Soul Train

OK.

Aside from this being some sort of blending of the Joker and Krusty the Clown...

I don't get it.

He poisons kids. Turns them into grinning zombies. Why? Cos he's nuts.

Eeenh.

Could it be that he used to be a clown, but sucked so badly at it that he never got a laugh once... and he snapped?


(Sorry... it's just that the Insane Clown From Hell theme gets done so often that it's not blowing my skirt up anymore.)

Kashaye regarded her assistant, completely blotto on the couch. She then fetched a blanket and a pillow, and, carefully propping Mally's head up, got her comfortable and covered with the blanket. She also removed Mally's boots, and set out a towel and a robe for when the girl woke up in the morning. While doing so, she noticed a loose sheet of paper with a schedule written on it. Hrm.. Looked like a class schedule. She saw that the first class was fairly early.. but since Kashaye had to get up to go to work at around the same time, she didn't see a problem with waking Mallory up when she got up.

She then spent a few minutes just watching the girl.

Gwen walked in, and saw Mally asleep on the couch, and Kashaye sitting in a lounge chair.

"Oh she IS exhausted. Are you sure she'll be comfortable on the couch?"

"Not sure. Why? Should we put her in one of our beds?"

"Three people, two beds. We'd have to double up someplace."

"Gwen, I have the largest bed known to mankind. I doubt it'd be a problem. But... we'll let her stay on the couch for now, and ask her in the morning."

"OK. How was work?" The two moved into the kitchen to talk, to keep from waking Mallory up.

"Well... I got everything inventoried. We lost both emitters, the matrix control computer, a backup control processor or two, and the telemetry readings from when Makavell caused his suit to be shielded. So we don't know what parameters were used to make a shield that wouldn't collapse. I'd hoped we'd have that... it was actually better than the one-shot version I'd come up with."

"You'll figure it out."

"Yeah. How about you?"

Gwen sighed. "Well... I'd accepted the job less than 10 minutes, JUST met my team, still was holding a map of the place and a cheat sheet for the radio codes in my hand.. and in walks Jaramillo and his yes-men. I really hope Clarisa showed them the door. But... the soldiers all disappeared. So now it's just our people."

She paused to get a glass of juice from the fridge. "Hrm. We need groceries. Anyway, yeah, Clarisa asked me into her office after Victor left. Said she has an assignment for me. I'll find out more about what it's about tomorrow."

"So.. what you think of Clarisa?"

"I like her. No-nonsense. Direct. But.. she's also classy. REAL classy. Like she knows she's going places. She smiles a lot, but something tells me it's a display a lot of times. Not with you, though. She likes you a lot, Shay."

"Yeah. I know. Which is why I'm gonna bust my [censored] to get that lab back in operation. Woman like that deserves to succeed, especially when she backs people like you and me. She's not like Crey. That outfit is all about balance sheets and corporate profits. They'd like nothing better than to set themselves up as corporate kings over the rest of us, raking in our money for stuff we take for granted. Clarisa... she's not like that. Yeah, she needs to show a profit... but she's not out to own everything and everybody."

"Uh huh. Plus.. she's a registered heroine. Did you SEE her take on those Protectors? I was like.. this is Shay's boss? Wow."

"Pretty amazing, huh? We should take her out on some missions, Gwen. Shoot... maybe we should see if she wants to join the Stilettos. She'd look damned good in spike-heeled boots, and she's got the right attitude too."

Kashaye grabbed a pretzel and nibbled on it. "What about Victor? What you think of him?"

"HE's wierd. Definite agenda going on. Plus he didn't look well at all. Like he's got Parkinsons or palsy or something. Couldn't keep his hands still, face had a nervous tic... really impatient when we asked them to check their guns in."

"Gwen... how old would you say Victor is?"

"Um.. I dunno, late 30's early 40's maybe. Why?"

"Ever know anyone that age with those problems?"

"Yeah.. see 'em all the time with ... oh. Wow. you don't think...?"

"He shows all the signs. Victor's on Rage, or something like it. He was probably coming down from a hit."

"Wow. OK. I'll have to REALLy watch him if he comes back... man's got that whole aristocratic thing going on.. but Rage withdrawal will strip that away real quick."

(( OOC : I have no idea what concoctions Victor is taking to provide him with his abilities... but Gwen and Shay are speculating based on what they've seen on the street. ))

(continueally adjusting spider arms while on cell phone)

"Can you hear me now? Can you hear me now? Can you hear me now? DAMMIT!"

Grrrf.

My wife liked the costume generator... but she's not into the gameplay.

It'd be cool if she was... but...

(so, she goes off and plays cards and slot machines, and I play CoH.)

Kashaye strolled through the lobby on the way to her office, after spending hours inventorying all the busted lab equipment.

And there she saw Mallory, asleep.

"Gwen."

"Yes, Shay?"

"How long has she... "

"Been asleep? An hour, maybe more. Poor girl is exhausted. I think she used her power more today than most 'emergents' do in a week."

"I'm gonna take her home, 'k?"

"Yah. Oh by the way... that Victor character, the one that heads up Legion? He's up in Clarisa's office. They've been there for a long time. I hope she sees through all his venture-capitalist BS, because those guys are the whole reason we got into that scrap with Crey. Mally coulda been killed... and that Makavell kid... I saw him get taken down. Couldn't do a thing to stop it. Hope he's OK."

Kashaye nodded. She'd have to check up on Makavell at the hospital. And Kate was missing too... she'd survived the fight, but had vanished soon after. Too much fighting for kids, way too much.

"Hey Gwen? don't work too hard on your first day. I'll expect you home sometime tonight too... cos we both need a rest, just like Mally here."

So saying, she scooped Mallory up in her arms, and carried her outside... and then gleefully rose in the air, as she'd discovered she could fly again.

(( Thank you I6 respec! Teleporting was fun, but...))

Samedi strolled back in, or rather sashayed *hrm, I could get used to this outfit* ... turned out that Dirty Blonde and her two paid soldiers weren't in any world of hurt, the girl just wanted 'moral support'... as if there was an iota of morality on this entire island.

But now she was hungry. And she hadn't seen a decent eatery anywhere... unless you counted the groups of Stricken barbecuing rats over fire-barrels.

"You!"

Jenkins started. Oh no. Not Heart-Attack Woman again.

"Ou est la Boulangerie??"

His fearful look got a trace of incomprehension.

"Zut! J'ai oublie... l'Anglais seulment... d'accord... Where.. is .. a... grocery?"

Jenkins shook his head. "None for miles. But.... second floor has a restaurant..."

Samedi laughed. Surely this was the best joke she'd heard in weeks. But then she did a double take. Jenkins was serious.

"Vous avez un restaurant ... ici?? Vraiment?"

She climbed the stairs and opened the door at the landing.

------------------------

Moments later, she was seated at a linen-covered table, and was handed a menu. She was also rather amazed at the selection.... but settled for something simple, half a roasted chicken, potatoes, gravy, and vegetables. The waiter went to fill her wineglass, but she simply reached for the bottle and set it on the table.

This was definitely a LOT better than she was used to.

LR: "Sirocco!!!"

Sirocco: "Huh?"

LR: "We've built the Rogue Isles up from nothing... we've invaded the Ziggurat TWICE... we beat back the Freedom Phalanx at our doorstep and THEN have them doing 'holding actions' in three seperate contested zones... our followers are wreaking havok everywhere and growing in number daily..."

Sirocco: "So?"

LR: "HOW HARD IS IT TO DESIGN DOORS THAT I CAN FIT THROUGH???"

(( OOC: Starstruck got a bit mixed up -- no one knows Victor and Matamoros are one and the same. Victor's last name is Jaramillo, es verdad? So do a mental substitution, please...))

((WB Fletch! Oh BTW, Kashaye's down in the bunker, taking photographs of the damage... Clarisa is around... someplace....))

Gwen checked in with her team, confirming that the Legion group had been shown to Clarisa's office. She then sat down next to Mallory and laid a hand close to the young girl's injured leg. "You've been dealing with this all day, and through a battle too... let me see if I can't help ease it a little."

She released a wave of healing energy into the leg, causing the bone to begin knitting and the pain to fade. As long as she didn't strain it any further.. it'd be completely healed in a day or two.

She looked at Mallory. The poor girl was exhausted. Gwen found a cushion off of a nearby sofa, and then propped the girl's head so that she could sleep without getting a painful twinge in her neck.

States, these are the same type of people that stand around Times Square with a sign that reads "The End is Nigh, Repent!"... determined to see the black cloud surrounding every silver lining...


Gotta deal with the lag/rubberbanding issues with the 'improved' graphics engine though... can't very well appreciate the new shiny when it causes problems... thanks!

(( don't think so. Just that your villain is holed up here. ))

[ QUOTE ]
You may want to change 'say' to 'team' - if you are use 'say' on a global or broadcast channel, your message will be pumped out to everyone. - I refuse to say why I know this happens!

[/ QUOTE ]

Good to know... however, most teams will 'switch' to the team-only mode on their chat... say will work with whatever channel mode you're using.

Given that Recall Friend is a team-only power, your solution is also sensible.

The one I use is:

bind ctrl+T "team OK, $target, transport in progress, keep hands and feet inside the field until effects fade!$$local Incoming teleport of $target, please stand back!$$powexec_name Recall Friend"

(musical tones... "makes you break down and cry.... say live and let die!")

The woman snached up the phone from the flimsy table she'd placed it on.

"Allo, ici Samedi."

"Ah! My old friend and cellmate, the Dirty Blonde! You are well, non?"

"Oh.. well that will heal in time, cher'... I would offer to help you with it.. but zere is ze requirement of an unwilling third party..."

"Hrmmm?"

"Oh c'est vrai! You have skill with such things too. Although those concoctions you always had me drink tasted like poison..."

"What? They were? and what is so funny?"

"Non. I am in zis place, um, ze Blakmoore Safehouse... it is a shambles... but, better a shambles than our old cell, non?"

"Oui. What have you got?"

"Snakes? Surely a few snakes is not a worthy test."

"But... you always had someone around to help with the tough battles. Even in ze prison, you always were good at picking up on ze legionnaire types... no no... mercenaire..."

"You can only afford one? Tant pis."

"D'accord. I will be there soon."

Samedi pressed END CALL on the phone. The room might be gratis... but the furnishings needed an upgrade. Time to go earn it.

that's because you didn't enclose the search in quotes.

unquoted terms are an OR search. any of the terms will produce a hit. So when you search for: RP Server -- you get everything that mentions RP and everything that mentions servers. Not very useful.

What you want is an AND search. ALL terms must be present to produce a hit. To do that, put quotes around your search phrase. Search "RP Server" = gets you only those threads/posts that have both words together.

"You may call me Lady Gwenivere. I have been appointed as Physiks Site Security and Asset Protection. One moment." She pulled out a bluetooth headset and affixed it to her ear. "Yes? Victor Jaramillo is here from Legion. He wishes to speak to Clarisa. ... I do not believe he is willing to wait long, no.... OK. We will complete signing them in, and send them up."

As each sidearm was surrendered, a tag was looped thru the trigger guard and holographic tape was looped across the slide and around the grip/magazine. Each man was handed a receipt. The tags would ensure that they were returned to the proper owners... and the holotape would ensure that the guns had not been tampered with while their owners were absent.

Lady Gwen stopped Victor and his entourage at the lobby. This she would enjoy.

"Gentlemen... I apologize... but in light of recent events, we request that you remain here until Ms. Feynman can arrange a suitable conference space for you. Also, all armaments on your persons must be checked in." She motioned to a Physiks security guard to bring a clipboard and a scanner. Several other guards in sharp-looking uniforms stood close.

Victor spluttered. "What??"

"As I stated, due to the violence both here and in the surrounding area, we have instituted a no-weapons policy. All weapons must be surrendered, powered down, or otherwise rendered inoperable, or you proceed no further than this room."

To emphasize her point, she gestured to the detention field emitter set into the drop-tile false ceiling.

[ QUOTE ]
Scanning the lab area and seeing the piles of scrap metal and broken equipment, she then said, "Looks like we got some work to do here. What do you need Ms. Parker?".

[/ QUOTE ]

Kashaye produced a company-owned PDA and started ticking off items. "First, we need to inventory everything here, both for replacement and for the insurance claims. We should be able to find the original requisition forms in the company databases, but I'd like a visual inventory just to make sure."

"But, the equipment is the easy part. Personnel... that's tricky. A thought... that Makavell kid was a bit clumsy, but he held his end up reasonably well for a beginner. I think I'm willing to give him a shot. Perhaps he can assist with some of the cleanup and rebuilding. As for Mallory, I'd like to get her back into working as much as her classes allow. That Kate friend of hers really pulled through too. Gwen, can you see possibly bringing her in, perhaps to assist with security? We can find out other talents of hers as we go along, but right now I'd like to get this place buttoned down and back up and running. Thank goodness most of the labs weren't damaged, just this testing bunker."

Gwen nodded. "Agreed, Shay. She sounds like a good choice, based on what I saw of her against Crey's troops."

Baroness Samedi was reminded of home.

Granted, it wasn’t the home she was proud of, but it WAS similar to the squalor that many villages in Haiti had become.

Since disembarking from the rather odd Arachnos craft, she’d met the seer Kalinda, as well as the “arbiter” named Diaz. Both had proven to be useful in getting more of her remembered abilities back. Diaz told her this was common with mages and mystics that had been placed under magical geas; they often had to ‘relearn’ old material as their brain slowly threw off the effects.

In the meantime, she’d been given a couple of ‘tests’ to perform… and she had to find a place to stay. The heels on the boots she appropriated were making her feet hurt something fierce, not to mention they made her ample behind sashay in a decidedly wanton manner. Plus the leather pants were a size too small, as was the bustier. She felt like either she needed to ‘break in’ the leather again… or her well-endowed form would burst out of it. Thankfully many of the other escapees (especially the women) were dressed in what amounted to scraps or negligees or worse… at least she was covered.

She noted a building with a crudely lettered sign on the gate: “Blakmoore – Rooms To Let”. It was a squalid, crumbling building in a sea of squalid crumbling buildings… the entire block should have been bulldozed years before. And again, she felt a twinge of homesickness.

Might as well see what the place had to offer.

Upon entering, she noted a mousy little man with unkempt hair and a bad smoking habit, behind what barely passed for a desk, in what once was a check-in area, but now only qualified as clutter. He didn’t look up.

Ah. A bell. How... quaint.

She rang it.

He didn’t respond.

She rang it again. Again, not so much as a batted eyelash.

She was about to swat the bell off the counter when he spoke.

“Yes, the bell works. ‘Welcome-to-the-Blakmoore-how-may-I-be-of-service?’” The question portion of his statement came out in a nasally rapid-fire singsong that indicated he had no more a concept of ‘service’ than he did sincerity about wanting to help her.

“Zis place… you rent rooms, non?”

“Yeah. By the week, by the month.” Jenkins looked her up and down, “by the night or the hour too.”

She reached forth and, casting a bit of eldritch magicks with her hand, caused the man’s heart to skip a beat.. Then two. “Insect. I could kill you now. Show me a room that is … decently clean… and has plumbing facilities. Quickly.”

Shaken, Jenkins produced a ring of keys and, after several flights of rickety stairs, opened the door to an apartment that bordered between ‘tenement’ and ‘flophouse’. But, the toilet was merely dirty, not clogged, the cold water worked, and there was a bed in the corner with a mattress that didn’t have TOO many questionable stains on it.

“A hundred up front, twenty a week.”

Samedi shook her head. “I am jus’ off ze transport. Arachnos…”

Jenkins was instantly servile. “Arachnos? Oh well that’s a different matter. There is no charge.”

Samedi smiled. Finally, she was reclaiming her rightful place in the world… one step at a time.

----------------------
Baroness Samedi is a 6' black woman, dressed in black and red leather and thigh-high boots, with a flattop afro and bronze-anodized stainless steel plate across her right temple. She is a Dark/Dark Corruptor, magical origin. She speaks with a French Creole accent.

Hehe.


States... and everyone else....


what strikes me is....


How is not seeing any RED servers a BAD THING?



So what if it's a ghost town?

You have all the PvE spawns to yourself. No KS'ing.

No griefers.

No lag.

No waiting in line at the trams.

No "R U HEAL0R?" or potty-humor spam in broadcast.

I LOVE having semi-vacant servers! It's like an empty playground with fresh-cut grass!!

Damn. My bike is up on blocks with a carb problem.

WAAAAAH!!!

Scandalously Heeled Exploiters (S.H.E.)
------------------------------------------
A female-toon-only VG that has but one costume requirement: Stiletto-Heeled Boots! (just like the heroic version of the same acronym).

http://stiletto-heeled-enforcers.netfirms.com

But, where those OTHER girls are all about being good-goody-two-boots... we spike the punch, we spike the ball, we spike EVERYTHING cos we can!

Founder: Burning Dezire
Commanderettes: Ms. Mage, Baroness Samedi, Dirty Blonde, Lawless

VG Focus: Team play, RP, and generally having a good time. PvP hasn't yet been brought up... but who knows?

This VG is geared towards MATURE players. No player gender requirements. Griefing and disruptive behavior is frowned upon.

Kashaye was dead tired.

But after all that had happened, she HAD to get the lab repaired again. Otherwise all of the work up to this point was for naught.

But first things first. Gwen had shown her worth to Clarisa directly, and it was past time to pop the question.

"Clarisa... I have a favor to ask. And perhaps you'll see it as a benefit too. I'd like to have Lady Gwenivere brought on board as a security consultant, assigned to my project, to replace these Legion goons. She can manage security here, and also provide intel on Crey goings-on as part of her heroine missions. I think she'd fit in exceptionally well."

Tarot cards.

All she'd had to work with for the last eight months were tarot cards.

Funny... the wards placed on her cell and on her orange jumpsuit (locked onto her) didn't seem to affect the cards... but then again, without any magical influence at all, the results were probably random. Which meant she could probably still do decent at 'readings'... seeing as this was how the game was played by the normals.

But Samedi wasn't normal.

Seemed like every time she caught a break, something happened. First her father was killed, while she was but a baby. then when she'd been discovered as a conduit for the Loa, the Haitian government branded her a witch. Once that had gotten cleared up, there was a civil war, which resulted in her being shot, left for dead, and cursed with a metal plate over the shattered scar that was her right temple. She was expatriate... and again, when she'd barely got started getting her feet under her, she'd been busted by some 'hero' and sent to this prison. Practicing magic without a license? Coercion? Assault and battery with a deadly spell?

Nonsense.

She turned over a new card.

Death, upside down.

She blinked... and then the power went out and she heard the heavy -ka-thunk!- of her cell door unlocking.

And then the alarms started.

Fortuitous indeed.

She snuck out of her cell, and saw what appeared to be a full-scale riot going on.

This could be useful.

She looked around, and after some time, located an unconscious guard that had the keys to her shackles.

Ransacking a few lockers, she found one belonging to a female guard. She found a rather beat-up leather jacket and what appeared to be motorcycle gear - thick leather pants and... a bustier? The thigh-high boots fit, but ... well.. they'd have to do. Then she caught sight of herself in a mirror under the emergency lighting.

Wow. Imposing.

The hair needed work.. and she definitely needed makeup... but this was a prison break, deal with that once she was out.

But the outfit, although not her traditional garb, definitely gave her a "don't mess with me" look.

She snagged what she could carry, and tried to remember some of her spells.

Crap.

They'd done something. She couldn't remember but the most basic.

Fine.

She headed for the yard.

On the way she'd heard the name "Arachnos" as the ones responsible. Well.. maybe they could use a voodoo priestess... time to track one of these 'spiders' down.

"Baroness Samedi. Yes, we were hoping you would be here. Your reputation precedes you. But... you WILL have to prove yourself... by taking down those guards, and some of the more... common... prisoners that are trying to stampede our landing zone."

Samedi smiled. She expected a harder test.

An hour later, with several counts of murder added to her belt, as well as breaking and entering and sabotage of a prison security system... she was on her way to the Rogue Isles. Free once more... yet expatriate again. Well... new beginnings.

That's often what was meant when the Death card showed itself. Maybe there was something to that claptrap after all.

She drew a card... Death again. Uh uh. Not this time.

She pulled out a lighter and incinerated the card. Death had no hold on her. Not now.

((OOC: Baroness Samedi is the daughter of one Baron Samedi, an enigmatic villain in the James Bond movie "Live and Let Die." Baron Samedi had the strange habit of burning tarot cards, which I've carried over to her as well.))

As the team pressed their attack, suddenly a cloud of smoke erupted and obscured everything. Crey forces and the Stilettos alike were disoriented and unable to see more than a foot or so in front of them.

"All Units! Disengage and regroup!" was heard over the Crey command channel.

"What the (cough) hell?"

Kashaye and her team managed to find each other in the smoke, eyes teaaring and throats raw. "Who set that off? Crey?"

Kate shook her head, coughing. "It... (kaaff) .. came from behind us..."

Gwen set about casting various magicks to try and heal the damage and disperse the effects...

------------

Meanwhile, Tango and Foxtrot had reached the top of the ridge, so far without being detected. As one, all of the ranged-attack heroines sniped the command and control apparatus, blowing it to shreds and sending the Crey command staff flying.

After that, it was primarily a mop-up operation atop Gimry Ridge....

(( OK, Matamoros, if you want to continue going after Crey, go for it. The Stilettos and Physiks are going to fall back to the lab. Good story. ))

Heroine: Sweet Seduction
Origin: magical fusion of a human girl with an ancient Siren (Greek mythological creature)

Themesongs: because of Seductions's powers (all based on her voice) she loves to sing, yet has to maintain iron control over her powers when doing so. Otherwise subharmonics creep in to influence the minds of those that hear. She is a big fan of Diana Krall, and Bjork (which her voice is similar to), but she also has a passion for instrumental music. She LOVES music; the ways in which music has advanced since her time never cease to amaze her.

Examples of what Seduction sounds like:

Bjork - Pagan Poetry
Art of Noise - Opus 4
Dzihan and Kamien - Drophere
Soulstice - Colours