Secretly giggling about their secret plan (which made it not that secret in a way that young teens didn't always get), Sally and Vanessa headed to the Study Hall to hang out with and impress the older kids.  They also wanted to thank their new friends and mentors.  This afternoon could have turned out much worse had it not been for the older heroes.

There was a quick detour, though.  Back in their dorm, the young ladies changed into whatever normal clothes they thought would be best for partying.
"Hey." Sally said.  "Someone else is here."  One of the other beds had the sheet pulled down slightly indicating that it had been slept in.  There were non-descript decorations of New York City in general, a picture of two young children (obviously related and somehow familiar) and a Van Dyne fashion catalog (one of the old paper ones, not an online version.  "Bed's warm.  <b>Just slept in."</b>  Vanessa said, perplexed.  They hadn't seen anyone but the building didn't really offer hiding spaces.

"Must be our new member."  Sally said.  "Guess they will miss out on going out."   The two girls left for the Study Hall.  In the seemingly vacant room, a giggle penetrated the emptiness.  A zipper on one of the new duffle bags on the cooling bed perked up and drug itself open.  Vials of makeup, black, red and white floated out of the bag.  "Amateurs."  A voice said.

A quick internet search showed that there was another high school in town, Norman High.  Norman High was a public school.  Another school, the Scion Academy, was a private school a little further away.  To Jen's knowledge, these were schools for 'normal' kids.  Normal.  What an unappreciated word.  There was a football game at Norman High tonight.  The Scion students, too small to field a football team of their own, were invited to play or otherwise participate in the experience.  A few entertainment venues for teens were open tonight, games were their bread and butter.  The social media organs were awash in videos and photos of lovely cheerleaders and handsome players, particularly the Scion students.

Sally and Vanessa entered the Study Hall, laughing and offering hugs to their new friends.  Vanessa's pendant flared with each hug, straining to surpress the power in her cells.  They began to chatter a mile a minute to Xie Zhen and Andi.  Vanessa whispered a heartfelt 'sorry' to Jen.

Sometimes, even a teen wanted to stay in and Jubilee was trying to sell the Tom Selleck movie.  The movie began.  Perhaps a few minutes would convince her buddies.  Tom strolled across the Outback, then winked at Jubilee and said, "Go out with your friends, you wallflower, it will be a bigger adventure than you know, X-Baby."

OOC:
Hopefully, the colors between Sally and Vanessa will be easier to tell apart.

Jubilee was staring at the big TV screen when Selleck suggested she go out.  If others roll well, they may have been looking there at the same time.  The movie is now progressing exactly as you would expect with the characters seeming to have no meta knowledge of the teens watching.  Did Jubilee imagine this?

Your characters may now make a Move if they wish.  They can Assess the Situation or Pierce the Mask (a slight spoiler that this mystery has an intelligence behind it).  Other Moves may apply as you see fit.  Something is up.  Slight spoiler:  It isn't a Danger Room scenario, I have done that already.

E'Llar stood behind the couch in human form, leaning forward to watch over Jennifer's shoulder. A small piece of the pizza was still in the Skrull’s hand, as she savoured the taste. If there was one thing those Earthlings got right, it was food. I’ll have to tell the Empress to spare Earth’s pizza chefs. If she is ever smart enough to ask me…

The TV, on the other hand, interested her not at all. Such primitive technology – and human actors pretending to be someone else was just pathetic. They may as well not try. Not that their quaint little games and dances were that much more intriguing to a daughter of Skrullos. However, while she may not say so out loud, ‘crashing’ one was obviously the superior option at their disposal. That was why she watched the screen of Jennifer’s communication device so keenly. Like an indecisive human teenager shifting from one foot to another, the Skrull effortlessly went through the shapes of different cheerleaders and players, keeping only her pizza and a frown. None of them were quite it.

She finally finished the pizza but was no closer to deciding on her ‘outfit’ when two younger humans strolled in. It took her a moment to realise what they were. Switching back to the well-worn form of a skinny white girl with black hair, E’Llar grinned and waved at Vanessa and Sally. “You must be the young ones who caused such a stir!” the Skrull said, a little teasingly. Not that the delinquent of two worlds disapproved, of course. Then again, she was a little fuzzy about the details. No matter. “Care to join us on our venture?” she asked, nodding towards Jennifer in oblique support of the latter’s plan.

Andi glanced in the general direction of the infirmary (or more accurately, a random direction that was meant to imply the infirmary) at Resonance's question.

"The new kids? I heard they started a fight, then exploded in front of the school. You sure they're okay to come with us?" The facts of the morning had reached her, but not before being warped by the telling.



At first judgmental of the very idea, Andi's protest was replaced by curiosity as Jubilee explained.

"Who's Tom Selleck?"



Andi turned to Xie Zhen again and thumbed to Jennifer with a grin.

"See, that's more what I'm talking about. Find party, crash party, maybe find some boys our parents wouldn't approve of, all that. Or girls, not here to judge. Hey Jubes, you up for a night out, or is the TV your party place?"



The arrival of the new kids and Sasha got Andi's attention, though she became much quieter as they arrived. Her greeting was a single wave, and the hugs were pretty awkward. While E'Llar smoothly introduced herself to them, Andi gave Xie Zhen a little nudge and gestured.

"Hey, you wanted to invite them, too. Now's a good time, right?"

Like eager young puppies finally hunting with the pack, Sally and Vanessa happily accepted E'lar's inivitation before they even knew what the invitation was for.  "Sure!" They said almost in unison.

Outside, an unseen figure watched through the windows with some skill in reading lips.   The context of the teen's enthusiasm was not that hard to read, they had not yet learned an adult's subtlety.  "Should be studying.  Probably grounded by the morning."  A voice whispered to itself with more sympathy than the speaker intended...

OOC:  Just a little text while (I believe) other characters might show up.  I am enjoying your interplay...

"He's an actor. Used to be Magnum PI" Jubilee responded to Mania.

Jubilee was so shocked she fell off the couch. "No way did that just happen!" She got up and dusted herself off. "Did anyone else see that?" If they hadn't, then she was going to say she hadn't either. Maybe she'd been studying too hard. No, that didn't seem like her.

When Sasha came in with Vanessa and Sally, she happily introduced them to the group to begin the mingling. Once that got started, she held back to give them some space, which also meant she could stop the buzzing feeling in the side of her that had been close to Vanessa's pendant. Instead, she headed over to Jubilee and the others on the couch.



"Are we talking about Tom Selleck? Did you know he was in one of my movies? Great guy. Oh! It's Quigley! Good call." Sasha's attention was taken by the movie along with Jubilee, though she did look away long enough to look to Jennifer.

"Hey, has anyone seen the guys?"



She quickly turned back to her teammate. "What? What happened? Did I miss the good bit?"

Hijinks was a great tribute to mediocrity.  It was one of those odd restaurants with odder artifacts hung on the wall between ferns that were either plastic or dying.  The menu was full of average choices at average prices, forever in-between possible choices for eateries.

In as many booths as it took to hold them, the Stanley students startled slightly as if in a daydream.  The slick menus (with helpful pictures of the food where the text description seemed uninspired) held limply in their hands almost as an afterthought.

The professionally chipper young woman in her flair-bearing outfit clamped out a forced smile at the thought of student-sized appetites and student-sized tips.  "Hi, Welcome to Hijinks!  I'm Macduff and I will be your meal enabler today."

Around the brass-piping and faux-wood accents, students from both Norman High and and the Scion Academy were mingling and looking curiously at the distracted newcomers...

OOC:

OK, what just happened?!  One minute you were at the Stanley Study Hall and now you are at the chain restaurant from Hell.  Here is what you characters either know or can guess.   Hijinks does (sadly) exist as a chain and one of their establishments is in the rough center of traffic between the three schools.  This particular Hijinks knows that students, staff and family are its white-bread and butter-spread.  And game night is profitable for the house and murder on the staff.

Macduff is a young woman whose parents apparently were late to the naming your newborn daughter with a Scottish surname trend and it seems all of the Duncans and Mackenzies were taken.  Your characters could have met her before.

Being at Hijinks during Game Night would not be out of character for your characters necessarily.  You might have done it before.  The hard part is not remembering deciding to actually go to Hijinks and actually making the journey.  The best real-world experience I can think of is driving somewhere and not remembering the journey at all (a kind of real and light hypnosis).

It is usually very gauche for a GM to suddenly assume your character's choice and then abruptly jump cut to a new scene but there is a strange force working its will behind the scenes.   Your characters are as free to notice and wonder about this strange discontinuity if they will.  Two assumptions may occur to them.

1.  If this is a kind of mind control or illusion, it is not that strong to have to be so deceptive.  True mind control would simply force you to obey and/or not even question commands.
2. This can't be a danger room scenario.  The Danger Room can fool you senses but can't play with your mental states as seems to have just happened.

It is true some Moves may help you with this strange conundrum but your own brains will do better.   Puzzles shouldn't be solved with dice alone.  Experiment, question, interact.  Let's see what happens....

E’Llar blinked and looked around, then looked at her hands. For a fleeting moment, a keen observer might detect something at odds with the image of a bored, affluent human teenager that she still wore. Her eyes were alert, like those of an animal vaguely aware of the presence of a predator or prey without quite finding it right away. Though it was only a subtle shift in her posture, her body was ready to swing into action. By the next moment, she relaxed, as the same training that prepared her for combat also reminded her to maintain appearances.

Still surrounded by humans, still look like the same one, was I on Earth drugs? If so, looks like the others were as well… She smiled back at the servant, about as sincerely in intent but with a much more authentic execution. “Can you recommend me something with some meat?” she asked. She was going to figure this out, of course. First, though - never let anyone think you are at a loss.

"I think that I'm going to need some more time to decide," Jen politely told their server after lowering the menu and turning her head to make eye contact.  Even though she was already semi-familiar with the menu, this was not a case of indecisiveness.  The loss of appetite seemed to accompany her loss of memory.

"Did I... 'go green' before we came here?" she whispered as best as she could over the ambient noise to the others seated around the table after Macdufff had left to take care of any of the requests that the others had made.  The missing memory was a legitimate concern for her.  The She-Hulk was like another side of her personality.  Even though the She-Hulk behaved in a different manner than Jennifer did in many cases, some part of Jennifer was always still there.  If the She-Hulk had become completely independent and was doing things that Jennifer didn't even know about, that was a terrifying idea.

Was there an incident at the football game?  Did they have to get me out of there before I caused some trouble and we ended up here afterwards? Jen wondered.

Andi and the symbiote were visibly startled, coming to with a jump and wide eyes looking around the restaurant. The symbiote armored her clothes, opting not to let itself become visible until the threat became obvious. When Jennifer leaned in to ask about her own blackout, Andi shook her head, still looking around.

"No? I think? Do you remember leaving the couch?" She didn't answer Macduff, too busy trying to get her bearings.
This message was lightly edited by the player at 08:43, Wed 25 Aug 2021.

Macduff sighed inwardly at E'lar's question, another special-diet customer.  And, truth to tell, much of Hijinks' meat was more 'meat-evocative' rather than completely genuine.  "Uh, it certainly tastes like meat, once you get under the strong sauce and spicy peppers."

Jen's image inducer had caught on to her agitation, slightly accelerated heartrate and blood pressure, slight tightness on the class ring as her finger greened and swelled slightly.  It was programmed to be a little overprotective.  For all of Copycat's misplaced imitation of the young She-Hulk, the real thing could cause true damage if she ever lost her temper.  Calculating that its owner would grow if she changed, the inducer began to search its database for real-world 'configurations' that claimed more personal space.  Slowly and subtly, the inducer began to give Jen an old-fashioned beehive hairdo and poodle skirt.

Mania and Andi had an internal discussion, neither remembered the specifics of their sudden arrival here.  The symbiote did not like any loss of control and the armored clothing grew slight spines and claws that came and went like a nervous cat flexing its claws.  The image inducer was able to maintain composure for now.

Looking around for an explanation, the students saw another group of Scion Academy students giggling and snickering at their confusion.  It was if the other strangers were sharing an inside joke the Stanley students were outside of...

OOC:
I'm not sure if Jen is green or not so I leave the choice to her.  The image inducer has covered up any revelation up to now.  It can fail or succeed as needed.  The image inducers are meant to be fallible at times (so that the Janus and Transformed still earn their playbook) and also comic relief.  It can malfunction or not as Jen wishes.

The Scion Academy students are falling into that villain trope or springing their surprise too early.  It is obvious they know something about what is happening and are enjoying your PC's discomfort.

The Scion kids are a (currently) non-descript bunch of young cosmopolitan men and women.  However, one young woman is playing with a deck of Tarot cards and another has purplish hair and slit cat-like pupils.  Marvel mavens may already ken who these rotters are.  If you can figure it out, YOUR character paid attention during mission briefings (it was a dull course, Vision taught it).  And you will get an advantage.

Otherwise, you all can make a Move (which could be trying to divine more about these bounders or your situation).  Let's see what happens.

"No.  You don't remember coming here either?" Jen asked, her green eyes growing wider with surprise behind her glasses.

"I know that we were talking about going to the game, but what happened after that?"

Jennifer glanced away from the table upon hearing the laughter from another group of students.  It was a survival mechanism learned from being a former public school student who automatically had two strikes against her socially for being intellectual and for being the sheriff's daughter, which therefore made her more likely to be the target of some form of harassment.

OOC: I guess it's Assess The Situation
22:34, Today: She-Hulk rolled 6 using 2d6.  Assess The Situation, +Superior.

These jokers seemed familiar.  Often thought to be just brawn, Jen had tried hard academically and remembered something from the Known Threats class.

These were likely the Hellions, the young students of the Hellfire Club.  The Hellfire Club were a group of powerful individuals, mostly mutants, who didn't want to take over the world but simply wanted to exploit it from behind the scenes.  They were the very definition of privileged hedonists.

At least Jen thought she recognized two of the Hellions.  The young woman playing with the Tarot deck was actually called Tarot.  She could call up superpowered and tangible representations of the Tarot cards.  She did not have as much control as she would have liked, luck of the draw.

The purple-haired young woman was likely Catseye.  She wasn't a young girl who turned into a pink panther, she was a pink panther who turned into a young girl.  She had spent most of her childhood as a beast and her mutation activated during the cat's adolescence turning Catseye back into human.  She had only been civilized about a year or so.

OOC:  Actually, I welcome players doing the research.  Go ahead and use the internet, folks.  It makes this game more interactive.

There have been several versions of the Hellions before they eventually moved to the X-Men.  I am using the original team but if there are some of the later Hellions that intrigue you, let me know and they can be there.

Thanks to player Jen for being so aware.  You may assume that Jen can share this revelation to her friends and they can remember having had their memory jogged.  So whatever you can research on the internet is what your characters remember about this group.  The Hellions may not expect you to be this informed.

In this game, the Hellfire Club tried to take over the Stanley School not long after your Open Campus Day one game year ago.  They failed utterly and have gone underground.  Perhaps they want vengeance.

In this continuity, the White Queen has not yet left the Hellfire Club for the X-Men and the side of good.  But Professor X has hinted that she is regretting the criminal lifestyle she has chosen for herself and her students.  Emma Frost does not seem to be with the group of Hellions.  Perhaps they are playing hooky as well.

One of the Hellions, Empath, is a nasty piece of work and might have the power to 'cloud' the PC's mind as has seemed to happen.

https://comicvine.gamespot.com/hellions/4060-3199/

Andi took only the briefest of moments to think before she and the symbiote were already on their way up over the back of the booth she shared with Jennifer and out onto the floor. Still dressed for a night out, the emo kid simply ambled right up to the Scions' table and slapped her hands down on it, greeting the group with a smirk.

"'Sup? Quite a game tonight, huh? We done playing around?"

[Provoking Someone! I want them to own up and back off, or else move a step in that direction.

22:26, Today: Mania rolled 6 using 2d6+2.  Provoke Someone, +Superior.

Anyone wanna toss a Team my way before something terrible happens? XD]
This message was lightly edited by the player at 01:01, Thu 02 Sept 2021.

Jubilee shrugged. "Finding yourself in new places is just part of the lifestyle. When I was with the X-Men, once I ended up teleported alone to Japan at the end of a mission. It would have been okay except I got arrested by Wolverine's motorcycle hadn't gone through customs."

"Hellions" she whispered to the others. "We've crossed paths. A bunch of lame-os. We can... oh. Oh, we're doing it this way."

Sasha leaned toward Jubilee to respond, keeping just as quiet while not letting the Scion kids out of sight.

"If they try to pull more mental whammy stuff, I don't have a lot of ways around it. And if we start something here, I'm liable to break some innocent people. Think you can get control of the situation if it comes to that?"

Jubilee was rapidly explaining previous encounters with the Hellions but Andi was even more rapidly about to do her own research.  Sometimes one has to break a few eggs.  She moved towards the unknowing future omelette of Hellions.  Her slapping the table startled the Hellions despite themselves.

"Oui!  You owe me a franc, Roulette."  Tarot said demurely, having just drawn the Major Arcana of Strength.  "They did detect us."  The bleached blonde Tarot was referring to sneered at her and replied, "They just got lucky, you spineless crepe.  I will show them what lucky is."  Two of the Hellion boys, likely Thunderbird and Jetstream high-fived each other and laughed.  Too macho for actual respect, they regarded Andi with a kind of surprised regard.  Perhaps it was a backward complement.

"Buggy girl brave and bold, maybe cat inside like us."  Catseye said, looking at Andi as if she was a pretty toy or perhaps a mouse worth the chase.  "Such passion, Chica."  The mocking voice of Empath rattled Andi, perhaps bringing a blush to her cheeks.

Sasha and Jubilee noticed the confrontation.  Andi had done well.  The Hellions were now revealed.  But this was no place for a conflict, too many ordinary and unknowing people were nearby.

Through the windows, it was possible to notice a young mime setting up her act.  But such a trivial occurrence was easily overlooked as the two rival young super teams began to deal with each other...

OOC:
As the Hellions interact, it will become obvious that very little holds them together but competitiveness and the chance to be even worse to other people.

Catseye's dialogue is charming in the comics but I'm not Chris Claremont.  I will do the best I can.

Empath is a horrid little manipulator of emotions.  Readers of the New Mutants can remember just how awful he can be with his power.  It is not something I want to force on my players.  You may choose to role-play Empath's influence on your characters if you wish.  Why would anyone willing put their character through such discomfort and vulnerability?  Because the answer is the same through all stories.  It is the only way characters can grow, from stress and overcoming despair.

I forgot to mention last post, that by correctly identifying the Hellions for who they are, you get a +1 to Moves concerning them.    I have factored that +1 into Andi's provocation in her last reply.  And with that, you have provoked them at least to the 7-9 level (I couldn't find Mania's Superior rating).  At the very least, something will happen in your team's favor.

And speaking of Team, you have a Team Pool of three currently (the base two and you have the same general purpose, stop the Hellions).  If the PLAYERS can agree on a leader PC and give them Influence, you may add another Team to the pool.  To my mind, when the chips are down, people gravitate to a natural leader regardless of what might have been decided before.

You believe that the Hellions could be a lot more destructive and Empath even more controlling than you have perceived.  This does imply the Hellions are limited in some way you don't yet know.  Certainly they aren't going to make it easy for you to find out...

E’Llar was annoyed.  The symbiote-wielding human had beaten her to the punch. Then again, perhaps it was for the best. Bravery was good, but Skrulls fought with guile as well as courage. If... Andee? ...set them off into rash action, that would leave the group wide open to an attack.

“Come back later,” she told the servant, then turned to Jubilee and Ricochet. “I could scare everyone out easy,” she barely lowered her voice. “What was your idea?” The Skrull was, however, already thinking of her own approach. She could work theirs in easily if she happened to like it.

OOC: Going to try and Assess the Situation. Presumably the bonus applies.

12:41, Today: Exemplar rolled 11 using 2d6+3.  Assessing the Situation, +Superior(+1?).

Though it looks like I get 10+ either way. Hmm...

Who here is most vulnerable to me?

What here can I use to get the drop on the Hellions?

Andi shook her head at the girls' bickering, now leaning on the table with both hands.

"Oh honey, luck had nothing to do with it. You gave yourselves away the second we spotted your faces. You've got no finesse, didn't even think to play it cool." To Catseye, "You're not gonna like what I am inside."

At which point she moved to lean in towards Empath demurely.

"If it's passion you like, you're gonna love me." The sly grin turned manic. "How about we find someplace a little more private and I can show you what I mean."

[Provoke Someone part two! Now that I've got their focus, and hopefully the others have a clear opportunity to get doing whatever they plan to do without the Hellions noticing them, I'm gonna try and convince them to get away from the bystanders.

And don't worry about my Superior trait, boss. My +2 was already calculated in the roll, so the +1 you gave me brought my 6 up to a 7. I'm gonna roll with it again, as indicated.

14:09, Today: Mania rolled 9 using 2d6+3.  Provoke Someone, +Superior +1.

Partial hit!]

"Yeah, sure" Jubilee said to Richochet with confidence. "I don't think scaring them is the best idea. Who are the others going to blame for the trouble when it's all over, the high-class hellions or the band of mutants, aliens and such?" Being a mutant meant having to worry about these things.

"I think that we should just get up and leave," Jen recommended.  "There's nothing to be gained in getting involved in a turf war over a Hijinks of all places, no matter how good their wings are supposed to be."

"I don't even remember us deciding to come here in the first place," she grumbled as she kept a cautious eye on Andi who was taking a more direct approach.

Sasha took her eyes off the Hellions to be more present in the table's conversation.

"Jubilee's right, E'Llar. There's no way this plays out well for us, especially if we let ourselves get aggressive. Like Andi. Jen, can you go let your friend know we're moving on?" With that, she stood from the table and turned to find MacDuff.

"I'm so sorry for the trouble, but we've been reminded we have other places to be right now. We'll come back another time."

E'lar studied the antagonistic humans, gauging them as only a shapeshifter could.  To imitate humans, you needed to know how to act more like them than them.  And she could tell that these strangers were rivals to each other, encourage to compete against each other when they weren't competing against others.  They would fight each other if there was no others less to fight.

The strange cat girl and the shy one with the Tarot cards were the ones least interested in shows of bravado.  They could be depended on to leave or retreat if the right 'nudge' in that direction could be found.

MacDuff the server was about to protest being dismissed.  After all, there were several more specials to be discussed before she provided exceptional service (at least as far as secret shoppers were concerned).  But there was something in E'lar's voice that sent the other girl to the far side of the salad bar.

Empath was wary.  Was this scrumptious delight truly under his power or not?  He assented to Andi's suggestion of being out of this crowded place.  His team mates seemed initially hesitant.  But upon second thought, it seemed, each agreed to the idea with an eerie coordination.

Jubille, Jen and Richochet all also followed the Hellions out.  The three were quite resolute that no innocents be hurt in whatever 'hijinks' were about to happen.  MacDuff squeaked out a 'Come back again, we've got pumpkin spice.' as they left.

A patch of the parking lot was empty enough of cars and pedestrians for a discussion or a rumble as needed.   The young mime was the nearest bystander, doing a tired 'trapped in a box' cliched routine.

"OK," Thunderbird said, "now that the fragile norms are out of the way, let's see who's the cooler school."   And they attacked...

OOC:
1.  The Hellions, perhaps surprisingly, would just leave the restaurant without incident.  This denies them hostages and human shields which they have used before.  But they seem...circumspect.  It is almost as if they are trying to please someone else you can't see.

2. That said, they are now each to trying to attack you.  You don't get the idea that they are out to truly damage you.  But their motive seems unfathomable.  The Hellions aren't cowards but they are selfish enough not to fight for real gain, certainly something more than macho bragging rights.

These are the classic Hellions, the first team.  That is; Catseye, Empath, Jetstream, Roulette, Tarot and Thunderbird.  Read about them here
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hellions_(Marvel_Comics)#Hellions_(Massachusetts_Academy)

Your characters may act against their attack with a single Move (at +1 as you now remember your briefing on the Hellions and their weaknesses).  Anyone who makes a Defend Move will be considered to be the most effective defender they could be (GM's honor).  In short, they will defend the most vulnerable against the most powerful.  This saves a complicated combat map, your characters are well-trained and it will show.  Empath has been successfully provoked by Andi and she may choose one of these hindrances for Empath

On a 7-9, they can instead choose one. • they stumble: you take +1forward against them • they err: you gain a critical opportunity • they overreact: you gain Influence over them

3.  It will not be forgotten later that your characters put a priority on the lives on innocents.  You are first class all the way! ;-)

Once they were free from bystanders, Sasha called out to Andi while sticking close to the rest of their friends.

"Come on, Andi. There are plenty of places to have fun tonight, and this isn't one of them." Naturally, the Hellions had their own things to say, which immediately preceded them going into a fight. The child star narrowed her eyes and took a quick step in front of Jubilee to keep her teammate clear of the incoming hurt. With carefully tuned reflexes and an utter understanding of her and her opponent's positioning, the next move is a gentle redirect of the attack's momentum to circle around and spiral to the ground, a classic aikido technique to harmlessly drop an enemy using their own energy.

"First one's free. Next one hurts."

[I'm using the Bull's Heart to Defend Jubilee using Danger instead of Savior! Also including the +1 from knowing the Hellions' battle strategies:

15:25, Today: Ricochet rolled 14 using 2d6+3.  Defend +Danger.

And I'll add a Team to the pool! Afterward, I'll Directly Engage whichever Hellion member made for Jubilee. Since I assume getting the team away from innocents and starting off with Defense means I'm not jumping into danger without hedging my bets, I won't be using that move.

15:26, Today: Ricochet rolled 10 using 2d6+3.  Directly Engage +Danger.

I will resist/avoid their blows and impress/surprise/frighten the opposition.]

Andi leaned up to Empath and put her hands on his hips, a demure smile on her pierced lips. Black goo trailed from her fingertips to wrap around his waistline.

"Sorry, Rico. I found my fun right here." Then she put her mouth closer to his ear to whisper to him.

"If you ever try to get into my head again," the symbiote solidified into spikes and blades around his waist, snipping at his waistband while her skin became covered in the black costume, "you'll lose what's in the pants, comprende?"

[I'm taking Influence over him, then Provoking him again to back off.


15:41, Today: Mania rolled 5 using 2d6+3.  Provoke Someone, +Superior +1.

Wow, snake eyes. I'm gonna mark potential for that.