It hadn't taken long for Dylan and Sunset Studios to get them relocated back to Emerald city.  The network had had to relinquish some control over their staff, so there weren't as many people around, but they were going to be saddled with Dylan, three rotating members of a camera-crew and the Aegis liaison, whoever that was going to be.

For many, Emerald City was already home.   So, they had family and friends there, already.  It was definitely something that would make the transition to an empowered life much simpler.

Located on the Eastern slopes of Sunset Hill, Hubert House looks out over much of the University district.   A former upscale bed & breakfast, Hubert House had been featured several times by Sunset Studios in movies and serials, but the reality was a little different from what appears on TV.

It is currently in the process of being renovated, and has been leased in an arrangement between Aegis and Sunset Studios for the purpose of Imminent Ascension.    It wasn't exceptionally glamorous.  Most of the B&B furnishings had been swapped out for network-provided sets.  Functional if not expensive.


If your character has family in the area, or this is where your character's home was originally, then you are welcome to reside outside of Hubert House, but you're expected to spend a lot of time there.   If you don't have off-site accomodation (or don't want it), you've got living space here.

So...  With returning to Emerald city and the change in direction of the game... what does your character do?

Hubert House is a big place, but it's not a fortified headquarters.

Emerald City took Alexey farther still from the Midwest than he had been since his family came to the country, which was a good thing.  Maybe.  Probably.  He wasn't ready for them to see him just yet, let alone have to explain the various other changes he had undergone since they saw him last.  They had been rattled enough by the news coming out of Michigan; the idea that Alexey no longer resembled the man they knew or that he could easily lift a car with his mind was going to need to be handled delicately.

The best part of being in Emerald City was access to certain amenities that locked down hotels and military bases sorely lacked.  Clothing stores.  In Alexey's case, though, thrift stores was more accurate.  He went out in as socially acceptable of a hodge-podge of reclaimed articles from the hotel and base lost-and-founds and came back with vast improvements.    He ended up making three or four more trips, each time painfully aware of the amount he was spending, as more activities revealed themselves to require vastly different attire.

Starting at the base, and continuing to Hubert House, Alexey had started experiencing a new and unpleasant feeling - for the very first time in his life, he was bored.  He tried to help with renovations, though the number of times he smashed his own hands with a hammer made him grudgingly stand back from anything other than heavy lifting.

Jana, for one, was excited to be back.   When she'd immigrated to the United States, Emerald City was where she'd settled.  She'd even witnessed the Silver Storm personally--albeit from University Hill, well away from the center of activity that destroyed two high-level metas.

Hubert House was big and pretty in a turn-of-the-last-century kind of way.  And she could appreciate  the photo-worthy hostelry, but it still wasn't quite home was it?  More than anything, the place ne3eded to feel like it was theirs.  Not a place that was a bed and breakfast, or a place owned by some earth-spanning organization for meta-charity...


The first thing she wanted to do--after assuring her sister and her roommate that she was alive and well--was to go shopping!  So, she took it upon herself to approach the others.   if they were going to have to spend time together--and not as competitors--they needed to re-design their relationships as much as they needed to redesign their living-space.
And for that, a  couple of trips down the Yellow Brick Row, Emerald City’s most famous shopping area  (Parts of it really are paved in yellow-painted brick, kitchsy as it is!). This open-air mall runs along a main street that extends roughly north-south, away from the Riverfront and towards Royal Hill.  The street is closed to vehicular traffic for eight blocks after 10AM.   Yellow Brick Row is lined with a variety of shops, restaurants, and cafes.

Jana suspected that with their new physiques, both Nala and Maria were going to need new clothes.  And fortunately, Jana knew just where to get some killer deals.  Hopefully, her designer friends were still going.

She wanted the boys along too.  Alexey, at the very least, needed to seriously loosen up and enjoy his soon-to-be-stardom!   If they weren't really into shopping, surely there was something they could do!  I mean, everyone needs furniture, right?

So, after  not-a-little cajoling, convincing, and in at lest one case outright blackmail, Janava convinced them all to head down to there Yellow Brick Row to find things that would help make their transition to Hubert House a little more palatable.

She'd dragged the girls to Pompeii, where her roommate was a partner.  It sold mostly upscale clothing but Marcy was also able to front some of her own fashion.   And Jana knew that Marcy had the wit and the deft touch to be able to arrange the appropriate tailoring for the girls.  Seriously, if this wasn't a show of goodwill, Janava didn't know what was!

Marcy screamed when she saw Jana.  She bounced over and threw herself at the little blonde thing, even as two of the customers looked on in their conspicuous Givenchy and Chanel labels.

Marcy was a few inches short of six feet tall, with a physique that screamed "runway"!    She had dark brown hair that looked like she'd just stepped out of a salon, and dressed head to toe in some sort of variation of a classic pinstriped palazzos with a traditional Japanese obi and a loose Grecian style top.  It was effective at conveying elegance and power without pushing it too far.  Especially in a retail position.


Also, those who are there and are particularly astute will notice that there's a dark blue steel bar where one of Marcy's shoes would be  (so... amputee).   
This message was last edited by the player at 08:22, Sun 15 Nov 2020.

"Oh my God!" Marcy was wide-eyed.  "I thought they were going to keep you locked away forever!  Like, I know you said it was all cool.  But It totally had that "captured by the government" feel and that you were never going to see daylight again.  Did they torture you?     Did they stick you with, like, really long needles?  So, with Shakedown canceled, what's the story?  Are you coming back?  And did you bring everybody?  I want to see who I get to play with!"




Marcy is a fashion designer.  So by "play" she means dress you up.
This message was last edited by the GM at 08:22, Sun 15 Nov 2020.

Saying 'no' wasn't a natural response for Alexey.  So, saying that he let himself be dragged around wasn't as accurate as stating that Alexey couldn't muster the wherewithal to refuse, and any effort to do so made him at least as uncomfortable as the outings themselves.  Never mind that some of Janava's haunts apparently sold socks that cost more than Alexey had spent on his entire post-growth-spurt wardrobe, shoes and work-boots and all.  That was going to be a different conundrum for the chronically money-tight immigrant to worry about when it arose.

At least he wasn't floating six inches off the ground.  The purchase of shoes meant that Alexey only stood out as much as any other tall hard-body who looked ready to step into a shampoo commercial if one could forgive the faded polo, worn jeans, and scuffed sneakers long enough to get him out of them.  He carefully averted his eyes from any gawkers, the bright red of his cheeks fessing up to embarrassment over outright rudeness.

He winced slightly at Marcy's excited screaming, his gaze breaking its lock on his own toes long enough to gape at her.

Jen was an Emerald City gal by birth, her parents New York Irish who moved to the West Coast to raise their family. To the young woman the city was home, full of familiar sights, smells and sounds and somehow felt strangely familiar and strangely disorientating to be back here after everything.

She had a job - somewhat miraculously given her ability to cause a major accident in even the emptiest of rooms - in Blue Moon a New Age bookstore run Barbara, a friend of her mother's who even the devoutly superstitious Jen had always found a little on the spacey side. Still it paid the bills and gave her a place to hang out other than home.

Of course now she had two places.

Arriving at Hubert House Jen had taken a moment to compose herself. The pretty, hazel eyed brunette still felt jazzed after her experiences on the show and she was wearing her favourite red leather jacket, matching minidress and killer heels. Still no matter how confident she felt she'd at best only swapped names with the others before now. Time for a second chance at a first impression.

She didn't get much of a chance to try before running into Hurricane Janava and being conscripted into a shopping trip. The bemused Jen hadn't been too put out (she liked shopping as much as the next fashion conscious girl.)

"So, do we all dress in massing tones?" she'd joked as Jana introduced everyone to Marcy.

The color--literally--drained from Jana's face.

"Oh God."  she whispered. "They're going to make us wear, like, silly plaid skirts and private school uniforms.  Like we're at Claremont or something."   She grinned at Jenn, then offered, "I'm glad we didn't go to Freedom City.   I don't think we've got anything like that here."

"I don't know..." Marcy said. "I could use a contract like that.  Designing your school uniforms."

Her face lit up.  "And trying to accommodate whatever crazy super-power you've got.  That would be kinda cool!"

She turned to Jenn.  "I mean it would be a bummer if you turn to flame and burn out your clothes every time you change...  So,  is it rude to ask what you do?"

Jen laughed and smiled back at Janava. "Maybe, I think we could pull off those costumes, even if blue and yellow are so not my colours!"

The brunette turned back to Marcy and gave a rueful shrug. "I'm lucky. Like really, really lucky. I didn't use to be but I guess the planets aligned for me!"

Whatever language the ladies were speaking didn't sound like any English Alexey had heard before.  What were 'massing tones?'  Or 'plaid?'  "Claremont?"  He muttered unintentionally as he tried to place the name.

Alexey coughed at the open and public discussion of their powers, suddenly choking on nothing.  Weren't those supposed to be secret or something?  Or their identities?  This seemed like the sort of thing Dylan would be disappointed in them for participating in, and then Jen went ahead and spilled the beans.  The tall man, winced, face screwed as if in pain.
This message was lightly edited by the GM at 22:08, Sat 21 Nov 2020.

Matt had been having some rather serious headaches he had been keeping to himself, as he didn't want to go under the medical examiner's table... again. Dylan had said something to the effect of that Matt didn't need to sign anything yet, but come along to Hubert House, and just see.

So that was what Matt did. Even if the headaches meant he did sleep in a bit, he would still just wander about... not really committing to anything there either.

I'm going to fore Matt's hand and say that Matt was similarly coerced into going shopping along the Yellow Brick Row with the others--at the moment Janava, Jen & Alexey.

"Well, damn."  Marcy grinned at Jen.  "Come stand beside me, then!"

But then ,Marcy's eyes went wide as she glanced at the front of the store.   Outside, it had become as dark as night within moments.   Slowly, some of the photo-sensitive streetlghts ere flickering on, but mostly, it was darker than usual, lit only by the lights of the stores along the Yellow Brick Row.

Then there was a the sound of tearing metal, a woman's scream of shock the unmistakeable sound of broken glass.

"Holy Shit!" someone outside shouted.

Three women and a man burst into the storefront, wild-eyed and  anxious.   "Call 9-1-1!"  one of the women shouted. "Some guy just stepped into traffic--and he totalled a SUV!"

Jen's hazel eyes (whose irises now had a trace of ruby red) almost popped out of her head and she glanced at the others. "I think we should..." She gestured towards the exit - and the guy who had just totalled an SUV.

The change in lighting didn't register immediately with Alexey; he mostly only noted it based on other people's reactions, so it took the sounds of destruction to hone the tall man on the the nearby threat.  Alexey felt a little pang of guilt at how eager he was to bolt out the door, but bolt he did.

Once outside, he leapt of the ground and kept going until he could see the source of the disturbance.

Marcy and the other girl--who hadn't been introduced-- went to the threesome who'd just come inside.  Marcy had her cel-phone out.  (It was curious that none of the three, themselves, had bothered to call emergency services...)

It wasn't far at all.

Outside, it was murky, as if a post-sunset fog had rolled in.  Only it was mid-day!

Maybe forty feet away from Pompeii's, a small crowd had gathered, but it was only perhaps a dozen people, and they hadn't gotten too close to the vehicle.   It was a blue Toyota Forerunner, on it's side, wheel's still spinning, the engine still running   Shattered glass and metal was strewn across the road, but Alexey didn't see any bodies on the pavement.

The crowd was keeping their distance, though, because a man stood on just the other side of the Forerunner, plaid shirt ripped open to reveal an enormous mass of tentacles writhing about in the air between him and the car, as if they were blindly reaching out, sensing the area, tasting the atmosphere.

They were pruplish grey masses of rubbery flesh that seemed to expand and contract as they moved.

The man's head was thrown back, but Alexey could make out shaggy blonde hair and a scruffy beard, corded muscles that suggested he was a fitness buff or a labourer.   Whoever he was, his mouth was open in an expression that could've been agony or could've been ecstacy.  But his eyes were squeezed shut and his fists were clenched so hard that Alexey could clearly see the tendons sticking out along his forearms.

It was brighter where the tentacled man was, too, as if he and the vehicle were the center of a massing storm.

Another goddamned storm on the Yellow Brick Row.

A woman nearby clutched a baby to her shoulder as she ran in the opposite direction.

"Jesus Christ!" someone swore,  "What is that thing?"

One of the tenacles went still then lashed out,, and though he couldn't see it from hi vantage point, Alexey heard the dull thud as flesh hit glass or metal.

The plaid-shirted man stepped forward as if drawn zombie-like, and approached the downed SUV.   more of his tentacles jabbed out, until there was the sound of broken glass again.

"Are you getting this?"   some nameless guy nudged his friend.  They both had cel-phones up.

"Yeah, it's goinh live..."

Then all of the tentacles shot forward into what Alexey must have guessed was a shattered sun-roof.

Cythi was out and about enjoying exploring the city and hoping where she grew up would never find her here either.  If they did then that would not be something fun to take care of but for now it is time to live in the present.  She would have shopped but having no sense for that she decides to wait until maybe one of the people she has been teamed up with comes and helps.

That said Cythi approaches the group.  Honestly she would have called the police herself but literally has not bought one yet and frankly has not needed one should ever the number be disclosed and she can be tracked.   She remembers where she grew up that is why they did not have one ever.  Well the leader did.  "Can someone call the authorities on this or should we help?"  She asks actually showing genuine concern.  "Anyone?"  She asks  not only the group but if anyone else around can.

Marcy waved from the counter near the rear of the store, a receiver at her ear.   One of the three that had just come into Pompeii's was with her, telling her al the details.     Eventually, Marcy just rolled her eyes and gave the young woman the store hone.

"Oh, It's Saturday."  Marcy came up beside Cythi near the front window.  "That means it's time to rip off your shirt and show everybody what a monster you've become."  She didn't quite come across as bored as she might have hoped.  "There was a time when this wasn't normal.  Now it's like... once a month.   You're new in town, too?  I'm Marcy."
This message was last edited by the player at 05:25, Wed 02 Dec 2020.

Adrianna had experienced so many changes recently it left her head spinning. A sudden change in career, where she lived, and now powers..... she was dealing fairly well all things considered in her new semi insane situation. She'd spent her time since recovering experimenting so now she at least knew what SOME of her powers were and how they worked. So that was a mark in the plus column at least.

She'd decided to go shopping on the Row to clear her head. She'd always loved shopping and could use a new wardrobe as her old clothes didn't fit quite right anymore. She hadn't really grown, more like her muscle mass shifted. Weird but pretty low on the list of her concerns recently. Shed been shopping for quite a while when she heard crashing sounds and breaking glass. The kind of noise that either follows a car crash or some sort of small explosion.

She ran down the block until she caught sight of some..... freak she could only think. The guy had tentacles growing out of his chest. Tentacles that were now trying to slither their way into the sunroof of an overturned SUV. The guy just looked creepy and the SUV didn't get to it's side all by itself so she surmised the guy was the aggressor here. A quick glance showed her that several people on the street were on their phones by now. Either to record the freak show or to make a phone call, some of which had to be directed at 911.

This is what she'd been waiting for. A moment to clarify her thoughts and make her decide the new path for her life. She would become the heroine the world needed. Not for glory or fame but as a role model. To show girls everywhere that they were more than just pretty faces. Having made her decision, all in a fraction of a second thanks to her newly improved intellect she sprang into action.

She grabbed a thumb tack from her purse and jammed it into her palm. She instantly felt that little tingle telling her that her engine was now at full throttle. She bolted toward the SUV and grabbed a piece of metal from the bumper that had broken off. She made sure to stay subsonic as a sonic boom would kill or injure all the norms close by. She hopped up onto the SUV side so she was standing atop it and flung the bumper fragment at the reject from a tentacle hentai.

Hey Lovecraft! Wanna step away from the nice people?

She hurled the bumper right at the mass of tentacles in the middle of Lovecraft's chest top speed.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:56, Wed 02 Dec 2020.

Cytheria turns to the girl that just intro'd herself wearing light gloves, "This happens a lot?"  She questions before continuing,  "Oh and good day I am Cythi."  She says introducing herself and holding out her hand to shake. "I am wondering if I am ready to go help down there or not." She says more to herself without thinking.  "I just wish I had a cellphone."

Alexey stared in horror at the scene below, though his reaction was a little delayed.  A lot delayed, actually.  Doing too much to get noticed or on the police's radar was about the worst thing Alexey could think to do, and floating ten-to-twenty feet up was a couple meters beyond his normal line for the former already.

Adrianna's challenge to the instigator finally won Alexey over.  Gritting his teeth, he scooted closer, and launched a gout of his silvery fire at 'Lovecraft.'  His hand swung first at the menacing figure, then upward; the coach at Hubert House would have been on Alexey for the unnecessary gesticulation.

"Stop!"  He shouted at the figure, already blushing.


OOC:  Move Object on 'Lovecraft' to grab him and raise him as high as possible
11:40, Today: Alexey rolled 20 using 1d20+7.  Move Lovecraft.

Virginia stands outside of Pompeii's. Her lips are wrapped around a pink straw and greedily suck a stream of milkshake decadence to her mouth. The sweet vanilla with tiny shreds of chocolate morsels feed her mind a rush of sugar. Her eyes are fixed on a pair of equally sweet high heels displayed in the store window. They look delicious!

As a cloud shadows the sun she slowly leans forward into the glass studying them. When it grows so dark her nose touches the glass she realizes something is wrong. It is much too dark! Why can I not see these better? She slurps once more from the milkshake and peels herself back from the glass. Turning around she sees it has almost become night. Was there an eclipse scheduled today? The last cool sugary taste fades from her tongue.

As the straw dangles against her open lips, her eyes drift toward the sky. What is this fog and where is the sun? Then she hears the sound of metal being wrecked down the street! She clinches up and freezes like the bottom of her shake in reaction. Then she sees the people begin running around frantically.

Ok, this is not an eclipse. She turns her head and sees the chaos a block down. Holy calamity of Maleficent what is that?! Virginia takes a small step up the street AWAY from the matter. She sees the tentacles and glimpses of a smashed SUV too. She takes a few more steps away. The milkshake sweats with fear in her hand.

That fear is about to spread to Virginia when she sees a mother with child running away from the scene. She stops. That is not right. Not right at all. We do not put children in danger. I do not put up with that ever! I am a helper, not a run-awayer! Ok sometimes I am a run-awayer but not when children are involved. She looks down the street to see what else happens. The milkshake returns to her mouth and she takes a deep contemplative suck of it. Brain freeze sets in immediately but she endures it, her mind readily pouring over the cocoon events from a few weeks ago. It all seemed unreal. Was she just the victim of a secret diet drug experiment delusion or did it all really happen? Did she really have "powers"??.

She steels herself and takes another deep swill of freezing liquid. Her eyes grow wide and she quickly opens her mouth realizing she has just over done it! Her face contorts and her tongue begins licking at the roof of her mouth frantically trying to warm it up. She dances around looking for a trash can to dump the cup. Hustling over to a large dumpster she tosses the shake in and squats down beside it. She focuses on Mr. Tentacles and watches. Her head stings with cold. Children in danger. Does she summon the fairy or not?! She concentrates...

Jen hesitated for a further few moments, then rushed towards the car that had born the brunt of the tentacle assault. The young model did not feel up to going toe to toe with the freakshow just yet but she had to assume there was someone or someones in the vehicle that had just been assaulted and maybe she get them out while Mr. Grusome was distracted.

"C'mon stay lucky, stay lucky..." she whispered to herself as she joggged out in her heels.