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09:17, 29th March 2024 (GMT+0)

IC Scene #3: The Mother of Invention.

Posted by The WatcherFor group 0
The Watcher
GM, 190 posts
Knows All, Sees All
Sat 5 Jun 2021
at 07:22
  • msg #1

IC Scene #3: The Mother of Invention

[The New Study Hall, Stanley School, Early September, First Day of New Semester]

"One year ago, you were young kids, grabbing your gift bags full of trinkets and geegaws.  What a difference a year makes.  Some of you fought through the Hellfire Rebellion, the Pact of Doom and the Sinister Plot.  But all of you have earned your place here over the past year.  Because of you, we have started a junior class.  We are all so proud."

"Now you are back for your second year.  I hope you have had a relaxing summer vacation.  To welcome you back, we like to offer you a new and very special gift bag.  You have earned it."

Natasha Romanoff, aka the Black Widow, finished speaking.  The X-Men Forge simply smiled tightly.  Sometimes they found the mundanities of teaching rather dull.  But tonight promised to be more exciting even if the surrounding students didn't know it yet.

The students were the returning class of the Stanley school inaugural student body.  And they relaxed about the lush, well-appointed lounge contentedly.  All were in their superhero costumes.  They had spent the day in combat training and hadn't had time to change.  Forge bit back a smile, that had been deliberate.

At the mention of gift bags, the students looked around.  Under chairs, behind tables and on high shelves the kids found each found a gift bag addressed to them specifically.  Some wondered why they hadn't noticed them before.  Still, the allure of free stuff chased most thoughts away.  The young heroes wondered just exactly what kind of gifts Iron Man, Reed Richards and Forge (just to mention a few) might have come up with.

The bag's contents were quite underwhelming however.  One most obvious item was a 'utility belt' full of useful but mundane tools (tiny Swiss-army knife, USB drive, flashlight. etc.).  There also was a palm-sized square of cloth with the word 'SERVICE' printed on it, a single playing card (an ace) and what seemed a tiny 'goldfish' cracker.  A literal gem was in the bag, set into a Stanley School class ring.

There were looks of confusion and some frank disappointment.  The youngsters were too polite to say outright how generally paltry their gifts had been.  Forge guessed what was unsaid.  "Not all tools are obvious at first.  And as for how to invent a tool or get it to work for you..."

As Forge spoke, the room began to grow dark,  walls and furniture began to crumble into dust which began to blow and obscure vision.  Forge and Romanoff began to fade away, their smiles going last like Cheshire cats.  The Black Widow finished her friend's unfinished sentence, "Well, necessity is the mother of invention..."

And then even their grins were gone, leaving only blackness and biting sand...

OOC:
OK, this is a completely optional IC thread.  You can ignore it entirely.  It will start freeform but should be rules-compliant by the end of the scene.

What is this thread all about?  Well, think of your D&D characters.  Between making the characters and cracking orc skulls, you buy equipment for your character.  In most games, equipping your character is an 'off-camera', character sheet accounting sort of thing.  But it can be more story-centric.

The '007 visits Q Branch' scene is a staple of Bond films.  And those scenes can be quite entertaining.  Now, your characters will have some equipment simply because common sense demands it.  In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the Avengers at least have their unseen communicators in common.  Gadgets won't be a big part of the game (unless gadgets are your character's schtick) but the school would equip you with some protective gear as a mercy.  And they would do this on the first day.  Thus, since gadgets have to be defined at least once, we might as well do it now.  And we might as well have some fun with it.

What does getting equipment have to with a bag full of useless knick-knacks while the world ends to the mocking laughter of two heroes?  You will find out if you are lucky and resourceful.

Here's the situation in more detail:

1.  Your characters have returned from summer vacation for their second year of school.  In the past year, they have had many adventures that will one day be told (but don't have to be now).  Speaking of which, what are the Hellfire Rebellion, the Pact of Doom and the Sinister Plot?  They are events that I needed to setup the backstory of this universe.  These stories don't need to be told right now.  Later on, you can decide if your characters were involved your first year at school.  And don't get me started on the spilling of the Infinity Chalice. ;-)

2. You have spent the day in combat practice and other superhero training.  You are in your superhero costumes which is an Unstable Molecule Suit unless you say it is not.

3. This study hall is brand new and far from the center of campus.  It is part of a larger building.

4. Tonight you are all here as one friendly group.   It shouldn't matter what team your PC is on for this scene.

5.  Before the world ends, assume you had a chance to examine and play with one item from your gift bag.  I will give this for free, the gift bag itself is well made but quite mundane.  The utility belt of useful items is exactly that.  It makes sense for your characters to have these things if they want them.  The belt is the default storage for them.  You can have whatever small, real-world item makes sense but no weapons save purely defensive ones (tactical pen, say).  You can later personalize storage options for your costume.

6.  Some of you Marvel mavens might have already kenned what is really going on here.  If so, so have your characters and they are free to express their suspicions or not to (just to see what happens next ;-) ).

As I mentioned before, this is a completely optional encounter.  You may ignore it completely and thus your PC is not here.
Or,
You may have questions you want answered before posting into this encounter.  You can ask them outright or I will likely answer them in a few days.
Or,
You might just start posting in character and see what happens.  You won't break my universe.
Or,
You might read and see what happens to the characters who players are actively posting and then decide to join in or not.

For all of the implied threat, this is actually not a critical encounter in the big scheme of things.  So I can speed up my usual posting rate.  I will try and post every even-numbered day in this scene.  It is time to see how this game might move faster if the situation allows.  Actual Moves (as in the rules term) should be enabled in a few replies or so...

Counterforce
player, 98 posts
Svetlana Kragova, 16
The Brain
Fri 18 Jun 2021
at 18:08
  • msg #2

IC Scene #3: The Mother of Invention

It really has been a wild ride of a year. At first, Svetlana found the relatively mundane side of Stanley School overwhelming – living with a roommate, trying not to needlessly antagonize her teachers, getting used to wearing a bright red skin-tight costume and the looks it drew towards her lanky yet feminine frame. Then tragedy struck. It could have been much, much worse, but it was still a wake-up call. She had become complacent, had forgotten about her mission. No more. The other concerns all seemed so frivolous, when all that mattered was becoming a better hero and moving forward with her original objective.

Counterforce was still somber and focused when she returned to the Stanley School, having spent much of her holidays working on her devices. She welcomed the combat training – it was necessary, it was a good opportunity to test her improvements, and, in retrospect, it let her blow off steam. Although still not a match for her more physically inclined schoolmates in a head-on confrontation, she had come a long way when it came to fighting. Tactics could be an interesting mental challenge in their own right – once she began to look at it that way, training immediately became more appealing.

The latest trick lesson, on the other hand, annoyed her greatly. Surely this was not the most efficient way of doing things. Svetlana accepted the gift bag, of course, following the philosophy that every little bit helps. Unlike some of the others, she was not too disappointed as she took the time to examine the objects. The belt could be handy, even if it offered her nothing new. You never know when you need a spare. The other items presumably all had some secret features to them... and the gem, of course, could come in handy in her experiments. She used what little time she was given to assess the gem’s properties with the smallest and most subtle energy projection she could make.

Then darkness fell, and rather than cry out or gasp, Svetlana emitted an exasperated sigh. So it is going to be like this. She still had some leftover energy, but it was best used sparingly on the test, so she decided to weather the dust storm for now. Instead, she stood up and clasped the utility belt around her waist, then put away the other objects. Then, she peered through the dust and listened in. Perhaps more will become clear in the next few seconds... otherwise, she would start clearing it up herself.
The Watcher
GM, 245 posts
Knows All, Sees All
Sat 19 Jun 2021
at 08:35
  • msg #3

IC Scene #3: The Mother of Invention

Svetlana had just enough time to examine the tiny ring before the world ended.  It was her class ring.  Earlier, the students had been offered a chance to order themselves a ring with some customization and personalization options.  This ring was the one Svetlana had chosen for herself.  The gem shimmered like a flickering ember.

Class rings were a staple of schooling in the US but it would seem this was no common trinket however its mundane appearance.  On her finger, it fit perfectly and then disappeared.  Her fingers were not as fooled as her eyes.  She could feel the ring was still there if no one could now see it.  At the very least, it had some of the properties of an image inducer.  And then the world crumbled to dust...

The dust cleared and revealed a completely different place.  The first impression was of being inside a great and stately home of Old Europe.   Tapestries and paintings hung on the endless walls.  Belligerent eyes stared through the dust of the artistic portraits.  There were some familiar faces under the foppish wigs and archaic clothing too over-the-top for even the traitorous Hellfire Club.

Great hallways extended forever away from the great room the young heroes were in, all just as grand and genteel as the large chamber the teens were grouped together in.  Artifacts from different cultures were scattered as indifferent decoration, the legacy of colonization so long done it was more tiresome than tragic.

"The Infinite Avengers Mansion?!" Someone whispered.  The Infinite Mansion had been severely compromised during the Sinister Plot and word was the endless tessellated plane was wounded beyond even the ability of Doctor Pym to repair.   This representation was flawless however.  Only the endless corridors belied conventional reality.  The earlier 'skin' of the Mansion had been set to a kind of open, airy structure like California's Sam Simeon.  It had been comforting and reassuring.  This new desktop theme was less welcoming.  The low lighting and mismatched décor recalled the limited set budgets of a Hammer Horror film.  This dim vista seemed to be every mansion in a horror movie all at once.

Still, if this was the Infinite Mansion, there should be a familiar face.  Jocasta, the robotic avatar of the Mansion should be nearby.  Jocasta was a calming presence, able to occupy the nearest of an infinite number of robotic avatars within the Mansion.  Where the usual sleek metallic form of Jocasta usually stood was an imposing suit of archaic armor made to a feminine contour.  Inside the face guard, two points of fire flickered softly where the normal bright red eyes of gentle Jocasta might normally be...

OOC:  Play with this twisted version of the Infinite Avengers Mansion.  Your characters will have to experiment anyway, this dark place doesn't seem to work in the same way the old and friendly version does.  Svetlana has the time to reveal what she has learned about the class ring so all characters can know what she does.  Each ring is personalized the way the character selected from a catalog a few days ago...
Mania
player, 18 posts
Andi Benton, Age 16
The Protege
Sun 20 Jun 2021
at 05:30
  • msg #4

IC Scene #3: The Mother of Invention

Sitting in amongst all the costumed teens was one who stood out. She was conspicuously out of costume, despite having just come in out of training like the others. Andi's plaid skirt and Crass shirt went better with her lip and eyebrow piercings than with the training she'd just come inside from. Even so, it was evident from the sweat that she'd definitely been out there giving her all.

Andi was doing less of that here, barely moving to check around her for the gift bag. A little black blob with white patches for eyes rose up a few inches from under her jacket to look behind her while she looked the other way, then it disappeared and reappeared out of her heavy many-buckled boot to check under the couch. A few more spindly threads of black goo sprang out like vipers, snatched the bag, and dragged it out. Andi held out a hand and the blob lifted the bag's loops onto her fingers.

It hadn't been unusual for the teachers to spring weird things on the students the prior year, so she was fully expecting something well out of the ordinary, but even that expectation wasn't enough as she looked at all the items in the bag. In particular, she held up the cracker. While the goop was now coiled around her wrist to get a look at what she was examining, Andi herself cast a glance to the two instructors.

"Seriously? One goldfish? These things come in huge bags for a reason." While incredulous, her tone came across as more bored than anything else. Also the little blob of goo formed a mouth and ate the chip while she was talking.

"Whu-- hey!" It looked up at her innocently. A moment into the staredown, the teachers and walls and furniture all started turning to dust. Andi's eyes flew wide and she flung herself off the couch toward the instructors, already covered in her living black costume by the time both feet hit the floor!

"No!" Mania turned wildly to try and get her bearings, only calming once things started taking form again. "Ugh. I hate pop quizzes."

[Took me long enough! The suit would like to examine the goldfish.]
Resonance
player, 47 posts
Xin1 Xie2 Zhen4: The Meta
Age: 13; Sheng4 Xin1
Sun 20 Jun 2021
at 07:02
  • msg #5

IC Scene #3: The Mother of Invention

Xié Zhèn examined the items, her eyes lingering in slight perplexity at the palm-sized cloth, before looking up as things began to change.

She prayed silently as the dust obscured vision, and as it fell away.

Then she regarded her surroundings with an appraising eye...

RPoL Dice Roller:
23:47, Today: Resonance rolled 10 using 2d6+3.  Scene 3: Straight. Up. Creepin'.  :).

OOC: And so, my two questions are:
(1) Who or what here is not what they seem?
(2) What's my best way in/out?

Octopus
player, 35 posts
Otto Octavius, age 15
The Brain
Mon 21 Jun 2021
at 22:57
  • msg #6

IC Scene #3: The Mother of Invention

Octopus had been resting on a couple of his metal arms that had folded themselves into a rather comfortable recliner, with one of the others spinning the flattened digits towards him like a fan. His black and green costume breathed well, thanks to the unstable molecules, but still didn't help keep him cool during combat trainings. It wasn't what he'd been expecting on his first day back, pretty clearly. When the teachers arrived to explain about the gift bags, Otto looked to them with eyebrows raised in interest, and the idle arm went about searching for it. After lifting it from its place among a few books on the shelf, the arm-chair (I know what I said) shifted to let him sit up and get a closer look at the contents.

He peered quizzically at each one, his arms idly strapping on the utility belt while he took a closer look at the playing card in particular. Even as he flipped it over to glance at each side, another arm slipped the class ring onto his finger. He took another moment to appreciate the design he'd ordered before things started disintegrating. Suddenly he was alert again, two arms grabbing hold of the ground for stability while the other two pulled up into defensive positions and peered around the room with him. He didn't react quite as outwardly as some of the other students, and instead was very clearly soaking up information as fast as he could.

[I'm preparing to Assess the Situation, but first I'd like to wait until we can share some more information about the items we've been given.]
This message was last edited by the player at 18:08, Sat 26 June 2021.
Counterforce
player, 105 posts
Svetlana Kragova, 16
The Brain
Fri 25 Jun 2021
at 06:45
  • msg #7

IC Scene #3: The Mother of Invention

Waiting turned out to be a good call. On the other hand, Svetlana could not count on that trick getting her any further than this. Though briefly disoriented by her new surroundings, the wunderkind snapped back to reality when she heard the mansion’s name. That... explained nothing, but it was a start...

After doing a quick mental count of her schoolmates and giving the sinister suit of armour a wary glance, Svetlana returned her attention to the invisible ring. She had an idea, but first, assuming anti-Jocasta wasn’t about to attack them, there was something she wished to test out. The girl fiddled with the ring, trying to figure out the control scheme. Could she make it visible again? Could she make herself invisible, or look different? Could she, perhaps... create a larger illusion?

OOC: I'll share once I have more of an idea of what I actually have... probably. Right now it's not enough to go on. I understand something is about to happen anyway, which may or may not preempt Svetlana's test.

Editted to remove the last part (which wasn't responded to as far as I can tell - fair enough, it was trying to do too much in one post) and make the rest flow better into the GM's post. I'll test out other theories later.

This message was last edited by the player at 18:46, Sat 26 June 2021.
Jubilee
player, 36 posts
Sat 26 Jun 2021
at 06:39
  • msg #8

IC Scene #3: The Mother of Invention

Jubilee had lowered her pink sunglasses to protect herself from the dust. Her yellow raincoat made her stand out in almost any situation, this included. She studied one of the portraits on the wall. "Oh no, somebody stole all the fashion sense from the world" she joked, before following it with a more serious "Be careful, everyone. We'll be lucky if nothing big and nasty jups out at us."
This message was last edited by the player at 06:31, Sat 10 July 2021.
The Watcher
GM, 261 posts
Knows All, Sees All
Sat 26 Jun 2021
at 08:43
  • msg #9

IC Scene #3: The Mother of Invention

As Svetlana played  with her 'invisible' ring, tiny lasers shot forward from it and struck her nearby team mates.  It would have been horrific but the beams didn't seem to damage the others.  Instead, the lasers rapidly moved from side-to-side and then up-to-down.  As they did so. Svetlana began to visibly change becoming strange combinations of herself and her fellows.  None of these combinations were convincing or impressive and soon a holographic message floated above her ring, "BUFFERING ERROR."  The strange laser spray and distortions to Svetlana's appearance faded away.  The ring became visible on her finger again, the gem now dull and inert.  Wishing she was somewhere else or telling herself she was didn't change the miserable situation.

Before Andi could stop Mania, the symbiote had begun to swallow the tiny goldfish.  The alien lifeform perhaps couldn't be blamed, it really did look like one of those popular little crackers.  The outside of the goldfish was shapeable and soft, like Unstable Molecule Fabric (it was probably best not to ask how Mania knew this).  Underneath was fine circuitry.  The tiny fish was actually trying to speak.  It managed to get out the word 'polotence' before it crackled into silence.  The word had been accented and the word did sound Russian, so perhaps its utterance was best expressed as 'полотенце'.

Octopus soon got his ring to work at least as well as Svetlana's by paying close to her example.  If these items were technological, the interfaces seemed to be almost deliberately obscure.

As Jubilee tried to make sense of the situation, her eyes fell on one of the paintings.  It was of an aristocratic red-headed woman in a grand dress of a style a century gone.  Black and red were woven into the fabric of the dress like webbing.  Underneath all of the dust, she could have sworn the painted figure winked at her and still kept that Mona Lisa smile...

OOC:  Y'all are doing good.  And freely assume you have time to share and compare what you have learned.  So, if one of you learns something, the others should to.  Go ahead and play with your toys, guys.  Do what you would physically do with such items.  If you are in doubt, do what a toddler would do with them.  They are meant to be intuitive.   Or you can use Moves.  This will be how you will learn what you need.  But don't feel bad if you don't guess.  It is like Family Feud, so many good answers from a single question.  Next round of posts, the 'challenge' begins to awaken.
This message was last edited by the GM at 08:47, Sat 26 June 2021.
Resonance
player, 51 posts
Xin1 Xie2 Zhen4: The Meta
Age: 13; Sheng4 Xin1
Sat 26 Jun 2021
at 15:04
  • msg #10

Re: IC Scene #3: The Mother of Invention

PM
Mania
player, 22 posts
Andi Benton, Age 16
The Protege
Sun 27 Jun 2021
at 05:53
  • msg #11

Re: IC Scene #3: The Mother of Invention

Something had Andi's attention just after the world dissolved, and the symbiote spat out the cracker into her hand, uncrunched. She looked down at it quizzically for a moment before her attention shifted again. Mania's mouthless face grew an extra-wide toothy grin as she turned to face Jubilee.

"We'll be lucky if it does. It, not so much." As quickly as it showed up, the mouth vanished back into the black, and Mania turned to Counterforce. "Hey, I don't want to sound crazy, but we're super powered teenagers and I'm wearing an alien as a second skin and also we're in a magic house of infinite reality, so bear with me. Did you hear your goldfish cracker talk to you? Mine said polo, uh, poloto? No. . . . Thank you, 'polotence'. Its accent sounded like it might be your jam." Meanwhile, the suit itself looked over the room, able to see from any part of it. The eyes were just to let people know where Andi's face was.

[22:50, Today: Mania rolled 13 using 2d6+2.  Assess the Situation, +Superior.

That's 13 to Assess, and Be Mindful Of Your Surroundings lets me ask one extra question. That's three total, so here they go:

* what here can I use to identify this goldfish?
* what here is the biggest threat?
* what here is in the greatest danger?
* how could we best end this quickly?]

Counterforce
player, 106 posts
Svetlana Kragova, 16
The Brain
Sun 27 Jun 2021
at 10:59
  • msg #12

Re: IC Scene #3: The Mother of Invention

Svetlana tensed up instinctively when the lasers shot out of her ring, but soon reassured herself that it was fine. Not only were the others visibly unhurt, but it still seemed unlikely that they would be given something that would be so effortlessly dangerous. The changes in her own appearance were a bit disquieting, but she did not have much time to feel uncomfortable in any case. Soon it was all over.

“The ring is a mimic device,” she mused aloud in English. Recharging it was probably not beyond her, but at present there seemed to be little point to that.

Mania appeared next to her while the young scientist pondered this. Her lip quirked slightly at the mention of superpowers; then again, if she remembered correctly, that girl’s ‘superpower’ was her costume, so arguably they were on similar footing. “Towel?” she translated, a bit perplexed. “Hmm.” The Russian reached into her utility belt to retrieve her own ‘cracker’. Did it say anything?
The Watcher
GM, 264 posts
Knows All, Sees All
Thu 1 Jul 2021
at 07:22
  • msg #13

Re: IC Scene #3: The Mother of Invention

Can't get the Private function to work but for Resonance.
1. You feel as if you are in some kind of illusion.  It seems as though your fellow team mates are real but everything else is questionable.  Jocasta seems a more sinister version of her usual self.
2. If this is an illusion, then it has the logic of a dream.  There is a truth you must realize or puzzle you must solve to escape.
3.  You believe the palm-sized cloth is of the same material as your Unstable Molecule Fabric. It does adhere slightly to your uniform but can be unstuck and stuck again (like a post-it note).


Mania is wonderfully creepy ;-)
1. Andi notices the goldfish should be louder than it is, the tech needed isn't that complicated.  Leaning closer, she can barely hear it whisper, "<the znayesh, gde tvoe polotence?>"
2. The biggest threat and danger is whatever is thinking up the illusion and what it wants.  Likely it could kill you more efficiently than it might be so your destruction is not its IMMEDIATE aim at least.
3. Finding out the surreal logic behind this dream is the best way out of it.


Svetlana listened to her own goldfish, knowing that "<the znayesh, gde tvoe polotence?>" meant "Do you know where your towel is?" in her native Russian.  And then the goldfish crawled into her ear.  It was due to undulations on the goldfish's UMF exterior that let the fish move the tiny gap that remained.

Once inside Svetlana's ear canal, the UMF skin of the goldfish shaped to fit it precisely.  And then Svetlana heard a voice at a comfortable volume.  "Hey there, hoopy frood, your babelfish earpiece is ready to go.  Don't panic!"  All the other fish worn or held by other team mates repeated the same words.

"Hm." said Jocasta.  "it looks like you can figure out simple technology. But let's give you a real challenge.  <b>En garde!"</b>  And with that Jocasta brandished her now glowing halberd and began to attack...

OOC:
A tiny worn hole has appeared in the fabric covering Resonance's knee, as might happen on a pair of cheap jeans.  But UMF costumes are anything but cheap or jeans. The hole is slightly smaller than the patch of fabric you were given.

Svetlana's ring has returned to normal functioning and it has revealed a basic function of the ring.  It can absorb the appearance of another given time and care.  It looks like there is just enough memory in the ring to copy only one form at a time.  Quick movement will destroy the illusion and great differences between real and apparent forms will make themselves known in time.

The earpiece is a very tiny communicator, like the ones used in the Avengers and Iron Man movies.  Some nerds on the design committee were inspired by the babelfish from Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy".  Once placed in the ear or very near it, it allows audio communication with other similarly-placed earpieces.

Jocasta will attack one character in my next reply.  Other characters can attack Jocasta back.  For this thread, you may use Moves or just plain guess and experiment to progress.  Future threads should be fully rules-compliant.

Octopus
player, 38 posts
Otto Octavius, age 15
The Brain
Mon 5 Jul 2021
at 07:26
  • msg #14

Re: IC Scene #3: The Mother of Invention



Octopus had been very wary of the room's sudden shift, observing the other students' reactions and tests to absorb whatever they could discern while still fiddling with the playing card. He flipped it over, touched the face and the back, gave it a gentle bend on three axes, examined it for any subtle changes, all while two of his metal arms reached out to test the walls for solidity. The school was full of both hologrammatic and teleportation technology, and he needed to determine which they'd just been subjected to.

When Jocasta appeared, clearly a hostile element of the test, Otto's focus turned to her entirely.

"Ah, Frau Jocasta, a pleasure to see you. Will you be testing us in combat, then? You may find us tricky, since we just warmed up, ja?" The card went into a pocket of the utility belt, and Otto's arms both stabilized and shielded him in his fighting stance. "Come, let's find out who tests who." As much as it was unlike him to literally ask for it, it was a very Octavius way to go about the challenge.

[I'm Provoking Jocasta into coming at me unprepared. While likely not a very good move, it'll give us a chance to figure out what's going on, read her behavior and Pierce Her Mask later, and give myself some tactical insight by determining how she goes about her assault. Here goes!

00:24, Today: Octopus rolled 8 using 2d6+3 ((4,1)).

That's an 8, so Jocasta can choose one:
* they stumble: you take +1 forward against them
* they err: you gain a critical opportunity
* they overreact: you gain Influence over them

Important question, are those of us who are here going into this as a Team? If so, how much Team should we have and who would we call the Leader here? It's important for some of my Brain Moves.]

Mania
player, 31 posts
Andi Benton, Age 16
The Protege
Mon 5 Jul 2021
at 07:30
  • msg #15

Re: IC Scene #3: The Mother of Invention

Mania's attention, as expected, turned to Jocasta as soon as the robotic woman made her presence known. On announcing hostile intent, the punk girl stepped backwards to the wall and faded away into the shadows. The white marks on her hands disappeared, followed by the Venom symbol on her torso turning as black as the rest of her costume, with the white eyes going last. Once camouflaged with the wall behind her, Andi pressed her fingertips and boots to it and began making her way toward the ceiling, keeping eyes on the enemy.
Resonance
player, 63 posts
Xin1 Xie2 Zhen4: Age 13
Sheng4 Xin1: The Beacon
Tue 6 Jul 2021
at 06:38
  • msg #16

Re: IC Scene #3: The Mother of Invention

The younger girl placed her cloth over the hole on the knee of her costume, and put her own babelfish into her ear.

"It feels to me like we are in some kind of illusion."

"We students are real, but everything else is questionable."

"I think we may need to figure out the dream logic of the illusion to escape."

"I will try to find the source..."


She then stretched her telepathic senses outward, seeking any other non-illusionary thought sources, beyond those of the students present...
Counterforce
player, 110 posts
Svetlana Kragova, 16
The Brain
Tue 6 Jul 2021
at 20:32
  • msg #17

Re: IC Scene #3: The Mother of Invention

Well, that was... quaint. Svetlana was about to proceed with her planned investigation of the mansion when Jocasta began her onslaught. The tinkerer backed away... but not very far; if the robot came after her, she needed room to defend herself, but if it came after anyone else, they might just require shielding. For the moment, though, Svetlana’s first priority was observing and analyzing Jocasta’s behaviour. This situation was surely not a simple combat test – but what was it, and what was the robot’s role in it?

OOC: Going to try and Pierce the Mask.

01:31, Today: Counterforce rolled 6 using 2d6-1 ((3,4)).

Ah, well. Robots are not necessarily any easier to read than people. Going to chalk up a Potential, then.

Jubilee
player, 42 posts
Sat 10 Jul 2021
at 07:26
  • msg #18

Re: IC Scene #3: The Mother of Invention

Jubilee watched the portrait wink at her. "Mind games, they always make my head hurt. Well, I'm not wearing Jean's hellfire outfit. I have my pride." she said. But her mind was whirling; there had to be a trick to this, there always was. "Try the pictures" she suggested to Resonance. "Something's not right about them."

"Back off, shiny!" Jubilee snapped at Jocasta. "Play lumberjack on somebody else's time. Didn't your momma tell you not to play with sharp things?" Jubilee raised her hand and shot a couple of her signature fireworks to disorient the attacking bot and her sensors.

"Get some space from her" she shouted as thought she were the leader, with all the authority of her lofty 14 years.

OOC: Trying to protect Jocasta's target.
00:26, Today: Jubilee rolled 6 using 2d6+2.  Protect someone.

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