It began to rain as you arrived back at your apartment building.  People scurry about trying to get inside as thunder sounded.

Cait slipped into the building stealthily, and the Wolfsuit changed into an ordinary set of jeans and a hoodie at her command.  She headed for her apartment.

When you step inside, it sounds like someone's watching TV while another is making something in the kitchen.

That was fine.

"Hey," said Cait, walking in.  "How's it going?"

"Netflix!" came the answer from the living room.

"Who's password did you steal?" asked Cait, walking into the room.  "...you aren't 'And Chill'ing on the couch, are you?"

"What? No!" the answer came. "Jeez, and I was going to invite you to join us."

Cait, smiling, stuck her tongue out at whoever was in the room as she walked in.

"So what's on?" she said.

"We're watching that Guardian Angel docus-eries," TJ said.

"They got a buncha cool fights in it," K said.

"Cool," said Cait, settling onto a spare sofa cushion and pulling blankets around her.  (It felt safer that way, when she wasn't wearing the real mask of the Wolfsuit.)  "Anything happen while I was out?"

"Not too much. It's been pretty quit," JT said as there was a huge clap of thunder and K clung to her.
This message was last edited by the GM at 02:07, Thu 11 June 2020.

Cait listened carefully.  Had that been actual thunder...?  One got to be cautious under these circumstances...

It had been a real one.

"Don't tell me that you're scared too?" JT asked as she was patting K on the head.

"Will it get me cuddled?" Cait asked.  "No, I just wasn't sure if it was a car crash or something at first."

"I'm not scared!" K said, still clinging tightly to JT.

"So you admit that you're doing that just to cuddle with JT?" said Cait.  "...well, that's reasonable enough."

"No...I'm...," K said unsure of how to answer.

"She's got you," JT said.

Cait laughed.  God, that was nice to be able to do.

"Either way, no complaint here," she said.  "Do what works for you."

"We got a couple of frozen pizzas in the oven that should be ready soon," JT said as a timer began to beep. She wriggled out of the arms of K and headed into the kitchen.

"Good timing," said Cait.  "I'm starved."

"We only got water and kool-aid to drink though," JT said from the kitchen.

"I will drink the Kool-Aid," said Cait.  "At least, for now.  When I get my next check, I'll pick up a case of beer."

"I want kool-aid too!" K said.

"I know, it's your kool-aid after all," JT said, bringing out the drinks first and going back for the pizza.

"Thanks," said Cait.  "Any plans?  I was thinking about putting in some time at my job while the pizza cooks."

"Not really, it feels like a lazy kinda day," JT said.

"Fair," said Cait.  "Hearing that storm, it's a good day to stay in..."

She unfolded a keyboard from... somewhere, got out a small monitor of similar vintage, and set to work doing some work for a client.  The keyboard and monitor were just for show, which made them quite cheap...

It wasn't long before the food was ready. JT put out some slices on a plate in front of you.

Cait ate absently, her mind bouncing between those poor girls, the food, her job, what her next move was, Netflix... Email.  Was that new email?  It might be spam...

It probably was, after all it said "I SEe YoU" and was from a non-sense email address.

Well, that was a bit creepy.  But it didn't really mean anything... did it?  At this point, anyway, it didn't.  She ignored it and went on with her work.

The jobs you had before you were simple enough.

Well, good.  Cait buzzed through them, and...

...well, a security sweep couldn't hurt, right?

The computer was virus and spyware free. No problems at all.

Good.  Good.  That was how it should be, but...

Just because-- not because a stupid email had bothered her-- she went to check the window.

(OOC: Secret Perception check for Wolf.)

You don't see anything out of the ordinary, just people scrambling out of the rain or heavily bundled up with umbrellas.
This message was last edited by the GM at 03:46, Fri 12 June 2020.

Cait closed the curtains anyway.  Just because.

And went back to her work.

"Hey, Cait?" K asked. "You ever wonder what it'd be like to be a superhero?"

"Like what?" asked Cait, sitting back down.  "If it involves brooding in rain like that, count me out.  But I haven't really thought about it much..."

There was no need for her to speculate, after all.

"It looks like it'd be cool. Beating up the bad guys, helping people and all that," K said.

"Well, I guess?" said Cait.  "Seems like it would have problems, too.  Nobody's gonna be on your side, for one thing."

"I wouldn't want to be one here. Here sucks, but like in NYC or LA or something," K said. "Being a member of the Watch."

"I wouldn't want to even pay part of the rent you'd have to dish out there, though," said Cait.  "Damn expensive place to be a hero."

"I guess you're right," K said. "Maybe if you were a millionaire like Knight."

"Wouldn't that be sweet?" said Cait.  "No worries about where rent is coming from, eat great food every day, buy new clothes any time you want to..."

"Yeah, oh jeez, I have to get ready for work," K said. "See you guys later."

K, went into her room for a bit and then headed out the door.

"Just the two of us now, eh, JT?" said Cait.

"Yeah, I hope K's gonna be okay.  She has been nervous working those overnight shifts down at 7-11," JT said.

"Hm," said Cait.  "Maybe I'll just swing by sometime to pick something up, make sure she's OK."

"I appreciate that," JT said. "How'd your day go? I'm starting to feel like some old woman from all that lifting in the warehouse."
This message was last edited by the player at 01:59, Sun 14 June 2020.

"Eh, ups and downs," said Cait.  "Some stuff that I think went well, some stuff that I'm hoping turns out OK but might not..."

"That's too bad. I wish I could help ya, but I'mm no good with computers," JT said.

"Eh, it's OK," said Cait.  "So how's your stuff going?"

Cait was still not at all sure how JT came up with her share of the rent, but it wasn't good to ask too many questions sometimes.

"Not bad," JT said. "Should have some more money coming in soon, so we can have a nice meal out sometime."

"Cool," said Cait.  Idly, she checked for police activity and alerts on her computer.  She was worried about K, but she couldn't really keep an eye on her all night long...

There were reports of increased gang activity a few blocks from your home.

"...damn, I need to pick up a new flash drive for a client," said Cait.  "Be right back."

She slipped out into the night.

And soon you arrived back at your apartment building.

"Hey," said Cait.  "How's it going?"

JT looked up from her phone.

"I'm okay, how was she doing?" JT asked.

"...Honestly, I didn't get there," said Cait.  "There were people going nuts shooting at each other on the streets!  Crazy."

"No kidding? I better go check on her then," JT said, hurrying over and getting ready to head out. "Soirry,gladyou'reokay.Later"

And she was gone.

Cait worried, of course, but at least she'd been able to help with the shooting.  She checked out newsfeeds and began to research this political candidate.  Was he really as bad as that guy had said?  She wasn't really inclined to take the word of a psycho who set out to get people shot...

There were rumours of shady business deals in the past, but nothing was proven. Nothing too scandalous in his love life, but he is currently on his third marriage.

That wasn't quite enough for her to go on.  Rumors plus the word of a psycho... she'd still watch him, though.

There were news articles about said psycho. His name was Robert Mercer and the news was referring to him as the "Puppeteer". Robert was facing a long list of charges.

Well, good.  The police could apparently handle that much-- and regardless of what the candidate was up to, Mercer's crimes were pretty major.  She continued to check the news, to see if there was anything else of note going on.

There was no mention as to Mercer's motives, but that upwards of twenty people had been shot and in various conditions.  At least that many had been made victim to his technology.

Yeah, that was bad... at least she'd been able to stop it from getting worse.  She found herself staying up, worrying about her roomies.

About half an hour later, JT came back in.

"Hey," said Cait.  "How was it out there?"
This message was last edited by the player at 04:28, Wed 05 Aug 2020.

"It's still raining pretty bad, but K's okay," JT said. "She didn't really hear much as she was in the back room doing work there."

"Good," said Cait.  "I'm glad that it stopped pretty quickly."

"Yeah, I heard something about a superhero or something," JT said.

"Do we have any of those around here?" Cait asked.  "It's hard to be sure."

"Well, it was either that or some weird furry playing here from what I've heard," JT said.

"Huh," said Cait.  "Well, I guess it takes all kinds to do the superhero thing."

"There was some mention of a wolf someone in there," JT said.

"Is there a superhero like that?" Cait asked.  "...there is, isn't there?"

"Not that I know of," JT said,

"Might be a report of wild dogs, then," said Cait.  "You never know."

JT started laughing.

"What?" said Cait.

"A pack of random dogs just saved people?" JT asked.

"Okay, not super likely," said Cait.  "So a superhero who looks like a dog?  I could believe that."

"I guess K gets what she wants then, kinda," JT said.

"Well, she didn't become one or meet one, did she?" said Cait.  "...it might work, though."

"She's got a chance now," JT said. "Even if it is some weird dog-person."

"True," said Cait.  "...don't know how likely that is, though."

"It looks like we might be getting supervillains here soon, like that nutcase," JT said.

"Like this city doesn't have enough problems, with the gangs and corrupt cops and every damn other thing," said Cait.

"Yeah, so good on the dog-person," JT said.

"I just hope the whole supervillain thing doesn't get out of hand," said Cait.  "Enough problems..."

"The two do go hand in hand," JT said.

"Yeah," said Cait.  "Kind of sucks, since we probably need heroes to deal with all the other crap."

"Not like the cops will," JT said.

"Yeah," said Cait.  "...this city sucks."

"It does, but not like we can afford to move elsewhere," JT said.

"Too true," said Cait.  "Too true.  Well, you two don't suck at all, so that's good."

"Thanks, you don't suck either," JT said.

"Thanks," said Cait.  "Now if I can just get paid for this work..."

"Not expecting to?" JT asked.

"It's a new client, so I'm not sure," Cait explained.  "Generally they do, eventually, but once in a while, I get a cheapskate..."

That was when K finally got back from work.

"Hey, how was work?" Cait asked.

"Weird," K said. "Really slow."

"Did you hear about all the crazy people shooting at each other?" Cait asked.  "Scary stuff."

"I was in the back when it happened, so I didn't," K said.

"Probably lucky," said Cait.  "I was just hearing about someone saying there was some kind of furry figure trying to stop it, or something?"

"Furry? Like a dogman?" K asked.

Cait shrugged.  "Dunno.  I think JT did more reading on that one."

"What do you mean?" K asked.

"She was telling me about stuff she read on the internet about that," said Cait.

"They said that some superhero got involved," JT said.

You could see the stars in K's eyes. "That is so cool!"

"Really looking forward to spotting one?" Cait asked.

"Aw, come on, they're like celebrities," K said.

"What would you do if you met one, though?" Cait asked.  "Some of them sound pretty scary.  Well, the ones in this city, anyway."

"I dunno. Ask for an autograph maybe?" K said.

"Well, that's not too bad," said Cait.  "Unless they turned out to be creepy, I guess."

"Have you met them?" K asked.

"Have I ever run into a superhero out there?" Cait said.  "...not that I know of, at least."

"You just seem kinda down on this one," K said.

"...Well," said Cait.

She considered.

"Ah, hell," she said.  "How are you guys with secrets?"

"I'm good," Jt said. "How long I was in the closet should testify to that. K on the other hand..."

"What? I'm great with them!" K said.

"Okay, but this is serious," said Cait.  "This is 'People blowing up our apartment' serious."

"I am serious!" K said. "I can keep a secret really well!"

"Okay, but seriously, you can't even hint about it to anyone," said Cait.  "Not even a little bit.  For your sake."

"Cross my heart and hope to die," K said.

"I do, myself, know a superhero," said Cait.  "The one K's been hearing reports about.  The Hood."

"Really?" K asked, her eyes going wide.

"Yes, and I can prove it," said Cait.  She looked at JT, trying to judge her reaction.

JT was looking kind of sceptical.

Well, fine.  This one was easy.

Cait stood up, gestured with one hand-- and the Hood's costume crept over her.

Jt did a spit take.

"Told you," said Cait.  How was K taking it?

She was currently standing there stars in her eyes.

"...So, uh," said Cait.  "Somebody gonna say something?"

"So cool!" K squealed.

"Maybe a little less inside here than you might think," said Cait.  "Uh, JT?  You there?"

"Where the hell did you even get that?" JT asked.

"Hell of a story there," said Cait.  "Short form, stole it."

"From what? A supervillain? Are you some master thief too?" JT asked.

"Nothing that crazy," said Cait.  "...just luck, honestly.  I hid out in a warehouse full of high-tech contraband and made a pickup."

"And now you're a superhero! So cool!" K said.

"Well, it kind of is," said Cait.  "What's awesome is getting the chance to make a difference.  I mean, the cops sure as hell won't..."

"Where did you steal it from?" K asked.

"A warehouse," said Cait.  "Not really sure what was up with it."

"Is it still around?" K asked.

"I'm not sure," said Cait.  "There were a lot of fires a night or so later."

"Ah," K said, disappointed.

"It's not all fun and games, I promise you," said Cait.  "You put your life on the line out there."

"Yeah, but you dealt with those mind controlled people easily," K said.

"Well, the costume's basically bulletproof," said Cait.  "The real danger is the guy doing it.  I'm glad I was able to jam his signal."

"K, please stop thinking you could be a superhero," JT said.

Cait hated to crush K's dreams, but...

"Yeah, don't do that until you can shrug off bullets," said Cait.  "That's rule one around here.  Too many guns otherwise."

K sighed.

"Okay."

"Doesn't mean that you can't help, though," Cait continued.  "You just, you know, can't get shot at.  That's my job."

"Yeah, but it doesn't seem like that's really anything," K said.

"If you want to help, keep your ears and eyes open," said Cait.  "I need to know what's going on, more than anything else."

"okay, I'll do that," K said.

"Thanks," said Cait.  "Also, be careful.  Be safe.  Both of you."

"So, how about we chill and watch some movies?" JT asked.

"Yeah, sounds good," said Cait.  She sat down on the couch to watch.

JT put on a romantic comedy that K was known to like.

Cait settled in.  Sometimes, this could be a little bit awkward, but... eh, fun was fun.

"I'll make popcorn," K said when the trailers started.

"Thanks," said Cait, settling in.  A super-suit was all well and good, but hey, popcorn!

Soon you had food and the movie was playing. It was pretty cheesy, but K was very much distracted by it.

Well, that was good.  What was JT doing?

JT was sneaking an arm around K.

YYyyep.  Cait was clearly going to be one of those superheroes.  Oh, well.  Let them be happy together.

The two cuddled for the rest of the movie, though the did keep it at acceptable since you were there.

Yep, yep, point up how alone she felt a lot of the time.  Oh, well.  No need to hold it against them.  Cait watched the movie and poked around the internet on the side.

One thing you noticed on R/Supers was someone offering a bounty for good pictures of you in costume.

Interesting... but possibly suspicious.  She began to investigate to see who this person was.

The user had been posting bounties every time a new hero had appeared. They would also pay out too, judging from the various threads. No clues as to who they were in real life though.

Odd... she attempted to find out if anything had happened to those heroes after their pictures were taken.

There had been thirteen previous heroes the user had requested and one of them that went under the name of "American Dream" had gone missing about three weeks after the bounty had been claimed.

Just one wasn't too bad... but still, it was something to keep an eye on.  She started by seeing what she could track down about the person putting out the bounties.

(OOC: I need some sort of roll for that)

Technology 22

...of course, she might find it easier to track down the originator if she had a better link.

Such as, for example, collecting on the bounty...

You did find that a lot of accounts were coming from the same IP Address, all hunting for information on superheroes. The exact address was from one of the wealthy suburbs of the city.

Very promising.  After tonight was over, and her roomies finally went to bed, Cait decided to go investigate.