The network had bought out the Grand Hotel in it's entirety for the next month.  They hotel didn't really have much of a choice, given that the entire island was under lockdown.

It had been some time since they'd first awakened, and some of them were better adjusted t the sudden shock of their new reality than others.

The network legal team had cleared much of the hotel, shuffling guests off to the Grand Hotel or to the Stonecliffe.  The sheer expense was exorbitant.  Those who remained in the Grande Hotel had had t sign legal waivers allowing them to be filmed while on-site.  They weren't told all the details of why, except that it was a reality-show in progress.  many knew and had actually booked suites at the Grande to have their little sneak-peek at the Supermodel Shakedown while in progress.  They were surely going to be surprised.

But that morning, it was a closed-door meeting in the Gerald Ford Conference room--a small white-washed room with gold-colored chandeliers and a deep blue carpet.  There were tables and chairs set out in a rough semi-crcle, allowing folks to sit inside or outside the circle  as they preferred.

There were five people present, two men and two women.  Marion St James and Dylan Liu represented the Production, Doctor Snow represented the medical team.

there was a well-dressed man with silver hair brushed back, showing the unfortunate signs of male pattern baldness. He wore an expensive blazer and comfortable jeans.  His shirt was heavily starched and the french cuffs fairly gleamed.

The young black woman at his side was probably an athlete.  She was of average height but had a powerful build with shoulders that seemed just a little too big for her.  She wore dark glasses, even though they were inside.  She wore a conservative black suit that looked light and probably very easy to move in.

Along one side of the room was an extended buffet of food, with a very wide variety of different foods--everything from breakfast to salads to fresh meats.

Doctor Snow stood a little aside, her concentration keenly on her cel-phone as she went over the biometric data from the previous night.   She had concerns about this meeting, btu Swift had insisted that there should be no security.   They weren't there to threaten the girls and boys--but to convince them to sign on.

Sure, what they were going to do would probably make them all filthy rich.  But, more importantly, it could set the stage to start training newly erupted metas to be the next phase of Project AEGIS, the UN super-team...

--

No, it's not a bait-n-switch.  Swift is responsible for the formation of AEGIS. (which is substantially different from the M&M spy organization of the same name).  His involvement here is potential planning for long-term returns.

OOC:

• Marion St James - the executive producer, the face & lead star
• Dylan Liu, the producer & show-runner
• Sebastian Swift, a politician and billionaire industrialist
• Lizette Thibodeaux, an unknown (but will be introduced as a practicing meta)
• Doctor Snow - you've already met

It is entirely my intention to break up this meeting with something stupid.  Just so ya know...  The game isn't going to be all emo.  I want to get to the silly stuff!

Matt's last night had been a bit... unusual.

Attempting to climb the social and economic ladder had been a more trying and tiring process than usual. In addition to needing to invest in himself to ensure that both his body and mind were on point (as his strongest asset was his person, which was his brand), there was all the chaos involving the production of a show. Contending with writers who had simply camped out in the backroom (and whose knowledge was largely about those people, or what they had seen on television about anyone else) and informing that as kindly as he could that no, actual people did not talk like that, to entertainment reporters who were desperate for any nugget of information and what was his opinion on this or that. Let alone the horrible articles the latter wrote about him, and the production in general.

They had only got two episodes done before Matt had gotten sick with... something. He had felt miserable, able to do little aside from snatch what moments of rest he could in between the head splitting migraines and other head pains with no real explanation. All the medical team had done is increasingly isolate him and hook up more testing apparatus as sounds of contemplation and 'interesting' had been thrown around a few times. But an explanation hadn't been forthcoming then, other than to say that he was a 'meta', nor had he received one yet as to precisely what was happening inside his head.

He hadn't been up for that long, and he was still mostly in the dark as far as what they had been testing for, because he didn't feel different. They told him that he had powers, but he didn't feel anything. He wasn't any stronger, or more fit, or anything that one might generally associate with some marked difference as compared to who he had been before. So whatever... this was all covered by his contract, and so let the poke and prod. He was still being paid, after all.

After he was done with being sick and all the medical examinations they cared to put him through, there had been a ton of coursework, calls, and other such business to catch up on. Not to mention a thorough washing and restoration of his general appearance. He hadn't had time to sleep (he rarely did), but he had felt fine. Better than fine, really. His mind, as opposed to some unruly pack of wolves that he needed to cow into submission, was almost like a neatly harmonious dog team working in concert with him.

As it should be, to his way of thinking.

---

A production assistant had knocked on his door a bit loudly, and after Matt had answered the door, informed him that his presence was required down in the Gerald Ford conference room in about an hour. Matt's reply had simply been that he required a stylist and some fresh clothes, now should they want him there. The production assistant had simply arranged for both, and Matt had showered before the items had arrived.

Aside from that bit of firm behavior, he was perfectly pleasant to the stylist and person from wardrobe who had shown up, asking them about how the crew was handling everything, and if there was any point he needed to raise about their treatment. Having been a nobody, he was always conscious of their needs, as it was a mutually beneficial partnership.

That conversation had carried the rest of the hour, Matt departing his room in just enough time to be perfectly punctual to the meeting. Matt's eyes widened briefly at the sight of Sebastian Swift, the billionaire industrialist, waiting on their arrival. Matt did briefly make the rounds, introducing himself and shaking hands, delivering some canned line about how "It's nice to meet you." before going over to the buffet and getting something closer to the heartiest fare they had. If they had steak, no matter the form it came in, he would take some, and some breakfast beverage, before finding a seat and waiting for either Swift to introduce a topic of conversation, or whoever else they were waiting for to show up.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:54, Sun 28 June 2020.

Exactly one thing surprised Laura: the presence of Sebastian Swift.  But when she got over her shock, her rational response was positive.  If Swift was here, he was in charge, and that meant that Marion St James wasn't.  Swift wasn't entirely a known quantity, but the man who had helped the UN form AEGIS seemed unlikely to be worse than a glory-seeking professional celebrity.

Laura chose reserve instead of charm: she smiled her professional smile, offered polite greetings, and made small talk as necessary, but volunteered nothing.  She did indulge in some of the buffet's fancier offerings: this seemed like as good a time as any to start testing her new metabolism.

A barefoot feline woman enters, wearing low cut exercise shorts and a fitness bra. A tail slashes the air behind her as she moves. Her brown fur has a mottled pattern of white, black and orange patches across her chest, down her tail, and across her bare stomach. She seems unfazed by any looks she receives, and simply heads toward the buffet. Two men follow her in, and take up positions at the entrance. Without a word she grabs a plate and begins to pile it high with various meats. Last she grabs a bottle of water with her tail. She turns around smiling showing of small fangs. Her golden cat's eyes flash about the room as she finds an empty seat.

 Anyone sitting next to her can hear a low growl as she begins to shovel fork fulls of food into her mouth. Only stopping to take a drink from the bottle held by her slowly swaying tail.

As dramatic entrances went, Alexey's left a lot to be desired.  His unruly gait was somewhere between 'walking on the beach in flippers' and 'first time in heels.'  Wardrobe was going to eat him alive; all Alexey could scrounge up had been some cheap plastic sandals, grey sweatpants, and a whiter undershirt with the sleeves cut off, all of which were sized far too small for him.  The shirt barely reached the tall man's naval, and he regularly tried to tug it lower.  The contrast to all the folks in business attire was glaring.

As he entered the room Alexey ducked under the door frame, even though he had plenty of clearance.  The room was a sea of faces, most of whom Alexey didn't recognize.  His gaze averted every time he caught someone looking at him, red creeping deeper and deeper into his pale cheeks.  Trying to make himself small, Alexey made his way along the edge of the room to the buffet, and randomly filled a place up.

Jana was one of the contestants from Eastern Europe.  Tiny and lithe, she'd had almost no figure to speak of.  Apparently, she was a former olmypic gymnast who's big claim to fame was placing fourth in uneven bars and earning a bronze medal for her floor routine.

In the first two weesk, she'd most kept to herself, bu then came the famous cat-fight with Olivia Stone on catwalk etiquette, and that was that.  Olivia had thrown the first punch, scratched Jana across her chest, and Jana had ended it.  They didn't see precisely what she'd done, but it involved some sort of wrist-twist that had Olivia screaming.  Jana simply sniffed in disdain and sashayed away.

The woman who walked in wore her face, but the body just wasn't right...  She was taller, bulkier... she wasn't voluptuous by any stretch of the imagination but she had curves now where she didn't less than a week ago.

She wore lululemon leggings and a loose white top.  Clean lines that hid her figure more than showed it, but still suggested enough that she actually had a figure now.

She gazed around the room, her nose lifted arrogantly, and her eyes widened at taking in the cat-girl.  Which one was she?   Jana had thought she'd changed, but her transformation was nothing compared to that.   All of a sudden, it really came home to her just how real this was.  It wasn't a stunt and she'd really better watch her step.

Then she saw Alexey.  The big Ukranian boy.  And he was a much bigger Ukranian boy now.    That was all sorts of... tasty.

"Did you jut grow a foot and a half?" She asked him.  "Is it confusing?  I can't seem to find my balance.  I donnt dare wear heels now."

Poppy decided she wanted to look casual yet dramatic, and had chosen a tunic-length scarlet cotton dress that bared her shoulders, arms, and much of her legs. With flat gladiator sandals, it was a comfortable outfit for a warm day.

She walked in and picked up a coffee and a pastry.

Whatever her transformation had done, it didn't seem to have outwardly changed her. Her eyes widened slightly as she took in the others, particularly... Was that Maria?! And Alexey?! Even Jana looked different.

She took a seat. Most of the others she knew; Sebastian Swift was new, but so well known. Poppy guessed he was a silent partner in the show.
This message was last edited by the player at 11:23, Mon 29 June 2020.

The flush of Alexey's cheeks turned to fire as Janava took an interest.  He recognized her as a model, and that generally meant he would have preferred to steer clear.  Even off-screen, he'd gotten more than his fill of diva drama, mostly in the form of screaming and drinks dumped on him because the model decided she had actually wanted chipped ice or because she forgot to specify soy milk for regular.  Given a choice, he would have steered clear and gone to check on something with lighting.  Instead, he tensed up in expectation of the worst.

"I, um....  Yes.  Is difficult.  Is very better today; yesterday I many fall, but today I not fall."  He responded, nervousness dragging out honesty in badly mangled English. "Is nice to meet you.  I am Alexey."

Matt was quietly consuming his food, simply trying to figure out a few things. A lot of information had been thrown at him, and around him, so he didn't quite know what to think yet. He didn't necessarily buy anything about him being a 'meta' yet, simply because he'd read a few of the pulps and European comics a kid. Powers usually announced themselves via an alien presence announcing themselves, something about the latest generation of a long line of chosen _____ , some energy beam from the sky, or usually something to herald the birth of a hero.

Not being more sick than he could ever remember for a week or so, given that a lot of the other members of the cast and crew caught it as well. Then being subjected to a lot of medical exams... he didn't really have grounds to object to them taking his blood, or his temperature, but he flatly turned down any of the really invasive exams.

As some of the other members filed in, he didn't really give much thought to them, truth be told. He tried to be fairly humble himself, but he'd heard the stories and encountered the types. The last thing he needed was some reporter getting a shot of a judge talking with the contestants out of turn to go wild on the internet.

Until the catgirl walked in. He tried to count heads, realizing that Maria was the one missing, and so tentatively walked over to the catgirl with a "Maria? Is that you?" The scope of the changes to 'Maria' were enough to at least convince Matt that something had happened to some of them. He noticed the tail, cat eyes, and the fur everywhere and simply asked, "Just to confirm, that's not like some costume you put on? All of... that," He said, kind of gesturing to her entire body, as seemingly no part of it escaped some change, even if it was just cosmetic, "is the new you?"

Then showing a little concern, "How are you holding up, given all of that?" Matt did care somewhat, just because modeling was a very image conscious industry. He couldn't imagine what was going on inside her head, with all of those changes having occurred, and while he wasn't big on being the 'shoulder to cry on', he was still human, and she wasn't anymore?
This message was last edited by the GM at 05:59, Thu 02 July 2020.

She stopped for a moment cocked her head to one side, then arched her eyebrows, reappraising things.  "At least we don't have fur.  Can you imagine seeing that in the mirror the first time?  I'd have thrown a fit!"

The black woman moved from Swift's side, crossed the small room and made her way to the buffet.  She picked a couple of small yorkshire muffins and a slab of roast beef, then made her way over to Maria and Matthieu.

"You're going to have a harder time than most."  she didn't even start with an introduction. "The more drastic the change, the more you have to fight for basic acceptance. "  She  glanced down at her plate.  "I'm Lizette.  No codename.  Never saw the point.  My changes were all up here."    she tapped her head.

"Okay, listen up everyone."  Marion St James clapped her hands twice.  I've been in discussions with the network and despite recent setbacks, we're still moving forward with the show." she said.

"Obviously, there needs to be some changes," because well, look at you!  You're even more gorgeous!

But, seriously.  Being a model or an actress is often just the thing that all little girls want at some point.  Some move on to other things, but there's always a part that wonder if they could have had what you have...

The one thing that's even more of a draw?  At some point everyone wonders what they'd do if they were to wake up with super-powers.  Your fame quotient has gone up by a few exponents.  You're going to be superheroes!
This message was last edited by the player at 23:28, Thu 02 July 2020.

the well-dressed man coughed politely. "We don't actually use that term.  'super-heroes'.  It puts too much of an expectation.  And there are... legal entanglements."


St James nodded her head deeply.  "Ladies & Gentlemen, this is is Sebastian Swift.  He's the force behind the the AEGIS metahuman group in New York and the formation of the United Nations Council on Metahuman Affairs.  The network has agreed to keep the show on the air if we use you to present what the real life of a metahuman looks like."

Swift  stepped forward and leaned against the desk, clasping both his hands in front of you.  "I know this is very sudden.  We have outreach program that work with newly erupted metas.  and most take several weeks to acclimatize to the basic changes in physiology.    You folks are in a unique position to be able to shed a spotlight on the reality of the process.  My hope is that people will learn that even with amazing powers, you still occasionally put the wrong shoe on first or can't get the clasp on your necklace to close.  You're still basically human and not some other.

Maria nodded to Matt confirming his suspicion that her changes were not a costume. She tilted her head towards Janava as the other woman spoke. Before she could respond, Miss St. James and this Swift person took the floor.

Maria stood and walked over to put what was left of her plate in the trash. Her tail slashed angrily back and forth through the air as she sauntered purposely past Janava. "I did. Two men got emergency airlifted out because I lost my temper." She said quietly as she walked past. A mischievous feral grin played across her lips showing the barest hint of her new fangs.

She dumped her refuse as she asked the hosts her question. Not bothering to look at them as she spoke. "So you want us to go from a daily snap shot of the life of a model to being an after school special on being meta human?" She turned to face the hosts before asking. "But what about a cure for those of us that don't want to be," she jestered at her altered body. "This?"

Swift nodded.   "I can't speak to the dynamics of the show.  It's not an area I've a lot of experience with." he said.

He took a few steps forward.  "But there's an increasing number of eruptions every month.  We've fore-casted that the number of metahuman manifestations will double again within five years.   Virtually every network is fielding some sort of 'superhero' show.  But few of them deal with the real, every-day life of those.


"So... After-school-special?" he offered a deprecating smile.  "Yeah.  It fits.     'superheroes' are two-dimensional.  It's fiction.  I want to see a movement to humanize the metahuman people.  to show that we have more in common than we have differences.   You folks had already signed on for a glimpse into your lives.   I'm just hoping to be able to use that to help others."

Lizette leaned toward Maria.

Alexey was fairly confident that Janava has ignored everything he actually said, and replaced it all with with something else.  He let out a nervous laugh while trying to find a reply to the remark he was particularly uncomfortable with when Maria responded first.  His eyes followed Maria's retreat, then got further spared by Marion calling the meeting to order.

Marion's little speech didn't resonate until she introduced Swift.  'AEGIS Metahuman Group.'  Everything after that had Alexey's attention hyped up on adrenaline.  This man was government, and Alexey had always been a little gun shy around all things government.  He slouched a bit, hoping that Swift's focus, like St James's, would focus on the models.

Matt sighed at Maria's admission, offering a simple, "I'm so sorry, Maria.", because what else was there to say, really? Matt couldn't imagine what it would be like to wake up looking like... that. Not that Matt though the new Maria looked bad, just that... he'd once had to do a convention circuit, and he'd met some pretty odd people there.

The implications of what all was going on here was enough to give Matt another migraine. He'd had a few of those recently, but the last thing he was going to do was mention it to the medical team.

Marion did have him in a bind, in that he had done a two season commitment. She was simply too influential to be able to go 'I'm out, thanks', particularly if Sebastian Swift was getting on board this little project. "Marion, this has been a very trying time. Could you perhaps explain the format of this new show? I get that it's going to need to change, but I'm sure we'd all like to know what exactly it's going to change into. I'm fine with being the supporting cast, but if we're going from what the show was to more of a travelogue/day in the life stuff, more focused on reality..." Matt said, shrugging, "I'm not quite sure how/what I can support, given that I didn't get any powers as far as I can tell, and the segments you were going to have me on seem not line with this new vision for the show."

While Marion was formulating her answer, he turned to Swift for a moment, as pleasant as can be, "I can appreciate your position, but I would appreciate a little bit of elaboration on a particular point. You had mentioned wanting to shine a spotlight on metahumans, in particular the 'human' part of the term. I've been much too busy to keep up with that particular issue... so is there a debate to be had between reasonable people on that particular point? Or has the debate regressed to illogical behavior between irrational people?" This last point was more curiosity on Matt's part, but it still had to be said, because... otherwise why make that particular point?
This message was last edited by the player at 02:27, Sat 04 July 2020.

"There are avenues available for addressing the unwanted results."  Swift continued, a little more slowly, and a little more focused on Maria, "  Currently they seem to need to be tailored to each individual.   This path, too, is something we want to make known to the public.  There may be options, but, like everything else, they come with an price tag.  Not a financial one, though that is certainly a part of it, but a price in time, resources, and sometimes tears.  If you work with me, I will see that resources are dedicated to your specific case."

As to the two men.  That should never have happened.   UNCOMA has very strict protocols for first contact.  Those weren't followed here.  at all..  Doctor Snow, for her part, looked very uncomfortable.

"I signed up to spend a few weeks as an exhibit" - Poppy grinned - "So not much has changed there. But confining us all together while we're developing and learning to control these 'super powers' is a bit like Big Brother with guns."

Poppy had already begun experimenting with her new abilities. So far, she'd broken her favourite watch.

Alexey blinked.  She'd been serious?  He flashed a look of awe at Maria, and maybe a little horror.  Unless this was some joke she, Snow, and Swift shared....  No, it could have been him; he could have easily splattered the orderlies that shook him awake against the walls like so many fresh eggs.

Something about what Matt said sounded wrong, and it slowly made Alexey's stomach bottom out as the realization settled in.  "Wait; I am staff.  Not model."  He stopped suddenly, unsure of how to continue.  He sent a quick glance to Dylan Liu.  A lone sound escaped in the pause, before he found words again.  "Our jobs is... change?"

"Oh, honey. you are a special case."  Marion coo'd to Alexey. "What you've gone through... There's just no way we could ignore you... we--"

Without warning, there was a deep rumble and the sound of screaming metal, twisting, underscored by a high-pitched whine...

Marion's jaw dropped and she looked around frantically.

Lizette looked up, her eyes rimmed with a sparkling purple ring.   "Take cover!"  she shouted, and she took off at a sprint, towards Swift.

Then the side of the room just sort of disintegrated, the wallpaper shriveled up and the plaster puffed out--not an explosion, but a sigh of aged decay.   The timbers that had underlied it faltered and splintered, and the entire wall caved in.

A group of masked men, dressed in green and grey body-armor that looked like it had been cobbled together from old army surplus stores stepped in through the breach in the wall.    They bore improbably oversized weapons with a bunch of blinking lights on the side.  They had head-gear and goggles and throat-mics and a spiral rubber tube running upside their neck to their ears...

The lead was a heft man with a square jaw and huge silver-sheened goggles that made him look a little frog-like.   He had an emblazoned patch over his chest, a stylized "infinity" sign in white.  He was the only one wearing any markings.

"No time to make distinctions."  Frog-Goggles shouted.   "Neutralize the old guys.  No-one matters but the girls!   Go! go! go!"

And the men fanned out...

--
Group-1 (two men) went towards Swift, Lizette, Doctor Snow and Marion St James.   One of the the guys turned a knob on the side of his weapon and the intense whine increased dramatically...

Group-2 (five men in military formation) moved into the center of the room.

Group-3 (two men) stayed at the door, assuming kneeling positions with their improbably large weapons at the ready.

Matt was still waiting on an answer from Marion, principally because he was alright with a lot of things. In spite of the misgivings he might have about the show in its previous 'competition' format, she had been straight up with what exactly he'd be used for. He wasn't the star, but the checks from the production company for his work had always cleared on time. The one thing he couldn't really stand was the waiting and not knowing, and so might as well have it out now.

The universe apparently had a sense of irony, because Matt wasn't the only one who was fairly impatient and desiring to have it out now. As Marion was apparently debating what to tell him and might have begun to tell him something, Matt would never know, because Lizette yelled, "Take cover!", and Matt did so, trying to not make it look like he was cowering. No, taking cover was simply a smart tactical idea, because what else could he be expected to do, really?

Particularly since he'd never really handled weaponry of any description. A few dozen jobs or so ago the company he had been working at for the time had gone over a basic protocol of what to do with being robbed. Don't argue with the people with the guns (good idea, that), give them what they want, and follow their instructions. Raise any issues with corporate later, and oh boy... Matt certainly had some issues with how corporate had allowed the girls gaining powers to leak, but not hired any additional security, because of course they hadn't.

But Matt was never one to sit idly by and trust that he would be taken care of, because that wasn't what had gotten him here. So he decided to exceed the corporate mandate of old, being reminded of what a few members of his kin back down in Louisiana had told him about fighting a group. Namely, divide and conquer. Recognize what you needed to defend, isolate the threats, then pick them apart one at a time. But how in the hell was he supposed to do that?

Well, Matt resolved to work through it logically. First, Swift didn't seem like the type to leave anyone high and dry, even if said 'one' was a supporting cast member who was a bit player that wasn't even sure if he got mentioned in the credits. Second, Lizette seemed like professional security, and professional security in Matt's limited experience of them always had an exit strategy. Thus, being near them meant Matt was likely to able to benefit from said strategy. That also meant trying to do something to save Marion but... that was a consequence Matt was willing to live with.

If only that particular guard with the gun Matt thought he recognized would somehow drop the gun and get it over in Matt's direction, he'd be able to do something...


So, I'm fudging things a little bit, but its not fun to simply cower in a superhero game, so I'm going go with Matt still isn't aware of much anything. Fortunately, being a psychic is all about being subtle, so....

Matt rolled 10 using 1d20.  Initiative (Matt)

Matt is going to be using his standard action to subconsiously be using Control Command to try to get the masked goon on the right specifically to kick the loaded gun in his direction in a way that won't discharge it. (Assuming he can 'see' the goon on the right with his Mental Cartography)

If he has any movement/actions left, he's going to be trying to work his way towards Swift and Lizette.

Then his turn will be over.

This message was last edited by the player at 05:20, Fri 10 July 2020.

Bad turned to worse, and quickly.  Alexey was squirming pretty uncomfortably under Marion's very direct, very public drooling.  And then the wall came down, and a panic moved over for a startling clarity.  Absently, Alexey rolled forward on his feet, pushing himself a few inches of the ground and hanging there.  He acted with calm certainty, a hand rising towards the armed men on the way to the big bosses.

A silvery glow engulfed Alexey, though faint as it was in the daylight it mostly appeared as back-lighting from any angle.  It stretched out from him, though not from any part in particular, towards his target.

00:46, Today: Alexey rolled 15 using 1d20-2.  Initiative.

The goal is to pick up one of the shooters heading for Swift et al and hurl him towards the other one.

Stat wise, free action to move from standing to flying

Move action to charge up Move Object

Standard action to grab one enemy and hurl him into the other

Maria crouched low instinctively as Lizette shouted. She had grown up in bad neighborhoods and knew how to duck and cover with the best of them. She glanced up as the far wall just sort of... rotted away. Her new senses watched everything in a kind of slow motion. It was equal parts fascinating as it was terrifying.

As the group of goons entered Maria was already seeing red. She had skipped right past her typical flight or fight response as her new feral instincts overpowered her. The fact that they had weapons pointed at them. 'No. At her! More men with guns!' She let loose with a low feline roar as she grabbed the edge of the buffet table, her claws sinking into the table top, and heaved it at the leader with the goggles across the room. Food and drinks flew everywhere along it's path as the table was sent spinning through the air.

OCC:
Today: Maria rolled 25 using 1d20+5.  Table damage.
Today: Maria rolled 16 using 1d20.  Throw table.
Edit to change threw to through because I am anal like that.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:09, Sat 11 July 2020.

Janava went wide-eyed and looked around at the others, trying to find a cue for how she should react.  Scared?  unconcerned?  She wasn't quite sure what the appropriate response should be and, lord knows, she didn't want to look unsophisticated...  This was Michigan, not St Peterburg, and they surely did things different here.

But men with gun?  A lot of them?  It was just too much...

She went to run for the door that was behind her (lower-left), but in her frightened state, her body lost cohesion before she'd gotten there.

Literally.  Instead of a woman, she turned into a particulate wave of insect... brown spider and silver centipedes and all sorts of creepy-crawly things, with carapaces and multiple-legs and probing little antennae...  She screamed at first, but the scream drowned out as the mass of her separated and she lost motor-control of her human shape...

The huge mass of insects and spiders etc. moved at a fairly rapid pace, moving against the door, swarming up it's sides, across the walls and some of it went onto the ceiling, seeking a way out...

The swarm didn't have the strength to push open the door on it's own, so it spread out like an oily patch, across the door,seeking out towards the second door, the double-doors at the south side of the room...

Uh, yeah... Janava's not going to be a lot of help, sorry.  No GM-NPC hogging the spotlight here...    On the plus side, without a fmale-thrower, she's probably likely to survive this encounter...
This message was last edited by the player at 17:14, Sat 11 July 2020.

@Alexey
Resolution of Combat Sequence #1 (6 seconds in)

Lifting up into the air like some sort of promethean god, Alexey floated above the tables, above the chairs.

He reached out a hand and grabbed Foxtrot with bands of diffused light.  Alexey didn't feel it like a strain, when he threw the solider into his ally.  It was more like a distinct itch at the back of his head, in the cool, cold calculating place he used when he was trying to concentrate...

somewhere, there was the vague sense of a stadium crowd cheering.

The man traveled--it wasn't far, only matter of a couple of feet, but the unexpected action had him flailing wildly as his center of balance was all messed up and he was projected against his will.  He managed to get a shot off even while in the air, a lance of brilliant cold energy spearing towards Swift, who had the good graces to keep his head down.

The beam coated the entire top of the table-edge in thick rime that sizzled with coldness.

The two of them both went down.  Foxtrot went down hard an audible crack coming from his landing.

The other guy--Echo--rolled with the blow and, snarling, fired at the table, catching Marion St James in the shoulder.

Foxtrot is now INCAPACITATED
He was a minion anyway, but still... good roll!



She was covered in a thin frosting, and her skin paled visibly, frost emerging from her hair and shoulders, her mouth pouted in a little "oh!" of surprise as she found herself slowing down and stiffening....

Marion St James is now Hindered and Vulnerable


"Swift!" Lizette called , "The Door.   Now."

Swift shook his head.  "We can't just let them take these people!"

"Safety first!" Lizette shot back.  "You can't help if you're dead!"

---

OOC: I took the words "hurl him towards the other one" literally... with url meaning dropping control.  Move Object is a sustained action, so you can maintain it, next time, to keep a hold of the guy and bludgeon people with him...  btu if you use words like "hurl" or "throw" or anything that suggests relinquishing control of the object, I'm going to assume that you've chosen to do so.  So, yeah.. .just in case it ever comes up, semantics matter.

Also note... Alexey was not a target this round...  No dodge or resist rolls required...  But I think he's probably got their attention now...



This message was last edited by the player at 06:06, Mon 13 July 2020.

@Maria

Maria leapt back from the attackers and in a smooth motion, ripped one of the buffet tables from the wall.   the slew of dishes, foods, sauces, and meats and vegetables--all of it--sloshed to the side, splattered against the wall and floor.  But she didn't even wince, simply chucked the table lilt it was nothing and threw it--over the heads of the other contestants--into the oncoming force of soldiers.

"Drop!"   Goggles ordered and  he went flat.  Alpha and Charlie dove to their right.  Bravo and Delta dove to their left. They weren't fast enough.  Only Charlie avoided beign hit, having dove far enough.  He rolled to a ready position.

Goggles ducked down and came up in a crouch, firing even before he'd come out of his roll, a blast of freezing cold lanced towards Maria.   There were suddenly a whole lot more beams of frigid energy around the room, and they all seemed to be focused on Maria!

(Actually, just three of them - Goggles, Alpha & Bravo.  Maria is the most visible meta in the room, so she became target #1).

Poppy jumped back, confusion on her face, slowly burgeoning into anger.
She glanced up at the dias and saw Swift and company had flipped their table over to provide whatever meager cover it could, and she did likewise, picking up the table before her, and flipping it over on it's side.  At least ther'd be <I>some sort of protection between her and hers and whoever the hell these guys were. "Who are you?" Poppy called out.  "What do you want?"

But none of them answered...

Laura got caught running half-way between the table and the drinks table on the east side of the room.  The cold beam caught her across her legs, and it caused her to stumble, but she rolled like a pro and came up in a flat run for the rear doors... but stopped suddenly as the rear wall seemed to be absolutely covered in spiders!

Errr, that would actually be Janava looking for a way out.  Helpful, isn't she?

@Maria
Please roll to defend vs the following:

• DC13 to dodge / Toughness 22 to resist Goggle's shot
• DC13 to dodge / Toughness 22 to resist Bravo's shot
• DC24 to dodge / Toughness 22 to resist Alpha's shot

Most of these are pretty pathetic, so you've got a good chance against them all except maybe Alpha's shot.

This message was last edited by the player at 05:44, Mon 13 July 2020.

@Matt
==================

Matt crouched down behind the table Poppy had flipped.  Their eyes met briefly, and Poppy mouthed "what the fuck?", bu Matt didn't have an answer.

He spied one of the soldiers and wished... well, he wished something.  Maybe for one of the soldiers to drop his weapons and kick it over.  The thought passed through his mind that he should stand up and face them like some sort of, what were they supposed to be superheroes?

But then the guy he was focused on stopped.  He looked at his weapon, adjusted a few settings, then dropped it to the ground and kicked it over to where Matt and Poppy were crouched.  The cold-rifle skipped over some glasssware debris, but came to rest within arms reach.

"Delta!"  OOne of the guys at the rubble-strewn entry-way shouted at him.  "What the fuck are you doing?"

But Delta didn't respond.  He just stood there, empty-handed, and swaying slightly in the place.


@Matt
Whoops.  My bad.  I shoulda got you to roll for the Affliction command.  I took the liberty, since I'm writing the scene right now.  But it turned out good!  Matt rolled 24 and poor Delta resisted with 12, so you got 3 bloody levels on him in the first damned shot!   He is yours to control.


Also... I didn't write that Matt moved to Swift....  Given the unmitigated success of the command of Delta, I'll leave it to you to write it in the next move if you still want it.


This message was last edited by the player at 06:45, Mon 13 July 2020.

Incapacitated
Foxtrot
This message was last edited by the GM at 08:32, Mon 13 July 2020.

Everything descended into chaos.

Probably the most frustrating thing was that Matt hadn't taken his cousin up on the offer to learn how to fight back in the bayou. Hunting swamp rats was both good eating and the bounty on them helped pay for things in his local community, but that would mean getting marks and scars on Matt, and didn't his cousin know that there was a modeling competition in a month? What a fool Matt was, but there wasn't anything Matt could do about it now.

Things were starting to get weird, though, and he wasn't referring to the catgirl (who was more than holding her own, come to think of it). He was already kind of resentful that the stars of the show were throwing buffet tables, and other useful things, while Matt was kind of cowering behind what cover he could find. Matt had wanted a gun, to at least be able to do something useful, and so Matt was the most surprised of all when a gun had skidded to within arm's reach of where Matt was currently. Matt simply picked it up, wishing he knew how in the hell it worked, so he could do something useful.

He continued to try to work his way over to Swift, because Swift was the important person here. Matt didn't have much sympathy for anyone associated with the network, so Matt wasn't going to put his toned butt on the line for them. It was their job to look after their stars, of which Matt was not. But Matt did have sympathy for Swift and Lizette, simply because the former wanted to do real good in the world, and the latter's sole job was to protect the former. If anything happened to Matt (or Matt's career), Swift seemed like the sort of stand up guy who wouldn't leave Matt behind. So Matt would do what he could. He just wanted to make it out of here alive, after all.

If Matt could make his way over to Swift and Lizette's cover, toting his new cold rifle,  he'd take cover as well, and simply tell Swift, "Didn't get much of a chance to talk before, but I would agree with her." Nodding his head in Lizette's direction, "We can organize a rescue team to come back for the others if you like, but that's only going to really work if there's less people to rescue. The assailants are rather occupied right now, sooo....." Nodding towards the closest exit that Matt had noticed, and indicating to Lizette that he'd help her cover Swift on (hopefully) their combined exit out of here.


Using Mental Update as Matt's standard action to pick up the best package of advantages/skills to operate this weird gun. Prioritizing attack bonus, probably with a couple ranged combat extras I'm guessing.

Do let me know what Personality Quirk he picks up from the person whose skills he's copying.

Matt's move action (from the turn before and this one) is going to be spent on picking up said cold gun, and then making his way over to Lizette's and Swift's cover.

Delta's Instructions

Since Matt isn't necessarily aware that he's controlling Delta, I figure the instructions aren't that precise. What they probably consist of are:

1) Get a useful weapon
2) Get to some tactically sound cover
3) Protect Matt
4) Assist in getting Matt to safety

I'm well aware that those instructions, being not too precise, are open to interpretation, nor is Delta likely to able to do all of them in one turn. But I figured I'd give you the general idea of what Matt would have been wishing for, then let you run with it.

Maria had watched the table sail across the room room with a satisfied nod. The fact that the others contestants were panicking in fear, or huddled behind tables for cover barely registered to her. The only one that did not stink of what she had determined to be fear was the floating one. Yet in her mind's eye it was just her and those who threatened her, anyway. Predators and prey. And she was not prey.

Then multiple blasts of freezing cold had forced her to duck and dodge. Two beams flew past her as she let her feline reflexes take control. It was not enough, however. She roared as one of the blue beams connected with her shoulder as she dropped into a crouch.

"Rawr! Th-th-that hurt, pendejo!" A brief sensation of intense pain. Then numbness all the way to the bone. The cold was so intense her teeth involuntarily started chattering. She brushed off the rapidly growing frost at her shoulder with a dismissive wave. She had not slowed. Adrenaline maybe? Or just her new form's inhuman toughness?

The cat woman leapt at the closest goon. Her claws out stretched as her instincts demanded to tear the man apart.

OOC: Maria rolled 14 using 1d20+9.  Slam attack on Goggles.
Maria rolled 29 using 1d20+10.  Damage just in case.

He'd failed.  Alexey had been so sure he could take out both His mouth formed a surprised 'o' as Echo's weapon caught Marion.  His bosses were depending on him doing better.  [Language unknown: "Alckos ni asitna!  Prutpl!"]  He finally snarled, either not noticing or heeding the weapons starting to train on him.  Surely if Marion could take the hit, so could he.

There was a nagging morality that, even in the face of danger, wouldn't let Alexey damage any property.  No tables as weapons, no pulling up the carpets, no breaking any windows for a quick escape.  He winced slightly every time one of the other altered show employees failed to uphold the same standard.  Those tables were probably going to be expensive to replace, and marked up further like everything else in a fancy hotel.

Alexey pointed a fist in Echo's direction, then quickly snapped it open and down.  Silvery light seeped off in Echo's direction as Alexey focused his power on the man.  Even before he was sure of the result, Alexey was already hurling himself at Gamma.

OOC:
Learning from my mistake, Alexey is going to try to grab hold of Echo with his power, and then forcibly drag him through Charlie and Alpha with all possible sustained force (damaging them if possible).

For his move, Alexey is going to try to do something similar with his flight at full speed and try to use Gamma to break his momentum on.

I'm not sure what I need to roll, but I would like to roll everything at once.

Lizette grabbed Swift--literally by the collar--and canted her hips to throw him into the northwest door.  He flew through the air surprisingly well, and when he made impact, the door flew open, so that he fell into the hallway beyond, out of immediate danger.   Marion St James moved to follow suit, albeit with more grace.
Swift and St James are out of the conflict

Lizette turned and yelled "Get out if you can.  Don't fight!  Run!"


Maria leapt at Goggles, her teeth bared in a frightening display of feral rage.   But Goggles was obviously a man well-trained.  He ducked to the side and pulled the pin on one of the grenades on his belt.  Then as he dove, he lobbed it toward the south end of the room, where Matt and Poppy were.
Maria attacked, Goggles dodged.  Goggles threw a smoke-grenade

After Maria threw the table, Bravo ran several feet toward the dias, firing his cold-gun as he went.  Doctor Snow had been moving to duck down behind the table that Swift had flipped ovr, but she got caught by Bravo's beam and froze solid in an instant... ice crystals snaked across her torso and arms even as he opened her mouth in a little "oh" of surprise, then... she was immobile, and she fell against the rear (north) wall, unmoving.

Bravo yelled "Take that!" in triumph.  But his yell was cut short as a table flew across the room and splintered as it wrapped around him.  The table splintered as the metal legs and structure underneath the wood tabletop  bent and wrapped around Bravo--pinning him in place. Then there was one of the other soldiers trying to wrestle his gun away from him...
Poppy wrapped table around Bravo, Bravo is now Immobilized.
Delta, Controlled by Matt, attempted to wrest cold-gun from Bravo--failed.


Alexey, still floating in mid-air at the western edge of the room, extended his hand, to exercise this newfound power to grab people and smash them, but nothing appeared to happen.  Echo, the man Alexey had thrown across the room with his mind, snapped unsteadily to a shooting position nd fired back at Alexey.  he hadn't known that this was the source of his involuntary flight, but Alexey was floating!  That made him a target!
Echo Hits Alexey, Alexey is now Bruised.

Matt crossed the room to try to reach Swift, but Swift had unceremoniously been thrown through the door to the hallway beyond.  It did put him right beside the big Polish guy who's been one of the crew... Axel?  Alex?  Alexis?   And Matt still had one of the cold-guns...  And, in fact, he suddenly seemed to know precisely how to use it with a certainly and surety of long-standing familiarity.  Despite his never actually having held this kind of weapon before.

Across the room, the massive wave-form of spiders surged forward, as cold-blasts hit the wall where she'd been, covering the southernmost gunman guarding the rubble-strewn exit.   He screamed briefly as hundreds of spiders bit him, some with minute amounts of toxin, others not, but the sheer creepiness factor probably overwhelmed him more than anything.
Harriet is now incapacitated

She heard the woman yell to run. Well she was done running. She had run from her Papa. She had run from her neighborhood. Run from being poor. Now she was angry. And she liked it.The cat woman had decided she had enough of this guy with the goggles. She swiped at him with her claws. "Here mousy," she hissed.

OOC: Today: Maria rolled 10 using 1d20+9.  Attack roll Goggles. Grrrr...

Really, Matt didn't know why he was worrying about any of this. He had, through great personal effort, taken the Cajun out of the model. Dialect coaches, elocution classes, the works. It had all been quite exhausting the time, but at least he had made it far from home. His biggest claim to fame... was being a supporting cast member on a show highlighting female models. If they weren't in the middle of a fire fight right now which he felt utterly ill-equipped to handle, he might examine that more deeply.

But back home, he had been taken swamp rat hunting with his cousins a few times. He had been shown how to handle a gun, and had even killed one. It wasn't as if this cold gun was that dissimilar from one of those, so Matt just thumbed the cold gun to the immobilization setting, took aim, and fired at the first enemy he could see that wasn't directly engaged with someone.

He also yelled, "Maria! We might not have talked that much before, but these people are here to capture you! I'll try to cover you, but you need to get out of here before you're captured. This gun has more than enough to actually do that. So LET'S GO!" He continued, inclining his head towards the door.


Matt rolled 13 using 1d20+8.  Matt (Freeze, Bad Guy!)
Using the Damage on the Cold Gun targeting Alpha (assuming no friends-in-melee bonus).

This message was last edited by the player at 00:01, Mon 03 Aug 2020.

Alexey's eyes followed as the shot intended for the doctor connected  It sapped the attention he was otherwise paying to the goings-on in the room, and shocked surprise turned into a pained yelp as weapon discharge connected with his body.  His own well-being was less important just then.  Despite the cry, he pushed his pain away and sent the frozen doctor away from further harm - assuming she even survived the freeze ray.  He stifled a fearful whimper as he tried to free Dr. Snow from her icy shell mid-transit.

OOC: Moving Dr. Snow into the hallway - more correctly, Alexey is going to mover her ice-shell utside, and try to crack it open from the inside while moving her.

Having taken Harriet out of the fight with a gruesome wave of spiders, the swarm moved across the rubble towards Gamma, but Gamme side-stepped up onto the dias.... and a brief stuttering burst of someone's rifle plunged into the wave of spiders, sending up little poofs of dead arachnids...
Janava failed her attack, Gamma got out of the way.
Janava's swarm is "bruised" but otherwise unaffected.  Charlie killed some spiders.

Poppy screamed something incoherent, and threw herself at the grenade.  But even as she did so, the grenade rose in the air and sailed in a beautiful arc, over the heads of the incapacitated Harriet, and into the nice, manicured laws outside...
Poppy MoveObject Grenade to outside

Maria lunged at Goggles, claws extended, but Goggles ducked again, coming up to a crouched position and raised his rifle to his eyes, aiming at Maria, with careful, controlled, clinical, movements.   Maria's leap at Goggles put her in position to that one of the other soldiers--they all looked alike--tried to slam a rifle-butt into Maria's face.  Maria canted back and dodged, as cold-blasts seemed to be coming from everywhere!
No action, aiming... 

Maria felt the cold seep into her, spread in an instant making  her muscles seize up and everything... tighten.  She could feel the ice even through the fur, and it was like touching a live-wire.  She turned to face the room and could see one of the soldiers (Echo) bearing down on her.  His face-mask had come askew and she could see the grim fanatical grin as he came closer...
Yup.  Hindered and vulnerable with descriptor cold & lethargy

Up on the dias, one of the soldiers (Delta) fought his table-wrapped compatriot over  his rifle.   The table-wrapped soldier was able to step out, but simply couldn't do anything more productive than defend himself.  The non-tabled punched the tabled-soicler in the face, eliciting a splurt of scarlet blood that painted the rear wall, then the soldier ripped the rifle from the table'd soldier's arms....
Delta took Bravo's gun, Bravo took 1 degree, bruised


Alexey stepped nearer, wrapped his arms around Doctor Snow.  She was cold to the touch, covered in a thin layer of ice, and utterly unmoving.   Alexey lifted her in his embrace and moved toward to the West door, where Swift was recovering from his unceremonious ejection and St James was still stupefied...

Lizette stepped in front of Alexey, providing some cover, and lifted her hands to her head, her eyes scrunched shut...  and a blast of cold went past her shoulder, catching the edges of Alexey's pants.  Frost rimed up his leg, cold to the touch but not unnaturally so.  He was unimpeded by the blast!
Lizette, unsolicited Heads-Up roll failed
Alexey made the toughness resistance,. the blast does no damage

Matt couldn't get a clear shot at Alpha, engaged in combat with Maria as he was. Matt was raised a certain way in that one didn't leave allies behind, and the cast and crew were decent enough that he didn't really want to do that here. His two problems, as he saw them, were that Maria might not be able to hear him over all the chaos, and that damn person she was still engaged in combat with.

So wishing that Maria could hear him, he would simply yell, "Maria, you're the last person in the fight. We have a few immobilized and wounded over here, so we need your help. Security is on their way!" In spite of everything going on, Matt's meaning would be carried through, allowing Maria to understand every word. And hopefully get the point.

Matt's attention snapped to the person still engaged with her, kind of really frustrated and angry that this person was in the way. If Matt had gotten his way, he would be able to channel all of that anger and irritation at all of this into that one person fighting her, and then that person would just go down. He wasn't a hero, dammit, but he was trying to be, and that person was just in the way. "Get out of the way, you damned goon!" he would yell at Alpha, before yelling at Maria finally, "Let's go!"


Matt still has no idea he's using these

Using Mental Discourse to make sure that Maria can understand what he's saying

Using Bane Command to just make Alpha go down, so they can all get out of here.
Matt rolled 25 using 1d20+9.  Bane Command (Alpha)

Well... that's a thing. Heh.

Once again, Alexey was more in shock from his resilience to injury than the actual pain of being shot.  All the more reason he should shield Snow with his body, if the Glas had already gone to the trouble of making him impervious to weapons.

They had given him more than just defense, though.  Alexey swung an arm over of shoulder, his silvery light reaching for Charlie again.  He shouted an expletive in his native tongue as he sought to raise the gunman to use as a weapon against one of his fellows.  No need to be gentle, either; much as he didn't want it to be true, they might have already killed Dr. Snow with that freeze gun.  The light snapped into a different direction, hopefully bringing Charlie with it.

Only slightly watching the possible success of his assault, Alexey deposited Dr. Snow outside the doorway and returned to assist those show employees still engaged with the mysterious assailants.

OOC: Going to try to Move Object Charlie to act as a bludgeon against Goggles.

Depositing Dr. Snow ten feet past the door along a wall (ideally in a direction that leaves her out of sight from a goon) and then heading back to his start position.
This message was last edited by the player at 21:35, Sun 09 Aug 2020.