Amanda, Legacy X, Neo, and Teranovae stand at the foot of the imposing fortress of stone and steel that Mayor of the Pitt, the provocatively-styled Gyarados Skullfucker, calls her residence and place of business. Machine guns in good condition dot the walls in the dozens, backed up by light cannon just like a castle of old; the place was as good as impenetrable as far as the everyday wasteland brigand was concerned, though even fortifications as mighty as these would not fare long against a kaiju-class horror or any of the Wonders now staring up at them.

The guards at the gate are peering at you. They already know who you are, and you have received invitations to go through and meet the lady of the Pitt at your convenience. The invitations had been dispatched shortly after the Wonders' arrivals as word of Teranovae's miraculous deeds reached her, but by that time they had already left to investigate rumors of an old clinic in the waste. She probably expected the would-be heroes to arrive empty-handed, but she would be very surprised.

Is it time to meet the Lady, or is there unfinished business to do in town first?

Teranovae ponders perhaps a change of cloths to be more presentable... but then thinks of the sophistry of such a thought in such a real-world reality of the harsh life here in the Pitt and dismisses the idea.  Whatever she is wearing will have no pertinent impact upon their meeting with Gyarados, and even if it would... would she really want it to?

With that... Teranovae will walk to the guards an example of divine womanly grace and beauty her poise and bearing Queenly. She nods in passing on her way to meet with pirate queen Gyarados Skullfucker, to report of the Nano-Clinic recovery effort and it's free access to the Citizens of 'The Pitt'.

Speaking to the Guardsmen, "Greetings, please take us to the Pirate Queen Gyarados. We are expected and have a report to make on a task she set before us..."
This message was last edited by the player at 02:46, Mon 29 Aug 2022.

Amanda had struggled a bit with the idea of the mission. She had grown up without want or fear of hardship, and since leaving that all behind she'd never once been hungry or injured in a meaningful way. The disconnect she felt at that scared her more than any sort of violence. Approaching the guards she ran through her basic options, the blurred black form most people thought of for splat girl. Her "real" human face, or a disguise. She opted for something she'd tried only infrequently. Her "real" human face only better. The result looked something like Amanda if she had the physique of an Olympic athlete and model. She went with a long jacketed skirt suit that showed off her legs which she left in their glossy black form down to sensible wedges. She added an empty gun holster and empty bandolier for grenades, not wanting to look out of place in the wastelands and for makeup gave herself a sharp stunning cat-eye and flawless dark red classic lip.

She smiled pleasantly at the guards as she tried to think of the best way to approach the social dynamic. She'd gone with demure but strong based on what she knew bout Gyarados Skullfucker's choice in partners she wasn't trying to seduce the woman, but being attractive to someone usually helped getting what you wanted out of them.

OOC: Focused Form: Attractive 1 Persuasion +10

Legacy, for his part, was in "character" so to speak, and he simply landed behind Terranovae and moved on foot. His father had warned him that floating towards a person was often instinctively seen by them as a threat, and advised against it unless one was ready to fight them. So he landed, and accepted a bit more dirt and muck on his outfit.

At least, what was left of it.

He looked like he had just been in an ancient dusty ruin, and only was cleaned by the winds. He didn't mind, though. It made him a bit more relatable, he hoped.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:31, Thu 01 Sept 2022.

Neo floats about on their levitation systems in full mechanical form, giving off the air of minimal focus while they follow along. Her shiny black staple material uncovered entirely. There's no real need for pretense if we're visiting Skullfucker's place as wonders.

Her senses discreetly scan the security and integrity of the fortress as they wait behind the more sociable people to enter

The guard gapes slightly at the muscular woman in the threadbare remnants of her emerald raiment. "Uhm, I think I see a nipple, ma'am," she says softly, trying very hard to keep his eyes above the collarbone. His partner is simply snickering lewdly. After a short delay during which they don't even bother searching them for weapons (what would be the point?) the more professional guard taps a button on his belt. The castle comparisons are complete as a drawbridge comes down to permit the Wonders entrance. There is no moat, but rather a pit of wickedly and crudely sharpened steel spikes.

Neo's analysis of the structure without and within confirms that it is a formidable fortress, well-engineered and quite possibly the best the Pitt could possibly put together with the resources they have available. Not only is it secure against physical attack but some rooms are even reasonably sound-dampened for a sense of privacy and security, and the entire place has a good airflow to ensure it doesn't get too hot even under the baking light of the wasteland summer sun.

The interior is fairly posh, with large throw rugs over tightly fitted stone floors. The choice of decoration is a little odd for a self-proclaimed lady warlord; metal-framed posters and desks overladen with toys and plushes of cute cartoon monsters. Most show signs of the nuclear apocalypse that destroyed the world; charred edges, bits of burned fur or plastic. Lighting is provided by old-style incandescent bulbs, giving a warm homey light to the place. You see Colleen, the pink-pigtailed sunbeam of the Pitt, laying on her back atop a beanbag-stuffed monster of some description while playing the handheld video game Teranovae saw her purchasing earlier that day. She looks really into it; it'd be rude to interrupt.

You are shown to the Mayor's office by a single house guard. Skullfucker's office is a respectably-sized room that smells of coffee. The sole occupant sits in a chair that seems to be made entirely out of guns melted together by some unfathomable heat, and a desk carved from a single great piece of obsidian from the Pitt. Resting against the side of her desk, deliberately only partially obscured, is a pre-war plasma rifle, highly modified. Surrounding her are the most pristine examples of her collectables, some with colors so vibrant they look as though they could have been printed yesterday. The woman herself is a muscular and rough-looking middle-aged woman with bright, artificial red hair with black tips, pulled back into a very punk ponytail, and wears an open leather jacket over a gray jersey, denim pants with leather patches, and steel-toed shoes. A blue hardhat sits on her desk.

Gyarados Skullfucker nods to the Wonders cordially as they come in. She gives each one an appraising look up and down. Her eyes snap to Victor. "You must be Legacy Ten. Nine told me a lot about you." She stands and looks him at the eye. "I understand you're here to save my town. But what exactly does that mean, and what makes you think we need saving?" The question seems genuine, not defensive.

Teranovae was interested in the structure looking around as they were escorted to the drawbridge gate guard.

At his comment, Tera's pretty green eyes go wide in realization she had forgotten to tidy her apparel from the battle and turns a.. rather fetching shade of crimson that accentuates her Green hair and eyes.

With a embarrassed wave of her hand she is briefly engulfed in a emerald radiance as she Reveals her Divinity and is completely nude save for her weapons belts before her outfit is reformed completely undamaged in a cascade of varying shades of green light!

She lowers her eyes, "Ahem, My pardons."

Teranovae makes no attempt to hide her Pitt Machette or her Heavy Magnum Revolver, though she will show that the revolver is currently unloaded.

She walks along in silence glad she fixed her apparel before meeting the pirate queen.

Ushered into her office Teranovae looks and listens...

She is ... shocked at the little tug of simple jealousy at the Pirate Queen's familiarity with Legacy X, but she mentally chides herself and shoves such thoughts away.

Stepping forward she will speak, "Greetings Warlord Gyarados, I am the Earth Goddess Teranovae. Three weeks ago my companions and I fought off an assault on the 'Scrapiron' community some mere 50 miles west from here but the forces MOTHER dispatched were great indeed!  Though we won the fight, the town was evacuated, because we were not able to arrange the civil defense sufficiently beforehand to minimize damage and loss of life.  From the number and deployment of MOTHER's Forces.. its was Clear to us.. The Pitt is next on her assimilation plans.  We would assist your community in repelling MOTHER's approaching strike here. If we are allowed to begin hardening your defenses here and providing for the medical triage of the injured your community should be able with our help to fend off MOTHER's coming attempt to Conquer your community!"
This message was last edited by the player at 02:53, Thu 01 Sept 2022.

Neo's takes a moment for her eyes to process the room before returning to the relaxed, almost lackadaisical levitation.

She only speaks up after Tera's little speech.
"Also, Your all gonna die from radiation poisoning. Or because that giant hole full of unhygienic rancid garbage. I would not be surprised if either one plays a part of your floral problems"

A half second pause before saying
"I go by Neo, Your desk is very nice, Like the aesthetic"

Legacy cleared his throat, partly to get the dust out of it, and partly to smooth over anything offensive. "Mostly the issue about Mother directly mustering a force has our attention. I have little doubt of your ability to survive the hazards of the wastes. You have lived this long, and your town is quite a success story for the region. This is why Mother is assembling now and preparing to attack rather shortly. Your scouts will likely back up what we are telling you. However, I have seen very few establishments hold up to a direct attack from Mother, and even backed by the resources of an old world military base, it took all we had for us to check her advance and buy time for a retreat."

He considered his next words, and smiled as he did so. "I'd like to think we've learned something, and that round two will be different. We need people who will stand, though."

Teranovae smiles her hand partially trying to contain a small laugh, "Yes, Please forgive Neo... they are ..somewhat eccentric and can be very much blunt.  They are not trying to be .. accusative or rude they are just very literal and tact is.. somewhat foreign to their mental processes."

"With some 'little' time and planning our er... Team could dispose of the pollution within 'The Pit' as well as build a waste and water treatment facility to handle the cities sewage and purify your water sources ... it would only require some regular diligence upon your citizenry's part to maintain it for public health."

"The 'Wall-like' fortifications of The Pitt are composed of radioactive isotopic waste slag and its poisonous. I'm sure you already know this.  Well I can remove those impurities and refine them for use as Depleted Rounds of ammo or other uses plus rebuild the entire Defensive wall into a fully Fortified and Hardened against artillery with Command and control troop-tunnels and emplacement positions for... whatever weaponry you decide to mount."

She chuckles, "Speaking of Weapons that's a Very nice old world plasma rifle ~ is that an Edge Industries Model CS-27?  Your weaponsmiths here in The Pitt or most skilled!"

She posses slightly letting her hips show off the heavy magnum revolver and Pitt Machette-Blade on their weapons belt in a sexy fashion briefly.

"I am an archaeologist of Old World artifacts, and your collection here is most impressive!! 'Brass Hat' would be soo envious.  I'll have to be careful around that elderly storyteller/bard or he may begin producing action figures of Me instead of just Action Adventure Comics!"

This message was last edited by the player at 16:59, Thu 01 Sept 2022.

"Mother is interested in extending control here. As Wonders Mother has a standing kill on sight order against us. As the leader here Mother will seek to subvert or destroy you. If you cooperated you would be reeducated. This here would be viewed as seditious media for the glamorization of horrors and glorification of abandoning Mother, she offers certain survival through submission.
By contrast what I need most from places like this is human contact. If you stay independent I don't have robots trying to kill me constantly and can talk to people who remind me of what I really am. If we can persuade you independence is worth fighting for we will help you fight for it." Amanda spoke plainly in a kind business like fashion. She was trying to layout the options in a way that clearly showed why independence and freedom are worth fighting for. She wasn't going to sugar coat anything or pretend it was entirely one-sided.

Major Skullfucker listens intently as each Wonder lays out their view of the situation.

"Ah yes, Ironscrap. I heard some interesting news from that town..." the mayor responds to Teranovae and Legacy X's combined words on the subject. She reaches into a drawer and pulls out a piece of paper, reading it thoughtfully. "Littering, Loitering, Removal of State Secrets, and Pretending to be a... Ghost." She looks up from the paper quizzically. "When this is over you are going to need to explain that last one in exhaustive detail." She tosses the paper down. "We don't have the luxury of evacuating; the steel mill is here, the greatest source of raw materials in the Midwestern Waste. We have no military base to support us and Mother now knows you are active in the region. What is the source of your confidence that this will go better than it did for Ironscrap?"

The mayor smiles at Neo. "I appreciate your brevity and candor, Neo. Yes, the waste policy of the Pitt leaves much to be desired. I would have thought such civil matters beneath the notice of people as powerful as you." She cocks her head at the little floating cube. "May I ask what matter of Wonder you are?"

The mayor grins and hoists the antique plasma weapon onto her shoulder. "Good eye. CS-25X, actually; only thirty-three were ever made, each one hand-assembled by the world's biggest nerds in a top-secret bunker for the express purpose of killing supervillains. If the serial number isn't forged, this one is responsible for killing Dreadnought." She looks down at it fondly. "I added two graviton emitters from scavenged shocksplinters to focus the beam. I bet it could cut right through any one of you like a hot knife through butter!" She isn't exaggerating; old world plasma weapons were a lot more like single-shot artillery than Mother's reliable shocksplinter weapons, more closely resembling her experimental plasma cannons.

Amanda's words give the mayor pause as she looks fondly around at her collection of old-world media. "Even when the world ended I have always worked to carve my own path and to surround myself with people and things that I enjoy. The scars are adding up and I had hoped to retire, but if Mother is going to take what is mine I think I would sooner die." She looks back to Amanda. "There are good people here. I am sure they will learn to welcome a Wonder."
This message was last edited by the GM at 15:24, Tue 06 Sept 2022.

Teranovae takes a more serious tone, "The difference here in The Pitt, is that we arrived In Scrapiron, pretty much as MOTHER's Force was starting their attack.  The Citizens of Scrapiron were more of an armed bandit refueling drinking hole and were all not about to leave cause Mother decided she wanted their...{ahem} 'shit'.  They were going to fight... like the band of bandits and wasteland raiders hoodlums they were.  But here in The Pitt..you're already organized and we have time to use our powers to fortify your defenses before MOTHER's forces actually get here. You have control of your armed forces not much but your not plagued with inter faction fighting .. You ARE the Authority here and everyone mostly accepts that and is not pointing guns at you to challenge that control.  What forces you have Will work together and not be on the edge of shooting each other all the time."

"Also, Scrapiron was a small mostly abandoned mostly empty petroleum storage... an old world truck stop... 'The Pitt' is a full on Concrete City with underground structures and actual resources to employ in its defense.  Yeah you don't have a serious military... but were not looking to have you fight the enemy exclusively with your resources the destruction We can direct with your assistance CAN turn the tide of MOTHER's assault.  We won in Scrapiron.. but all that was left was rubble cause it was not really organized nor had any real defensive works... now we have time to do Much better!"

When the Major begins beaming over her Plasma Rifle Teranovae goes back to her Nerdy fascination... "Oh my that's Very interesting!"

She taps her wrist comm PDA and speaks into it, "Edge Industries, CS-25X Plasma Rifle, limited run of 33, one confirmed responsible for death of Dreadnought - supervillian. Research further"

Then taps it again to turn it off the voice log of field notes she keeps.

Her expression clearly not threatened by the Major's suggestion the weapon could hurt them she focus on her comment about the Shocksplinter Graviton Emitters... "...You salvaged Graviton Emitters from a Shocksplinter...two of them?!?!  THAT is even More impressive Major!!  Shocksplinters have a biometric reader in their grips that keep non-MOTHER approved sophants from using them.  The fact you manage such an impressive technical feat is.. Quite Amazing!"
This message was last edited by the player at 16:10, Tue 06 Sept 2022.

Legacy sighed. "I was covered in white dust, and they thought I was my grandfather for a time. It wasn't part of any plan, but it worked at motivation. That said, it would take little work to reinforce your city, motivate your forces to stand, and turn what Mother is expecting to be a one-sided stomp into a grinding war of attrition she will not want to wage. That's the real goal. To convince her to go elsewhere, or at least deal with you equitably because she can't just sweep you."

His voice became more certain and stern. "I won't sugarcoat this. I personally thought Scrapiron was a strong position. No one there expected Mother to attack in force and ignore her local forces completely, and she did a lot of damage. We arrived late, and fought a running battle. You will not be surprised, we will be here in advance, and as someone who's been in a lot of fights, you know how much that matters. I have faith in your odds, if you have faith in them as well."

He looked at the weapon and a brief look of disgust crossed his face as he remembered what it was like when Earl Edge hit him with such weapons in the past. "The man who made those weapons will enslave you as assuredly as Mother, and is far less sane and more spiteful. Be careful about any aid from him. He never provides anything without a string attached."

OOC: Do I need to spend a bonus Hero Point within this scene?

Neo shifts about, Revealing the shiny black metal of their Robotic form
"That is a fairly loaded question Skullfucker, and with wonderous qualities its anyone's guess. But as for the trash pit, I think very quickly and know quite a lot. It wasn't much to piece together the hazardous nature of such a waste disposal method, no use saving you all from Mother if your infrastructure is going to kill you in a couple of years... or push you into Mother's arms."


Neo audibly clicks at the conversation on the Edge industries Plasma rifle
"I have to agree with Legacy, besides even without malicious intent Wonderous objects are not reliable. Unless you personally can sustain the properties, they can have faults and malfunctions.

Teranovae regarded Major Gyarados Skullfucker her impression of the woman growing and she pondered her Obsidian desk.  A naughty thought occurring to her... perhaps some small vestiges of Sandra's Brattishness 'at times' seeped through and surfaced in the Earth goddess's mind.  Slowly she smiled regarding the stone desktop wondering at all the things its been 'exposed' to since it was placed here?  Angling forward as if in 'innocent' curiosity Teranovae touches the edge of the stone desktop running her hand along its edge appreciatively ... and then Accesses the 'Green', her eyes very softly glowing subtly a slight emerald inner hue as they took on a distant 'looking through you'..gaze as she read the history of the events around an upon the stone surface from its unearthing to its shaping and the time to it placing here in this office and the Wonder's arrival...

"At One with the Green": Senses 4 (Divine, Earth, Gravity, Ground, Natural, Stone; Awareness: Alterations to the Natural Order of the Earth, Direction Sense, Distance Sense, Extended: Awareness 1: x10, Postcognition (Limited): Alterations to the Natural Earth; Activation 2: standard action, Distracting [-4rks])

Her smile widening eager to view even the most shameful.. or intimate of events to grace the surface of the Obsidian desktop...
This message was last edited by the player at 16:32, Sat 24 Sept 2022.

Teranovae's scrutiny of the stone edifice's history reveals that it has seen quite a lot of paperwork and, on at least two occasions, someone's cranium had traded quite forceful greetings with it. One could say that their skulls got fucked. It wasn't here originally; it spent quite a lot of time in a room below, and in the process of moving it up to the second floor it was bashed against a wall and had a small chip taken off one leg.

"Well I guess it is a good thing I did not need a shocksplinter grip then, innit?" Miss Skullfucker quips to Teranovae.

Skullfucker gives Legacy X a long look, then just kind of shrugs and sets the weapon down. "I cannot say I have ever met the man and by all accounts I do not particularly wish to. There are many Wonders in this world and it seems not all of them have acclimated to modern circumstances well." She sighs.

"In any event, it seems clear that you want to help. There are some tasks that my own men have proven insufficient for; if you would grant me some time to assemble our knowledge I could give you some mission dossiers to work with. If you wish I can arrange for some lodging during your stay in town. And if there are things you wish to do in the meantime, just let me know. Just one thing; do not go down into the Scar unless you are prepared for one motherfucker of a fight."

Legacy, for their part, was simply going to make their presence known among the people. He had seen them as some visiting hunter - now it was time to visit them as a member of his family. Now that they had something to fight for and defend for themselves, now he could bring them some hope.

In reply to GM LoonyLadle (msg # 17):

Teranovae will smile, and whisper to Gyarados, "..I see you have had some interesting events for your desktop, but a proper 'christening' is still in need... maybe later."

Then more louder stepping away from the obsidian-slab desk, "Thank you for your trust Major Gyarados, we will make every effort to not let you down! Thank you also for the kind offer of lodging... we have arranged such int he nano-clinic but it is kind of you to offer.  I personally would not wish to by residing within the city proper draw hazards to the public safety with just my presence."

"We have already secured 'mostly' the Nano-Clinic and were able to occupy it and recover it intact! We the GALE FORCE, would suggest you allow us to keep control of the clinic as there are still unknown hazards in the surrounding underground zones and perhaps more unknowns in the nano clinic that normal people might be unable to deal with.  I would offer you appoint a liaison with a small security force to ... occupy the Nano-clinic with us so you have a hand, voice and eye on what is going on there.. as a sign of good faith on our part.  We do not wish 'payment' as there is nothing you can give us physically that We cannot already provide for ourselves... what we want is far more valuable. We ask for your trust and your friendship.  We ARE here to help.. as much as you will let us."

11:49, Today: Terranovae rolled 14'16' using 1d20+4.  Teranovae - Persuasion [+4 '+6 if Skullfucker is attracted to greenhaired Earth goddess']. – 14

"And.. I would like to personally ..apologize. The fallen Skyscrappers were My fault alone.  It was NOT my intention for such to happen."

Then the earth goddess cocks her head, "There is something lairing within the Pitt?  Please do tell ~ exploration of the Pitt was always on my agenda after we fight off MOTHER's Forces... especially if we are to fix the pollution-ecological disaster its unattended clean up looms in the city's future!"

(Teranovae tackles the Bad Design Decisions!)
This message was last edited by the GM at 14:44, Tue 22 Nov 2022.

Gyarados grabs the collar of Teranovae's costume and tugs her closer by the neck. "I'll thank you to stay in civil matters and out of personal ones," she says with a threateningly-sweet dommy voice. She then pushes the taller green-haired woman away. The woman's strong, although obviously nowhere near as strong as the Wonder could be.

The mayor raises an eyebrow as she learns about the clinic. "Huh, is that the same clinic that's keeping that freak Peter alive? I knew he had connections with the old world mob, I should have pushed further. I wonder what other resources he's been keeping from us..." She massages her chin thoughtfully. "I'll send some men to check out Peter and his clinic; if it's operable then some of my best guys may yet be able to fight in the coming battle. Thank you; this alone will be a great help, and I am gratified to see that you waste no time."

"There is a horror lairing in the pit. It is not the first one. I have heard reports of strange lights in the Scar at night that correspond to some terrifying and bizarre dreams. My theory is that a periodic mana geyser has opened down there. I'll include everything we know with the rest of the dossiers."

Teranovae's pretty emerald eyes go wide and.. twinkle with something approaching delight and she gently smiles. She does not try to remove the Major's hand but instead very subtly and softly caresses the back of the Major's hand grinning and whispers even softer for only the Major's ears, 'Just teasing Major, between us girls. Earth Goddess I may be but pacifist I am Certainly Not ~ Some people need their skulls Fucked! But that's not the only kind of fucking this fine slab is useful for...'

When released she quietly gathers her dignity straightening her bodice again and still smiling but continues as if nothing untoward happened saying, "..I will personally see to it your men have no problems at the clinic and get the BEST care possible from the facilities.  I will have prepared a permanent office for them to have a liaison stationed there.  We did find evidence of criminal underworld usage of the Clinic, but we were unable to confirm any recent use as such it was empty of any human habitation.  I know you only just met us, but my powers can heal ANY ailment, disease, harmful genetic defects, Restore lost limbs an organs... or even restore the dead to life as long as some portion of their body remains and they have not been 'clinically' dead longer than 24 hours. If you have need of such  ~ wonder healing, I offer it freely."

She ponders the intel about the Pitt, "Hmm... a horror lairing in the Pitt and a potential mana geyser to keep attracting them?  Thank you Major for that info.. one enemy at a time I think, but THAT will have to be dealt with eventually.. better sooner rather than later. We will focus on turning MOTHER's  coming assault first but rest assured THAT will be my next thing to deal with!  If horrors are allowed to linger in an area they tend to spawn more especially if mana pool is present.  They will only get stronger and ultimately will NOT stay in the Pitt, especially this close to a community of emotional beings with fears and hopes to feed the Horror's creation!"
This message was last edited by the player at 15:19, Wed 23 Nov 2022.

Neo very specifically eye rolls, the flirting is obvious to Neo's enhanced sensory suite.

They click at the talk of the clinic
"I don't believe I restored the Nanocontroler. But it should still be a actually sterile place to practice medicine without it.

Once the horror is brough up, Neo sighs
"Right, the tunnels are definitely dangerous then. I am willing to bet horrors have got their way inside. I'll take the Dossier for that."

Neo nods
"Any other question Mayor? Not every day four wonders walk in."

Amanda took the new of the Horror in stride, looking a bit more concerned about the mana geyser as solidified Horror didn't scare her but mana's endless potential spoke to some of her hidden fears. Seeing that they were dismissed she head out to likewise introduce herself better, but dawdled trying to convince herself of something.

The Mayor interrupts Teranovae's subtle monologue by whacking her in the face with a sturdy cardboard tube that she keeps behind her desk for just such occasions as this. It makes a hilarious hollow 'donk!' noise as it hits, and the Wonders think they can hear guards chortling outside the door in recognition of the noise.

"Ah. Well, let me know when it is operational then. While I have little cause to doubt your claims (although the things you Wonders can do scare the fuck out of me sometimes) I know you will be moving on once this thing with Mother is settled, and I want to be sure that we can stand with as little... 'divine' assistance as possible."

"I will definitely put a rush on what we know of the Rift, then. No, no questions for now... although perhaps next time, I may have."

---

After completing their claimed tasks, the Wonders meet back up in the bazaar. Merchants from neighboring towns who lack swifter transport are beginning to arrive, tired and thirsty from their trip. Workers from the smelter are beginning to get off work as well. Together the two forces make for a bustle of activity, and with the new fortified wall the place very much feels like a medieval castle town.

The new wall is the talk of the town; those who trade in the Pitt regularly recognize the obvious wondrous influence in the expediency of its appearance as well as its craftsmanship. But those sensitive to such things -- that is, Wonders -- also felt the psychic abrasion of an awakening Horror and the sense of relief that swept the region with its passing.

At least one such recent Wondrous arrival would have words to exchange regarding this. As Mayor Skullfucker has yet to summon the Gale Force back to her castle, there is little reason not to take a load off and converse for a bit...
This message was last edited by the GM at 08:02, Fri 02 Dec 2022.

In reply to GM LoonyLadle (msg # 24):

Teranovae chuckles... still smiling and her emerald eyes continue to twinkle in delighted mischievousness.

---

The news of his team's glory was definitely something that boosted his spirits. He had done his best not to let it show, but Zane and Molly were draining people to talk to. Maybe if they heard some more good news they were doing, they'd lighten up - or rather, maybe she would and influence him in a better direction than Mother.

Legacy was never really hungry or thirsty, but it made people more comfortable when he ate when they did. So, here he was, awaiting his team, and having heard something about a caravan coming to town with another Wonder. Had Princess Thunder changed her mind?

Then again, most Wonders were not nearly on the caliber of his team. That so many of them were in one place was unusual, almost unheard of since before the war. He had heard tales of groups of mighty Wonders who fought beings beyond the veil of this world, and maybe such people could walk this world again.

Melisa was still fighting her nervous nature to go beyond the Mobile Mead hall, so for now she was passing out drinks. The patrons thoughts cluttered her head like a child's toy chest:

_{what's for dinner? I like cats. Look at the tits on that un! Interesting flavor, but it could use more blood...hmmm}

"Please be thinking about the steak..." escaped her lips in a whisper as she headed to the storage truck. If there was heroing to be done it sounded like she had just missed it. Of course the rumors described someone familiar, Neo, it's gotta be. The more she thought about it the more sure she was. She stepped up to the counter of the bar and flipped the tiny sign face down "Please do not scare the waitress". A throat clears over her shoulder, her boss and all but adopted mother is giving her the inquisitive parental glare. Melisa gave a guilty smile and used Children of the Grave/Future to give a silent run down, mostly boiling down to 'I have a friend in town' and getting back a 'fine but your making up this shift'

Melisa runs off to get changed and before long Muse is flying off towards the center of town to look for Neo, though running into any Wonder is far from unwelcome. After zipping too and fro with little success at finding Neo she drops to ground level, and eventually hears of some wonders meeting at a local bar. And enters with a sweet riff after all even if Neo is here there are other wonders that require introducing.

Neo meanwhile performed a disappearing act, re-joining the team with the appearance of a normal human. She does often eat, very voraciously and so ordered a unreasonable amount of food for one person to eat. Joining up with Legacy once they see them. not particularly caring about the weirdness of just walking up to one of these new heroes. "Hey Leg. You ordered yet?"

Hearing the notes, she very quickly picks up on what's going on with muses' entrance, clapping once its finished and kicking out a chair as an offering for the new arrival

Teranovae had no problem finding Legacy as he walked from the entrance to Gyarados Skullfucker's Office and HQ as was his way to not stand above the non-wonders so obviously.  She smiled, one of the things she so admired about Legacy was his ... humility and desire Not to 'lord' his great power over humanity. How he tried to be a part of them so much.  She found that Very endearing and an example setting for her to consider how she interacted with mortal humans.  She ..herself maintained a dignified grace and distance from humanity... she cared much... but knew from past experience.. that mortals were all too fragile.. and she bore great hurts in her heart for the close friends she ... when she was the woman Sandra had lost so violently.  The pain...even now was still there ... and she found it best..at least emotionally safer to avoid close mortal relationships.

Victor walked almost everywhere he could in The Pitt...which made it quiet easy for her senses when she was 'At one with the Green'... to read his path as if it were clearly marked in the concrete he strode upon.  So after the defeat of the Horror-Slagix, in the Wall Construction... she returned to Gyarados HQ.. and calling up her senses followed Victor to the Tavern he relaxed at.

Tera walked the streets in something of a daze as the expanded sense flooded her with history and events of the streets she traversed.. but soon the lovely green-haired, Earth goddess found her quarry and smiling took a seat beside Victor.

It was ... strange.. she had never felt so attracted to anyone like the way she was to Victor.. it made her wonder if he had some unknown power to sap a woman's will... but no.. if he did it was merely her admiration for his sterling heroic qualities that enamored her so much.  The world was full of boundless possibility when she was just sharing his company.  He inspired her to keep trying to fight on... to toil in the duty of mankind.. like All of his august Legacy had done.  Was she in love?  She had never been before that she could recall... yeah there were men in Sandra's past.. but nothing very emotionally deep... what was this?

She engaged Victor in small talk asking how his effort s to ... quell the public discontent fared?  She was listening... but she was more just enjoying his company.  Many times she wonder how he felt about her.. she ... almost frantically wanted his approval.. and much more...

Her heart raced and she couldn't stop smiling in Victor's presence constantly she reminded herself mentally {Easy there girl... calm down.. stop being so obvious.. you know he can hear your racing heart beat! 'sigh'...}

Tera kept her 'hands on the table'... and did not exactly vamp him; her dignity as a goddess demanded a better comportment for her behavior.. but her interest in Victor was not hidden. For now she satisfied her emotions with at least sharing a drink or two of light alcoholic content in his presence with simple conversation ad discussion.. trying hard to be professional and politely.

"So Victor..do you think your words to Zane and his wife Molly had any marginal success on the couple or those in the audience who were undoubtedly listening?"

That is when Muse Entered in a burst of sonic obvious wonder powers... drawing her attention she suddenly realized she had been focusing all her attention on Victor and had totally missed Neo's arrival as he addressed Le~ Victor.

She smiled... not so brightly, but made a polite attempt to do so at the sudden fact she would now have to share Victor's company with others now...
This message was last edited by the player at 13:25, Tue 03 Jan 2023.

Muse casually flops into the offered seat with a wink, smile and a two finger salute.  "Thanks Pal. Long time no see, how've ya been? Oooh is this your crew" She then offers a hand to the closest new face (new to her anyways) a green haired beauty "Hiya! I'm Muse, don't worry if you've never heard of me, but any friend of Neo's is a friend o' mine."

Teranovae smiles accepting the offered hand, "Greetings to you as well miss ~ I am Teranovae, daughter of Gaea ~ Earth Goddess.  A friend of Neo's?  I must say .. that's interesting.. I did not know Neo maintained relationships with many outside our group the "Gale Force" Wonder Resistance fighters. You must be Special to her indeed Muse!  Neo has little patience sometimes for the folly most mortals get mixed up in."

Her grip is warm and strong but not forcefully so.. her touch is soft though a growing line of calloused skin across her palm indicating perhaps she practices with hand-held weapons with some frequency is evident.

Legacy wondered why Teranovae's skin always did this weird thing whenever she was around him, but he chalked that up to the weirdness of his vision. He always saw stuff in other people he didn't grasp - skin paling, hair shaking, odd skin crackings or sweating. She probably had a mild torch for him, although that was a strange thought - he wasn't honestly sure how that would work out.

He decided not to focus on it, instead thinking of Neo's question.

"I haven't ordered yet. Didn't occur to me, and no one else was here." He exhaled, making his thoughts on Zane clear as he shifted his mind from . "Zane? Maybe for a few days he'll relax. Then his wife will return him to form. She's the one that fuels any negative statements against Wonders. Mother offers a carrot, but it is the stick that interests her. So we'll hear from him again, but hopefully he'll save it until after Mother's attack comes and goes. It's a shame, too. If he were motivated to fight, he'd be quite the strong and inspirational officer."

He nodded to Muse. "You must have met Neo before we regrouped here. A short window, but possible. We all had some personal business after the... um... Ironscrap incident."

Neo quickly brushes off Teranovae's comment"Its not my fault most humans aren't worth the time, I'm a social butterfly when I want to be. They turn to legacy with a shrug "Had to get my bearings a bit, Stumbled on Muse. This is Legacy by the way, Might know that name. got some history. We also have one more somewhere, Guess they're running late.

"I suppose you all can have some of what I ordered... once it gets out here."
This message was last edited by the player at 03:03, Wed 04 Jan 2023.

"Yeah! Pre-war heroes, her-ed-i-tary(?) powers right? I know I didn't say it quite right, can never be too sure about the pronunciation of a word until you hear it. Sooo that makes you-u 10 right? Either way-" She reaches her hand across the table. "Second verse same as the first! Thanks Neo but I ate before take off."

"Uh, yeah." When Legacy wasn't "in-character", he was not good at dealing with attention. And he wasn't in full-on "Legacy Mode" at the moment. "I'm not my dad. You got the discount Legacy I'm afraid. Try not to spread the word. It would demoralize the town."

His father would have taken control of this whole situation and inspired this town to stand. Legacy IX was absolutely a kill-on-sight for Mother's forces at this point, mostly because he was good at making deals with others and working with them against whatever problem they were facing - usually Mother, from her point of view. He'd have done better with Zane.

"And don't worry about sharing with me, honest. It takes me a while to burn off food, anyways."

"Yeah Hereditary, or Hereditary depending on your accent. Legacy here is genuine." Neo speaks right after legacy

"Perfect, I have to build up after all that work" Neo proceeds to consume the entire slat shaker on the table.

The pretty redhead Legacy had met that afternoon has made good on her claims of avoiding the loud evening crowd. She's not the only person missing from the establishment; Zane and his wife Mol-ly are absent too. Every couple of minutes there is an overheard wondering-aloud over where the man has gone.

"Hey, where's Zane? I wanted to hear his stories."
"Maybe those freaks offed him for talking bad about them."
"No way, they killed that monster that was hiding in the wall!"
"I heard they saved a kid."
"Maybe he finally hurt himself keeping that stick up his ass."

A couple of people take notice of Muse's musical introduction. A handful of people who heard of the songstress clap and cheer after the (admittedly brief) performance before returning to their drinks. Several freshly struck conversations are expressly about her.

The boy Teranovae healed earlier nervously approaches her table, holding something behind his back. Just as it seems she is about to speak to him he flinches and clumsily deposits a small box wrapped in plain brown paper on the table in front of her before sprinting for the door. Stamped on one side in purple ink is a logo of a top hat with a pair of goggles.

The noise level in the tavern swiftly lowers as the citizens within notice a pair of bubblegum-pink pigtails that recently entered. "Isn't that the Mayor's pet Wonder?" go several people, trying to avoid Colleen's attention. The real-life anime schoolgirl has a manilla envelope under one arm and seems to be looking for someone, but not particularly hard. She takes a seat at the bar and starts flirting with the (female) bartender while she waits for whatever brought her here, sipping a pink bubbly drink out of a fancy wineglass.

In reply to GM LoonyLadle (msg # 37):

Teranovae's head was on a swivel casting her gaze about trying to keep track of all the conversations...she almost didn't notice the young lad she had healed earlier that day and only got a chance to smile at him before he darted away back into the press of customers.  She regarded the delivered package he expression one of ... amused surprise.

She did not do the things she did for rewards and would have told the child so ... if he had not bolted so soon... but she did regard he logo upon the package.  Her eyebrows raising in interest, was the child merely a delivery boy for someone else... the logo being unknown to her.  She pondered it an odd moniker if it hinted by connection to 'Brass Hat' as her first impression brought to her awareness.

She had not developed a keen sense of paranoia to suspect anything sinister by an seemingly innocent gesture of gratitude from a child messenger... so perhaps naively she carefully began to neatly unwrap the package to preserve the wrapping paper with the moniker intact to find out its contents...

Inside the simple wrapping is a clear acrylic box, polished clearer than the dust-choked wasteland air outside, with a thick black base. Inside the box is a vinyl sculpture of a creature bearing a strong resemblance to the creature she and Neo killed earlier that day. Stuck to the bottom of the base is a simple yellow sticker with a handwritten note; 'Thanks for the story!'

"Sounds like you guys had quite the day. Also sounds like" She gives a smirk "these good folks could use some entertainment." She gives two knocks on the wood table and purposely passes Legacy as she gets up to head to a suitable place to rock out for the crowd. As she does _{"Don't sell yourself short man, you don't need to be your dad, just the best you, ya can."} followed by a light shoulder tap. When she reaches her "stage" she starts playing something energetic, she's prepared to change things up based off the perceived needs of the crowd. She freely activates the feature of background instruments as she starts to feel more comfortable with the crowd.

playing the Protomen: Will of one.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTaqc3_5oYg
This message was last edited by the player at 06:37, Sun 08 Jan 2023.

In reply to GM LoonyLadle (msg # 39):

Teranovae smiles gentle her eyes slightly tearing as she regarded the figurine memento.  She pulled out the two sapphire stones and holding them in her hand heated them slightly with her powers and set them on top of the clear acrylic case to heat melt them into the top of the case to secure them. Then appreciative caress the gift.. now a personal treasure of heroism and gratitude.

She looks up at Muse's comments and grins nodding in acceptance and appreciation.

The earth goddess never moved away from Victor/Legacy in fact found she had settled closer to him in the making room at the table... and regarded cooly as Muse whispered her wise words for the heroic man at her side.

As Muse made her way to the stage Tera.. had mixed emotions as to the soft pass {in her opinion} that the songtress had made at Victor... and she felt her heart quake in the flutter of brief jealous fear.  Now she felt she needed to let Victor know her heart and Stop being vague ~ as men Can be oblivious and she wanted no uncertainty in how she viewed her adoration of Victor.

The Earth Goddess leaned close to Victor to whisper in his ear an Obvious Intentional moment, even though she KNEW his hearing was sensitive enough to hear a gnat farting in a hurricane and said to him, _{"She's right Victor, you are an amazing, heroic, responsible man... all the reasons I have grown deeply enamored with affection and desire for your regard .. and hopefully perhaps your love. I wish you would think of me with such affection ~ someday."}, and she gently touched his hand with hers lowering her gaze to note his reaction... her smile worried as she had made her feelings known.

Taking a deep breath she waited... at least.. she had made her desires known... even if he did not accept her devotion.. she had spoken her heart...

{ooc: By the way Muse ~ Fantastic Song!}
This message was last edited by the player at 13:35, Sun 08 Jan 2023.

Legacy normally didn't think about how slow the world moved relative to him most of the time. It was simply a fact, and he had learned how to speak and act at a pace that let him function. Every now and then, though, he had an incentive to just let the world slow down as he stopped being so relaxed for a bit.

So, first this new person, which wasn't stressful. Then Colleen, who was. And now Terranovae, who not only was insistent on forgetting he didn't want to be called Victor when he was in costume because it would complicate his life immensely, but now she was being rather overt about this.

So naturally, he was becoming bothered enough for the world to slow down and help him process this.

"Terra, um..." He was really sure how to explain this to the supermodel next to him. "I'm really not thinking about that right now."

What he was thinking about was why Colleen was dressed like that. He was concerned she was looking for an excuse to chainsaw someone's hand off for trying to grab her ass or something. He knew she could and would turn this entire place into an abattoir the moment she decided playing nice with society wasn't worth the trouble.

But nothing obvious indicated hostility. So why that weird get-up? Maybe she is trying something new to pick someone up? These were the questions causing his perception to slow down again.

Tera was silent eyes closed for long moments... then she pulled her hand away and moved away.  She pulled away from the table collecting the acrylic case gift and stood her expression pained.  Then she quietly left the tavern.

Outside she formed her hematite surf-board and took flight away from the gathering...making her way for the 'Refuge'... even Earth Goddess' can have their hearts broken.

It's not that she was not willing to give him time 'He was not thinking about ...whatever right now...', that's not what hurt she'd opened her heart to him... wanting simply to know how he felt about her?  He'd been clear... he was not thinking about her... he felt ... nothing.

She was too proud to stay and let anyone see even her brief tears...  Like a stone she must make her heart.  Perhaps someday.. someone would open their heart to her... to love her for the heroic, compassionate, loyal being she was.

But not today.

Tera would find distraction in work.. there was still much to do... something she could 'Think', about.  She would work on that ritual for controlling the Earth's mana streams.  She placed the Slagix figurine in her private quarters.  Then she set off toward the Pitt to study it from a safe line of sight as part of her mana research certain at least her ritual ~ if not her affections, would have use in the future...

Neo sighs, They were going to comment about all the whispering, but guess that's done

"Alright. So that's probably the info the skullfucker was going to fetch for us, But the others are busy, I guess... What's on your mind Legacy... and hey if you feel like this chat is slow, I can process quickly

They shrug. Trying to play off any sense of concern. Although it wasn't as smooth as they intended

Amanda was having a rough time of it emotionally with the down time. She felt useless and isolated from the town. She didn't know how to make the town safer. She didn't know how to hunt, farm, or forage. She couldn't fix machines. She could build bombs she was basically unbeatable in a fight all stuff that involved leaning into her power.
She disliked eating food conceptually it felt like someone was going to starve so she could vainly pretend to have a human experience. She kicked a hunk of scrap metal down the street past the bar wearing dinosaur pajama and trying to think how you kill a globe spanning computer.

The patrons of the Windmire notice Muse taking the stage. A handful of people clap and cheer encouragement. A teenager holding a guitar nervously behind him approaches the stage and shyly asks if she needs a backer, unaware of the artist's wondrous qualities. In any event, the rousing song is immediately well received with a handful of people standing up from their drinks to dance.

---

Teranovae is not able to get much peace and quiet before she overhears an interesting conversation from a group of weary-looking travelers heading toward the Pitt's gate. She is distant enough that she catches only snippets.

"... didn't know there were still natural forests in North America!"
"... a goddess protects it..."
"... lot of those around here lately... one in town too..."
"... feels like something amazing is coming... moment in history..."

---

The listless Amanda notices she is being watched by the Windmire's afternoon bartendress. The skinny redheaded girl has changed into a celtic-knotted button-up sweater and durable work pants with leather patches over the knees. She removes one of her gloves and lights a cigarette by very carefully and briefly touching a fingertip to it; the moment her skin touches the end of the cigarette bursts into flame, which she quickly blows out before the whole thing is consumed. She replaces her glove and draws a deep breath of cancer-smoke before blowing it provocatively in Amanda's direction.

"Penny for your thoughts," the bartendress offers when and if Amanda draws nearer.
This message was last edited by the GM at 09:59, Sat 14 Jan 2023.

Teranovae caught snippets of the conversation at the edge of her hearing... the subject of a potential possibly forest protect by another divinity did interest her and she wanted to hear more... but she did not want to 'spook' the weary travelers.

So she tried something different she descend to the city taking cover in a alley to dismiss her Hematite flight board and invoke her power to instead of "Reveal Divinity" to 'conceal divinity' changing her clothing to a mundane gather's field cloths in the form of a brown hoody, trousers and sandals.  None of her powers could conceal easily her beauty, presence, or long emerald hair so she simply pulled up the hood.  Exiting the alley she went to where the travelers had walked before she heard them while having their conversation...

Feature 1 1 "Reveal Divinity": 1 (Divine; Instant Change)

Invoking her "At One With the Green", she walked their path following their footsteps to listen to the very earth, dust and stones at their feet remember of their words... post-cognitively...

Senses 4 1 "At One with the Green": 4 (Divine, Earth, Gravity, Ground, Natural, Stone; Awareness: Alterations/Past Events upon the Natural Order of the Earth, Direction Sense, Distance Sense, Extended: Awareness 1: x10, Postcognition (Limited): Alterations/Past Events Upon the Natural Earth; Activation 2: standard action, Distracting [-4rks])

Her eyes glowed a soft emerald light in the depths of her hood as she walked in something of a daze as she viewed the past... reliving the whole conversation...

Legacy was just processing everything around him when Neo asked him a direct question. "No, it's fine. When I'm relaxed, I can interact with people, and when I get excited, I just happen to have a bit of extra time to process through what I'm feeling. Doesn't help much with anger, though, so I still have to watch that one."

He gave a quick point and a nod to the bar. "I'm just noting the volatile Colleen over there wearing an outfit that absolutely invites someone to get body parts removed because they did something stupid. Make no mistake, as long as she's getting what she wants... um... old world electronic games and exaggerated tales of the heroes of the old world, apparently, she plays nice. But if she's figured out this is a legal way to kill people who she doesn't like anyways, say 'self-defense', someone here is going to die."

"Basically, she's going to make an asshole into a victim. And... I'm not sure if I should stop her."

She gives the guy an inviting gesture "Music is better with more." She takes a risk and opens up Children of the Grave, to teach him the song in more or less real time.

After her first song, Muse notes the fact that the group is one player short. Before starting the next song she shoots a psychic channel to Neo and Legacy ++Hey, sorry to surprise you Legacy. But everything okay? Where'd Terranova go? I'm gonna play one more song, and we can I don't know feels like there's a reason you guys are here and I'm all for helping any way I can.++

She then plays another Protomen song, Keep Quiet. But stops at 6:25


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkoezKJ3x-k
This message was last edited by the player at 00:02, Mon 23 Jan 2023.

Neo mulls it over very quickly
"Yeah I saw that... Look Depends who you want to be. That's not really my place to say. Nor Tera's or your families. Personally I wouldn't step in. Uhh unless its you or muse I suppose." Neo very quickly brushes pass that "But you know. I'm not really a hero."

Neo waves at Muse as she plays
"We can wait, See what happens as Muse finishes her set"

Amanda looked at the bartender, a muddled mess of emotions, she thought about being guarded, but found nothing to fear. She was after all invincible, it was rediculous this stuff should make her feel vulnerable,"Just being neurotic about food. I barely need to eat and normally I could eat an iron ingot and make it last several years. I don't want to be the reason someone has no food, but my friends eat and sleep and it's the stupid stuff like food and sleep that makes me feel inhuman."

The guitar boy is a little weirded out initially by the telepathic syngerizing but eventually manages to get into the swing of the process. The reception of the other patrons in the bar also seem more tolerant and familiar with wonder-brand strangeness than a lot of the witchy-burny communities Muse as met.

---

Muse doesn't get to finish her whole set before the mercurial Colleen proves Legacy's suspicions warranted. Well, perhaps not entirely warranted.

"Aaaugh, what the hell?!" screams a young man, recoiling from the bar. It isn't hard to see what has him in a tizzy; a glowing pink vice with glittery heart and star stickers stuck on it has his hand in its grip, flesh bulging out and fingers bent in unseemly and unnatural angles.

The bartender sighs. The other patrons scoot away from the situation while sipping their drinks, not overly concerned but eager to not be in the blast radius if this worsens. "Colleen, what did I tell you about coming in here?"

"No bloodshed!" Colleen chirps innocently. "And look, not a drop spilled! He'll be fiiiine~"

Another, deeper sigh. "Sir, go see the doctor. I'll cover your tab."

"This psycho bitch put my HAND in a VICE! Is no one going to do anything?!"

At least twenty people stare at him as the awkward silence stretched out.

"You're all a bunch of fuckin' pussies!" the viced man declares before running for the door. Business very quickly resumes as if nothing has happened.

"This mimosa's great by the way; where'd you get oranges this time of year?"

---

"I see..." the bartendress replies to Amanda. She shakes a bit of ash from her cancer-stick and then takes a long time looking down and appraising her own hand. "I think I can relate. I have always been... off, there's a gap between me and other people I can never quite bridge. And when I manifested wondrous powers, I found I literally could not get close to people without setting them on fire. I haven't had skinship in... seven years. And everything I put in my mouth gets overcooked in seconds." She takes the opportunity of another cigarette draw to collect her thoughts.

"Obviously I don't have it as bad as you. But I can relate. It... it's poop from a butt, is what it is. And we both had to take a bite. Does that metaphor work?"

---

Teranovae traces over the conversation past like one of those old phonograph machines she had heard of that were antiques even before the war. The traveling party spent their most recent minutes debating food, drinks, and lodgings. Prior that they were chatting shit about wonders and goddesses and wondering if there was even a difference; talking with the guards and paying their entry fee to get into the city; gawking at the massive and elaborate stone wall and confirming with each other that it wasn't there last time they visited the Pitt.

The juicy information the earth goddess sought wasn't far in coming after that. Although the gossiping travelers don't discuss the exact information she is after, Teranovae does learn that the forest in question is out in Wyoming and that the goddess who lives there is supposedly quite mad and of the trickster disposition. She supposedly has been creating magical creatures to serve her, including a species of highly intelligent fairies and a wide variety of plant monsters that have been destroying settlements nearby. She has apparently been waging war with the nearby Barrier City 111 and even managed to force Mother to relocate most of her citizenry from the state.

The conversation before that is erratic and difficult to follow; the wind is picking up and dark clouds are beginning to peek out over the horizon, and the brewing storm is serving to degrade the "phonographic record" beyond that point.

"Okay, she's got enough restraint to not kill the guy. But... she's acting strange. I'll come back to the table, guys." Legacy decided it was best to walk rather than float, and moved down to Colleen. "Hey, you uh... everything alright?"

There were so many things about her current behavior which were not adding up. Usually, she favored being unapproachable to this. She was way too cheerful.

Teranovae pondered the intel she had overheard... It had occurred to her that not all Wonders would use their powers to help protect humanity.  But that was different from Wonders actively using their abilities against mankind in-fact proving Mother's stance.  This could be allowed to stand.  Tera wished the gossipers had mentioned this "plant-goddess's" name but it appeared they did not know her name.  She could confront the gossipers... but she did not wish to scare them.

She accessed the internal database of her MOTHER-issued Sophists Datapad consistently with its wireless connection turned off when she was in the field as Sandra... to confirm her estimation that a journey from 'The Pitt' ~ Pittsburgh/Pennsylvania... to Wyoming was over 1,700 miles. Turning the device off again she pondered that even at her highest flight speed it was a 9 hour flight to Barrier City 111# Zone.

But right now she was needed here to ~ hopefully stave off the immanent attack by MOTHER's forces...

She got back on task... restoring her Divine bearing with a wave of her hand she took flight again upon her hematite surf-board headed for the Pitt. She did not enter as rumor was there was some Horror that laired there... but she took up a position on a lonely bute of concrete ruined.  Sitting down she began to observe and study the Pitt's depths from a safe distance.

Again she opened herself to the being At One with the Green... to through meditation hopefully with her now vastly expanded senses seeking understanding and 'feel' of the mana energies contained ~ seeking insight as to how she might with her earth power touch its flow and ebb.. to shape and control its raw unfocused power...

10:04, Today: Terranovae rolled 16 using 1d20+2.  Expertice: Magic-Geomancy [+2]. – 16 {1 degrees of success}

Just using what she already has observed and conjectured from those observations of the ways mana flows in the various locales she has already observed working for MOTHER when she was Sandra Demetra... Teranovae ponders what her senses tell her in her expanded awareness.

Not satisfied with what she gleaned from this she now concentrates digging deep of her mental resources calling to her 'true' Mother ~ GAEA to answer her and grant her insight!

1 Hero Point Spent - ULTIMATE EFFORT {Expertice: Magic-Geomancy [+2] 'Roll{20}' = 22! {2 degree of success}
- Research Ritual: [4pp] Research DC 14, Research time: 16hrs
"Shape Mana of Gaea": Environment 4 (4pp) Cosmic, Divine, Earth, Life Force, Mystic, Natural, Soul, Stone, Other: Mana 1, Radius: 250 feet
This message was last edited by the player at 15:06, Sun 12 Feb 2023.

"I could take an orbital plasma lance to the face but I couldnt even help you with that. I don't feel anything but warmth off you, but at those temps my stuff reverts to liquid so you'd just feel pudding if we're being generous. At least you know how to mix drinks, all my vocational training is in convincing rubes to worship the AI trying to kill us, and these days parkour and bomb making. Know anyone who needs a kilo of plasticized nitroamine and shouldn't be locked up? Because I'm guessing it's way fewer than need a strong drink. People drink to forget troubles, right? I think that's why I'm drawn to violence, for that split second of dissociation as bits of me rocket away from the blast."