As Sue rounds the corner she can see that it's Eddie watching tv.  He notices her immediately even though he's not looking in her direction, and turns to talk to her.  "Pull up a seat.  Can watch something else, just... just nothing with Parker.  He brings up a lot of animosity."

The newspapers on the other side of the couch are suddenly being moved to the coffee table, but Eddie hasn't moved.  It seems like the shirt he was sitting on is doing the move.

"Most of the news is about him today.  We don't want to relapse.  Gotta stay strong, don't let Cap down."

Oh - him.  Wasn't he supposed to go out with the patrol?

Her first instinct was to decline, but then she reconsidered.  Wasn't he one of the Weavers? Number four, according to Gwen? Perhaps, she could learn something.  With her bullshit detector set on 'high' of course.

"I'm working on tuning up a bike out in the garage.   But, sure, I'll take a break for a bit."    She walked to the now vacant spot, sat down.

"So what do you mean by relapse, exactly?"  She tried to remember everything Gwen had recently told her about Venom.  'Venom magnifies what you put in' was the part that stood out in her mind.

"Yeah, I guess you don't know any of it."  Eddie says, while a cartoon skunk sexually harasses a cat on the tv.

"Parker was the first Venom host.  That Spider-symbol shows up on us even now.  He rejected the bond, tried to kill the symbiote."  The shirt reacts.  Eddie looks sad. "We did some bad things after that.  Ask one of the others sometime if you want.  We're not like that anymore."




Last night, Luke had said "Bullshit, man. You eat people."
This message was last edited by the player at 13:06, Fri 23 July 2021.

Mr. le Pew was well known to Susan.  As a cartoon character, and as an archetype on the dating scene.

"I see.  And what made Peter react so antagonistically toward the symbiote?" She paused briefly before adding- "Any reason beyond not wanting to be covered in alien, metamorphic spiders, I mean."   
This message was last edited by the player at 19:52, Fri 23 July 2021.

"Spiders?  huh?" Eddie says.  The shirt dissolves into a ball of black goo.

"The symbiote only speaks Klyntar.  We can't even get near Parker without seeing red.

Imagine you had an ex that tried to kill you, but you couldn't explain why due to the language barrier.  And today they're getting a parade.

For all I know, Parker just hates chocolate milk.  You'd have to ask him.  I didn't even know they were the same person until last night."

The lights go out. Dim sunlight filters in through the boarded-up windows, casting the room in pockets of visbility among deep shadows. You hear movement-- probably Frank-- from the garage.

"Ok, I can dig," nodded Sue.

"I'm relatively sure my ex did kill me -- and there kind of was a language barrier, at the level of the heart.  And yeah - it would be a real drag, watching him get a fucking parade."


At the abrupt loss of power, and the sounds from the garage, Sue stood up, and vanished from sight.    Unseen rolled 2,4,7,3,6 using d12,d10,d8,d8 d6.  Invisibility dice pool.
Invisibility + Safety + Outta Sight Protectoress + Covert expert + anti-registration
Total = 13, Effect = D12

She then padded to the garage to see who...

Susan wasn't able to truly see the invisible, herself.  However, she wasn't so far removed;  she was able to discern the presence of invisible things/people, as a side-effect of being able to function herself while invisible,

Frank was in the garage. He seemed to be working on one of the cars, but had just shouldered his rifle, and looked to be seeking a target for it. And though he couldn't see them, there were plenty.

At least a dozen figures stood out there; and while Sue couldn't identify colors, they were plainly garbed in stereotype ninja outfits, and carrying the stereotype katanas and other weaponry.

Any humor to be had from the fact she was wearing a tank-top with Cowabunga! emblazoned on it was quite lost upon her...

They were aware of Frank, but plainly couldn't see herself. They didn't appear to be making any move to neutralize him, but were instead intent on heading deeper into the warehouse.

Idiots, she thought dismissively.  Reckoning no force worth their salt would be garbed that way.   She'd hazarded over how to best deal with this, and had an idea:   while maintaining her invisibility, she made a force-screen that would halt their forward progress into the warehouse.   Ideally, she wanted them to all move toward it, nearer together, so she might then smack them with it.

Unfortunately, the silliness of their outfits had made her cocky, and it wasn't exactly the most energized field she'd ever made...

Unseen rolled 2,1,4,2 using d12,d10,d4,d6.  Force field dice pool.
Godlike durability + Safety + Outta Sight Protectoress + anti-registration
Maintaining invisibility;
SFX: Multipower. Use two or more Force Projection powers in your dice pool, at –1 step for each additional power.
Total = 6  Effect = D10  (after being adjusted)
+1 opportunity for TB
Collecting a PP for using a trait negatively, total PP = 2 

The force field is placed flat across where the door is, and spans maybe six feet out to each side of it.   
This message was last edited by the player at 20:18, Sun 25 July 2021.

OOC: You don't have to take the Multipower penalty when 'maintaining' a power or using an asset created by a power-- only when using more than one die from the same power set in a roll.

One of the ninjas encounters the force field. He stops, alerted, and turns to try to scan the garage more intensely.

Sue, and the ninjas, hear a soft click and a clank and gentle clattering from Frank's position.

ORDER OF BATTLE
Unseen
Frank Castle
Ninja Horde 3d4

NEXT ACTION: Unseen

When the lights go out, Eddie stands up.  The black ball of goo completely covers him, showing a hulking black figure with a white version of Spider-man's logo on its chest.   It's several inches taller than Eddie was on his own and significantly more muscular.  The face has teeth that look like they belong to a shark and a tongue hanging down to the chest.

It has no idea what's happening, just that something's wrong.
OOC: No actions from confused Venom

What sounded like a weapon being primed, or changed in some way, made her hesitate. If Castle was going to take these out, it would leave her free to focus elsewhere...   Fuck!  How many are out there?

In spite of her force field, she stepped aside from the door frame, just in case.

I'm going to cede my position to Castle, and act right after he does.

Or will that work?  If it means I go simultaneous with the ninjas, then I think I'll keep my ranking.   
This message was last edited by the player at 02:33, Tue 27 July 2021.

The silence is shattered by an explosion.

Half a dozen ninjas appear in a smear of violence... leaving smears behind on the walls, floor, and ceiling. Another small handful appear, mostly unharmed, but visible. Frank is aware of the ninjas. The ninjas are aware of Frank. Neither of them appear to be aware of Sue.


10:45, Today: Timebroker, on behalf of Frank Castle, rolled 41 using 1d10+1d8+1d8+1d10+1d6+1d6+1d6 with rolls of 6,8,1,10,6,4,6.

Effort: 18 Effect: 3d6

10:49, Today: Timebroker, for the NPC Horde Nin jas, rolled 22 using 1d10+1d4+1d4+1d4+1d4+1d8 with rolls of 10,2,1,1,4,4.

Effort: 14 Effect: d4

Result: Ninja Horde (in this room) is reduced from 4d4 to 2d8.

NEXT: Unseen

There was a brief moment of horror;  Sue had no stomach for murder, brutality, and she couldn't believe what Castle had just done to those men!

Yet had she expected anything else?  And there were very badly outnumbered...

Sue focused, went to work...tried to dome the warehouse in a force shield, to keep this horde out.  Simultaneously, she strove to shield Castle from his adversaries attack.

Unfortunately, she was too shaken by what she'd just witnessed, and her energies were not efficiently used.

Unseen rolled 1,4,3,2,3 using d12,d10,d8,d6,d6.  Force field dice pool.
Force field + Safety + Protectoress + anti-reg + force construct*
SFX: Force Constructs. When using Force Projection to create assets, add d6 and stepup effect die by +1.*
Total = 7; Effect dice = D8, D8*
Attempted complication = kept away by invisible force; asset = shield for Frank
1 opportunity for the TB
Not gonna waste any PPs on this pool!   Unless, I had to, to attempt a complication + asset in same round.    = 1 PP spent, if so. 

22:31, Today: Timebroker, for the NPC DOOM POOL, rolled 17 using 1d8+1d8+1d6+1d6+1d6 with rolls of 7,1,5,1,3.

You spend the PP after the roll, to keep a second Effect Die-- but before I rolled mine. I think you knew I was going to win before I rolled, so if you'd understood the rule you'd have chosen not to spend the Plot Point. Does that sound fair?

Take one for the Opportunity. You're eligible to activate up to two Opportunities of mine for push or stunt dice on your next action.

DOOM POOL: 3d8 + 2d6


The ninja stares at Sue in apparent-- but brief-- shock.

"It's her. She's here."

There's no sign whom he's talking to.

"Inform the Master."

The speaker, and the other remaining ninjas in the garage, along with the corpses of those killed by Frank's frag grenade, all crumble into dust. More ninjas appear on the periphery of Sue's invisibility sense, first on the upper floor... but then, those that do not appear to be engaged in combat already start converging on the garage.

She was nonplussed, blinking and gape mouthed, for maybe a second and a half, as those in front of her went to dust.  For no real apparent reason at all -- other than they had recognized her?   What sort of enemy was this?  What kind of cheesy, B-grade, vampire-ninjas did Stark keep on his payroll?

Sue recovered quick, annoyed, exasperated by being unable to unable to understand.    She refocused her existing barrier, honed it with greater will -- and then shoved outward with it, in a concussive pulse, not just blocking the ninjas from the garage but slamming them backward:

Unseen rolled 11,6,5,6,2 using d12,d10,d10,d8,d6.
Field + Safety + Stunt + Protectoress + anti-reg
Total = 17; Effect = D12;  Stunt = Unseen's Invisible Ire, cost = 1 PP
2 PP left

She sought to buy time for answers. Immediately she asked of the Tallus: "What are these opponents?  Aside from ninjas, I mean! And Who is this 'Master?'" 
This message was last edited by the player at 16:06, Sun 08 Aug 2021.

I can't beat that. I'd only be rolling to keep you from upgrading to d12, and the chances are too small to be worthwhile. Take the d12. I don't think you have Area Effect normally, but with the Stunt die, I'll allow it. All of the current Ninja Hordes are degraded/upgraded to 3d6 and we're temporarily ending the combat.

The Tallus chirps: "The Hand is an international occult/paramilitary secret society founded in Japan in the late 16th century. At some point in history, they were subverted by a demonic cult worshiping an interdimensional entity known as The Beast. The identity of the Hand's ruler at this juncture is unknown following a war with The Hellfire Club and a subsequent power struggle."

Sue frowned, shook her head, "Ok, so this new ruler has ended up in the pro-reg camp, for some reason.  Even though an international occult/paramilitary  secret society would seem odd bedfellows for Stark & company.  Or would they-?" she shook her head again, realizing she was speaking more to Frank than the Tallus, and wondering if he could offer any clarity.

She said to him directly: "We've got a reprieve.  And, as much as I kind of love this warehouse, it's now ceased to be a secret base.  You're the local, and a tactics guy.  Is there any need or point in trying to hold this place?" 

Frank grunts. "Out of my wheelhouse. I don't buy this is a Stark thing, though; not their style, not his. They're after something."

"I can set the self-destruct. The Devil will hear the countdown and get out. Maybe some of the cockroaches won't."
This message was last edited by the GM at 16:55, Sun 08 Aug 2021.

"Who the hell is 'the Devil?'  Oh, right, the other hero-dude I haven't met! You know, that may not be a terrible idea;  but, I want to check with some people whose opinions I think we should consult first."   

Through the psi-link of the Tallus, Sue reached out to Gwen:

Gwen -- the warehouse came under attack by what the Tallus describes as an international occult/paramilitary secret society, known as The Hand.  Like ninjas, who turn to dust when things unexpectedly don't go to plan! Frank is pretty sure they aren't part of Stark's forces, but we've no clue who they serve.    They came here searching for something - or someone - maybe even me, I mean the Sue of this world, based on their reaction.   If you've got any insights, suggestions, I'm listening! 

She added: I put them at bay, for the moment.   But supposedly their 'master' has been notified!
This message was last edited by the player at 17:40, Sun 08 Aug 2021.

Plainly, there were now bigger fish to fry.    Much bigger...

"Tallus, please provide any available data about a 'portal to hell,' located approximately fifty feet from you brought us in last night!"

The Tallus chirps: "There is a deliberate interdimensional rupture at the location specified, providing a connection between the physical plane in this reality and the Realm of Limbo. There are currently three Legions of N'Astirh's light infantry deployed within one kilometer of this rupture.

MISSION CRITICAL!!! Mission failure is imminent."

Susan ran into the garage, opened the exterior garage door, then went to the motorcycle she'd begun the tune up on.

She got on the bike, pinning the throttle open, and hit the button she'd identified as the electric starter.  One it started up, she let go of the throttle, and asked of the Tallus:

"Plot and supply the quickest route to the rupture!  Provide any known data about N'Astirh while en route!"   Then to Frank and Venom:

"This place doesn't matter any more!  All hell's about to break loose - literally! Get a vehicle and follow me, if you want to help!"   

Sue waited just briefly to see if they would, and if the Tallus could in fact supply the route.  Otherwise, she'd have to do it from memory, or follow one of them.

The Tallus does, indeed, provide a map that will allow you to arrive in Midtown at the speed of plot.

Venom heads into the garage, still in the huge black form with the white spider on it's chest.  "Something is WRONG out there.  We can feel it."

En route, Polaris chimed in over the Tallus:

We’re on our way to you, Suzie-Q! See you in Midtown soon.