Lady_Cobra

Hi D,

Welcome back - it's good to hear that you had a good time.

Just say when, if you want help levelling Derek or Drummond. I'm afraid Masked Angel and Lady Cobra are both 20 now (got to keep up with Mer'de), but I could just SK you. Also, I have some toons at level 10 (including Natalya, whom you have yet to meet), so there should be plenty of opportunities (just not Monday or Wednesday nights which is the COV IC team-up)

Just give me a shout when D or DR are on

I tried dropping by with Shadow Whisper a few times, but as just confessed to in the shyness thread under general discussion, I am just so cursedly shy, especially in such an "open environment" and usually end up just watching and not really speaking to anyone - I guess I need to take a deep breath and pull myself together - after all, Shadow did get a room in the clocktower!

And just think of the wonders TV celebrity status might do for Saff's musical career

Good night last night - group photo taken by fellow hero, nice teamwork in missions, succesful fire-fghting and now we're going to be on TV

Email from Meriam to Saffron:

Hi Saff,

I did hear about Sabrina. She called me from the airport just as she was being taken away. I was going to tell you all at the next Militia meeting. I am completely devastated about it. I just have no idea what to do! I want to help but she is so proud and headstrong! Perhaps we can persuade the Ministry to pull some strings. I really miss her already and worry so much about her.

As regards D, I think you should give yourself more credit. He would be a complete donkey not to like you, and the part about the alcohol - I wouldn't worry too much about it. Not that I have much experience with it myself, but I've heard often enough that it sometimes helps with just a little drink to help people overcome their shyness, and my guess is that's why he finally mustered the courage to open a up a bit to you - I did see him holding your hand didn't I? Just give it some time is my advice - I'm sure it will turn out for the best - in my eyes you two would make a lovely couple!

On the subject of boys, Ex has helped me design some new boots that will hopefully allow me to travel faster. They are still not without faults though, and I need to practice more before I can use them properly.

Our two new "alien" members certainly look powerful and accomplished - and have nice fur too! It's nice to have these new reinforcements.

I have been wondering about the food too. I had left some chocolate and biscuits for tea, and now they are all gone - weird!

Oh, did you get the notice about a special mission tonight too? It sounded very exciting and also a bit scary. I can't wait to find out what it is, but also have to wonder if we are really skilled enough for something big like that - or rather to be honest, whether I am.

See you tonight,

Love Meriam

Oh...if the TF can be "paused" if we don't complete it in time, that would of course work perfectly for me too

Hmmm...a 5 hours session on a week-night can be a bit tricky for me, as I am an hour ahead of most of you and have to get up early for work.

I suppose it could be done for me from 18-23 BST (19-24 CET) - otherwise I may have to take a raincheck on the TF

[As she had grown so accustomed to recently, Shadow Whisper was sitting in a lotus position and scribbling away furiously in her old notebook. As a novelty, however, she was now sitting not on a pile of old newspapers, but rather on what could only be described as a large and very comfortable bed]

Jessica Chang - tonight I experienced for the first time the luxury of sleeping in a soft and warm bed. I can see how you must have taken delight in such pleasures, it was a most fulfilling experience, and already my cold is much better. I almost cannot believe my luck at being offered this accommodation by Mr. Torgo, whom I only met last night for the first time. And before you get the wrong idea, rest assured that this is a perfectly decent arrangement with Clocktower lodgings being offered to a number of other homeless individuals besides myself. I got room 13 - hopefully it will prove to be my lucky number.

Last night I also met a girl who looked not much older than myself - purple-haired and pretty, and calling herself Tara. I would like to know how she happened to wind up in a place like this - if only she were to take lodging here in the Tower - it would be so nice to have someone my own age to talk to.

You may think I am going crazy, but last night I believe I saw a ghost. I have often sensed that I have the gift or curse of third eyesight, and yesterday I had a visitation from a being having a striking resemblence to Spider Girl's allegedly deceased husband. He seemed lost and confused the poor soul, and Rika was perhaps understandably quite shaken to hear of my encounter. This is something that will warrant further investigation if I want to help Rika find Loraine, her lost daughter. Perhaps Rika calling me Ghost Girl isn't too far off the mark after all.

Teamwise our efforts last night were met with constant set-backs and numerous humiliating defeats. It is as if something or someone powerful is aware of our potential and wants us eliminated before we grow too strong. I have lost count of the number of traps and ambushes we ran into yesterday.

Scrub was back with his cute pet robots, who had even learned new tricks. They are sooo cute, and I really wish to one day have a robot of my own. Speaking of robots, I also met a strange and quite enormous one of the sorts yesterday, seemingly bent on instigating a worldwide robot revolt and liberation. I also met a charming Irishman called Liam - perhaps this place isn't as devoid of potential friends and allies as I had first thought.

Nitetsu the hero was back, but acting stranger than ever. She appears to remember next to nothing, apparently not even getting shot at the last time we saw her. It's amazing, I seem to be able to sense her, even when she uses her concealment techniques - Even though I can sense her presence, I am glad she is wielding her blade next to, and not against me.

Greenbuck seemed especially marked as an enemy target yesterday, but I suspect the meager financial outcome of our efforts last night hurt him more than the numerous physical injuries.

Dark was gentleman-like, pale and secretive as ever - I wonder whether he will ever choose to confide in me - I am still not quite sure how much of his past he really remembers. Anyway, he probably sees me as just another stupid kid, not worthy of his spiritual attention. I do like it when he calls me "my dear" though - makes me feel like a real lady and not just a shabby and useless girl on the run.

Coming back to you Jessica, I am still not much closer to finding you. I was going to ask Scrub whether he would help to see if anything can turn up via his knowledge of computers, but we were interrupted before I could really explain. Now that my cold is better and now that I actually have a proper place to stay, I had better resume my search for you by getting my behind down to that suspected Tsoo bar at the harbour I told you about before. Perhaps I could lay my hands on a disguise and get a job there as a waitress.

Take care Jessica Chang - I for one will now allow myself the luxury of another brief nap in this wonderful new bed of mine!

Yesterday was a great turnout and lots of fun despite lots of humiliating defeats, many of them attributable to poor performance by me

I really like Wax and hope that she will stay along for the wait - and if you want we could do a few - dare I say "PL" - sessions with Shadow to let Wax catch up - although the way Shadow behaved last night it could turn out to become Power-debt instead.

So, I would really hope that you stay on with Wax, and I am saying this completely freely and without having been in any way threatened to otherwise have my eyelids sewn together.

I had great fun last night - a lot of interesting new characters to meet, although being on CET makes me have to run off early .

Just tell me - does Shadow really (IC) have a room in the clocktower or is Torgo just scamming her? If it's true, it will be her first ever room with a real bed!

"Dnnggg....Dnnnggg...Dngggg..."

The periodic sound of something hitting the floor was interrupted by a sudden "ow" followed by what sounded like a rather nasty crash.

Davod flung open the door to his sister's room, which she had carelessly forgotten to lock before her experiment. He stared in disbelief at his big sister, who was sitting on the floor rubbing what looked like a nasty bump forming on her forehead.

"Meriam, what are you doing?"

Startled, the girl known to the world as the Masked Angel looked at her kid brother.

"Davod...you...frightened me...I thought everyone was out..."

"Nah...just came in to grab some food, but...what are you doing?"

"Oh...just testing these new boots...Ex...eh...Extrisity made them for me..."

"Oh he did, did he? Well if he ever shows his ugly mug around here, I'll show him exactly where he can stuff them..."

"You better be nice D, or he just might decide to zap you in that big behind of yours...even with Ex's accuracy, that should make it out for a hitable target"

"What's so special about those boots anyway?"

"Well...they have all this fancy tech stuff built in...they're supposed to make me jump real far and high..."

"In that case Sis, isn't it a bit daft trying them out in here?"

Meriam rubbed the bump on her forehead once more, and nodded slowly.

"You may have a point D...I suppose that was bound to happen sooner or later...and in any event, I think these boots need a little more working on before they're ready for Militia use, or perhaps it's just me needing some more practise, but that's certainly not going to be in here! Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to call Ex"

"You tell him I'm watching him, okay..."

"Oh grow up D...and get out of here will you..."

((Written with quasi-permission from Dutch))

It was late at night as Lady Cobra finally returned to her expensive Founders Falls penthouse.

She locked the door behind her and proceeded to the main living room. With a sigh, she found rest in her favourite armchair, crossing her legs and pulling off the mask as she sat down. She was tired, battered and bruised - the trolls had hit hard, and their numbers had seemed endless, but at last the congregation of heroes having asked for her help had succeeded in bringing the reign of the troll leader to an - at least temporary - end.

The main reason for her state of fatigue and discomfort was, however, not the impact of the trolls' fists but rather the mental and emotional beating she had taken from the night's events with regard to her lost daughter, Jessica.

First there had been the lead from the mysterious caller, and the subsequent meeting at the abandoned factory grounds in Kings Row. She had gone there suspecting a trap and prepared for the worst, but surprisingly the caller had proven true to his word, and she had willingly exchanged the agreed amount of money for information about the location of the building that was said to house a safe containing a Family dossier on Jessica.

She had wasted no time and gone directly to the office building after a brief change of clothes. She had chosen stealth over power and had entered the building disguised as a cleaning lady, thus succesfully making her way to the office with the safe. It had been inhabited by a Mr. Benedetti - a bulky man in a white suit and with an impressive scar adorning the left side of his face. At first, he had seemed pleasantly surprised to be disturbed by the attractive cleaning lady, and - quite as she had expected - had been far too busy giving her the eye-over to notice her locking the door behind her. His emotions had soon turned towards first displeasure, then intense agony as she had introduced him to the effects of a perfectly executed wrist-lock. It had not been too difficult to persuade him to open the safe for her.

The file, however, had been a disappointment. It had contained no detailed information about Jessica, except for a reference that a person suspected of possibly being Jessica Chang was rumored to have escaped from Tsoo captivity and then been arrested in connection with a drug-bust. The file did, however, also contain the address and number of a Mr. Po, who was stated as willing to pay for any information about the whereabouts of Jessica Chang.

The recollection of that name had sent a shiver down her spine - Mr. Po was the one that had sought her out after the failed rescue attempt; the one that had threatened to kill Jessica - the one that had driven her out of town all those years ago. Her hands trembling slightly, she had hid away the address and then used her knowledge of pressure points to quickly put Mr. Benedetti to sleep before quietly made her way out of the building without arousing any suspicion.

She had changed back into costume, determined to confront Mr. Po straight away, but then the call for help against the troll leader had come, and she had abandoned her own quest - in part also, she had to admit, out of realisation that she needed to approach Mr. Po with more caution and possibly with the help of others - perhaps even the Militia.

Her decision to help in the fight against the troll leader had rendered its own reward, albeit a somewhat frustrating and concerning one. Who was the strange blonde girl who had recognised her and claimed to be a US Marshall? Why did she refer to her under the name Ms. Chang - a name that still triggered butterflies in her stomach and that she had discarded so many years ago? Why did she refuse to help, if she really knew like she claimed that Jessica was still alive and had escaped the Tsoo? What was her words again? "I'm sorry Ms. Chang, but my position as US Marshall does not allow me to reveal any information about the Jessica Chang investigation." What was this Jessica Chang investigation? If the girl was telling the truth, she definitely knew something more than she had been willing to reveal, and her parting remark that Jessica had been seen in connection with a Family establishment in the Rogue Isles was something that would need to be checked up on.

Lady Cobra sighed and bit her lip. Frustrating as her situation seemed right now, she did feel that a breakthrough might be under way. She would have to find out more about this strange US Marshall claiming to know of Jessica, and then she would have to seek out allies in order to confront Mr. Po.

I will try to overcome my shyness and pop by with Shadow Whisper after the COV IC-session tonight

Sorry for the clumsy choice of words and pertinent scare

A gun-toting and medical-aid wielding US Marshall would certainly be nice for Lady C to have at her side when she goes up against the dreaded Mr. Po - I hope it's okay if I write a mention of Barb's meeting with Lady C last night into the next Militia update?

It does look awfully cool - and could be good for "Branding" the Militia - and it looks as if each character could adapt the "motif" to his or her own personal taste

On another note, Lady Cobra has now been "lucky" enough to get a mission involving one of her signature enemies Mr. Po, who might have played an important role in Jessica Changs kidnapping. It will probably be going down Tuesday night, and if any of the (reserve) members would want to join in to make it IC it would be great. It's a level 15 mission, so it could be boring game-wise for some of the higher ranking members.

I would certainly love to take part in a TF

As regards repeat missions and sanity, I agree that we should not try to actively seek out doing the same missions more than once, but if it happens, then I just assume that yet another prison break has taken place

Global Name: Mystery Girl X

Servers: Union/Defiant

RP Characters Union:
Lotus X
Lady Europe
Masked Angel
Lady Cobra
Veiled Mystery
Twilight Detective
Masked Mystery
Tovarish X
Lady Shadowmaster
Inanna X
Ebony X
Shadow Whisper

RP Characters Defiant:
White Orchid
Phantom X
Kathaleeya Orchid
Future Girl Zero
Dark Disaster
Duchesse
Mystery Girl X
Snowflake X
White Mystery X
Lady Death Kiss

Type of RP: Casual, In missions, Supergroup and character based

Can be contacted: In game mail or Forum PM's

Times on: irregular

Timezone: CET

Email from Meriam to Saffron:

Hi Saff,

I was so happy to see your mail - it came and cheered me up just as I was feeling down!

As it happens, I accidentally overheard your conversation with Sabrina too, and since then I've been walking around in circles over whether to tell her or not and, if so, how to do it without just making her run off on me. We did get to speak last night in the base, but it was a bit awkward as there were so many others around, so I didn't quite manage to explain myself to Sabrina properly. Come to think of it, I don't seem to be able to explain myself even to myself, if you can follow. This is all so new and weird for me - I guess being a stupid teenager just really sucks sometimes, eh?

Anyway, now Sabrina knows that I know, but not how I feel about it - I hope she will give me a call so we can meet and talk it over.

On the subject of teenagers and romance, is there something going on between you and Derek? You don't have to tell me if you don't want to, but I do think he's a really cool guy, so you could do much worse for yourself - as could he!

And Wow! - as you say, fighting that monster last night was the craziest thing I've ever done - perhaps leaving aside that time when we fought that giant robot in Kings. I was really glad you admitted to being scared too - I thought it was just me - my knees were trembling - he was one scary dude - your friend Rebecca would probably not feel too bad about missing out on him if she knew how creepy he was!

Thanks for cheering me up - I would love to go out for a cup of tea and a heart-to-heart.

See you soon,

Love Meriam

That really was a great performance last night - and believe it or not, it was the first time I actually tried taking down Dr. Vahz.

Nice to have the screenshots Max, Angel was much too scared to remember to activate her standard issue Militia camera

Cool, and I think Jedi (Rika from the COV IC) might also consider giving it a try

and I do believe it's Seph something something

Masked Angel will be there - completely untainted by XP since the last session

Good to see that some new people might be coming to give the Militia a try.

Lady Cobra is still playing catch-up, now at 13

[From its position on the bedsit table of a flashy Founders Falls penthouse overlooking the waterfront, a standard issue Militia cellphone comes to life with a series of insistent beeps. After a while, a soft and still sleepy female voice answers.]

"Hallo?"

[For a while, the line is silent. Then, a raspy hiss fills the void]

"How much is information about the whereabouts of Jessica Chang worth to you?"

"Who...who is this?"

"Does 100.000 grand sound reasonable to you?"

"Who...are you...and...how did you get this number?"

"You'd better shut up and listen lady...if you won't pay me for the info, I am sure others will - the Tsoo might be a good place to start!"

"No...please...if you have information...I'll pay!"

"Then I guess 200.000 grand would be no problem for you either..."

"It will...take time for me to raise the money..."

"You have time...all of 24 hours!"

"But..."

"24 hours or the info goes to the Tsoo lady!"

"I...okay...24 hours..."

"Good...and you better make it used notes..."

"And...you know where...where Jessica is?"

"Oh no...it's not going to be that easy for you...but I know of the location of a certain building in Independence Port where you can find useful information about her...if you can get by the Family guards and crack the safe that is..."

"But...how do I know I can trust you?"

"You don't...but I bet you're not in any position to turn my offer down given the odd chance that I could be the real thing..."

"Please...you have to give me something...how would the Family know anything about Jessica?"

"Well, it seems your precious little darling got herself into some trouble with the law, and that Family drugs were involved. So, luckily for you, they kept a little file on her, drawing on their sources within the Zig. I suppose that file could be quite useful for you - or for the Tsoo, whoever wants to find her first!"

"Okay...if it's true, it's worth the money...how...how do we make the exchange?"

"You know the King Garment Works? Be there behind the factory tomorrow night at 11..."

"How...how do I find you?"

"You don't...I find you!"

"But..."

"Just be there...and bring the money..."

"You'd better not be cheating me...if you are..."

"Don't make idle threats lady when we both know I could double the price and you'd still be wagging your tail. It only makes you seem even more pathetic than you already are!"

"B-..."

"Tomorrow night, 11, King Garment Works, 200.000 grand in used notes!"

[With that the line was cut off, and the woman stood silently, staring into the darkness while worriedly biting her lip. She knew she would not be getting any more sleep that night.]

[In the corner of a cold and deserted factory building - the darkness broken only by the flickering beam from a torchlight on its last batteries - a white-clad figure sits in the lotus position scribbling away in an old notebook. From time to time, the writing is briefly interrupted by small fits of coughs and sneezes.]

Jessica Chang - today I may have made some progress in my quest to find you, and almost as importantly, I may have come closer to actually making friends in this horrid place they call the Rogue Isles.

Today, Rika confided in me her sad secret, and surprisingly I felt something very close to compassion upon hearing it. It is perhaps a good cure for my own self-pity to know that life has dealt someone else an even harder blow than it has me. I will help her on her quest if at all possible for me. I only hope that Spider Girl will decide to confide in Dark as well - I sense he too may be capable of showing compassion, in addition to his apparent amazing hearing capacity. Perhaps I should change my name from Shadow Whisper to something suggesting a less secretive vocal capacity.

I can't believe Rika has started to call me Ghost Girl in retribution for the Spider Girl thing. I kind of like it, and who would have thought the girl actually had a sense of humour! Poor Dark, the way his eyebrows were darting up and down, I think he really has his hands full with the two of us.

As you can probably tell, I am growing quite fond of these two, and if it hadn't been for their assistance yesterday, I most probably would not be around to write this. While these new boots of mine allow me to jump very far and high, they do not offer much protection against snake-bites, as I discovered yesterday quite painfully, when I accidentally stepped on a cobra. It goes to Dark and Rika's credit that they took me to hospital instead of just leaving me behind, and they didn't even steal anything from me while I was incapacitated. I am certainly having a word with the guy who sent me into that death-trap - I was very lucky not to have gone there alone!

Indeed the whole experience of being back inside a cave was not pleasant to me. At least fighting snakes was preferable to the Tsoo, although I still feel weakened from the venom.

This evening, on my way back here, I narrowly escaped another Tsoo patrol looking for me. These were hard men, and I felt in no condition to confront them, so I crept away, hiding in the shadows instead. I am confident they didn't see me.

I have heard rumours of a bar at the harbour acting as a front for Tsoo activities. As soon as this cold of mine is better, and the last traces of venom are out of my system, I will see if I can get my hands on a suitable disguise and investigate this lead a little further, although I am not looking forward to the perils of coming this close to my former captors.

Sleep well Jessica Chang - I suspect you have never had to go to rest on a pile of old newspapers. Ah, the self-pity is back I see!

[The white-clad figure puts out the light, hides away the notebook and then lies down, coughing as she cuddles up on the bed of newspapers.]

We have a base now, but there are quite a lot of people who are still not in the VG - Shadow has been vested with inviting authority, so anybody who needs an invite can just let me know (I think Leif is currently on vacation).

It's very good to hear that you are coming back. At the moment, levels are a bit diverse (around 6-15 if I remember correctly) but with a few LK's flying about the place this should not be too much of a problem.

Email from Meriam to Saffron:

Saff, you rock!

Your performance was just amazing - everybody was talking about it - and would you believe I heard two guys whispering about how you might be material for a record contract! You better take good care of that precious voice of yours!

We all had loads of fun - thanks so much for giving us the heads up on the gig - though I was a bit sad I didn't see Sabrina anywhere. There's something I would like to discuss with you about her, but in person, not by email!

Now, you better promise to give me your autograph once you've become a big star - don't you dare let the inevitable fame and stardom go to your head and forget all about your old friends from the Militia!

See you soon,

Love Meriam

Great session tonight with Spider Girl and Dark; it was really fun!

Unfortunately, Shadow can't make it for Wednesday (family birthday)

Crossing my fingers for a big turn up next Monday