. Well, I can tell you what I have to offer. Number one, I'm smart. I see a casino, and I'm not thinking about starting epic battles against cheating Novas. I'm thinking of identifying them before that get through that door..." Zero points to the main entrance, "or any entry. 'An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.'Or a month's renovation."

"Number two, I can sense most Novas. I can spot them, their powers, and all that. And that is how I can know who to turn away at your door. Three, I know how to discreetly escort out powerful Novas who have snuck in without throwing flaming bolts of quantum around. And four, I'm a team player & a quick learner. I can work with your security team as a part of it and not steep on their toes. I can't be everywhere and will need their eyes, info, & advice as much as they can use my Node."

Zero writes down a number and hands it to the man. "If you & your boss feel you can use my work, please call me at this number."

Outside The Archon


Zero, breathing heavy, runs up to the door while checking to make sure no personal items or limbs are missing from the crowed. "Thank you. I saw your impressive show a little earlier, too. Could I get your card? I'm sure I could use a private agent of your skills in the future."

Inside The Archon
The sights inside reflect coldly off the goggles on Doctor's mask. It walks into the club, and melds its jacket and hat into its Eufiber before anyone can ask for them. Zero slowly scans the scene before finding it's teammates and taking a chair. Zero spins the chair around before sitting on it backwards to rest it's arms on the back. It addresses David and Samuel specifically. "So boys, what do you think of 'Gomorrah?'"



Zero looks around the club. "It's... seductive." Zero points to the pocket Solitaire hid the panties. "An admirer?"

Impetus:

He stops at the bar, buys a vegetable juice, and moves over to his friends with a friendly wave.  "Hey guys, is this place crazy or what?"</spoiler>

"Nonsense. We've just got here. You must give us some time to really burn the place down." Zero looks at Impetus' drink. The doctor points at it. "Interesting choice."

The Doctor sulks a bit until it sees Impetus go upstairs. Zero originally was looking forward to dancing, but the groupies looked a little intimidating. "I think I need some air. Would anyone like to join me upstairs?" The Doctor goes upstairs and looks around to see what is available up there. Seeing Impetus at the bar, Zero asks to take a seat next to him and asks the bartender for "the same, please" thinking it is vegetable juice. "They looked like they where going to eat you alive down there."
This message was last edited by the player at 10:12, Tue 21 Apr 2009.

This was a first.  "Hey ... what's your name?"  Suave wasn't his thing, but that didn't mean he wouldn't try.

Samuel was used to loud, festive gatherings, but he was rather uneased by the fact that this one was so blantantly... sexual. He heard Frostburn long before he saw her. Maybe I'll get used to this if I at least stay close to someone I know. He tries to make his way to what is obviously the much quiter, and less gaudy part of the club.

"I've got a drink on the way," Quentin half-protests. His eye is drawn to the side of the room where the staircase leads up to the quieter floor above. A possible escape route. He continues to speak, well, shout really, "I've just never been much of the partying type, ya know? I think I may look for somewhere a bit quieter." It sure was loud in that room.

Somehow, he suspected that Frostburn wasn't going to let him off the hook that easily. Dealing with drunk people was one thing, he suspected that dealing with drunk novas was quite another - and undoubtedly the more hazardous of the two.

"Yeah, I suppose. Unless somebody thought I needed another one." Solitaire laughs and downs half her bottle, which did absolutely nothing for her other than burn pleasantly. "Ah, that's it..."

She smiles as the Olympian walks up, offering him a strong, perhaps even little mega-strong, handshake. Solitaire liked good looking people, but she wasn't shallow. Being beautiful didn't cut it, but it got your foot in the door with her, unless she was drunk, which she hadn't been since she erupted. "Solitaire, good to meet'cha. He passed the physical mark with flying colors, now it was just left to discern whether he was an ass or not.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:33, Tue 21 Apr 2009.

"Hi Raoul, my name's Impetus, or Imp if you prefer." Imp proffers a hand, then takes a long pull on the drink.  Holy mother of god it was strong.  Imp didn't have the amazing endurance of some of his compatriots so he knew he was going to start feeling it soon enough.  "Y'know, i really, really get a kick out the attention that we get showered with, the celebrity status, the hero worship, but the people downstairs.  they paid how much money to have the opportunity to rub themselves on someone they didn't even talk to.  I thought i could never have enough free tail, and god knows it's easy enough to get, but they're so fucking animalistic about it that it makes me feel...sullied."  He takes another long pull.
[Private to GM: My enemy?  He hates me because i fucked his wife then she rubbed it in his face.  I don't know if she left him or if they're still together, but that's the source of his ire.  I picture him as being a gigantic soldier type from either the south or New England.  Was just a grunt till he erupted.  Now has the literal firepower to melt a tank.]

David looks around trying to get a waitress' attention. "Excuse me.....Could I have..Pardon me..." David sighed to himself and wondered what exactly he was doing here then he thought of all the people he would eventually help, and possibly some of the novas that he may be able to reach and the kids..he thought of all the kids that wouldn't have to compromise their values to get ahead in life.

Dance floor:
Settling his gaze on Solitaire, the only mildly inebriated Olympian replies arrogantly in a greek accent
"They say I have the body of a god, but you aren't bad yourself... would you care to come dance?"
Without waiting for much of a reply he saunters up, removing himself from his admirers, and presses in close, moving to the music.

The young woman with energy powers says
"I'm Sparkle baby, and I hope you can keep up with me, cuz these norms just keeping falling behind."
as she pulls Comstock further into the mess of gyrating flesh.

)))))))))))))))
The downstairs bar:
An angry, sweaty Indian woman approaches the bar before Quentin can make it up the stairs, and somehow manages to rant angrily while maintaining the appearance of haughty calm. Speaking in a crisp British-Indian accent, Pratima begins telling Frostburn off.
"Frostburn. It is so nice that you could be here this evening. And sober enough to torment me, I see. Quite an improvement over last time.  Do me a favor and get more drunk. And if you would show up to missions in your normal, drunken state, it would be an even greater favor, since I wouldn't have to deal with you again."
Realizing that there were new faces watching, Pratima calms down a bit and greets the new recruits.
"I apologize for my outburst everyone.  We have our disagreements, but you should not be made a part of them.  Before I leave town, tomorrow perhaps, I should like to meet all of you in a less frantic setting, and congratulate you on being chosen.  It would be my honor if I could take you out to lunch tomorrow..."

Pratima is interrupted by a big hug from Frostburn, followed by an "Isn't she so cute when she's angry" comment.  Pratima bears it surprisingly well, perhaps a bit embarrassed by her outburst.

)))))))))))))))))
Upstairs:
Raoul makes another drink for the new guest as he talks to Impetus.
"It is a pleasure to meet you Impetus.  And I understand completely how you feel.  I come here to meet others of my kind, but I cannot say that I agree with many of their tastes.  It seems so... Degrading, to everyone involved.  Certainly there is nothing wrong with a bit of fun, but to basically sell yourself as a tourist attraction for these parasites is beneath what we have become I think.

And the humans are hurt by our presence as well.  You see how they've stopped living their lives, and instead pay to live ours?  It will only get worse, mark my words.

But I apologize.  I should not be so grim, considering your current distress.  Let us talk of happier things.  What are you in Vegas for Impetus?  Pleasure, work, companionship, vice...?

)))))))))))
The door:
Shield gives Dr. Zero a business card before hurrying to escort the famous soldier-turned-elite Crimson Dawn into the building and out of the crowd of now frenzied onlookers (the elite's display of pyrotechnics left the crowd begging for an encore).

Dillon threw a 'gee shucks' look over his shoulder to the others before getting dragged into the middle of it.  "Sparkle huh," he said, letting his powers ride and his skin harden into a silvery shell.  "Call me Comstock."  He'd never been an expert dancer, but he could hold his own and fake it well.  And fatigue was no longer an issue.  Ego running high, he managed to loosen up, get down, and play the part of a gleaming idol.

Inside his new skin, pressed into the throng of adoration, he felt strangely liberated.  He was Comstock, the Metal Man.  Dillon Amargosa was made of flesh and blood, but Comstock had no such weaknesses or imperfections.  Who cared if whiskey tasted bland and beer couldn't give him a buzz?  Sparkles' quantum display crackled across him painlessly, giving him a bigger thrill than any poison.  Right now, Comstock was sure he could drink molten lead and eat uranium yellowcake, order seconds, and follow it up by lifting the Stratosphere Tower over his head.  Indestructible.

He missed Dr. Zero's arrival and Impetus' retreat upstairs.  He vaguely noticed Frostburn and Splash with Quentin trapped in between.  He lost track of Samuel and Phantasm, which some part of his brain reminded him was probably bad.  He noticed David loitering around and trying to get a drink, decided the boy needed help, and shouted "Hey Prodigal!  Come on!" while gesturing for him to get onto the dance floor and find some groupies.  Between songs, he leaned close to Sparkle: "You know what you're doin' alright.  In town for awhile?"  If he held her closer than was strictly necessary, it was the adrenaline and endorphins talking.

"Not bad?" Solitaire replies, in mock outrage. "I only rate 'not bad?' Is it my hair?" She runs a hand through it, and it becomes shorter, and red. "Eyes?" They go from brown to a emerald green. "Am I too pale?" Her skin darkens a shade.

She gives him a playful shove when he gets too close, laughing, "Whoa, slow down buddy, you have to earn that." He was confident, she'd give him that, and even if he ended up being a total jerk, he was still damn pretty. "Not a bad dancer, either." She thinks, as she begins gyrating to the music as well.

The night was still young, and it was already full of potential.

"Agreed.  I mean, I know that we have abilities that make us far more capable than we once were, and I think that, like the top player on a basket ball team, we should be expected to contribute more than those who are less skilled, but, god, I'm not an amusement park ride.  I don't think that we make everybody else' lives worse though, just these junkies."  Imp drains his glass.  "Alright, enough angst, if i wanted that I's play one of those vampire games or something.  I'm here on a bit of a vacation, my friends and I got hired by the Project and we got a weekend pass. How about yourself."

Phantasm lingered at the edge of the dance floor, a bit intimidated and confused.  Was this really what she wanted to be spending her time doing?  But she had wanted to see what this world was like, so she might as well follow through.

Pushing against the press of bodies, she moved deep into the crowd, letting it take her where it would.  Not visibly a nova, she was mostly just another body on the floor, until her clothing molded itself tightly to her body and her dexterity and stamina set her apart from the others around her.  As the club grew more crowded she managed to attract a fair share of her own groupies, and tried to lose herself to the moment.

As the crowd of strangers moved around her in its state of abandon, and a few daring individuals took liberties she was unsure she was ready for, the question began to grow in her mind: How far did she really want this whole thing to go?

David's eyes flash to where Dillon haad called for Prodigal.  He floated towards Dillon's voice had come from, staying above everyone a bit, seeing if his friend needed help. "What's the matter..Dil..er...Comstock?" He asked changing the name he was using seeing Dillon's full armored persona and keep an eye out for something going on and then he found it as the female nova was rubbing against Comstock. Oh dear, it's obvious he doesn't need my help, let alone anyone looking on. David found himself still just floating above the dance floor lost in thought.

The doctor chuckles to itself while thinking "excellent. The second stage in my master plan is complete."



Zero sees Samual coming up the stairs. "Mr. Wolf! Come over here! Wait, where is David? Dear Lord, don't leave him down there! Drag him up, if you please! You don't want his mother blaming us for his prepubescent corruption on your watch, do you? Oh, never mind!" Zero runs down the stairs to make sure David isn't engaging in a wild orgy just yet.



"David! Come up here. They have their own bartender upstairs. Common, before you contact a disease by association. I'll get you a vegetable juice or some such." Zero returns to it's seat.



"Thank you, kindly," says Zero as it takes the offered drink. Zero sips the drink through a new, discreet tube it's shaped out of eufiber to fold out of it's mask, and balks at the strength. "Humph! Mr. Raoul, this drink has quite a lot of kick. I must ask, how did you make it?" Taking another look at the man, he realizes that the Raoul's cloths are out of place for the staff, and assumes he is a patron by listening to the men's discussion.

"I hope you gentlemen don't mind me weighing in, but I don't think this is just a carnival for the Baselines. Look at our Olympian, down there. It is just as much his show, and any other Nova who wants worship. I'd say everyone is getting what they want. We just have to change our view on the matter to make it less grim. And we do have our retreat up here." The Doctor stirs it's drink thoughtfully. "I think this is the first time I've been buzzed after erupting. Marvelous drink."

"I do worry about a fight breaking out between drunken Novas down stairs, though. This seems to be one of the few places that can serve enough or strong enough alcohol to get a demigod tanked."

Zero takes another look through the glass and stares hard at the groupies. "I think some of them want a 'contact eruption.' I'd bet they are hoping being around a Nova might make them one. They at least want to pretend to be a part of it." The Doctor sighs heavily. "What do you think, gentlemen. If we could make Baseline's Novas, should we?"
This message was last edited by the player at 16:41, Wed 22 Apr 2009.

"I can't speak for all of us, of course, but I'd be honored," He cranes his neck to see around the two women. "I'd say at least half of us will either be in good shape to go, or otherwise still awake by then." He returned his gaze to the famous T2M member, "I'll see what I can do about spreading the word."

He stayed to chat for a few minutes before retreating from the pair and heading towards the considerably less-crowded upstairs area. He hadn't even been out on the dancefloor, but he needed some breathing room.

Imp glances at the good Dr. "Raoul, this is my friend Zero.  We're in the training program together.  Zero, this is Raoul.  As to whether we should make everyone a nova if we can, sure, why not?  We are obviously a massive evolutionary step forward, even if we're still human.  I mean, imagine a world where everybody had the potential to do almost anything.  The only problem would be having mega powered sociopaths drunk with their own power engaging in an orgy of destruction.  I guess that's what T2M is for, yeah?  Nova powered cops."  Imp stands and walks behind the bar, then makes himself a drink using whatever it was that Raoul had used.  Glancing at the bottles he noticed that one was Everclear, another was absinthe, and a third was double strength vodka.  That explained the buzz.
Imp glanced at the window as a plume of flame outside momentarily lit up the bar.  A slightly worried frown creases his forehead.  "Sonofabitch.  Is it really?"  Imp downs his new drink in one shot, seemingly searching for liquid courage and/or nerve stabilizers.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:44, Thu 23 Apr 2009.

Phantasm decided that things were just too much here.  This wasn't what she wanted, these people were like animals, and she was way over her head.  While fun at first, the whole thing was becoming overwhelming, and more than a bit repulsive to her as things continued, and the people around her became more demanding as they moved against her.

But how to get out? Everyone was so close, she felt trapped, and she couldn't risk using force since could hurt someone. Phantasm began to panic a little inside, though she didn't show it... much.  That same eerie green glow from before began to surround her...

The Dance Floor

Olympian is like something straight out of a movie-musical.  The kind of dance choreography that takes trained dancers weeks to master, he comes up with on the fly.  Right now he is keeping his distance, but the way he is moving is enough to make one wonder why they would want him to.
"Oh, you have spirit, I like that.  And such a wonderful gift. We must come to know each other better. We could learn so much from one another."

Sparkle isn't a great dancer, but she doesn't actually seem to be here for the dancing.  The way she is pressing her body into Comstock, there isn't much room for dancing.
"No baby, I'm only in for the night.  But it could be a fun night... You know, some pretty crazy things happen out on this floor.  I've never found anyone that I liked well enough to go very far, but I've always wanted to..."
Sparkle's roaming hands make it clear exactly what she is talking about...

Phantasm is on her own here, as all her friends seem to be occupied. As her panic builds, she feels a calming hand on her shoulder, and the crowd around her begins to back off.  Turning around, she sees Crimson Dawn standing behind her, wreathed in a halo of flames.
"This crowd isn't for everyone ma'am. Why don't ya come and let me buy ya a drink?"

)))))))))))))

The bar:

Pratima seems much more at ease as Quentin retreats upstairs with David.  Thier departure leaves her staring into Frostburn's drunken face however, and hostilities threaten to flare.  Before they can, Frostburn grabs Samuel as he tries to sneak up the stairs without being noticed, and pushes him in front of Pratima.
"Have you met Sam? He's another new recruite! You might have something you can teach him; he does this whole electric tentacle thing..."

))))))))))))))

Upstairs

Dodging the comment on Utopia's role in world affairs for the moment, Raoul instead helps Impetus make another drink.
"You mustn't forget to add this" he says, taking out a pill and crushing it into powder between his fingers, and adding a dash of some other white powder. "Alcohol alone does little for our kind now, but when you mix in a few other things, you can create something quite pleasant."

Pausing a moment, as though choosing his words carefully, Raoul addresses Zero and Impetus regarding the future of novas and humans. "Friends, I won't try and tell you what to believe, but personally I am rather troubled by the future I see coming.  Novas are going to become the servants of the humans, and their toys, and eventually thier everything.  And at the same time, the Novas will be like unto gods... This is not a good thing, as I see it.  If any of you are possessed of a classical education, you will remember that the gods were capricious and careless, childish and hypocritical.

I don't think that your Utopia will end well, for human or nova.  The gods we should become are transcendent beings, not the pathetic creatures out of human myth.  Not that we shouldn't associate with them at all mind you.  It is just that we should be careful to create an appropriate distance...

Oh, I don't know gentlemen.  I've been trying to settle my thoughts on the issue, and things haven't quite fallen into place just yet.  As you said, if we could somehow make the whole human population into novas, that might be worthwhile.  Then we could all join together in this process of becoming... Oh, it looks like more of your friends are arriving; Impetus, would you mind introducing us?"

You are not dreaming.  Do not screw this up.  Comstock's situation was almost too good to be true.  "Right here on the dance floor?  You are crazy.  I like crazy."  He reciprocated with what little restraint as he could muster, his brain weighing risks while his baser parts tried to find convenient privacy.  Immediate urgency clashed with fears of screwing everything up ...

Uncertainty snuck, unbidden, into his gut.  Weird light.  Weird green light.  Aw crap.  He guessed it was whatever Phantasm did outside.  Hang with Sparkle or stop an impending riot?  The unnerving dread forced a decision.  If he didn't do something, his buzz was definitely going to crash.  So might Sparkle's.  That was pure frustration.  He leaned in close and kissed Sparkle, then whispered in her ear: "Wait right there, crazy girl.  I'll be right back.  Like, two seconds."  His voice murmured and crackled like a tuning fork gone through a synthesizer too many times, leaving a peculiarly pleasing hum in the air.  He stalked towards Phantasm.

"Whoa there."  Comstock lifted one handsome groupie off the dance floor by the back of his shirt and gave a few others a gentle nudge to make some space.  "Give her a little room, alright?  Play nice or play's over."  Another woman intent on grinding against Phantasm ignored or hadn't heard him.  "Back. Away." he ordered with more force than intended.  The woman nearly collided with Crimson Dawn.

He tried to help Phantasm calm down and suppress the creepy glimmer.  "Take it easy, P.  Get some air upstairs, okay?"  Impetus would take care of her.  Or Quentin.  Or someone.  He looked to Crimson Dawn, sizing him up.  "Hey ... help my friend get upstairs, 'kay?  Thanks, man."  He turned back to the floor, looking for Sparkle.

---

Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)
  I am using Monotype to indicate use of "The Voice."  Having just discovered that he has this power and had a breather to think, Comstock's plan is to talk Sparkle off the dance floor to someplace private so he doesn't cause a scandal.  He's just not kinky enough for the dance floor.  This is assuming Sparkle hasn't lost interest or isn't angry he stepped away for a minute, and assuming Crimson Dawn and Phantasm do not hold him up.

If he can't talk Sparkle into a dark corner or private room, I imagine he will stumble off the dance floor a bit frustrated.

And, on those "Voice" uses:
02:20, Today: Comstock rolled 2 successes using 3d10 with the Target Number system with a target of 7 with rolls of 8,8,2. Using "The Voice."
04:32, Today: Comstock failed (no successes) using 3d10 with the Target Number system with a target of 7 with rolls of 5,2,4. "Voice" use no. 2.
04:33, Today: Comstock failed (no successes) using 3d10 with the Target Number system with a target of 7 with rolls of 5,6,6.

That's three successes, since the 1st die is Mega Manipulation, then zero and zero.  Comstock's going to have to get a lot better at this if he hopes to use it successfully in the future.

---

"Thanks for the tip."  Imp looks rather nervously towards the stairs.  "These are my friends Quentin and David, or Gravitas and Prodigal, depending on how you feel like addressing them.  Gents, this is my new friend Raoul.  Apparent philosopher, and bartender extraordinaire."  Imp gives a resigned, almost wistful smile as his superb ears pick up an all too familiar voice.  "So, uh, you may not want to stand between me and the stairs, cause seven kinds of hell is about to walk up it.  Also, avoid standing near me unless you're fireproof.  Not that I think he'll really try to kill me.  Really."

---

Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)
7 sux on a perception roll to hear what's going on downstairs.

---

"Hi," Quentin said simply, tossing the stranger a wave. He took a seat at one of the barstools, back to the bar, and looked down at the dancefloor from their elevated vantage point. "Its pretty crazy down there. I've never really been one for dance clubs. I guess there are some things even eruption doesn't change." He looked sidelong at a few of his new teammates, "Oh, and Splash wants to take us to lunch tomorrow, provided we're conscious or whatever."

Away from the dancefloor's bright lights and the attentions of the baselines, Quentin finally removed his sunglasses. His eyes were a matte black, as if they sucked in all light, lacking even the glossy sheen one might expect from a typical eyeball. Though it is impossible to tell, given the lack of a distinct pupil to indicate the direction he is looking, his eyes dart to the stairs when Imp starts to talk about trouble.

"Kill you?" Quentin sat up from the slouch he'd been in, arousing himself into a state of readiness. "Is this going to be trouble?" As he becomes more alert, several more spatial ripples slid off of Quentin's body, disappating within a few feet, like the disturbance in water after a pebble is dropped into it.

Solitaire turned when she noticed the sickly green light, noting it was coming from Phantasm. "Well, thats interesting." She thought, but she saw Comstock taking care of it. She threads her way through the crowd, brushing off several overeager groupies, and makes a request of something a bit harder rocking (like Nightwish: Moondance.) to be added the queue, then dives back into the press of bodies on the dance floor.

"So," She asks the Olympian playfully when she returns, "What could you teach me? What do you do? Besides dance." Solitaire wasn't the naturally gifted dancer he was, but she had some talent, and practice, and was able to keep up reasonably well.

She wasn't going to make it easy for him, this was too much fun.

"I'm sure if we just talked to the gentleman...uh..actually why does he dislike you Impetus?" David asked carefully.

"I was out in a club in Boston a while ago, shortly after I erupted.  Had a great time, met this smoking hot girl.  Took her home.  Never saw her again.  Didn't think anything of it until a few days later when this really really angry soldier type blasts the door off my apartment.  Throws me a round a bit, lights my stuff on fire.  Turns our she was his wife and that she told him all about what we did.  Why? I dunno, but she did.  Crimson Dawn, never got his real name, Major something, told me that if he ever saw me again i was dead meat." Imp draws himself up. "I'm not gonna run though, this is my problem, and it won't get solved by running away from it."

Dance Floor
Crimson Dawn:
"Sure man.  Why don't you- ah, yeah, Sparkle over there.  HA.  Ok, you have fun..."
CD lets Comstock get back to business, and takes Phantasm up stairs as she begins to finally calm down.  Except there is one little snag...

Sparkle:
Sparkle's mood quickly soured, as her entertainment had gone to hit on some nobody that you couldn't tell apart from a baseline. Then he stood around playing fanboy to Crimson Dawn.  Angry, full of adrenaline, alcohol, and who knows what else (the bar is really cagey when you ask about the ingredients) Sparkle decided she was going to have her fun, one way or another. Grabbing Phantasm and shoving her into a wall, she turns on her powers and begins screaming at her.
"You want my guy, Bitch?! Fine, you've got him, he was a loser anyway! But you take something from me, you pay for it!"

Olympian:
"Oh, I could teach you many things... How to ski down pure virgin snow on mountains no human could climb?  Maybe just show you the best place in all the Mediterranean to lay in the sun?  I'm sure I could learn quite a bit from you, too." Pulling her in close, he begins to show her how to follow some of his dance moves, while getting a nice feel in as a reward.
))))))))))))

Upstairs
A new light show can be seen from upstairs. Two novas getting into a fight. Doesn't seem to concern Raoul very much, who goes back to making a drink for himself, walks over to one of the plush little seating areas, and takes a seat. raising his voice enough to be heard by those that don't follow him over, he starts talking again.
"Hmm. Don't worry about that down there.  Shield or one of the other bouncers will take care of it.  Happens all the time; they get a bit excited, forget that they can't do to each other what they can do to a human, and then cause a bit of hassle before they are thrown out and banned for the month.

That bit with Crimson Dawn though, that is bad business there.  I cannot count the number of times he was crying over his drink in this very establishment.  Not that it was bad for him to get away; even if it weren't for the fact that a lasting relationship between a nova and human is ill advised, I am told she was not worth his concern for her. In the divorce she even tried to take half of the rights to his nova name.  You seem like a nice enough young man Impetus, if a bit confused.  I'm sure you can work something out with him, if you try."

Raoul doesn't skip beat when Quentin takes off his glasses, and slides into his conversation.
"Splash you say?  Little Pratima?  She is an admirable young woman.  Very dignified, despite her humble beginnings.  A shame where she has chosen to spend her time."

Looking very serious for a moment, Raoul appears to have come to a momentous decision...  He gets up once more, grabs impetus, and walks to the other side of the bar.
"Impetus, I've decided to share the recipe to this drink with you.  I don't feel up to making another round of these, but you can feel free. Now, you've uncovered about half of the ingredients already, between the alcohol and what I've already shown you.  Now, listen closely *whispered ingredients, followed by instructions to ensure a proper chemical reaction* do you think you can do that?  Good man.  Now, I need to go see to something with the manager for a moment, but I will be right back."
This message was last edited by the GM at 00:44, Fri 24 Apr 2009.

Quentin immediately suppressed his first reaction to this stranger's comment, though he wasn't very skilled at schooling his expression. Unfortunately, Raoul excused himself before he could make a response. Instead he leaned in towards Imp once the man had left and spoke quietly, "You spoke to him for a bit longer than the rest of us, what do you think he meant by that bit about it being a "shame" where Splash spends her time?"

The Doctor listens quietly to Raoul's words, leaning back in it's chain and holding it's chin thoughtfully. When Raoul finishes, Zero speaks. "There is much wisdom in your words, my friend. I must admit, I share similar concerns about the course Novas and Baselines are on. I know we are all here to enjoy ourselves tonight, but would you like to continue this discussion in the future?"

Impetus:

"Sonofabitch.  Is it really?"

Zero turns away to look at who Impetus is observing. "Oh, the Elite. He came in after me. Do you know him?" The Doctor looks through the soundproof glass and watches the Elite approach a mobbed Phantasm and begin to extract her before Comestock arrives to assist. Zero listens to Impetus' problems with the Elite patiently. "Hm. Perhaps we should retire for the evening, then. We came out to unwind, not face down Elites in an expensive public place like this. You don't have to face the poor fool down, Impetus. I really doubt he knows he's being manipulated by his wife for some twisted reason. Why be her pawn?" The Doctor begins to look around for a backdoor, a fire alarm, and a extinguisher.

The same green glow from before surrounds Phantasm once again.  As Sparkle's energy beats against her force field, Phantasm smiles, a malicious grin that is all the more eerie as it is lit by her anima in the dark club.  After the scare from earlier, and her feelings of powerlessness, this would be... cathartic.  And these types of novas were exactly the kind that she had always hoped to stop afterall, people abusing the power they had been given just because they could.

The force field around Phantasm began to... Bubble? Boil? And hundreds of tiny demonic faces made themselves visible, keening in rage and pain.  One of the larger faces took on more substantial form, growing arms and pulling its newly made body from the field. It glowed with the same sickly green light, its eyes and hands flaring with it, as it crouched on the ground beside Phantasm.  The creature as a whole was like an apparition, only partly manifested into reality, the rest of it remaining in the nightmare realm from which it came. It form pulsed in time with the beating of its masters heart, and when the thing opened its semi-transparent maw to reveal rows of serated, ephemeral teeth, it screamed loud enough to be heard over the pounding music.

"Hello.  I'm Phantasm.  And you are going to regret this for a very long time."

---

Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)

You rolled 4 successes using 9d10 with the Target Number system with a target of 7 ((9,2,9,5,9,9,2,1,1)).
Should actually be 5 successes, first two are mega-atts. That gives 20 creation points for my Q. Construct, after the 1 success spent to give it a body.  My standard stats for constructs is a Touch Only Q.Bolt w/Armor Piercing, 5 Dex, 4 Stam stats, 1 in each mental stat, and then the rest into a dot of Armor and whatever is left on mega-dex.

---

---

Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)
I don't know if the term elite is in common parlance yet, IIRC that came about after the equatorial wars, which happen in a few months time, again, IIRC and according to canon that we may or may not be following

---

Imp thanks Raoul for showing him how to mix a Three Mile Island, then, feeling the effects of his drinks says:
"I don't wanna face him down.  I just think i need to face him.  I'm supposed to be some sort of superhero, right?  An icon for people to look up to?  Normally, the stuff I do, it's not so heroic, other than in sheer quantity of conquests, but this, this seems important.  I'm responsible for my actions, and yeah, maybe she is a manipulative bitch, but by using that as an excuse not to act i think allows her to control the situation.  Maybe we can work this out and he can be better for it.  Maybe not, but it's up to us, as novas, to decide, not her. Oh, Raoul? " Imp looks at Quentin.  "He seems to think that we novas have more important things to do than what the baselines tell us.  Honestly, there's something to what he says."
This message was last edited by the player at 08:38, Fri 24 Apr 2009.

Comstock stared, dumbstruck.  My night is fucked.

When Sparkle went psycho, he had thought that it would be his job to wrestle the bitch to the ground and deliver her to the bouncers, then somehow explain to Phantasm exactly how he had gotten her attacked.  Right now, he was confused.

He traded glances with Crimson Dawn.  If the big guy went to grab one of the girls, Comstock would grab the other.

"Uh..guys...are we going to get down there?" David asks hoping to avoid any kind of fight. "We don't want to be known as trouble makers."

Crimson Dawn turns to Comstock, cocks an eybrow, and shakes his head as if to say "do you really want to get between that?"

Sparkle, realizing that she isn't up to the challenge, and also badly frightened, begins to back away, while screaming insults.  "You aren't worth the trouble you freak! You should just go back to whatever hole you crawled out of! You-"

Her tirade ends when shield wraps a form fitting force field around her and drags her out to the back offices of the club.

The crowd is on the edge of panic however, as the strange phantasm (summoned by Phantasm... must be where she gets her name) eyes the crowd hungrily. Pratima, thinking quickly, moves back on the dance floor, and summons a miniature thunderstorm in the middle of the room, distracting everyone with a bit of cool rain and an entertaining electric show.  Those with above average observation skills may also notice a man staring intently at the crowd from the hall leading toward the back offices.  After the crowd calms down, he leaves.

Raoul returns to his seat upstairs, and resumes drinking his beverage.

Crimson Dawn waves Comstock and Phantasm over to the bar.  "Well damn people, that was a freaking show to remember!" he says as he buys everyone a round.

[Private to Impetus: so, may or may not end up meeting your enemy, but it will be a close call if you don't. also, i think quentin asked you something up above that you may have missed.]

Comstock breaths a sigh of relief.  "Thanks, big guy.  Hey, Phantasm," he kept his distance from the demon-thing, as he wasn't sure she wasn't going to turn it on him for causing the whole mess.  "Sorry about that ... you alright?  No burns or anything?"

"I'll be fine.  I shouldn't have blown up like that, but I was just so wound up... STOP THAT!"

the monstrosity by her leg was creeping around the side of the bar, and had begun to paw at the bottle stored there.  It returned quickly to sit at her side, and after a few more minutes had passed uneventfully, it became lethargic, and crawled into Phantasm, disappearing once more.

"I guess I kind of ruined your fun Dillon.  Sorry.  And you, thanks for pulling me out of there.  I wanted to get out, but I wasn't sure how to move out without hurting anyone.  What was your name?"

Glad that Phantasm was alright and that damn glow was gone, Dillon ordered whatever Crimson Dawn was drinking.  "Nah ... you probably saved me from crazy bitch anyway."  Dillon rubbed his eyes, then extended a hand to their new friend.  "But yeah, what's your name, man?  I'm Comstock.  This is Phantasm."

After what seemed like a life-time of moving through an endless crowd of bodies, and exposure to smells he dare not mention, Samuel stumbled into the bar just as he heard Frostburn mention his name. "B-B-By the earth mother!!!" he said gasping for clean air. "Those p-p-people are animals! It almost l-l-looked like people w-w-were having sex right th-th-there on the d-d-d-dance floor!"

"Crimson Dawn's the name I go by these days.  I'm kinda a gun for hire, big market for novas out there to work for the private sector, and even some of the less developed countries."

CD takes a seat on a stool, and leans back, relaxing.

"I come here just to take my mind off the job.  Not a fan of all the people that come here, but they can make a good drink, and sometimes I see faces I know.  And honestly Vegas is pretty fun even without this place.

What you two doin' here?  You aren't together, considering what was going down... are you?"

CD looks at Phantasm when he asks, perhaps subtly flirting with her.  But he seems pretty genuine, and friendly (unlike some of the other freaks you've met in here).

"Well," says a now sopping wet Solitaire. "That kind of killed the mood." She flicks some of the water off her coat, gazing at it in annoyance. "Would you excuse me? That was a friend of mine. But that is a nice offer, I'll bear it in mind." She smiles apologetically, and leaves the dance floor.

Once free of the overenthusiastic, but mercifully now calmed crowd, Solitaire moves over beside Phantasm and Comstock by the bar, pausing to ruffle the hair of the green glow-creature-thing. "There's a good boy." She says, as it fades back into Phantasm."Nice work, you're made of sterner stuff than I'd taken you for. That was seriously cool.  Pity the crazy bitch didn't try that on me, would've punched her across the room." She smiles, and laughs, "Course, now I've gotta dry off my jacket somewhere before it gets damaged or anything." Her smile softens a bit, and in a more serious voice she says, "Sure you're OK? This type of place isn't for everybody, just give a shout if you need one of us." Solitaire gives Phantasm a sympathetic pat on the arm, asks for another bottle of whiskey, and comments to Comstock, "You know how to pick 'em, eh?"
This message was last edited by the player at 05:23, Fri 24 Apr 2009.

Zero watches the dance floor from behind the soundproof glass. The Doctor became aware of the fight just when it was ended by the staff and Splash. When Raoul returns and sits down, Zero mentions "That was very smooth, Mr. Raoul. Thank you for helping us with that."

Zero stares down at the bar while addressing Impetus. "It looks like he may not come up here, Mr. Pet. Unless someone drops your name." Zero still keeps the location of the extinguisher and exit in mind.

Imp, turns and grins.  "If he comes up, he comes up.  I'm ready either way.  Was that green glowing thing Phantasm?  wow."

---

Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)
edited previous post

---

Sameul didn't have time to catch his breath, as Frostburn already had him within her inescapable cluthes. I shoulda stayed at the compound. He gives the lady Frostburn introduced him to a tired smile. He considered correcting Frostburn on her rather scant description of his power, but he saw that she was far too drunk to care. "Hello. It's g-g-g-great to meet you. And y-y-y-your name is...?"

"Oh don't start."  Comstock's second skin receded back behind his usual tan complexion and he slouched, visibly deflated, against the bar.



"We're good friends.  If you hurt her, I'll hurt you.  Or we'll both run away from ghouls and goblins.  Either way, I've got her back.  Cheers."  He took a long drink, then handled introductions.  "Solitaire, Crimson Dawn.  Big guy, fellow team-mate Solitaire."  He looked around, noticed Sam getting hounded, and decided that heroics sucked.

After a few moments with things calming down, Quentin relaxed again. "Well, I guess let us know if we need to jump in to whatever fray there is." He took another sip of the jet-fuel quality drink he'd obtained earlier and stood to move over to the window so he could survey the scene below.

"Kinda a big guy, it looks like. He's talking to Dillon."

"Would any of you let me have a sip, I mean I know I'm too young and all but the good book says to not be drunk with wine, but one sip right....?" David asked a little meekly. I don't want to be completely left out here. One sip should be fine....

"What? Oh, sure, sure," Quentin seemed distracted by the goings on down on the dance floor as he passed his drink over. The liquid in the glass smelled something like gasoline. His was fixated by the power usage going on downstairs. Filing away more abilities in the recesses of his memory.

Shield was able to pretty precisely calibrate his projected field; meanwhile Splash's ability to manipulate the weather seemed to absolutely defy science. Summoning a rainstorm in doors should have required ripping every molecule of water out of the air and collecting them into the cloud that then loosed water. However, the relative humidity in the building didn't seem to have changed much.

She may be able to actually create the water along with the other conditions required for the weather she desires to invoke. thought Quentin. An exciting prospect. It meant that not only were novas able to manipulate energies and alter existing matter, but they may be able to take their raw power and forge new matter out of it. This was nothing new to physics, Einstein had predicted such a thing decades ago with the famous E=mc² formula, but this was the first actual application of that science Quentin had ever witnessed. It opened entirely new doors in science.

A slow grin spread across his face, almost like a giddy kid on Christmas morning who got everything he wanted.

David took the drink and smelled it, a big mistake. "What the...why would you drink something that smells like this? I mean it better taste amazing like my mom's cheesecake that she would make when..." David trailed off looking forlorn with thoughts of the past before absently taking his first sip of alcohol, ever. "Gaaah...it burns...what the..never again...nope none of that for me....if this is how they all taste" David said confidently.

Quentin turned his head to glance at the young man, "Well, not all of them, but its definately an aquired taste." He took another sip himself, "Even then, this stuff, made for people like us, its sort of like a punch in the face."

"Hoo, boy.  Yes it is."  Imp, on his third three mile island, is starting to feel wobbly and decides that he's had enough to drink.  He starts mixing a G&T, whistling a the quality of the gin that's stocked behind the bar.  "I didn't really get a good look at all of CD, just his fire, and fists and feet and stuff.  Those I remember as being plenty big. " He slides the drink to Prodigal.  "Here, this one's nice and gentle." Then he starts mixing his own.  "So, was that a thunderstorm i just saw downstairs?  And, I must thank you, Mr. Raoul, these drinks are amazing.  And, was that glowing green thing really made of pure Quantum?"  Clearly, Imp has had enough nova powered wobbly juice, his trains of thought run for a clause or two then derail, he's not looking too steady either.

Quentin, still staring down at the scene as Phantasm's phantasm is reabsorbed into her and the green glow fades, fields Imp's questions, "Yes, it was. Splash can control the weather." He turns to give Imp an incredulous look, "Don't you watch the news?" He turns back, not wanting to miss anything if things go amok again. "As for Phantasm - yeah, probably. Some sort of creepy green... thing... crawled out of her. I won't speculate as to its composition without further analysis. It could be anything - quantum, solid matter, ectoplasm... Heck, it could be made out of green glowing chocolate for all I know."

His eyes narrowed, "I think time with T2M will prove to be very informative. I can't wait to get back to a lab. I've gotten a half dozen ideas in the last five minutes."

"Holy shit!  Splash is in the building?  As in Splash the T2Mer?  That's amazing!"  Imp does his best sober up, but the G&T he's drinking isn't helping.  "Her abilities are amazing, flight, weather, water, a whole tree of abilities that keeps branching off."  Imp looks speculative.  "I'm gonna have to start experimenting, see how far I can push."
This message was last edited by the player at 08:56, Sat 25 Apr 2009.

"Pleasure" Solitaire says, knocking back another mouthful of whiskey. She runs a hand through her damp hair and it resumes its usual color and length. "Feel like I need to go take a shower, course I just had one. So you're Crimsen Dawn, eh?" She holds out a hand in greeting. "I've heard of you. Good to meet yah."

"Think Splash could get the water out of my clothes?" Solitaire asks of nobody in particular. "I'll go ask. Keep out of trouble." She wanders off toward Frostburn and Splash.

Upstairs
Raoul:
"I did very little Zero, merely alerted the management of this fine establshment that they had a bit of  problem starting with the crowd.  Nothing to thank me for certainly, just being considerate, as we should all try and be really.  Now the drinks on the other hand, well, a great deal of experimentation went into finding the right combination.  If I were a profit minded individual I would have sold that and made another fortune.

Yes, you should definitely go to meet your future teammate tomorrow, she is quite an impressive young woman, even if misguided at times.  How I pitty her having to put up with that buffoon of a leader."

))))))))))))

The Bar
CD:
"Nice meetin' everybody. You're the new Utopia people right?  Word is your workin out in the desert. Thought about joinin up with them myself, but decided the perks were better workin for myself.

And don't worry there Comstock, my intentions are almost totally honorable..."
Crimson dawn smiles in Phantasm's direction at this.

Olympian:
After his soaking on the dance floor, and being left by his dance partner, the Olympian can't seem to get back in the feel of things.  He leaves the dancing to his groupies, and shakes off those that try to follow him as he goes to the bar.
"you wouldn't be trying to leave me for this mercenary, would you?  He is flashy, but that which burns brightest lasts only a short time... I guarantee my stamina will never wear down."

CD:
"Don't get all worked up hotshot, I got other interests tonight, no offense to you miss Solitaire."

Pratima:
After distracting the crowd, Pratima returns, her fun completely over for the night (what happened to off time?).  She picks up with Sam where they left off.
"My apologies, I wanted to break that up before someone got hurt.  It is a pleasure to meet you.  In case your friend Quentin doesn't get a chance to tell you, I would love to meet all of you for lunch tomorrow.  If you are free that is."

Frostburn:
*Hums to the music before passing out on the counter.  Then moans slightly.*

---

Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)
if I missed a reply to someone, sorry.  Lot went down.  Feel free to insert a private line reminding me.

---

David eyes the drink cautiously before sniffing it and again taking a sip. "Oh Dear Lord, forget it, I'm done..no more..if this is what people have a good time count me out," David waved off the drinks emphatically.

Zero watches the bar through the soundproof glass, trying to read lips and body language.



"Oh dear."



"Oh dear."

Zero turns to Impetus. "I think Mr. Dawn has an eye for our dear Phantasm. Oh, this should be entertaining."



Zero losses itself in a deep chuckle. "Oh, you're not missing a thing, young man. This stuff is to liquor what rocketfuel is to gasoline. Regardless, drinking is a filthy habit, but I am a being of filthy habits," Zero is about to take another sip when it pauses in a thoughtful moment. "Oh hell. I think I will lead by example for once..." The doctor sets to drink down next to Impetus.

"Still, young man, I would suggest getting in some engaging interests. We are going to be working hard for Utopia, and it is best to play hard when you work hard, or you will find yourself getting into habits like this. At least that is the impression I get."
This message was last edited by the player at 09:09, Sat 25 Apr 2009.

"None taken." She replies to Crimson Dawn. Then turning to the Olympian, she says wryly, "Raincheck, perhaps?" Nodding the the vestigial clouds still looming over the dance floor. "I'll likely be here next weekend, provided the place is still standing."

Dillon nursed the drink, then ordered another.  The effect was disappointing.  "Just being prudent.  S'cool."  The booze wasn't having any effect, and Comstock was trying to decide if the expense and effort of getting buzzed was worth it.  It didn't even taste right.



Dillon's eyes wandered idly across the bar, picking up on Samuel, Frostburn and Splash.  Drunk instructor ... just like high school, all over again.  Samuel seemed to be handling it well, though.  He gave Sam a little wave and a thumbs up, as though asking 'how are you doing?'

"yep, drinking is a filthy habit.  Like masturbation.  Only more socially acceptable."

---

Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)
Assuming that CD leaves Imp will head back to the hotel and see if he can arrange to spend a night in a room that isn't necessarily his.  if CD doesn't leave Imp will head downstairs and get creamed, then head back to the hotel and see if he can get some via sympathy.  Whatever works.

---

This message was last edited by the player at 01:06, Sun 26 Apr 2009.

"Masturbation?! What?? Oh good grief.." David floated downstairs trying to find somewhere else to be a bit. I can't believe he's goign to talk abotu something like that, next he's goign to tell me that he actually... David shudders to himself at the thought.

Quentin turned from the goings-on downstairs, which are now apparently over. He instead addressed Raoul, "Buffoon? I take it you don't have a very high opinion of Pax?"

Raoul:
"You could in fact say that, yes."

---

Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)

The conversation continues for a while, and everyone eventually leaves.  Feel free to describe your exits, return to rooms, and your next morning.  Or not, as you feel like.  I will update after people have had a bit of time to post, and will move to lunch w/pratima.  We will probably gloss the next night's activities, outside of any conversations that you want to have with one another or npc's (one post each on how saturday night is spent will suffice).  Though the saturday afternoon will probably take at least a day or two of posting.

---

Comstock extracted himself from conversation with Phantasm and Crimson Dawn, introduced himself to Splash, and helped babysit Frostburn until Solitaire flew her back to the Bellagio to get sober.  He tried to ask the bartender about Sparkle, suspecting that this wouldn't be the last time he heard from her and wanting to know all he could about the latest angry woman who hated him over a misunderstanding.  He did his best to keep Samuel company until the young man's patience for the club ran out, then headed back to the hotel with him.

After that ... with no one to look out for, no interest in talking philosophy, and no buzz from alcohol, Comstock did his best to slip away from the Bellagio and walk.  It'd been a year since he had seen the strip and downtown Vegas.  He wanted to get reacquainted.  Away from company if possible.  He left his parents a message on their answering machine, grabbed a deep-fried twinkie at the Freemont Street Experience, got called an asshole by someone who didn't recognize him.  He returned to his hotel room, noticed Gravitas didn't need sleep, and bothered him for a little while before grabbing some scant hours of unconsciousness before morning.  Dreams of math problems and octogons left him confused on waking again.

Morning came, and with it came breakfast via roomservice.  Apparently, the Las Vegas Review Journal, the Channel 8 News, E!, and some other news agencies trying to boost their circulation had released video and pictures of the new Novas in town. In both, a certain break-dancing performance artist and a tarnished silver man were featured prominently.  They were in section D of the paper.  "That's ... not good.  Is it?  I mean, Brad Pitt's here and I'm here.  The hell?"  The biggest revelation was exactly how ripped he'd gotten since his eruption, something commented on in the newspaper.  "Jesus, I thought it was going to take at least a few weeks to be a walking advertisement.  How long before they give us our own slot machines, huh Quentin?  Zero, you reading this?"

He made sure to shower, shave, and dress nicely for lunch with Splash.  He had no idea where they were going, but chances were someone was going to see them.  He didn't want to be an embarrassment.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:55, Sun 26 Apr 2009.

Solitaire makes plans to meet the Olympian next time they're both in town and makes her goodbyes. He wasn't all that bad, really, she thought as she found her way to Splash and asked politely if there was anything she could do to get the damp out of her clothes. Then, a much dryer Solitaire, comments "Well, think I'm about done here. Shall I take Sleeping Beauty back to the hotel?" When nobody seemed to disagree, she picked up the still very drunk and groggy Frostburn, swung one of the other woman's arms over her shoulder and wrapped an arm about Frostburns waist, and made her way out of the club.

Outside, clutching a drunk comrade, and really in no mood to deal with crowds of groupies, Solitaire just gives the crowd a wave and a smile, and launch's herself and Frostburn up into the night. The pair lands near the Bellagio, in an alley nearby, it was late, and Frostburn might pass for a entertainer, but landing right in front of the Hotel would not. Solitaire takes her inside, up an elevator to their floor, fumbles around in Frostburns pockets for the key to her room, then drops her on the bed. She then leaves for a moment, and returns with two water bottles and a some aspirin, which she leaves on the bedside table.

Back in her own room, Solitaire grabs a shower, flicks on the TV, which has nothing good on, flicks it off and goes to sleep.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:22, Sun 26 Apr 2009.

Quentin continued to poll Raoul for a short while, trying to determine a bit of his opinions regarding T2M, trying to spin a slightly better impression, particularly of himself and his fellow recruits to the program, and absorbing a bit of the other nova's surface philosophy. He also spoke with Splash briefly to determine exactly where and when she would be meeting the training group.

Once the others began to filter out of the club, Quentin went as well. He went back to the casino and played at slots for a short while, collected his meager winnings, and returned to his room. Having little else to do, he opened up his laptop and spent much of the rest of the night working on some theories he'd been rolling around in his head since earlier in the night, trying to work out the practical math behind some things and recording a few of his theories.

"Well, there's only, what? Like 1500 novas in the world? If we're in public at all, we're celebrities. It'll only get worse once Utopia announces that we're T2M: The Next Generation" He readied himself for lunch as well, showering and grooming. He dressed casually, figuring that a Saturday afternoon wasn't really going to require the height of fashion or anything.

Zero puts it’s face in it’s palm. “Oh Lord in heaven…”



If Imp tries to leave downstairs, and CD is still there. Dr. Zero will try to scoop him up and take him out through the back door. If Imp gets away and fights CD, Zero jumps in, and probably gets f-ed up.



“Really? Wonderful. Mr. Raoul, I don’t mean to be a gossip, but, given that this man is going to possibly be in charge when there are many, many lives on the line, could you enlighten me on what kind of buffoon Pax can be? It might be wise for me to be prepared.”

Zero stays around until the situation between Crimson Dawn & Impetus is resolved. Zero also asks why Raoul is in town, his full name (still doesn’t know he is a Count), and if he would like to continue their conversation on Novas and their place in the world in the near future. If Raoul seems genuinely interested, Zero gets contact info.

The Doctor can’t help but notices that it’s stamina has increased greatly since pushing itself during training. It hardly feels tired or sleepy, and this disturbed Zero. It makes sure that David and Samuel get back to their rooms.

Dr. Zero, realizing that this might be the last night for reasonable autonomy, wrights up a sign, puts on a ripped up hat and coat, with a smelly scarf, and steps onto a busy curb. Zero holds up the sign and holds out a tin cup. It reads “will save world for change.” After a few hours of this, Zero buys some cheep whisky, takes a sip, and crashes in bed. It wakes up, and bumps into Comstock.



“Hm?” Zero reads the article. “Wow. I feel quite flattered. The ladies really like you, Mr. Stock.”
This message was last edited by the player at 01:31, Mon 27 Apr 2009.

Imp relaxes upstairs, listens to Quentin's and Raoul's discussion, occasionally adding to it, mostly staying quiet.  He'd hit that mellow, almost melancholy drunk stage that seemed to be happening to him a lot thesedays.  After he noticed, through the smokey glass floor, that CD had taken a trip to the restroom, Imp bade a pleasant evening to everybody still at the bar and wandered around the strip for a few hours to clear his head.  He got back to the hotel just as the sky was beginning to lighten.  He caught a couple hours shut-eye and prepped to go for lunch with Splash.  By morning his melancholia had cleared and he was his usual ebullient self.
This message was last edited by the player at 05:27, Mon 27 Apr 2009.

Raoul is more than happy to continue talking to anyone well into the wee hours of the morning; the top of the club is open as late as he wants it to be.

He elaborates on his philosophy, which basically states that while there can be interaction between humans and novas, attempting to treat them the same or allowing novas to be the servants of humans, will result in ruin for both.  He also has some budding ideas about transcendence, evolution, and nova abilities, but they are half formed at this point.

At some point in the conversation, he will give people his full name and title, and will happily invite people to his villa in Spain if they are in town.  He is in Vegas only briefly, and is leaving on Sunday.  He also give them the contact info for the manager of the club, including an application to join the dues paying members.

Anyone else that wants to get contact info from someone they met is easily able to get it.  Most of the novas at this point are looking to either network, or just find people that understand what they are going through, and are happy to give out contact info.  Though most of them are gotten ahold of most easily via cellphone or email, since almost all of them are traveling frequently.

The next day is bright, clear, and hot.  Like most days in Nevada.  A fine breakfast is provided to anyone up early in the morning, and the meeting with Splash is scheduled for 1pm at Eiffel Tower Restaurant (http://www.parislasvegas.com/c...staurant-detail.html).  There is a table reserved for you ahead of time, though Pratima won't be there herself until about 12:50.  At this time of day, the city looks almost innocent, with tourists happily snapping away pictures at the fronts of the hotels, and sitting in the shade hoping for the midday heat to pass them by.

Frostburn will show up as well, despite looking a bit under the weather. She apparently did a little digging on how she got out of the club, b/c whenever she sees Solitaire, she gives her half a hug, and says "my hero" before sitting back down at the table and looking tired.
This message was last edited by the GM at 07:53, Mon 27 Apr 2009.

At teh hotel:
Imp wakes up at around noon and gets ready for the day.  He makes his clothes become khakis and a short sleeve white button down, and decides to go with the unshaven look.  Reading the morning paper proves amusing.  Fireworks, backflips, flying women, metal men and indoor thunder showers.  This was his lifestyle now, at least on weekends...
At the restaurant:
"Hey everybody, how's life in beautiful sunny Nevada?"

The remainder of her stay at the bar, Phantasm was mostly quiet.  She shyly exchanged conversation with Crimson Dawn, slipping him her number before leaving, but otherwise tried to keep a low profile after her display from earlier.

She left when the crowd thinned enough that getting to the door wouldn't entail a shoving match, and made it back to the hotel room for a shower and some boredom food.  Then she left again to spend her sleepless night sightseeing, and just standing in the night wind.

Aimless and lacking anything to engage her enhanced processing speed, Phantasm eventually came back to the room to stare at the ceiling until dawn.

The next day, she gets up with the dawn and goes down to breakfast, snagging as many newspapers and magazines as she can, and finishing them by the time everyone else is leaving for lunch.  On the way out she replies to Impetus "I think I'd rather have a different kind of excitement, but I guess you weren't watching what happened downstairs.  I almost got into a fight with some crazy that Dillon picked up.  Did meet a nice guy though..."

Samuel liked Frostburn, he really did; but trying babysitting a drunk woman who could freeze you eyeballs in your sockets was more than a little exhausting. He was happy to finally get out of there and into bed. This certainly is an... interesting place.

The next morning, he sluggishly moves around the room, using as little energy as possible. He went with a "jeans and shirt" look today. He was far too tired to care about his appearence. When he finally met the others, he greeted them with a "Gehgf..." and sat down.

"Very funny, Doc," Dillon responded blandly.  With his luck, the next lady would be crazy too.



"Long night?"  It was just about 12:50 PM, and the team was trickling into the Eiffel in pairs.  Samuel looked like he had just gotten up and somehow made his way across the street by instinct.  "Did you even get breakfast, man?  Bread should be out soon ... here, have a coke."  Dillon slid his drink across the table.  Samuel needed the caffeine, and the blend was off anyway.  Tasted funny.  "Did you head out again last night?  Enjoy the sights?"

David floated back to the hotel shortly after his disturbin conversation with Impetus. He said his prayers before laying above his bed falling alseep, his wings flapping gently while he slept, he'd gotten used to the sound they made when he tried to sleep and used it as a sort of background noise to aid his sleep.

Before Eiffel tower restaurant David awakens, says his prayers and grooms, his eufiber outfit becoming white pants and a white button down shirt, before leaving a note for Zero to join him at the breakfast.

"Hello all, hope you all had a decent evening, I think I learned that wasn't particularly my speed...so for future visits I'll probably stay at the hotel," David said politely.

"Quite. Oh, I was referring to the writer of this article. She talks about your physic quite a bit." The masked Aberration sets the paper down on the table. "So, gentlemen & ladies, what is on the agenda today?"



"Ah, yes. It was too slow my my tastes as well. Next time we'll try something more... what is the word? Oh well. Let's try 'street surfing.' You'll love it. It's a Nova sport I just invented. Basically, we street race, but, but,the rest of us have to surf the hoods for as long as we can."

In spite of the propriety of such a thing, Quentin has brought a notepad with him and keeps scribbling numbers and diagrams on it. He keeps this up even while he talks. "I think we all learned some important 'life lessons' last night," there is almost, but not quite, a hint of sarcasm in his voice. "Fortunately the press seems to like us without even knowing who we are, which is probably good. 'course everyone'll know who we are the next time we're here and Utopia has us do the exhibition thing, or whatever." One hand writes equations as he sips at water with the other, "I hope we don't have to wear spandex."

Solitaire got up late, as usual. It was already 12:30 by the time she was out of the shower and dressed, and she took a few minutes to polish her jacket before going downstairs, snagging a newspaper and asking directions to lunch. She skimmed the paper as she walked, finding a photo of her and the flying thong, which Solitaire found rather amusing. Even so, when she figured nobody was looking, she turned her hair brown and did it up in a ponytail, she couldn't change her appearance to disguise herself really, but she could fool a cursory inspection.

She wanders into the Eiffel at about 5 till, cutting it close, and makes her way to the table. Solitaire grabs the empty seat next to Frostburn, shaking her off with a "It was nothing." and giving her a commiserating pat on the shoulder, god knew she'd woke up that way enough, often with a strange man, or occasionally woman, sleeping next to her. That was always a bit awkward, but you got used to it.

Catching the tail end of Zero's comment, she replies, "Sounds like a blast, highly dangerous, to baselines, that is, but a blast. I seem to think the Powers The Be would frown upon that though."

"I'm game.  If we get kicked out it was totally your idea, Doc.  Ground team has to move faster than the flying team."  He looked over the menu and got lost in the sheer French of it all.  Was there nothing simple?  He saw the words Fillet Mignon and breathed a sigh of relief.

Samuel looks over at Dillon. "Ya know w-w-w-what I hate ab-b-bout being a n-nova? I hate my d-d-damn heightened s-s-senses. Oh they're g-g-great when I n-n-need to find something. B-B-But when I'm st-t-t-tuck in a room full of gyrating, s-s-sweating, loud, smelly AN-N-NIMALS..." he pauses for a moment "W-W-Well... let me t-t-tell you it's n-n-not very enjoyabe." He takes a swig from the coke Dillon handed him. "And d-d-d-don't even get me started on F-F-F-Frostburn!"

"Aw, whatcha got against Frostburn? She's good company." Solitaire taps her lightly on the back, "And I rather enjoy my enhanced senses, they're just, well, better. Everything's so much more distinct, sounds, colors, smells, its as if I was colorblind before. I don't even need contacts anymore. That said, I agree sometimes something sneaks up on you, not always pleasant. Anyway, I think the perks outweigh the downsides by a significant margin." Solitaire picks up the menu, flicking through it, wondering if she can just get a hamburger or something. "So, um, whats good? I don't speak French."

Samuel sighs. "She is good c-c-company, she really is. B-B-BUT. She is n-n-no fun to b-b-babysit. While she is d-d-drunk. It is n-n-not easy to look aft-t-ter someone who c-c-could freeze your eyeballs r-r-r-right there in your soc-c-ckets if you piss them off."

Solitaire makes a dismissive gesture. "That's true for any of us, its what makes it fun! Whats life without a little risk?"

Imp lounged in his seat, looking around at his team mates.  He realized that he'd learned as much here as he had in their initial training period.  Perhaps more.  he wondered, idly, if Utopia had assigned a tail to each of them, seeing what they did and who they talked to.  Probably, he thought wryly.  "Hmm, I'm not an expert on french, but I've eaten at a fair number of french restaurants in my day."  he points out a few of his favourites.  "These have never failed to please.  I just hope that they make them big enough to satisfy a nova sized appetite.  Also, what do we want to do on our last day of freedom before we reverse roles on Frostburn and have her baby sit us again?  I kinda wanna go to the roof of somewhere big and teach myself to fly."

In reply to Solitaire (msg #161):

"Life is supposed to be about training for the afterlife, right?  I...If we are angels now...do angels still have souls...." David trailed his voice now full of consternation.  Yes angels live in heaven but they don't live on earth...I don't know I might have to go talk it over with someone who knows better than I.

“Ah, true. Hmmm… but the desert is wide. I’m sure we can scope out a nice stretch of land, some junked up car, and have a good time. Hmmm… do we have a camera? If we play our cards right, we can claim it’s ‘training’ to get some more fun time from ‘The Brass.’ Mr. Stock, do you know if there really are stretches of abandoned roadways?”



“Good point. How about… if you disconnect from the hood, it’s a ‘fall,’ and you lose the round. Then flying would count as a ‘fall.’ And I must admit, I don’t want to actually play it on the ‘Baselines’ Streets.’ It would be amazing, but they break too easily. I think I would cry.”



“Well, you won’t have to worry about me, kido. I’m a happy drunk.”



“Amen to that!” Zero holds up it’s drink in a little toast.

“I say, if the worst thing about our teachers is their happy drunks, then we have got it good. I had one friend who was in Vietnam who had three friends in Basic. All overweight. The instructor literally worked two of them to heart attack. True story!” Zero takes a long sip of it’s wine. “We have it good.”



The Doctor’s melancholy demeanor vanishes as it look up away from it’s drink to face Prodigal. “Religion? Ohhhhhh… I love talking religion! It’s like trying to figure out God’s puzzle box.” Zero claps it’s hands together like a little child. It than raises it’s hand.

“Now, I must give this disclaimer. I’m not here to offend. You don’t have to agree with me. I’m just talking. Now… Let us look at the question of our place in the ‘Divine Plan, ™’ shall we? Are we angels? Well, all I know is if I’m an angel, God hasn’t given me any marching orders, as of yet. Has anyone here received any divine communication? I am being serious here. I’ve seen Novas do some seriously odd stuff that violates a lot of the Laws of Physics. If a burning bush starts telling me I’m chosen, I’m not going to argue.”

Zero takes a sip of it’s water, gets annoyed with all the ice in the glass, and starts fishing the cubes out with it’s fork and setting them in it’s wine glass. “And on the flip side, I don’t recall being kicked out of the heavens and sent to a fiery inferno. So, as far as I can tell, I’m not a literal demon. (Although I know those who would disagree.)”

“No, I think we are all too mortal.” The Doctor stirs it’s water. “Tell me, young David, have you read the Qur'an? Fascinating book. They say it’s the same author as the Testaments, different secretary. Regardless, there is an aspect to the book I find fascinating. It continually describes His creation as ever changing, ever expanding. Perhaps, as pieces of His creation, this is how we are meant to change and expand. Perhaps this is the next step in the dynamic marvel of God’s great work. If so, I see no reason not to feel that we are still mortal, still flawed, and still bound to His expectations of us.”
This message was last edited by the player at 18:59, Tue 28 Apr 2009.

David looked at Zero. "No, I've never read the Quran, its a book holy to its followers its nothing something I would just casually read and my foundations are set upont The solid rock, so I don't need to read it...but...what you said...nevermind...I-I...Dillon you said you knew of a church near here somewhere?"

"Yeah, Catholic of Baptist?  Short walk to either.  Watch out, preacher might be an Elvis impersonator," he laughed.  "So where's Joseph Smith and the Golden Plates fit into this?"  Dillon asked.  "I mean, my parents think we're supposed be angels or demons or Indians or something -- uh, no offense, Sam --  and they're probably going to keep treating this whole Nova thing as an act of God no matter what I tell them.  I know the Mormons have been after my family since I erupted.  Looking for my link to 'the tribes of Israel' or whatever.

"Not to say you're right or wrong, David.  I just don't think the answer will matter to most of America, y'know?"
This message was last edited by the player at 16:00, Tue 28 Apr 2009.

"Actually, I'll take both...never hurts to hear alot about the good Lord, no offense to most of America but I'm wondering for myself and others who might want to know in general...I wonder if being in T2M we could talk to the Pope, if we can then he's got to have some sort of thought on the whole subject," David brightened thinking of it.

"Isn't that sort of a backwards way of going about it?" Quentin replied to Imp. "I mean, I don't know about anyone else, but I'd want to start on the ground and go up. Its not the Hitchhiker's Guide - when throwing yourself at the ground, you're more likely to make an artistic bloodsmear than to miss the ground."

He picked up his still-bundled silverware which has been slowly sliding towards the corner of the table and sets it back down farther away from him. Indeed, overnight most of the loose objects in his shared hotel room had fallen off of shelves or otherwise slowly creeped across the floor in his direction.

Quentin avoided participating in any religious discussion. He was nominally atheist and didn't really spend much time dwelling on it. He flipped over a page in his notebook that was just about full and started in on a fresh one.

"Not sure I believe anything. Never been a big believer in anything before all this, now... On the one hand, the world, and just the way things work, make me question whether there's a god, and if there is one, whether it's a good god.  On the other, these powers make things that weren't possible before seem a lot more likely now.  Magic, god, angels, maybe their just all some sort of manifestation of this weird energy we control.  But then that makes you wonder if they are really the same... I mean, if someone had enough power that they could create a universe, do you worship them, even if they are just one extreme of the same continuum you are on?  If you could one day do the same? I... Yeah, I'm rambling."

"Yeah, not like I can catch you, Imp.  I'm no Superman.  Yeah, how exactly did Superman always pull of that catching trick anyway?  Like, the reporter girlfriend's falling to the ground, but superman can fly so he just catches her.  But he's flying like, a hundred miles an hour or something."  Dillon checked a clock.  Nearly 1:00PM.  His stomach complained audibly.

Dillon got another coke and looked to Phantasm.  "So how'd it go with Crimson Dawn last night?" he asked with a thumbs-up, then a thumbs down.

The Doctor looks a bit taken aback. It folds its hands on the table, thoughtfully. "I'm sorry if I offended you, David. I came off a little strong, there. In my experience, most of the Novas I've met so far have been either atheists or... let's just say 'Godless' Novas, so I guess I was just a little to eager to discus some matters of faith. I'm not a 'Merchant of God,' and I don't feel you have to read any book you do not wish to."

"I would love to meet the Pope, though. I've always been a fan of Pope John Paul II. I'd say if we are successful, they almost certainly would entertain an audience with the Pope."
This message was last edited by the player at 20:31, Tue 28 Apr 2009.

"Oh, uh... He was nice, I got his number.  I might go out with him next time he's in town."

"Alright, cool."  He gave a nod in place of an across the table high five.

David barely acknowledges the conversation going on around him and simply nods to Zero's apology absently, still deep in thought.I bet he'd probably not call us angels, but at least chosen of God, but what if he doesn't...what does that mean about me...if I'm not chosen or blessed and have these abilities..I must be a ....

At the mention of Crimson Dawn Imp looks momentarily serious, then relaxes again.  "I hear he's an upright kinda guy.  Honest loyal and more than willing to kick the crap out of anybody who messes with his girl." Imp winces at the memory. "If you do wind up seeing him again, do yourself, and me, a favour: don't mention me.  From what I hear it'll spark some pretty bad memories and he'll get all morose and/or violent.  On another note, we were drinking upstairs with a Count Raoul Orziaz last night and he invited us to his castle in Spain.  Castle.  In Spain.  Will definitely have to check it out.  As to catching me, I think even if it doesn't work i should be able to soak the momentum out of my fall so that i don't break anything vital.  Should be."  Imp takes a thoughtful swallow of coffee.

Imp's comment gets Quentin to thinking. He turns over yet another page. "Hey Imp, you think your powers would work on something as massive as say... Earth? I mean, a small fraction of change in the planet's momentum would have an effect, but it'd be incredibly minor..." He starts to write out some formulas, looks up at Imp and estimates his mass.

He does some math. F=ma is a real bitch. "But it might add up over time... Rather violently. What about... Say, air? Are you able to target something you can't really see?" He waves a hand around, "I mean, as a gas, air is fairly energetic, each particle has its own velocity and they're generally random. If you're interested in flight you might be able to point them all up from under you to try to lift yourself. Or something. I'm afraid I don't know enough about the mechanics behind your powers to speculate too much."

"I'm thinking actually about either seeing if i can transfer a small amount of the earth's momentum to myself, thus providing the necessary thrust, or rather than manipulating the movement of the air molecules to lift me i wanna try tapping into their momentum then transferring that energy to myself.
I can't stop the earth cold, and I haven't had any luck trying to take the momentum of an express bus and applying it to myself, but I think i have more control than i did when i last tried it.  Once i get myself moving i should be able to affect my own momentum like i can the things around me.  Should."

Though at the restaurant by 12:50, Pratima spends most of her time talking with management, arranging the meal, and talking to her supervisor on the phone.  After everyone is gathered, promptly at 1pm, she sits down and begins talking in a crisp and proper english (with a bit of an indian accent).

"Hello everyone, thank you so much for coming.  It is wonderful that we will soon have more teammates to help us with our work.

I've already ordered, though if you want something specific, feel free.  We will just be having a variety of dishes, and we can pass them around as we eat.  This way we can try more things.  And I've always thought doing things this way lets people be closer... It's the way we did it in my village anyway.

As you know, I am Pratima, sometimes called Splash, or... Other things, if you talk to Frostburn here.  She likes to tease.  I'm from a village in India that I'm sure none of you have ever heard of.  I joined T2M shortly after I erupted, in hopes of changing the world for the better, and on a smaller scale, to help my family and village.  Since I joined I've been all over the world, worked with incredible people, and lived a life I had never even dreamed of.  I won't say it is all wonderful, as there is a great deal of hard work, and not everyone is a joy to be around, but it has still been the most rewarding thing I have ever done.

So, now that you know a bit about me, I would love to hear about all of you.  What brought you to us, and what do you hope to get out of all of this?"

Frostburn looks around the table bleary eyed, and ignores everyone as she sips at a glass of water, and the coffee she ordered before she even sat down.  She doesn't seem to mind Sam's comments, though at the "frozen eyes" comment his water turns into a block of ice and she gives him a wan, mischievous smile.

When Pratima introduces herself, Frostburn rouses herself just enough to say "Hello, Pratima" in her best Alcoholics Anonymous imitation, causing her to stumble over her next couple of words. After a moment Pratima just moves on however, and seems to treat Frostburn as something of an irritating younger sibling.

" I came to find out more about myself and to control my abilities.  I think that it's important for me to give back to the world, and to the people on it, so the idea of doing good works is also an ends unto itself.  Fun, also, has to be kept a priority."

Looking at Gravitas’ journals:

“That is an impressive volume of work you have there, Mr. Quentin. May I ask what you are working on?”



The Doctor tilts it’s head thoughtfully. The morning sun reflexcs briefly on the lenses of it's goggles. “Oh no. That is not rambling at all, but the questioning of personal faith. Few things have more personal gravity in our lives. Hmmm… Well, should we worship a god for it’s power? Or, more to the point, what do you feel is worthy of worship, Phantasm?”





“…”

“You know, David. I feel I have been selfishly monopolizing the conversation a bit. I am still looking to discover the nature of Novas, and I would like to know your take on this conundrum. I have to admit, I feel a bit lost on the topic of a Nova’s place in God’s plan at times, and my place in it. I'm not a religious authority, but I would like to talk. What do you believe?”

To Pratima (Splash):

The Doctor looks a little lost at first, but then speaks.
“I would like to continue… Aeon’s work, but from the other side of the fence, as it where. I would like to study Novas, from the perspective of one, and see how our powers might be utilized to help reverse some of the damage done by… previous, ignorant generations. Ignorance is a horrible blight on us all, and perhaps Utopia can help enlighten the world.” Zero pauses for a moment. "I guess you could see it as restoring Eden." The Doctor folds it’s hands neatly.


Doctor Zero hopes there is not an eavesdropping telepath in the room.
This message was last edited by the player at 10:30, Wed 29 Apr 2009.

"Doctor, we can discuss when we get back to the rooms or back to base, but I don't think now is the time for such discussion," David says to Zero before turning to Pratima. "I came here for a few reason, first I feel as though the Lord led me here, second to prove something to my parents and third because like so many others I feel that I may be able to be a guiding light and helpful to everyone," David said thoughtfully and he rose a few inches in the air as he spoke of his reasons for joining.

To Dr. Zero:
"I- I really don't know.  I'm not sure that I really think anything is worth worship... I- Like David said, maybe this is the wrong place for this"

To Splash:
"I just want to make the world a better place, figure out what I am, and protect the world from people like us that decide to abuse what they've been given."

"Ha, ha! Ah. Too right! My apologies, than." The Doctor played with its drink. There is nothing worse than being scolded by a child... Except when they might be right… Wait, didn't he bring up religion? That little... grumbled the Doctor in it's head.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:36, Wed 29 Apr 2009.

"Well, after everything sort of calmed down, I figured Utopia would probably have some of the better resources to utilize. I was smart before this happened, but there's not really a word to accurately describe the mental wherewithal that novas like myself are capable of. Put to good use, we can solve a lot of the world's problems. Clean energy, clean environment, faster computers, better technology, improved healthcare,
" he moves a few items on the table further away from him. They seem to have been creeping towards him without anyone really noticing. "
Just name it, there's very little that is now outside the scope of nova scientists. I think Utopia is going to be the group best able to leverage that sort of talent, which is what brought me here.

"I'll admit that vanity is largely what led me to join T2M specifically, who wouldn't want some time in the limelight after laboring for years as an unknown TA in a forgotten room of some university campus? Right? Simply put, both Utopia and T2M open useful doors."




"Call it... practical application. These two pages are estimates of Imp's powers in relation to various gasses and Earth. Incidentally, Imp, I recommend the gasses. The change on Earth isn't huge, but unless you're able to return the momentum you borrow from it pretty quickly, it seems somewhat likely to eventually cause a tectonic event. I'm afraid 'there ain't no such thing as a free lunch', as it were."

He flipped back a few pages, while also filled with math these featured a number of poor sketches of grids, many of which are bent or warped. "These are estimates of the application of my own power. As you may be aware, the mass of an object creates a bend in space-time which, in turn, causes that mass to have gravity. I've never actually pushed myself to the limit of my ability - I'm trying to guess as to possible large-scale applications. I'm honestly not too sure if my power merely creates the gravitational force or if it actually bends space like this to mimic that force." He tapped the paper a bit with a pencil and jotted down a few more lines of mind-numbing math. "Really, I need some lab time and a big empty room."

Dillon's jaw dropped.  "Tectonic ... you mean like an earthquake?  You could make an earthquake?"  Splotches of white-blue sheen bled out from Dillon's pores.  "Damn ... Jesus damn."  He started to run over the implications in his head.  This could take awhile.



Before the conversation had drifted too far off and once Dillon had collected his thoughts, he looked to Pratima.  "I just sorta joined to join, you know?  Thing to do.  Get away from the army before they decide they want me back or some bullshit.  I'm still kinda figuring out all this.

"Like, we're gonna get paid, right?  Probably more than my family has made in years, and that's pretty cool.  I know a few schools that could use new chairs or teachers ..."  Dillon shrugged.  "I guess I sorta want to make the world better.  Stop bad guys.  Keep people from wanting to blow themselves up because they don't have food or jobs or ... stuff."  He flexed his shoulder and neck, trying to find words.

"And then, there's guys like Zero and Quentin and Imp and David -- and like all of you -- trying to figure out what we're supposed to do, so I thought I'd be better off sticking around them so they can explain to me what the hell this is."  To illustrate his point, he held out his arm and made a fist, squeezing a drop of the white-blue metal out onto his napkin.  It solidified quickly.  "You mind explaining that to me Splash?  Or you Frosty?  'cause it still weirds me out.

"Like the Doc said, 'ever changing, ever expanding,' right?" He shook out his fist, making a pained expression.  From the way he had squeezed, the drop of metal might have been his blood.  Or what made for blood when his powers were at work.

"Well, I'd need to brush up on geology, but it'd probably be that and volcanos, yes. The problem isn't so much changing Earth's speed, its just that doing it suddenly is eventually going to press on plate boundries..."

He shrugged, "I think. Then again, a lot of Nova abilities bypass consequences for things we do. I mean, when someone super strong lifts a car, most of the car should just fall apart, since most of it wasn't designed to be supported by, say, the trunk at an odd angle. The front half should sheer off and the nova should be left with a trunk in his hands. I've seen stuff like that on TV though, the car doesn't fall apart like it should and the nova can swing it around without it disintegrating or whatever."

He made a face at his notepad, considering things. "Definately need time to test these things."

When Dillon squeezes out the liquid metal, Quentin regards it with curiosity. "Do you mind if I take that back with us?" His eyes narrowed as he stared at it, "It might help us to answer some of your questions if we knew more about what you were able to change into."

<Ah, flying's not all that difficult, you just sorta concentrate. Solitaire makes a face for a moment, then rises a few inches before setting back down. "Then you fly. Intuitive, really. You guys think too much, just do what comes naturally." She takes her deck out of her coat, shuffling the cards, then laying then out on the table. She beings to play, moving cards to different piles, adding some, taking others.

"As to why I signed up? Who doesn't want to save the world, and get to be a rock-star while they do? Also has the benefit of being able to meet other exceptional people like myself."

" I don't know if i can exert that much pressure, yet. Like i said, i can only affect smallish things, cars, benches, people.  At most I think there might be a localized shudder, or maybe me me leaving a wake behind me as I move.  I can't even begin to imagine how powerful I'd have to be to start screwing with the motion of the continental plates and stuff.  Consider me warned though.  I'll have to try it when I find a place that's safe from collateral damage."

"I guess it depends on the scope and frame of reference. From a relative frame of reference, the ground isn't moving, despite hurling through space around the sun," he thinks for a moment before continuing. "That does raise an interesting point. Does something have to be moving relative to you, or can it be literally almost anything since virtually nothing in the universe is strictly stationary." The way he says this is not so much a question as it is verbal speculation.

"That's what i'm wondering as well, i can, for example, stop a body from acquiring greater momentum, thus either holding it still or slowing it down, or i can add to their momentum, usually causing a slight cooling around them as i drain the momentum out of the air molecules around them.  Can I, in theory, stop the motion of the atoms in space relative to the rest of the universe thus giving myself the thrust needed to make interplanetary flight possible?  Can i learn to channel quantum to make my body able to withstand space travel?  So many possibilities..."Imp trails off, blue eyes staring out the window at something a thousand miles away.

“Ah, ‘Mad Science' is the only science worth while.”



“Innnnnnnteresting…”" The Doctor failed to completely hide the concern in it’s tone. Zero adjusts it’s goggles as it looked at the drop. “Do you feel any discomfort from that? May I see your hand?” Zero rises, and walks over to Comstock, taking the man’s hand regardless of response. “Have you felt any unusual symptoms since your eruption? Any new, usual occurrences? When did you first notice the unique properties of your fluids? Was that blood?” While firing it’s barrage of questions, The Doctor began to poke and prod at Dillon’s arm, looking for wounds. “Gravitas, could I assist in examining that sample with you at your lab? Perhaps a combination of disciplines can help. Biology and earth science are a strong point of mine, if you’d have me.”



"Quantum... Yes. Recently, many of the experts have been talking about it as a universal energy than a spectrum. (I wish they would iron out their terminology.) What if you where to use this 'universal Quantum energy,' as it where, and covert it to momentum to power your flight? This would solve the problem of what objects to tap." The Doctor pauses to think.

"Your idea of stopping the vibration of atoms and molecules... if you can do that, it might allow you to 'stop' or reverse the effects of temperature and pressure extremes in the void of space. I'm not sure what you could do with the issue of cosmic radiation... unless you tap the radiation to fuel your changes or stasis of momentum. It would require a dramatic amount of control over the momentum in your person, but it seems easier for Novas to exert their powers over their own person. I've wondered if it is because of the 'Quantum Consciousness' other experts have talked about. If that is the case, perhaps meditation technique would help if it does not come naturally. It would be more of a question of opening and focusing your consciousness in new directions until it is second nature.”

“Would that be a viable route to learn how to fly, ‘Mr. Icarus?’ Or do you still insist on jumping off roofs to fly near the Sun?"
This message was last edited by the player at 10:17, Thu 30 Apr 2009.

Dillon let Quentin take the napkin and did his best to fend off Dr. Zero.  "Yeah it hurts ... uh, okay ... yeah I've ... I don't know ... okay Doc, take a load off, it was just an example.  I don't want to lose my appetite with this science stuff before the food gets here."  He pulled his hand away as gently as possible, a bemused smile spreading across his face.  "Splash, this is kinda what I meant.  These guys are gonna change the world.  I just want to help out or whatever."

"And lo, behold white wings that are made of feathers, flesh, and bone not feathers, wax, and wood." Imp somehow manages a courtly bow towards Prodigal while remaining seated. "I plan on flying to the Sun and surfing a solar flare all the way to the ends of the solar system before all is said and done, Dr.  However, before i learn to travel at super luminal speeds I'm going to have to learn to throw myself at the earth and miss.  I don't know if I really understand this quantum energy that we all possess, certainly not enough to convert it directly into forward momentum.  Phantasm, you seem to have the most power and control over your inner furnace than the rest of us, can you tell me how you do it?  If you don't I totally understand." Imp gives his most disarming smile.

David bows to Impetus and generally looks confused with the turn of the conversation. "I never get it when you guys go on like that, I feel like I should have studied harder or something, but I passed all my classes...maybe I should have gone to public school or something.." David said a little glumly.

"Don't take it too hard, most of us are college grads," Quentin smiles wanly. Despite being a college grad, he had more knowledge now than he'd ever had before his eruption.

"Those are some pretty slick ideas, Imp. I've sort of got to wonder what sort of limits for extreme environments novas have. I mean, we labored in the desert for 3 days without sleep and very little food. That's fairly extreme, considering it would have killed most baselines," he jots down some notes on the first page of his notebook, "Just more hypotheses that need testing, I guess."

In reply to Prodigal (msg #195):

"Your not the only one." Solitaire replies to Prodigal with a chuckle. "They get going and it might as well be Greek there speaking, I only have the vaguest idea what they're going on about. I'm sure that Doc back at base will beat it into our heads though, I wouldn't worry."


Then in reply to Gravitas, "Yeah, and built that sweet pool.  Would have taken baselines a month, we did it in 3 days. Amazing really. Not as much as some of the other things we can do, but it really hits home just how different we've become."

"Sorry, Prodigal.  Just some geek stuff.  Geeek geek stuff actually.  So, Lady Pratima, I have a question." Imp takes a deliberate drink of coffee, and gives her his best, slow smile. "What should we expect of the rest of our training?  Will we be like Dolph in Rocky IV, shot full of stuff and hooked up to a bunch of machines, or more like Kurt Russel In Soldier, running endlessly through a desert?"

"yeah... I just kind of have these abilities.  I don't know exactly how they work.  I mean now that I've done it a few times, it sort of feeals like, I don't know, the energy in the area is flowing into me, and then... solidifies and crawls out?  But I don't think about that when I'm doing stuff, I more just focus on my feelings, or maybe let go of them.

I was wondering just then though, while you were talking about flying... I think I might be able to do that.  Some of my phantasms can fly, and if i just made one pop its chest open, I could crawl in and sort of wear it..."

Dillon made a face.  "Ow ... oh ... oh that is no ... that's messed up, P.

"Seriously though, what is next for us in basic?"

Pratima has been happily listening to everyone's conversation and sipping at her iced tea. Waiters bring the first course of food, filling the table with several appetizers and soup/salad (your choice).

Pratima:
"You know, I really don't have a clue.  Everything for us had very little planning, they just recruited us, had us make do as best we could, and sent us out.  We of course had hundreds of people planning our missions, and dozens of specialized trainers and advisers, but training was basically on an as-needed basis.  The only things we had sit down classes in were PR and first aid if I remember correctly.  Now all our off time seems like it's spent either on photo ops or sitting down at a workshop.

I hear they are doing it differently for you though. You get to have a great deal more preparation. I'm not sure exactly what that will mean for you, but certainly you will get some powers training, if only because there are now people that can actually train you. And you'll probably get even more PR and first aid than we did.  Probably combat training, considering the way things are heating up right now... And you probably will get some training in other countries' legal systems, basic physics - you would be surprised how useful that can be with our powers - past that I'm really not sure.  Your mentor, Frostburn might be able to tell you more.

Tell me, have any of you gotten an agent yet?  Very soon you will start recieving all kinds of endorsement offers, requests for volunteer work, even toy offers. Utopia will provide you with basic account management assistance, and the PR department will have to authorize any agreements you intend to sign, but other than that Utopia does little to help you manage these sorts of things."

"You can expect lots of boring, hard work.  Powers start up next week, so does combat.  And your academic work will increase.

Oh, and you will get to pick out a new construction project to start, just to keep you in shape and get you used to that kind of work.  Other than that, just more of the same.

We really don't have any mad scientists in the basement cooking up weird stuff to try on you. Not yet anyway. Though some of you were handed out prototype suits when you joined up.  Eufiber.  How you liking them?"

Dillon returned a blank and confused stare.  "An Agent?"

"Yeah, like they have in Hollywood even."
Frosturn's tone of sarcasm is barely noticeable through the disgust over the thought of actually eating her food.  She picks at it some as she continues talking.
"I mean, weren't you the one that just made headlines in the Vegas paper today?  It only gets worse from here on out."

"I, personally, am enjoying the Eufiber, its very different...but comfortable.  An agent...do you have any suggestions on which to go with or what company?" David asks.

"I haven't really tried mine on yet," Dillon admitted sheepishly, referring to the Eufiber.   "Am I going to have to wear that for photoshoots?"  He sounded as though he did not relish the prospect.
This message was last edited by the player at 14:22, Fri 01 May 2009.

"Mine is... weird. It's like it gets hungry or something, and sometimes it tries to change shape on its own.  Is it supposed to do that?"

Pratima:
"I have recently gotten to know a great many agents. I am not fond of most of them, their job is often dishonest, and they seem to only care about making a profit.  But that said, I do know a few honest ones that I would be happy to share with you."

"Well, the uniforms are still experimental, so I'm sure there are still kinks to be worked out.  But they are theoretically supposed to be better than anything else you could possibly wear.  They change texture, color, even shape.  They adapt to your energy signature, and aren't hurt by your powers any more than you are.  And if you push energy into them, they even serve as a sort of armor.  I love mine, though it did take some getting used to."

Frostburn has managed to find her appetite, and is beginning to look a bit more lively now that she's been awake for a bit.

David smiled at Pratima's response to his question. "Thank you very much, that would be very helpful,"

"I already have an agent, before I joined i did some modeling, nothing that the PR guys will object to.  everything was covered.  I think. As to the eufibre, yeah, this stuff's great.  Mine doesn't get hungry or do anything on it's own though, maybe you should have yours looked at back at HQ, 'Tasm."

"Mine, um, died. Well, started too, they snatched it back before it could really get hurt. Never been stripped so fast in my life. Actually, there was one time..." Solitaire trails off for a moment before resuming. "Seems I'm stuck with my jacket, no compliants though. It was itchy."

"It... Died?  Wow."

Dillon's confusion grew.  "Wait ... died like it was alive?  What the hell are those suits made of?"

Lunch continues. Pratima and Frostburn make small talk, go over some of the more mundane missions they've been on, people eat a nice, and very large, meal. Pratima gives advice to anyone that wants it, encourages people to remember that the world depends on them to do their very best, and she gives anyone that needs one the number of an agent to handle their non-utopia money needs.

Goodbyes are said, and people go their own way for the afternoon.

---

Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)
So, moving on to next week sounds good.  If you would like to give a small write up of your activities over the weekend, that would be nice.  Either way, I will post monday morning after people have a bit of time to reply to this, and we will start training in powers and combat, as well as getting a bit more schoolin' for you.  And I have an actual mission planned.  Oh, and you guys get to make another building for your own use, though what it is is up to you.

---

Zero smacks Comstock upside the head and points at him while berating. "Shudup. I'm looking into it back at 'the base,' and you can't stop me. I have several real degrees in medicine, and I'm not afraid to use them on you if you don't cooperate. Health is always the number one priority, weather you like it or not!"



The Doctor finaly goes back to his seat and sits. "Pleeeeease. So-Called 'Intelligence' is highly overrated. Give me common sense any day."



Zero claps drolly. "Amusing."



"Feh. Just promise me one thing, Mr. Pet. When you are ridding that 'super-flare,' please do avoid any planets on your way to the void. Oh, and could I be the one to throw you at the ground?" The Doctor yawns. "You're 'interstellar ambitions ™' are inspiring me, though. Regardless, my point was actually that you don't need to understand your powers academically, as they seem mostly intuitive. But, as such, you could probably use focusing techniques to broaden your influence."



"Worse? How bad can it get?"



"Is it a type of nanotechnology? It seems almost alive."
This message was last edited by the player at 08:17, Sat 02 May 2009.

"Yeah, mine did the same thing. I guess I'll have to stick to more conventional textiles," after the others speak up regarding the curiosity about eufiber's construction, Quentin adds his voice to the chorus: "I'm also interested. It does seem to have a number of very unusual properties. Its ability to change appearance and store energy is particularly interesting. I have to imagine that there are a lot of applications for it."

Once lunch starts wrapping up, Quentin gets a number for an agency from Pratima, and says his goodbyes. He spends a good deal of the next several hours at one of Las Vegas's 50-million Starbucks with his notepad alternately staring off into space or writing what might as well be Greek on dozens of sheets of paper. He is all too eager to get back to the Utopia facilities where he can put a few computers to work running some numbers.

"It is very cool, observe."  Imp's shirt changes into a tight fitting blue t-shirt, then back to a white button down.  "It also seems to tense up and absorb some of the force of an impact.  I got hit by  abrick when i was still figuring out how to deal with my abilities, and it didn't hurt at all.  Very unusual.  I hear that they're thinking about using something like it for the internet..  They've gotta find a way to synthesize it though, this stuff is actually excreted by some guy in Mexico.  Really."
After lunch:
"Say Solitaire, I was wondering if you'd wanna scoop me up in your arms, take me somewhere secluded out in the desert where it'd be just the two of us, look deep into my eyes, smile, then drop me from about a mile up."
This message was last edited by the player at 05:54, Sat 02 May 2009.

"If you had used any word other than 'excrete' I'd think I was missing out on something. Now, I think live without it. Still, I can see it'll be useful."

After Lunch:
"Well, that depends if you want me to catch you or not. " She grins back. "Sure, I could use the practice myself. Now I know I can, I've gotta see how fast I can push it. Would you like to go now? Or would you like a moment to collect yourself before falling practice?"

Zero gets a 'dogie bag'of a sizable amount of leftovers. The Doctor threatens Comstock to make an appointment for a checkup, mentioning that Zero could have Comstock committed if he refuses.

While eating, Dr. Zero gladly takes any info on agents he can get, scribbling several names and numbers down. Zero is looking into several fields, like TV and music, and asks if any of these agents can assist with this.

The Doctor than asks if it can accompany David to one of the churches he is going to and if Zero could have David's help with a "filed training video" idea. The Doctor asks Solitaire and Impetus if Zero can tape their flight school with David's help. If they agree, Zero sees if it can use it's Backing in Utopia to barrow a appropriate camerae.

OOC: Edit: Added content to last paragraph.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:25, Sat 02 May 2009.

To Solitaire:
"I think I am as ready as I'll ever be.  Take me a mile up and let me go over the desert.  Don't catch me, actually, I'd appreciate it if you'd fly away.  It'll give me more motivation to figure it out if I know that the only person who can save me is myself."

David takes the information for Pratima. "Of course Dr.Zero, I'd be glad to have you  accompany me to church, all are welcome in the Lord's house," David smiles and agrees to try to help Zero with his other projects.

Dillon gets as much information as he can about the suddenly-creepy Eufiber and does his best to get some information about publicity, agents, celebrity and the like.  Not a lot of it stuck, but he did his best.

Dr. Zero made Dillon laugh and he agreed to "be a good lab rat" until they figured out why he was manifesting physical changes.  He tried to indicate that Impetus probably didn't want to wait for a camera crew or have a crowd, then gave up.  He couldn't figure out the guy on the other side of the gas-mask and didn't think jabbering at him would solve anything.

With Gravitas heading off for some thoughtful relaxation and Impetus disappearing with Solitaire to make craters, Dillon agreed to point Prodigal and Dr. Zero to nearby churches.  "Sam, Phantasm ... got any plans?"  Given no other options, Dillon was probably going to head to church service.  He'd feel weird not going to a Mormon service, but leaving Prodigal alone with Dr. Z seemed rude ... or cruel .. or dangerous.  One of the above.  He didn't admit to himself that he had his own faith issues.

But if Sam or Phantasm wanted to do something fun or just explore the city, he was there.  So very, very much there.

-------------

"So ... are you alive?"  It was first thing in the morning back at T2M Nevada, and Dillon had laid his eufiber suit across his bed.  Still hadn't unpacked the few things he had with.  The suit, naturally, was silent, but this didn't stop Dillon's imagination from detecting hints of movement from it.  "You're an idiot," Dillon admitted to himself, putting the suit on.  To his surprise, it felt right.  "Alright, buddy, let's do this."  You really need a dog or something ... you're talking to your clothes.

Comstock made sure to knock on Solitaire's door on his way to morning training, strangely confident.

"Well, you know, just don't blame anyone but yourself when you're little more than a hole in the ground. Good luck, I guess. I still say it'd be easier to start low and go high rather than the other way around."

While Quentin is working on other things that afternoon he also contacts a few of the agents he is given contact info for. Given that it is a Saturday, he leaves messages for most of them explaining who he is and why he's calling and leaving callback info for them.

Saturday night Quentin again heads to the club, though he goes immediately upstairs. He tries to contact the club's manager/owner via Shield to see what the membership rates are like, since Orzaiz had mentioned that was normally required for being in the upstairs lounge area.

Phantasm tries a bit of all the food, but doesn't stuff herself.  Eating was already getting boring now that it wasn't a necessity for living.

When Dillon asked her if she wanted to do something, she took him up on the offer, though she made him lead the way, as she had no idea what was interesting in Vegas.

That evening she went out with Crimson Dawn again, this time to somewhere more quiet, like... dinner and a movie?  If he is nice (which he has been so far) Phantasm will happily spend a bit of time with him in whatever hotel he is staying at... At the end of the night she tells him that she will be around the area for the next several months, and tells him to give her a call when he's in town next time.

The next day is spent mostly trying to sort out her feelings on being thrust into an adult world at a very young age, and trying to cope with some very new emotions that are in stark contrast to her burgeoning intellect.

))))))))))))

Monday was a relief.  No more time to brood, no more need to worry about real life.  Mindless study (oxymoron?) and work sounded so nice after the weekend she'd just had.

She heads down to breakfast to hang out with people.  It was kind of like highschool really...

"All right then. Here we go!" Solitaire scoops Imp up in one easy motion, leaping skyward. "Fun, eh?" She comments, wind whistling through her hair, and the metal bits on her jacket tinkling happily. Flying just felt good.

She went at a leisurely pace out of the city and over the desert, making small talk with Imp to pass the time, until they'd reached a barren stretch of desert where she couldn't see anything in any direction, and she had very good eyesight. She then started to climb, stopping about what she thought was a mile or so up, as he'd requested. "Don't think, just fly." She advises, then drops him, cutting her own lift a second later. She falls next to him, looking completely unconcerned as she does so. "What a rush, eh?" She spends the rest of the descent making helpful comments such as "That grounds coming up awfully fast, don't you think?" or "You look cute when you're panicking like that."

After Imp manages to stop his nose dive, and confident that he wont kill himself, Solitaire spends the rest of the afternoon attempting to see how fast she could fly. She was pleasantly surprised when she broke the sound barrier. It gave her a terrible headache, but she powered on through, She'd had worse hangovers. She landed shortly after that, watching Imps first attempts at flight, and giving him a few pointers as needed.

---

Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)
Bought 2 dots Hyperflight. 11 xp

---

Monday:
Solitaire rolls out of bed with a groan at Comstocks knock, it was still by no means pleasant, but she was getting used to it. She grabbed a quick shower, got dressed, and followed him down to breakfast. Her greeting to whoever is there already is a grunted "Morning." before she slouches off to load a plate up with french toast, scrambled eggs, bacon, more french toast, hash browns, and then pours syrup over the whole thing.

Imp Gave Solitaire a smile, somewhat frantic, and then fell away from her.  "Don't think, just fly"... He thought.  "Hard to turn off the brain when it's all I've had going for me so far."  Still...
He closed his eyes, ignored the scream of the wind and the flapping noise his lips were making, turned inward to that pulsing dynamo of power that was his node.  He could feel it almost boiling with energy.  He looked outwards, not with his eyes but his mind, felt the quantum signature of Solitaire glowing like the sun beside him.  "She's smokin hot." he thought idly, then turned his attention back to not Wiley Coyoteing.
He also felt the presence of others nearby, probably Prodigal and Zero.
He also felt that same energy in the very air around him, atoms and molecules each with a furnace in their tiny hearts.  If he could just tap that..
He shot skyward, the momentum of his fall instantly reversed, but it was just the energy from falling, not from the air around him. He then shot 90 degrees left, still not what he wanted.  He channeled the energy of his fall into thrust, feeling himself accelerating.  This was better, but still not perfect.  He stopped himself dead in the air, held himself aloft by channeling the movement of the air into physical force, he hung motionless, bleeding the energy imparted to him from Sol until he was sure that anything from here on in would be him. Then he started to fly, not gracefully, at first, but under his own power.  He got the hang of it with the breathtaking rapidity that he was getting used to: the voices in his head sounding suspiciously like Amelia Earhart and Howard Hughes.  Soon he was hurtling over the desert at a couple hundred Kph.  He saw Solitaire, gave her a huge grin and a thumbs up, then watched her rocket away.  He felt the quantum in her wake and pushed himself faster and faster.  He felt something go pop in his head and he suddenly doubled his speed.  Sol was faster than he, twice as fast, but still, not bad for a rookie.  She buzzed him a couple times, once when she got too close he took her momentum and added it to himself, pushing through the sound barrier like a human missile.
He then experimented with running like a maniac across the desert, zipping through gullies and around rocks like the Tasmanian Devil after he'd snorted an 8 ball of coke.
After a gigantic dinner he hit the strip, won a stack of cash, and got as much culture as he could before heading back to the base for classes Monday morning.  He came down for breakfast singing happily in Quenya, and better looking than ever. It was good to be alive.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:17, Sun 03 May 2009.

On the ground, a commandeered military Jeep kicks up trails of dirt and sand as it tries to follow Impetus and Solitaire's aerial maneuvers. Zero both drives and films at the same time, usually using it's feet to steer as it stands on the headrest of the Jeep to get the best shoots. The Doctor films Impetus with growing frustration. It hopes David was getting good shots with the second camerae Zero decided to commandeer last minute from the Utopian facility. "Damnit! More flailing! More screaming! Where's the 'A' Material?! God! Amateurs. David! Trip him or something...!" Zero calmed down during Impetus' stunts. "Hmmmm... that is marketable." The Doctor stroked the chin of it's mask. "I think I can still pull this off."

When Impetus is finished, Zero finally tracks him and David down and asks if Impetus is going to gamble tonight at Caesars again. The Doctor asks if Impetus would find doing some shots falling through the air, flailing and screaming at the camerae. It goes with David to any churches (plural, if necessary to brighten the boy's mood), all the while fumbling through it's pockets. I need money. Hmmmm... it thinks to itself. "Are you alright, David?" The doctor asks in between drives. "I hate to pry, but I can't help but notice you seem under a lot of inner turmoil. I didn't mean to embarrass you earlier at the table, and again, I'm not a priest, but I do know a little something about faith." Zero did hate to pry, but it was horrible to ignoring a young man's issues.

After the biblical marathon and dropping David back off at the hotel room, Zero goes to the seeder side of town. It transforms it's Eufiber into a simple, tattered trench coat, disheveled shirt, coat, & tie, well worn dress slacks and deck shoes, and ruffed up hat. It's face is disguised as a 40 some odd year old bearded man. It is the kind of look that makes the viewer wonder if Zero is a bum, or a worn out drunk. Zero digs a soda bottle out of the trash and puts it into a paper bag for added effect.

The Doctor makes rounds around to worst areas, starts memorizing the hookers, their faces, and looking around for their pimps and what type of car they drive, memorizing their model and plate numbers. Zero does the same for any drug dealers it spots. The Doctor keeps to the shadows, stumbles around once in a while, and mumbles to itself lowly about "that bitch" while picking up random refuse and sticking it in it's pockets.  Nothing over dramatic, but typical, drunken induced oddness Zero had observed many times on the streets. If anyone asks what it is doing, Zero tells them it is looking for change for booze, and tilts the bottle to show it is empty.If Zero finds a dealer or pimp without backup, and doing reasonably well, Zero sneaks up, knocks them out with one sharp blow to the back of the head, and mugs them quietly. It takes their shoes for amusement (and see if anything is hidden), and pants if it is in a very good spot to hide. Any drugs found are latter tossed into any back alley fire Zero passes. Zero pockets the weapons.

Just before morning, Zero takes out it's sign again, stands at a fairly busy curb, and asks for change. When Zero stats walking back to the hotel for an hour of rest, it hums Lambchop's "The Song that Never Ends" to itself, and whispers "I love being a Nova"... to the desert breeze.
This message was last edited by the player at 13:25, Sun 03 May 2009.

On Sunday, Quentin heads back to the Utopia site early, if he can, and spends some time walking the grounds and taking some measurements to see what sort of space is available for new buildings. He makes his notes in the same notepad he's been using all afternoon, essentially drafting a small map of the base notated with the sizes of the buildings and empty spaces.

On Monday he goes downstairs to chat with the others before their classes begin, though he only grabs an apple to eat, more for the flavor than for any need for nutrition.

ooc: sorry about the delay on answering here.

David looked at Zero. "Doctor, sometimes I'm not real sure about a lot of things, I just need to pray and have faith that God will show me the way, You didn't embarrass me, you just gave me more to think about," He smiled weakly.

Imp sails through the air and lands in front of the hotel, suit once again in place, and strolls through the doors into the lobby.  He smiles and appears relaxed, the tribulations and stress from the week of unending training fall away from him as he once again feels like he is in his element.  Chicks, gambling, high rollers... this was the life.  He looked over his shoulder at his team-mates, smiles broadly and heads over to the front desk.  Time to check in and check out.

A swirling vortex of blue light and cloudy air opens up in front of the hotel just as the fountain show begins. Through it are several other members of the team, of which Quentin immediately jumps through after urging the others to do so as well. He smiles and waves at the people on the other side, assuring them that nothing dangerous is happening.

---

Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)
Quentin spends two more QP on throwing up Sooth and Awe-Inspiring so as to not freak people out with this display.

---

Dillon arrived and checked himself to ensure nothing had gone missing in-transit.  He looked around: the Bellagio's earliest fountain show, early evening, crowds of people, men slapping porn advertisements together ... they were on target alright.  He waved to the crowds himself, glad they were treating the Novas' arrival as part of the show.  A few Japanese tourists started shouting and taking pictures happily.

"Crazy.  Is this what celebrities feel like?"

"I think it must be, minus the power to topple civilization as we know it... except Oprah, I think she has that feeling too."

Phantasm seemed rather unconcerned about her passage through space.  The key is to just take everything in stride... if it didn't kill you its all great, right?

"That's one way to stay off the radar." Imp whispers to himself.  "It's like Steve always used to say, 'I don't have to outrun the bear, just the person I'm with."

"Damn." Solitaire whistles, stepping through the portal. "That was cool, good job Grav." She claps him on the back, knocking him forward slightly. "Whoops, sorry." She apologizes.



"Yeah, I'm with Comstock, Archon to start, but I'm after a quiet drink and some music at some point tonight." Solitaire says from across the portal. "It'd be nice just to chill." With that, Solitaire puts her hands up behind her head, and makes her way through the gawking crowd toward Archon, whistling nonchalantly.

The crowd gawks at the arriving novas, snapping pictures, pointing, and asking for autographs, getting thicker as one approaches the Archon.  Getting to the door will require slowing to a crawl, or flying over people's heads.

Shield is still serving as the doorman, but it seems the crowds are worse this week than last, and he is having a bit of trouble keeping everyone in line.
This message was last edited by the GM at 00:44, Mon 01 June 2009.

Sam arrives at the hotel just as the others are being mobbed by nova enthusiasts. He suddenly remembers how thankful he is that he still looks like a baseline; all that attention seems so... unpleasant. He does his best to keep a low profile while he checks himself in, and tries to slink through the crowd unnoticed.

Imp checks nto his room, then heads out to the casinos.  He sticks with poker, wanting to become better at reading people, figuring out what they are thinking, reading body language, lying without saying a word.  He grew more an more confident as the eveining wore on, he kept his wins low enough not to raise any ire, but high enough to make it profitable.  After a couple hours, and a few thousand dollars, he noticed security moving surreptitiously his way.  He casually put his chips in his pockets and stood up, then moved towards the cashier.  the guards followed his movements, some moved to intercept, looking nervous.  "Fuck!" Imp swore under his breath.  This could suck.
"Please come with me, sir." the man said.  sweat was clearly visible on his brow. "Sure thing, relax, I'm not going to try anything.  If I was we wouldn't even be having this conversation, would we?"  Imp walked towards teh elevators at the back of the casino, making it look like th guards were members of his entourage, not an escort.  He got into the elevator and stood casually, arms at his sides.  Whatever was going to happen was going to be something totally new.  Maybe they'd try to beat him.  Bribe him?  Hire him? Kill him? Invite him to a high stakes novas only game? Looking as cool as a cucumber Imp waited for the elevator doors to open.
[Private to GM: Was thinking that Imp's appearance and demeanor would be visibly setting him apart from baselines, two dots of mega app is enough to make hiding his nature very difficult.  I've got a scene set up in my mind, will put it into the vignettes thread if you don't want to deal with Imp and the mobsters.  Alternately, I can  delete/rewrite this one.]

Zero chuckles at Phantasm's joke, and then sighs. "I have no idea what to do with myself. The investigation has been on my mind for so long, I'm not sure what the hell to do with myself other than obsess about conspiracy BS, and I don't feel like going mad with this cloak and dagger crap. I'm just not feeling very inspired, lately. Does anyone have any ideas?" The Doctor asked, candidly.

"I don't know.  When we were here last time we saw some of the sites, and somehow I'm less thrilled at some of the entertainment, considering what we see back on base everyday.  I guess the Archon is a start, not sure I want to stay there all night though.  Maybe we could go catch a movie, or just have our own little party in our rooms at the hotel.  Actually, that might be better than a movie, I get bored when I have to do only one thing."

"Wow, that's convenient," Quentin muttered under his breath, flexing one of his hands. He was still working out exactly how far he was able to go, and so far had not found a limit. Admittedly, he'd had pretty limited ability to experiment much during the week given the intensity of the training. Perhaps the weekend would be a good chance to do some traveling.

"I'm good with whatever. I may pop off on my own here and there."

Skulking felt good all of a sudden; it felt natural. And he felt hungry. A sadistic laugh squirmed from the back of his mind. ~Heh heh heh. Yessssss. Yesssssss!~ Before this little... episode could proceed any further, Zero's concern about the investigation turned his thoughts elsewhere.

After making sure he would be jumped by spectators, he tried to offer suggestions. "Far too much has been going on lately. I know it may not seem like the most logical course of action, but we need some time to rest and relax. There's no use going after these guys if we're too out of it to do anything."

~You could usssssse a bit more training.~

Sam ignores Zeus. "I like Phantasm's idea. It's been a good while since I've seen a decent movie."

Dillon thought for a bit.  "Well ... if we've got some walkaround money, lets see what kind of shows are on for the night.  I mean, there's Cirq du Soliel -- that's like three different shows right there -- magicians, dancers, bands," he grinned and ran a hand over his head.  "There's even this new thing with three drummer guys wearing blue paint over at the Luxor.  Bound to be something cool."  If the others weren't interested, he might go find an open seat at one of these things himself.  "C'mon Zero, performance art.  You could probably show the guys with Cirq a thing or two."  He suddenly realized that it wouldn't be too long before someone hired a Nova for a blockbuster act on the Strip; Wayne Newton replaced by a Nova Vocalist that could shape sound into dancing images.  Weird thought.

Once they were checked into the hotel, Dillon heads after Solitaire to blow off some steam.  He smiles at the crowd, shows off his physique a bit, says hi to Shield.  "Hey, step back, guys, give the door some space," he tells the crowd, hoping to calm them down a bit.  Chaos like last week was not what he wanted.

First thing inside, he scans the crowd to try and make sure Sparkle isn't around.  If she is, Dillon slides upstairs as fast as possible, bluffing or nudging past anyone asking for his club membership with a promise to pay later.

For those going to the Archon, the interior is much the same once you fight your way in, past the rabid fans outside.

Has it really been a week since you were here?  The same faces are here, the Olympian with his cult, Sparkle with her admirers, and a half dozen or so others that you didn't interact with last time.  Apparently this is where they go in their off time, if they do in fact have actual jobs.

The dance floor and the club as a whole is a bit less disorienting this time around, since people are familiar with it.  The baselines are clingy, but you learned how to get away mostly intact, and combined with it being early in the evening (and thus before the crowd inside really gets going), it is fairly easy to navigate to the bar or upstairs.

Those trying to go upstairs are met by the owner, a short, middle aged Italian man reminiscent of Mario from the video game.
"Hey everyone, I'm Nick, and I own this place. I'm honored to have you frequenting my club, though I did want to warn you that there is unfortunately a fee to go upstairs.  The regular patrons like it that way, as it insures their privacy, and keeps everyone on good behavior since they all have a stake in the place.  Count Orzaiz will sponsor you, so you don't have to worry about recommendations.  He seemed rather impressed with you all actually... He left enough to cover you for single entry if you came in again.  The normal club membership is only 10k a year though, so I'm sure you'll have no trouble coming up with your membership dues next time you come in... Ooh, excuse me, I need to run and save our new guest from the mob, I'm sure you understand..."
Nick runs over to a young nova who couldn't be far out of his teens, who is currently being mobbed by the more rabid nova fans that couldn't get one of the regulars to notice them.

))))))))))))

For those interested in a movie, your rooms in the Bellagio have full cable and pay per view. The current selection of PPV films is http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2000_in_film .  The theaters are a bit dead at the moment, as it is right before the summer blockbusters start filtering in.

"Sheesh, not cheap. I need to get an agent and start licensing my name as a brand or something. Or invest in stocks. Or something." He continued to make his way upstairs after being allowed to go by Nick. "A show doesn't sound too bad. I've heard of the Cirq du Soliel, they're supposed to be kind of artsy, right?"

"Yeah... That might be nice.  Not sure on Cirque though, maybe comedy act or something, or maybe a magic act?  I wanna try and spot the tricks."

And I could do everything that Cirque performers do, and then some. Watching it would be boring... Though how sad is that for them?  An entire life of hard work as a performer, made trivial by the abilities I gained in an instant...

The office that the elevator doors opened onto was spacious.  No, that wasn't the word.  Huge.  Could have even been cavernous if it wasn't filled with stuff.  A wall was dedicated to monitors that appeared to each be linked to separate security cameras.  there was a baby grand piano over in one corner, a miniature tropical rainforest and a tiger skin rug on the floor in front of a massive mahogany desk.  "Ostentatious and tacky, rolled into one quaint bundle." Imp muttered.  Seated behind the desk was a large woman.  She was wearing a black suit, had alarming red hair, and seemed to have put her makeup on during a major earthquake.
"Well hello handsome," she purred in a voice that spoke volumes of chainsmoking and heavy drinking,  "Why don't you sit down and have a drink?"
Imp acquiesced and had a seat on a zebra skin chair that had somehow manged to make itself invisible during his initial survey.  Odd....
The security guard handed Imp a glass, he sniffed it.  Very expensive bourbon.  Probably Old Fitz.  He sipped it.  Very good stuff alright.  His hostess drained her glass in one pull, then lit a cigar and poured herself another.
"I have a business proposition for you, beautiful."  Something that pays far better than what you get at Pro U..."
Half an hour later Impetus walked out of the elevators and headed across the casino, out onto the strip and towards the Archon.  he moved through the crowd mechanically and passed shield with a nod.  this would require some thinking.

"That could be fun. Let's do that!" The Doctor looks jubilant again. It straightens up it's fedora and purple tie, than throws it's arms around anyone smiling in arm length, and starts leading them down the street toward the show.

"Hey, has anyone else thought about starting up our own Novox Band? It would be real fun."
This message was last edited by the player at 13:43, Tue 02 June 2009.

Dillon nodded.  "Hey, thanks Nick, I'll have that money next time listen I gotta get up there."  He made a mental note to find Raoul Orzaiz and thank him as he skipped upstairs and made himself a drink.  Whiskey, cheapest available.  While sipping it and enjoying the relative quiet, he peered through the transparent floor, wondering if Solitaire was going to touch bases with the Olympian again or if Sparkle had noticed his arrival.

"Any luck, she's forgotten I exist," he murmured idly to himself.  He scanned the room, looking to see who came to this lounge and maybe find that Raoul guy everyone keeps telling him about.

The crowd outside Archon parts respectfully for Solitaire, though a few of the braver ones got close enough that she had to politely brush them off. When she gets to the door, she pauses to talk to Shield a moment. "Another tough night eh? Think people would have better things to do than stand around and gawk." She pats him on the shoulder, "Gimme a call if you need a hand with this lot. Be right inside, for a while at least." With a smile, she goes inside.

Once inside, Solitaire spots Comstock heading upstairs, and follows, hoping to find the source of the elusive drink that would work on a nova.

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Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)
Spent a quantum on Awe-Inspiring to get through the crowd.

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Shield seems frustrated at the way the club is growing in popularity and gives Solitaire a kicked puppy smile.  "I hopefully won't need any help with the crowd, but I could sure use some down time after they go away.  Maybe if you're free later I'll catch up with you?"

))))

The upstairs is slow this evening, as it is most evenings.  A few nova's you've never met before lounge on the sofas chatting about various things as they sip at drinks (all the ingredients are there for whatever you want to make at the bar, but it's do it yourself time unless you chat up someone that knows a bit more about the whole nova drink mixing thing... Unless you want to apply some medical/science knowledge to the effort).  The novas nod politely as people come in, though they don't run over to great you or anything.  They seem to leave introductions to all of you, and continue talking.

Sam's face lights up at the mention of a magic show. "Oh! A magic show sounds gr- GAH!" He gasps as Zero grabs him and just about drags him to the show.

While Sam was thinking about what kind of magic he would see, Zeus was growing even more frustrated. ~We don't have time for thisssss! You must focus on your meditation, how elsssssse can you expect to-

"What kind of show are we going to see? I've heard of some guys called... Sigfreid and Roy is it? Are they good?"

"Hey Sol, uh, do any of those guys look like a Raoul?" he whispered, unsure of exactly for whom he was looking.  He nodded in greeting to the other patrons, trying to guess at their relative importance.  He hadn't come to the club with the intent to hide in the elite-room, and was weighing his chances with this crowd against the chance of drawing the attention of 'that crazy-bitch'(tm).  Maybe they were all like Gravitas up-here and just undiluted-but-functional geniuses?

"Sure thing, when do you get off? Its not like I need to sleep anymore." Solitaire chuckles. "I'm after a quieter environment tonight anyway, but this is the best place to meet other exceptional people like ourselves. Don't happen to know where one could find good live music in the random hours of the morning do you? Its only my second weekend here."


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"I've seen him on TV. Media loves him." She replies, sliding in behind Comstock and gazing around the room, completely at ease, even if she didn't quite fit in with the more dignified crowd upstairs. She could care less what they thought of her, really, she knew what she was. If the Count is there, she'll point him out, if not, Solitaire will make her way over to the bar, and after careful examination of the assorted liquor, will mix herself a drink more or less at random.

An hour or so after the others arrive Imp ambles up the stairs.  He greets his other team mates, "Hey kids, what's up?" then proceeds to make himself a three mile island.  He grabs the appropriate bottles, crumbles the appropriate tablets, stirs to perfection.  Noticing Sol's interest he makes another one after sliding his first her way.  He also makes one for Comstock and anybody else who's present.  He takes a long speculative sip, and sighs contentedly. "Not as good as Raoul's, but not too bad.  So, what kind of mischief are we getting into tonight?  Drunken debauchery? Fisticuffs? Quantum physics?  I'm gonna unwind here then see how far up I can go without suffering ill effects.  I've been experimenting this week and I seemingly have stopped breathing, or can stop without discomfort.  More than slightly unnerving..."  He appears lost in thought, his genial nature seems more a venner of civility."

*edit*
Finally reaching the city limits, Harley decided to head for one of his old haunts from when he was underground. A few quantum-fueled leaps later he was on the rooftop of a small local dive. Once sure he wasn’t being observed, he dropped down into a back alley, dorm’ed down and walked around to head inside, grab the strongest drink they had and a pool table.

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Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)

http://www.yelp.com/c/lasvegas/divebars

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This message was last edited by the player at 15:50, Wed 03 June 2009.

"If we did a Novox Band, I think Gravitas would look killer in KISS style makeup and spiked shoulder pads." The Doctor jokes playfully.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:09, Wed 03 June 2009.

"Hmm, that may be an interesting little experiment. I didn't seem to have any problem breathing underwater during the fiasco on Monday. I'm not really sure how my altered physiology would react to extreme temperatures and pressures though." He looked thoughtful. "I may join you on that, though I can't really fly up very quickly."



"I.... shudder to think of it. I'm no Gene Simmons."

Speaking more broadly to the group, he offers his input, "I think I'm interested a bit more in a show or generally relaxing as well - its been a long week and doing nothing while being entertained sounds like what the doctor ordered."

"I know several places, but none of them will be open when I get off... Tell you what, if your free and around tomorrow night, I'll be happy to take you out to a nice little place around 6pm, I don't go on until 12 tomorrow... Aw hell, gotta go."
Shield turns to deal with several crowd members that felt it would be a good idea to try and shove their way in while the doorman was occupied.

))))))

Tickets to shows are doable, though you will end up having to go to a Saturday showing, due to the late hour (unless you want to run immediately after showing up at the Archon).

))))))

Raoul isn't in tonight, though there are several others hanging around.  As you sit and talk for a while, waiting on the rest of your party to arrive, several of you note that the skinny guy on the couch keeps looking at you speculatively between lulls in his conversation with a large linebacker looking fellow, and a very attractive young woman with silver hair.

After Impetus arrives, and everyone gets settled drinking again, the man finally gets up and walks over.
"Hey, sorry to bother you all, but ou were in here last weekend, talking to the Count weren't you?  Would you like to join us?  We're all friends up here.  Oh, sorry for not introducing myself, I go by Mathematician."

))))))

Harley's dive bar is... A dive bar.  The drinking is good, if you like it hard and simple.  Pool is played by a rough and rowdy crowd. Everything is loud here, and the smoke fills the room. Depending on his mood, Harley can sulk in a corner drinking himself into oblivion (he wouldn't be the only one here doing so), play some pool, get into a fight, or perhaps even pick up one of several lonely women (or men) that are here looking for something to take their minds off their own dreary lives.

"Mathematician?  Nice to meet you, name's Impetus," Imp extends a hand, then saunters over to the Linebacker and silver haired vixen.  "Hello, pleasure to meet you", he extends a friendly hand to the linebacker, and a perhaps more than friendly hand to the woman. His body language and voice subtly shift to conform to whatever she prefers, his body, in her eyes anyways, becomes even more attractive. "And a good evening to you, what's your name, beautiful?"

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Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)
a remarkable 14 sux on the seduction attempt. First two dice were from mega, 6 auto sux from seductive/seductive looks.  2 quantum spent.

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