Battledog

Hey, guys
Sorry but has of right now I'm still at work prepping for a year-end inventory.
I will be late...maybe even gone completely for tonight.

A Valentine Interlude

Battledog, Dave Kinmount, hummed while he worked in the kitchen. He worked quickly and efficiently, chopping and slicing the eggplant into the appropriate shapes. He really hoped Lily would like the recipe. Chinese Sauteed Eggplant wasn't something he had tried to make before. As he mentally ran down his checklist for tonight, the front door openned and closed quickly. His younger brother, Jayson, rushed through the kitchen towards his room.
"Man. I'm so behind schedule. Why can't the Hellions take a night off?" Jayson complained as he passed.
Dave snorted, "Yeah, how inconsiderate of criminals to interrupt the lovelife of the great teenage hero, the Mighty Psiborn."
A slightly more feminine snort resounded from the living room as his sister, Samantha, echoed the sentiments.
"Laugh it up! At least I have a date for Valentine's." Jayson retorted, "I'm taking a shower. If you need the bathroom, speak now or you get to hold until I'm done."
With neither of his siblings making an effort, Jayson claimed the bathroom for his own and the sound of running water was soon heard.
"So, Sam..." Dave started, "..about tonight?"
Samantha snorted again.
"Don't worry. I won't be in the way. I'm going out patrolling tonight and I will crash on Lily's couch after checking on Quasi. I wouldn't want to wreck your chance to be Casanova."
Dave frowned slightly at his sister.
"Sorry. Next year, I'll take Lily out. Okay?"
"Whatever, Don Juan."
Dave went back to his chopping as Sam went back to her laptop.
Jayson let the hotwater flow over his head and down his back, rinsing the conditioner from his hair. He mentally controlled the brush to scrub his back as he used the cloth to clean his legs, trying desparately to make up for lost time. He hoped he would still be able to get a table at one of the restaurants nearby the theatre. He was playing the exact times pretty loosely as he wanted Courtney to make the final decision on which movie they were going to watch. Jayson start the water off and toweled quickly. He hoped Prof liked the fragrance of the bodywash he used. He pulled on a clean pair of jeans and looked in the foggy mirror. He didnt know what she saw in him but he was really glad for whatever it was. He grinned like a maniac as he finished getting dress for his date.
Samantha took a look at her watch and sighed. It was time to head out. She triggered her abilities and her street clothes changed to her hero suit. Tallybird was dressed for the hunt. Dave saw the flash of psionic power and saw his sister in her black, blue, and gold outfit.
"Careful out there, Sam...and thanks."
"Yeah, ...whatever. Don't wait up!"
With a malicious smile, her energy wings ignited as she flew out the window. Dave went and closed the window behind her. He shook his head and wished there was something he could do to help his sister's mood. After almost two years, she still wasn't completely healed mentally healed from that creep's attack. Dave sighed and went back to his preparations. He began to hum again as he changed the sheets on his bed to a special set of white silk ones. He placed a half dozen candles on the sidetables, along with a bowl of red rose petals. He knew it was cliche but he didn't care. He was setting the dining table when Jayson emerged from the bathroom. Jayson slipped on the black blazer over his white shirt and rolled his shoulders to set it in the right position.
"Looking sharp, Jay. Prof won't know what hit her."
Jayson beamed at the praise and adjusted his cuffs.
"You got her gift?"
Jayson patted his inner coat pocket and nodded.
"Only you would fine a pair of tickets to Comicon this late. I hope she likes them. Oh, before I forget. One final touch. Give her this when you see her."
Dave went to the fridge and pulled out a single red rose. He handed it to his little brother.
"Thanks, Dave. I had forgotten about that."
"No worries. Now get and have fun."
"You too. Don't wait up!"
Jayson left quickly throught the apartment door, leaving Dave to finish up. Dave went back to the fridge and pulled out a bouquet of red roses and gerber daisies. He place it on the dining table and placed a long felt jewellery box. It held a single heart-shaped diamond pendant. He hoped Lily understood the significance of it. He placed a pair of candles on the table, humming merrily.

*****
Tallybird flew soundlessly throught the air, tracking her prey. The trio of Skulls never knew what hit them as she lanced out with a psionic blast. She landed lightly beside their fallen bodies and gave one a swift kick to the ribs. She grinned maliciously as thrust herself into their minds. She angrily ripped into their memories, taken any knowledge they had that could lengthen her hunt. She left behind a psychic suggestion bomb in each of the Skulls heads that would turn them into a slobbering idiot if they tried to commit a crime again.
She took to the sky again and landed on a rooftop a mile away. Sam's memories flowed to the last Valentine's she celebrated. Philip was a dream come true. Smart, handsome...almost beautiful, funny. He fooled them all. He was a psychopath. He tricked her and it had cost her. It cost her, her best friend. She had hung from the wall and watched as he slowly chopped pieces off of Melanie and reassembled them on a different body. She watched him for a week until he was done with Melanie, discarded the remains, and came after her. At the first cut of his scalpel, her special abilities manifested. She blew out the ceiling and wall of her prison. She scoured his mind with every ounce of power she had.
Sam shivered at the memory and scanned the streets below for new prey. A flash of white drew her attention. A white envelope tied with red ribbon was sitting on a rock with a red rose in the nearby field. Curious to see what fool it had been left behind for, she gently flew down beside it.
She gasped.
It was addressed to Tallybird.
Sam looked quickly around with both her eyes and mind.
Nothing.
She cautiously picked up the envelope, opened it, and read.

Happy Valentine's Day, my sweet Samantha.
It's good to see you again.
~Philip

Sam gasped in horror as the rose dripped red on the rock.

Sorry, guys.
I can't make it tonight. My mom is in the hospital.

Sorry, guys.
I got to work late tonight. It's the last few days that orders can be shipped cross country at a normal price so my in-bin is full.
I should be okay next Thurs.

Sorry, guys.
My modem cacked last night. I can't a replacement until after work. Tally will have to stay at home tonight and study for exams.

"Hey guys, I just realized I'm not actually bulletproof so I got this nifty shield!"

I laughed myself silly at that!

Your choice, SF. Mox or Tally as the tank, but somebody as to protect Shakes from himself.

Rerolling isn't a problem at this time. It doesn't take long to get to 20 right now. But it sounds like people want the goodies Tally is handing out and SB is coming in 800xp.

As for WP...its one of my faves. I just learnt two important things about it.
1) It doesn't handle debuffs very well...be it -def or -end. It just can't handle those well in my experience.
2) To handle an alpha. you must open with a power that can break the spawn up abit. My StJ/WP brute uses Spinning Strike as his opening move. Its not optimal for dps but it breaks up the pack enough to lessen the alpha I find. Of course, I might just be deluding myself. But he did basically tank both the Citadel and Numina TFs and split from the teams a fair bit in the Sister P and Manticore TFs.

Oh...good question, Mouse.

It was fun last night.

Question.
We seem to be bleeding tanky-like people, no offense to Mox.
Should I re-roll Tally as a tank? Perhaps a /KM, paired with Shield or EA?
I don't mind doing that but I will leave it open for the team to decide.

I really like the Haunted House. I had fun RPing through it with my other SG...missed the It's alive badge by 6 zombies.
I think it would be fun with this group.

Thanks, Nadya!

It was a blast!
And thanks to the Cape staff as well!

I have no problem with Wednesday instead of Thursday.

The recruitment of my character, Tallybird

April 2011
David Kinmount watched the solidly-built gentleman take a seat on the family's couch. He had heard of Maximillian Gold through various circles in Paragon City. The information was mostly glowing, except for one late-night drunken conversation with a sandy fellow in the Pocket D. His sister, sitting quietly in an armchair to the side, would benefit from the training his group could bring.
"Thank you for inviting me into your home." Mr. Gold spoke in a rich, official tone. He sipped his supplied coffee and placed it on the available coaster. " I will start by saying that it is a pleasure to meet you. Your exploits are widely known in Paragon. It is an honor."
Dave blushed slightly, "Yours are as well. You have done well in getting acceptance for our kind in the world."
" You are too kind." Max steepled his fingers in front of him, " Have you considered my offer to help teach your sister?"
"Yes, I have. I have a few questions."
The quiet girl sighed. " Dave, I'm not a child. Please leave. I want to speak to Mr. Gold alone."
Dave started to voice an argument but stopped, turned and left the room.
Max turned to face the young woman, studying her closely. Her eyes hardened as soon as Dave was from sight.
" Mr. Gold. Your surface thoughts are not totally locked up. I will be joining your group...the other group. I will not allow what happened to my friend to happen again." she spoke.
Max raised an eyebrow. Samantha Kinmount was what he heard she was. His agents had done their work well. She would be a powerful asset, if her need for revenge didn't get in the way.
" Yes, Max. I will be but my brother does not find out about it. To him, I will be just learning to use my powers. I will join you in the fall." Samantha dismissed him with an imperious flick of her hand and put her facade back on.
Max rose and joined David in the family's kitchen.
" Thank you for your time. I will have a plane ticket and the official documents couriered up." he said as he offered his hand.
Dave took it and applied a firm handshake. " Thank you, sir. I wish your group was around when I got my abilities."
Max smiled and showed himself out.
Dave looked in on his sister. She sat quietly in the armchair and her head hanging as it has always been since that psychopath killed her best friend and tried to do the same to her. He turned and lefted her to her silence.
Sam tranced his thoughts as he left, then allowed the breath she had been holding to escape. It had taken all she had to fool both Max and her brother but it will be worth it. To Dave, she would be the quiet traumatised sister and to Max, the no-nonsense, vengeful psionic he craved.
In the end, she would get what she wanted...

...to stop psychopaths from hurting her or others again...
...to get...
...Justice.

Thank you, HDR!

It was immensely fun!

Hey, Woot
I chose to go with a Kinetic because of all the melee types and Iwent with a corruptor beacuse I also want to do DAMAGE!
Yay...damage!
My toon is sitting at the start of the tutorial waiting right now.

Must think about how Max recruited her now...

I have been waiting to see what ATs were going to be represented and now I know, well, I know them all except for Nova.

We have a fair whack of melee types and not much in the way of buffers/debuffers.

I will make my toon a psi/kin corruptor and see you all when Bull gets back for the Sept 29 start date.

We still planning to all meet at level 1 in the Galaxy start area?

Lt. William Mc Cauley, Deputy Commander of the Blue Shield Task Force, sat reading an ammunition requisition. With his feet up on the desk, he lazily scanned over the figures. The team had it easy the last couple of weeks, well, easy for them anyway. The city's crime never seemed to drop, even with all the heroes helping out over the last seven years.
The sound of overly-loud linen ripping cut through the air, as the shock wave knock him out of his chair. He tried to pick himself up as more impacts shook the headquarters building in Kings Row.
"What the ...?!?"
Jones staggered through the door. "Boss..you okay?"
"Yeah, Jonesey. What was that?"
Jones held his hand to his head, pushing the earbud in further.
"Meteors! They just hit Galaxy! PPD and Fire are responding."
McCauley picked his chair up off the floor, as Jones listened to the incoming radio reports.
" Oh my gawd...Boss...Shivans sighted! The Brawler is organizing a defense, but they are being overrun."
" What? Okay...mobilize all SWAT units to Galaxy. Contact Blue Shield and get them rolling...and recall Royce. We are going to need him."
" Royce is already on his way...he lost Commander Callahan on the campus. He's alittle chagrinned."
"I don't care, Jones, if he is downroght embarrassed, just get him here. Go suit up! I'll call Shan myself."
Will was dialing as Jones ran out of the office.
"C'mon, Shan...pick up your phone!"

((I think that in light of the activities of today, we should this week and play with all the goodies. We will meetup next week, if everybody agrees.))

What Mouse said!

" I said I was sorry, Shan. It couldn't be helped. It's not my fault the city went nuts over the weekend."

Will listened to the response coming from his phone.

"I know I said I would be there...I'm sure your father will understand."

"I will make it up to your mother...Yes, babe...No problem...Love you , too."

Will hung up the phone and sighed. Missing the Callahan family get together was almost a sin. He looked back down at the accumlated paperwork on his desk and groaned.

"Hey, Chief?"

Will looked up, " What's up, Jones?"

"Well...the boys want to know if they can help."

"Huh? Help with what?"

"You...with the Blue Shield team."

"I don't know...it's rough."

"Boss. It's us. I mean...we're good. You got Royce doing stuff already...the rest of us want in. Or...or I tell Commander Callahan what you got Royce doing."

"Black mail, Jonsey? Didn't know you had it in you. Okay...you twisted my rubber arm. Get the crew ready. I mean 'really' ready. And make sure Kowaczyk is fully stocked...you're going to need it."

"Roger that, Boss." Jones saluted and left.

Will shook his head, grabbed a file from the top of the pile and read.

"Officer Howard...a werewolf...no shi..."

"Will!" Shan called out, " I'm glad I caught you."
"What's up, Bosslady?" he looked nervously around the station.
"Chief Bochco finally signed off on this. It seems IA wanted to do a few more psyche evals before giving him the okay."
She handed him a file folder and a velvet box. Will peeked inside the folder.
"Chief wants you to do the honors."
"What? Me? But I thought you should do it, you are the boss."
"No. Your recommendation, your duty. It's no sweat. You can do it."
"If you say so."
"I do say so."
She pulled him close and whispered into his ear.
" And stop by later tonight...I will try to be awake."
She gave him a wink and strolled down the hall, grinning widely.
Will let out his breath and sighed.

"Man, do I love this woman."

Hi, guys.
I'm hoping it will be okay to run through an AE arc I made for a friend tonight. It shouldn't take long, it's only 2 missions. I haven't tested it with more than 2 people yet. It's designed to be a bachelor party. That okay?

Will entered the small apartment and saw what he expected. The diminutive redhead had fallen asleep on her books again. He sighed and placed his satchel on the couch. He walked softly over, not wanting to wake her, lifted her up into his arms and carried her to her bedroom. Placing her on the bed, he tucked her in. Will lovingly kissed her cheek and left her to her dreams.
As he sat down on the couch, he took out his laptop to do the accumulating pile of paperwork. Ammo requisitions, EPA Impact statements, and onsite evalulations filled the next couple of hours. He typed in his order of business for the night.

The undersigned recommend that Detective Magnus Hiller been promoted to the rank of Sergeant. The officer has shown all the abilities and necessary knowledge of the position and will be a continued asset to the Paragon Police Department.

Chief Conrad Bochco
Chief of Paragon Police Department

Shannon Callahan
Commander of the Blue Shield Task Force

William McCauley
Deputy Commander of the Blue Shield Task Force

Will smiled and hoped Mags liked his surprise. He would Shan to sign it before she left for class. He printed a copy and placed it by the coffee maker. He went back to the couch, curled up on it and promptly fell asleep, hoping the dreams would not visit tonight.

Lt. McCauley finished up the last of the reports and emailed them to HQ for Chief Bochco's viewing. The two "observers" last night were competant enough and meshed well with the rest of the team. Justice was served. He went to the spare bedroom in his apartment and removed the last box. The apartment was a little more crowded with the workout gear and tech-bench now in the dining room, but Magnet needed a place to stay and he wasn't going to let a teammate and friend down. Will glanced at his watch and sighed.
"11:15pm...I hope she's still up."
He quickly grabbed his keys and rushed out the door.
In five minutes, he was letting himself into Shannon's apartment. He saw the diminutive redhead sleeping slumped over her textbooks at her dining room table. He softly padded over and kissed her gently on the cheek.
"Ummm...wha?" she murmured herself awake,"Hi, handsome. About time you showed up."
Will chuckled, "Paperwork sucks. Sorry."
He started he rub her shoulders, skilfully working the knots and kinks out of her tense back.
She moaned in appreciation.
"Shan, I want to thank you."
"You're doing to great job so far, but for what?"
"For being as strong as you are."
"Huh? What?"
"For being strong enough to take over the Shield when we needed it most. For pushing us to excel. And helping me...us find our hidden talents.I mean, you have no special abilities but I believe you are far stronger than any of us that do."
Shan blushed as she turned around. She reached up and caress Will's cheek.
"I'm didn't do that. You guys did...and thank you."
She kissed him.
"It's the truth, Shan." He turned her back around and started massaging her shoulders again, "You're our center."
She drifted back to sleep as he continued to rub her shoulders.
"Sleep well, Shan. I love you."

Will sifted through his messages on his phone and groaned. He typed in some short replies and put the device back into his pocket. Reaching down, he hefted the duffel on to his shoulder and made his way to Shannon's apartment. Letting himself in. he dropped the bag by the door, removed his shoes, and made his way to the diminutive red-haired sitting hunched over a pile of books on the dining room table. He wrapped his arms around her and softly kissed her neck.
"Hi, Beautiful." he whispered into her ear, " Got you something."
He placed a vase of Gerber daisies on the the table.
"Oh, Will. They're lovely. Thank you."
She turned her head and kissed him deeply.
"You're welcome." He looked nervously around the room.
"What's the matter, Will?"
"I got to go out of town next week. Some training conference in the woods. I'm sorry, Shan. I won't be here when start school."
"It's okay, Will. I understand." She looked into his eyes and slapped him across the face. "Snap out of it, doofus. It's not the end of the world."
"Owww!"
"Crybaby! Let me kiss it better."
Will grabbed her wrist and pulled her up.
"Oh, you're going to kiss it better all right." He lifted her up and threw her over his shoulder.
"Hey!" Shan protested weakly as Will carried her to the bedroom and tossed her on the bed. He looked down at her and smiled as he crawled over her.
" Shan, I love you." He kissed her. She returned the kiss.
"Ditto."

((Guys. I going on vacation next week. I leave this Sat and will be returning the following Saturday afternoon, July 2. Mouse, if you wanted to do the Incarnate arc will Giz and Shan, I should be available Sun July 3rd if you are around. Happy Canada Day to all the Canucks in the team. If I dont see you guys, before the Monday, Happy Indepence Day to all the Americans in the team.))

Will gently kissed the top of Shan's head, as he wiped away her tears.
"It's not your fault, Shan. Don't beat yourself up."
He was feeling pretty low too. This had hit the team so unexpectedly, the whiplash effect had scarred them up.
"I should of seen it coming." the dimunitive redhead spoke, "I don't think I'm a good enough leader."
"Oh, bull." Will gently lifted her head and stared into her eyes, "All of the team would follow you into hell and back. This team would have fallen apart if it wasn't for you."
Shannon's cellphone beeped with an incoming text message. She quickly glanced it. An identical beep issued from Will.
"It's Chief Bochco." Shan declared, "He wants to see me."
"Yeah, I got one too, but mine says to get a SWAT team together and form a security perimeter around Mags."
"Will...keep him safe."
"No worries, Shan. I will take care of him."
They hugged each other tightly and shared a deep kiss.
"I'll call you after the meeting."
"Okay, Beautiful. Keep your chin up. I'll be waiting."

Shannon Callahan walked out of the office and down the hall, Will watched every step of the way. He each for his phone and hit the speed dial.

"Operations."

"Jones." he spoke," McCauley. Get Teams One, Three, and Eight to the PPD Labs in Headquarters ASAP for a protection detail of Officer Magnus Hiller. And tell Royce to start his Op. I want her covered at all times."

"Roger that, Chief!"