Aberrant: Dead Rising - Chapter 12a: Former Family

[Fox]

"Black kitbag, under the suitcase, rear left." Bond said, a large grin on his face as he watched the antics. "Should be a couple of changes there." in response to Primal's querying look, he shrugged. "You never know when things will be needed again."

"What do you say, ladies?" Bond looked over at Jasmine and Pumpkin, his smile wide. "Who do you think will win?"

"Leste." Pumpkin said immediately. "She's fast." A cloud of doubt crossed her face as something occurred to her. "But Bana can fly." She considered, a look of fierce concentration on her face as she watched Hana screaming at the hissing wild child. "But I still think Leste will win."

"Not bad." Bond came over and dropped to one knee next to Pumpkin, lowering his voice to a murmur. "Do you think Hana will realise that Leste is only a big three year old, so all she has to do is wait for her to get bored?" Pumpkin giggled and shook her head.

"Is that why you're not chasing her?" the girl asked. Bond nodded with a sly grin, then winked up at Jasmine.

"Bana sure knows a lot of bad words." Pumpkin stated gravely as she watched, wide-eyed, as her cousin cussed out Celeste.

[Dawn OOC]

Simon had wandered up to the group, following Hana's path to the Hummer - but not up onto it. He stood back, his sky-blue eyes watching Celeste for a moment. "Hana, would you like some help?" he asked softly, his expression uneasy. "I might be able to convince her to return your things." A small smile played over his lips, as if he found something amusing, but he didn't share the joke.

[Jasmine Gentian]

Jasmine couldn't resist a small smile at Jim's laid-back attitude regarding the situation, and she even shook her head slightly with amusement at the wink. But he could sense an anticipatory tenseness as she watched the situation. She'd even seemed as if she were considering intervening herself for a moment.. but then Simon stepped forward, and Jasmine drew in a deep breath, and stopped herself. Hana's fuse when it came to things that she considered "hers" was incredibly short, and the young woman knew that her own instinctive reactions often added fuel to the fire. Perhaps Simon would be able to calm the young teen down, and they could retrieve Hana's things without incident. She waited to see what would happen.

[Atomicweasel]

Hana’s eyes swam in darkness, shifting shadows playing over the irises as they went from blue to black to blue again. The girl stood on the Hummer, glowering at Celeste and trying to get a handle on the rising wave of indignation and outrage that threatened her tenuous control over her powers. Celeste was way too high to reach. Even if Hana could climb the stupid tree, she was sure Celeste would just jump away again, or throw branches down on her or something.

She glanced down at Bond and Pumpkin, watching them whispering and grinning and feeling the blood rush to her face. They wouldn’t be smirking when she let the darkness come spilling out of her, when she swallowed everything up in cold clinging black. So what if everyone sees? Hana thought, what could they do about it anyway? She looked out over the little enclave group. A bunch of scared pig farmers with a few old guns. They can’t do anything to me.

And then, just as Hana breathed in and her eyes blacked out, Simon stepped forward to offer his help. Hana let out a slow shaky breath. In the oily darkness of her eyes some bits of blue returned. “Fine. Go for it.” Hana finally decided, pacing the length of the Hummer’s roof.

[Dawn OOC]

Simon smiled and walked forward until he was close enough to be in conversation with Celeste. “Hello,” he said softly, pulling something out of his pocket. It was a small silver flashlight, which he held up before her. She stared at it, though not with any great interest – until Simon twisted the small head and made the light come on.

He held it up to her, only to pull it back when he reached for it. He pointed to the pictures, then to himself. Then he pointed to the flashlight and pointed to her. “Light for the pictures. A trade.” He smiled a little wider. “Interested?”

[z008]

She started at the clicking sound, then zeroed in on the beam of light making a circle on her arm. She tried to grab the circle, much like a cat chasing a laser pointer; when the light touched her hand, though, she made a much more sophisticated connection and looked back to the small silver cylinder Simon was holding.

She frowned when the newcomer wouldn't just give it to her, her face making a comical scowl. She dropped the pictures, no longer as interesting as the thing she didn't have, and made another much swifter swipe for the flashlight. "Mien!"

[Dawn OOC]

Simon tossed the flashlight away from him and the girl, sending Celeste scrambling after it. Simon stepped forward and scooped up the pictures, holding them carefully. Smiling, he walked back to Hana and hopped up on the side-step of the Hummer, reaching up. "Your pictures," he said with a smile.

[Atomicweasel]

Hana squinted murderously at Celeste as she squatted down to accept the pictures from Simon. She barely muttered a reluctant “thanks” under her breath before carefully slipping the photos into her shorts pocket. She slid down the Hummer’s windshield on her butt, in less of a hurry to get down than she’d been to get up it. From there she took the arm Simon offered her and hopped down to the dusty ground. In seething silence she leaned into the Hummer through an open window on the driver’s side, and popped the trunk. She walked back, snatched her backpack out from the mess Celeste had made of the backseat, dragged it over to the trunk and tossed it inside next to Bond’s ammunition boxes.

With a deliberate look back at the wild girl who now sat shining the flashlight into her own face, Hana reached up for the lid of the trunk and...

SLAM

“I swear. If she says ‘mien’ one more fucking time...”

[Jasmine Gentian]

Jasmine let out a slight sigh, and turned away from the commotion. She'd talk to Hana later, if the temper hadn't worn off by then. And they'd have to figure out what to do about this odd woman-child. She was reluctant to leave her alone with the villagers - they didn't seem in the least bit sympathetic to the young girl's plight - although in all honestly, she wasn't sure any of them other than the woman they'd been talking to understood what Primal had revealed about her. But she wasn't sure that they'd care if they did. It was a zombie-eat-dog world out there, and people were less sympathetic to unusual situations than they used to be.

She turned back to the other woman, and struck up conversation again in regards to trading. With some simple Spanish on Jasmine's part, and some interpreting on both Bond's and the village woman's part, the two parties began to feel each other out. The villagers had a few things they seemed open to trading with - some hand-woven textiles, pig meat, and some car parts, and were enjoying rummaging through some of the items the small caravan was offering. As Jasmine and Bond haggled a bit with the villagers, several of the children started a game of double dutch with a set of jumping ropes that had been offered by Jasmine in exchange for what had been taken by Celeste. Pumpkin joined in eagerly, temporarily distracted by the novelty of having children closer to her own age to play with. Mrigesh continued to treat the villagers, some of whom were approaching a little less hesitantly now.

All in all, it was an interesting scene. While not exactly "the old days", the situation had an odd feel to it, like something you would have seen in some documentary about modern-day gypsies or something before Z-Day. This was the new reality - a bunch of random people traveling together, trading salvaged stuff out of the back of a monster terrain vehicle. And it was starting to feel weirdly normal, like the life before this one was a dream, or maybe the way someone somewhere else lives that you've read about, but can't really imagine yourself.

[Fox]

The haggling was mainly for smoked pork, which didn't bother Bond overmuch since with Primal along it would be advantageous to have a ready supply of meat to hand. What Bond & Co. really needed was a big score to replenish their stocks of both usable and tradeable goods, and what these villagers really wanted was water, and with that in mind the wily Englishman knelt down with a map and some of the older men, chatting easily with them in both Spanish and English whilst Jasmine and the spokeswoman negotiated on some other points, both women keeping one eye on the children and their menfolk, and for the same reason: they would get into trouble if not watched.

Jasmine, watching Bond laugh and clap one man on the back before pointing at an area of the map questioningly, wryly reflected that some things didn't really change even if the man in question was like hers. Then he turned pale blue eyes her way, unsurprised at finding her watching him as always, and his grin turned to a smile: warm and just for her, but still with that oh-so infectious light of impish mischief that suffused his whole being. He grinned at her once more and turned back to the conversation at hand.

Click to reveal..

Bond is cheating horribly in getting people to be helpful in remembering and relaying details to him, using Natural Agitator and his considerable charm to break down barriers.

He's asking about the lay of the land, whether there's any towns nearby that are overrun with zombies and might have goods stores or warehouses to raid, where the pigs and other animals seem to go to get water. He's finding out these guy's names, what they used to do before Z-Day, what their favorite football team is... You get the idea. He's also raising their spirits a little, taking their somewhat sullen and depressed state and lifting them so that they start to hope that things will get better.

Now, if he can just find water and get to it, he'll be on a winning streak...

[Dawn OOC]

"Hola," another voice called out, and the mood changed drastically. The people Bond had been dealing with became respectful, all turning to look at the man. He was tall and handsome, with thick dark hair and a winning smile. Clearly, he was just too pretty to be normal, but that was alright. Something about him radiated charm and good-will (OOC: see spoiler box). He was exactly what the group was looking for, whatever it was they wanted.

"I am Carlos, leader of this place," he said, offering a hand to Bond, as he reached him first. His eyes flicked around the group, then came back to land on Hana. "Hana? You're safe!" he said, releasing his grip on Bond to walk over and greet the girl. "I was worried after Hugo didn't return with you." He was smiling warmly at her and it was like all the ill-will between them was a distant memory.

Click to reveal.. (TeH Rules Part)

Carlos is using First Impression (pg. 172 in the book. Read it if you aren't sure what it does, but the summation is that by spending a Quantum, he seems to be exactly what you are looking for, whatever that is. For example, if Bond was looking for a fair, honest, leader, that's what Carlos appears to be, atm.

Hana's the only one who gets a WP save, because she knows him. It's been long enough that he gets another attempt to First Impression her (dirty!) but only if she fails a WP roll. Questions? Catch me in chat or ask in the OOC thread.

[Atomicweasel]

For a moment Hana felt a dizzying rush of relief. He was just trying to keep me safe! and then a nauseating, crushing sense of guilt, Hugo...oh my God, why did I... and then clarity “Get away from me!” Hana shouted hysterically. As Carlos stepped closer, she scrambled back, bumping into the Hummer behind her and then quickly sliding over to Simon where she could scream at Carlos from the cover of the ex-policeman’s shoulder. “Stop trying to brainfuck me, Carlos! I mean it!”

“Hana, I would never—“ Carlos’s voice was calm and soothing and sincere, but Hana was quick to interrupt.

“Shut up! You fucking liar!” Hana clamped both hands over her ears. “You sent Hugo to kill me!” Carlos shook his head, his expression sad and pained. “NO! Don’t come any closer!” Hana shrieked. It happened almost too quickly to follow. The change in her eyes, from blue to deepest black, and half a heart-beat later, everything, everyone, was swallowed in absolute darkness.

Click to reveal..

Hana just used ‘Shroud’...and I’m sorry but I don’t have the mechanics handy and I have to run to trial! Dawn, can you roll for me and let us know the results? YEE(dirty)...thanks.

[Primal]

As the cloud of darkness engulfed him, originating from the young girl, Primal sighed and let out a low growl. "Fan-flippin'-tastic. This is why the road was easier when it was just you and I Bond. No drama, no dead weight, no mewling women who need constant coddling. We'd trade, we'd talk, we'd fight, we'd leave. Simple as that."

He spoke like a man unconcerned with the situation, but as he leaned against the hummer and folded his arms (engulfed in darkness, but still playing casual) his senses began to sort through the various scents in the air allowing him to pinpoint targets without the use of his eyes. "Now, can someone get the lights so the kid n' I can start guttin' people all proper like?"

Click to reveal..

Iron Will - Primal takes people at face value so First Impression didn't work. On instinct he spent the WP to shatter the effect before it took hold. Primal does not know the attempt was even made and thus has no idea what Hannah is talking about.

[Fox]

"Yes, but you have to admit it, this way is more fun." Bond's voice came from within the darkness somewhere in a laid-back tone that told Primal that his partner was ready for anything. "And the only woman along with us is Jasmine, and I don't do much coddling there."

"Too much info." Primal snorted.

"Hana, m'love." Bond's voice cut across the darkness as he tried to reach the scared and panicky teen. "We can't see the bad guy to shoot him if you don't let us. He can't hurt you, not with all of us here. Lift the darkness and we'll let Primal do what he does best to people that play head-games."

Click to reveal..

Unfazeable - Bond's mind is quick and agile enough that it keeps up with and adapts to changing situations instantly, without any "Huh, what, whuh? Is that...? Oh..." that characterises normal folks trying to deal with rapid and sudden shifts in their situation. He always seems like he's got things in hand.

Spending 1 QP to activate Persuader, estimating 2 bonus succs due to Hana being afraid of this guy:

Manipulation & Rapport roll to talk Hana into calming enough to control her power (Mega-Manip 1st dice)

1d10=7, 1d10=9, 1d10=7, 1d10=7, 1d10=7, 1d10=6, 1d10=7, 1d10=3

7 succs, + 2 = 9 succs

[z008]

Celeste let out a squawk of surprise as the day turned so suddenly to night; even her new toy did nothing to dispel the darkness. She frowned and glared at her hand and let the defective light-maker drop. As the newcomers screamed and spoke, Celeste jumped back to the trees, blinking as the full sunlight hit her eyes again once she was out of the cloud of darkness. Curious once again, she stayed crouched in the trees, but watched the dark blob for movement.

[Jasmine Gentian]

Upon first glancing at the man, Jasmine had actually let out a small sigh of relief. Here was a man who appeared to be the leader of this community. Generous and fair looking, the young woman immediately started making plans to discuss the problem of this woman-child with him. After all, he was obviously enhanced, and would treat the girl fairly and protect her from any ill-intentioned villagers once the situation was explained to him. But at Hana's response and shouted exclamation, her heart sunk. The feeling of betrayal that she had felt when she'd realized that Violet had manipulated her very emotions came rushing back, and the anger along with it. But she hid her fury behind a smooth veneer (something else she was learning from Bond), even as she pulled the machete from the leather scabbard strapped to her back with a small "schnk" noise.

"I don't know what you're bitching about anyway, Primal. We've talked and we've traded. All that's left is fighting and leaving.. right? And I'm about as fond of mind-fuckers as you are of coddling."

She didn't address Hana's fears directly, afraid that repeating Jim would only sound like pleading. Instead, she tried to let the smooth, in-control tone of her voice do that for her, hoping it would convince the frightened teenager that none of them were buying this bastard's crap.

[Atomicweasel]

Hana thought about all the things she could do to Carlos under the impenetrable cover of darkness. In that unnatural black fog she could see as clearly as if the midday sun were right behind her. She could reach into the Hummer for her revolver, or better still, grab one of Bond’s wicked looking guns—she thought she remembered him calling them MP5s—and fill Carlos Salazar with enough bullets to kill a hundred men. Or she could get behind the wheel of the big car and run him over, and then put it in reverse and run over whatever smear of him was left. Or she could let out more darkness still. It yearned to explode from her like an angry spear of icy hate. She just had to let it go into him. And then Carlos Salazar would bleed black bile from his eyes and ears and nose and mouth. And she’d never have to worry about him again.

But Bond’s honeyed tones were too compelling to resist. His words oozed trustworthiness. Hana didn’t even have to deal with Carlos; Bond would do it for her. She didn’t have to be afraid; he would protect her. Let’s see you talk your way out of this, Hana thought. She stepped quietly around Jasmine, the young woman’s head swinging blindly toward her in the dark, and around a villager who crouched trembling in fear, until she stood just ten feet behind Carlos Salazar. Then, and only then, did Hana call the darkness back inside her.

The wall of black fog dispersed, sucking itself back into Hana as if she were the center of a vacuum. That cold and liquid darkness that had spread across the crowd beside the Hummer now wrapped itself around the young girl, wreathing her in writhing ichor. A faceless and eyeless semblance of Hana stood where she had been, a shadow person made entirely of black with vaguely formed and claw-like hands.

[Fox]

"On the ground, face in the dirt. Speak without leave and my finger twitches. Anyone who isn't my friend moves, my finger twitches. And I'm not known for missing." Bond told Carlos, the smile in his face at odds with the coldly measuring look in his china-blue eyes. "And if I somehow do, my friends won't."

He repeated that in rapid-fire Spanish as he rose, one gun held loosely pointed downwards, the other never wavering from Carlos' left eye.

"Thank you, Hana." he told her gently, sparing one eye to look at her and nod. "Everyone else stay back, and nobody gets hurt." He told the crowd, whilst motioning with the unaimed gun at the ground under Carlos. "You. Down. Now."

Click to reveal..

For those with mind-reading or empathic abilities: No, he's not remotely joking or making an idle threat. He will double-tap Carlos without hesitating and with about as much emotional import as fastening his zipper.

[Dawn OOC]

"No." Carlos's single word was echoed by Bond's gunblast, but the perceptive Brit had seen that flicker of light spring up around the man. There was more to him than mind tricks, it seemed.

People screamed; some started to run but the men, the guardians began to shoot their own weapons.

Combat rounds; please give me inits in the combat thread.

Bond is first - buddy, you have until Tuesday to post.

[Fox]

Bond was already in motion as the armed men nearby were fumbling to raise their weapons. Two more shots, one from each golden pistol, spanged harmlessly off Carlos' shield as the mercenary cut straight across the open ground towards two vehicles parked a short distance away. The three men between him and his objective were starting to bring their guns up when Bond, running straight towards them, opened fire without even breaking stride.

The first man was spun from his feet, a .50 caliber pistol round taking him in the stomach and putting him onto the floor, groaning. The second took a round in the shoulder, his shriek of pain as it knocked his aim off lost in the roar of gunfire. The third man caught a glimpse of cold blue eyes a second before Bond ducked under his outstretched arm, pressing the muzzle of a gun against the man's leg just above the kneecap before squeezing the trigger, sending a heavy bullet though skin, tissue and bone and ending the man's dancing career.

"The bulletproof one's all yours." Bond called back to Primal and Jasmine as he vaulted onto and slid over the parked car in a single fluid motion, dropping out of casual sight between that vehicle and it's neighbour.

Click to reveal..

Action 1: Shooting Carlos in the head Roll: [9, 8, 5, 5, 4, 4, 5] + mega [4, 10]. Total Successes: 5.

Action 2: Shooting Carlos in the head Roll: [8, 2, 3, 7, 1, 4, 3] + mega [6, 1]. Total Successes: 2.

Rolled ping damage, 0 succs on either shot.

Action 3: Gunning down Guard 1 Roll: [5, 6, 5, 7, 9, 2] + mega [3, 4]. Total Successes: 2.

-Gunning down Guard 1 damage Roll: [3, 5, 10, 10, 1, 9, 9, 3, 7]. Total Successes: 5.

-5 Lethal to guard 1

Action 4: Gunning down guard 2 Roll: [4, 5, 2, 8, 5, 5] + mega [5, 4]. Total Successes: 1.

-Gunning down guard 2 damage Roll: [4, 5, 3, 3, 8, 8, 2, 7]. Total Successes: 3.

-3 Lethal to guard 2

Action 5: Gunning down guard 3 Roll: [1, 9, 7, 9, 1] + mega [6, 4]. Total Successes: 3.

-Gunning down guard 3 damage] Roll: [2, 6, 3, 10, 1, 8, 2, 7, 3, 7]. Total Successes: 4.

-4 Lethal to guard 3

3 dice + 2 Mega dice for a dodge left. Bond is aiming to finish his move between the orange and blue vehicles and in cover. The three guards he shot were the red stars between him and those vehicles.

[Jasmine Gentian]

Jasmine compensated for the darkness by focusing on the noise around her, even as it seemed the point became moot, the shroud pulling in towards her young ward and cloaking the girl in darkness. The sounds of Bond's bullets made sharp whistling sounds in her ears as if they'd passed right by her, and the scared, murmured Spanish was as clear as if it had been whispered in her ear. But through all that, she could hear the sounds of a struggle, and her eyes flickered towards it, picking Mrigesh out of the crowd. He was grappling with one of the women, their hands clenched together in what appeared to be a struggle for possession of something too small for Jasmine to see.

"Primal, take care of it, we've got other problems!"

She bolted towards the low concrete barricade, and Mrigesh, even as she called out her intentions. As she reached the wall she jumped, her hand making impact with the top of the hard surface as she attempted to vault over it. A slip of her foot and a slight stumble sent her heart up into her throat, but she managed to scramble over the wall nonetheless, her feet impacting firmly on the ground before she closed the distance between herself and the two struggling humans.

Click to reveal..

1st Action: Activating Enhanced Hearing, -1QP, QP: 16/21

2nd Action: Per + Aware for checking on Mrigesh's status:

Jasmyne *rolls* 10d10: 8+5+5+6+4+1+3+9+7+3: 51

[Jasmyne] 11:07 pm: 1st is a mega.

,,

[Jasmyne] 11:15 pm: Anyway, what's Mrigesh's status?

[Carver] 11:17 pm: He's struggling with some woman; you're not sure what's going on, but they appear to be wrestling. Perhaps over something

one of them is holding?

3rd Action: Running towards Mrigesh.

4th Action: Closing the distance, including a vault over the wall.

Str + Ath = Jasmyne *rolls* 4d10: 2+4+2+6 = 0 suxx + 5 auto-suxx = 5 total suxx.

[Dawn OOC]

Simon dropped to his belly and aimed under the second Hummer. The vehicle's high clearance allowed him to have some cover as he fired at the legs of the nearest guard. He put a bullet into the meat of the man's calf, chipping the bone.

With a cry, the man went to one knee and Simon aimed a touch higher. The next bullet tore through the man's thigh, throwing him to the bloody dirt.

Click to reveal..

Firearms attack on Guard #6 Roll: [5, 2, 4, 3, 8, 8, 2]. Total Successes: 2.

Damage (Heavy Pistol) Roll: [5, 6, 4, 10, 7]. Total Successes: 2.

Firearms attack, #6 Roll: [4, 10, 10, 8, 8, 9]. Total Successes: 5.

Damage (Heavy Pistol +4 overage) Roll: [5, 6, 7, 6, 9, 9, 9, 2, 2]. Total Successes: 4.

Simon

Damage Taken: 0

Carlos spun and dashed back through the gate, disappearing behind the wall.

Click to reveal..

Carlos moved and is going Full Defense this round.

Hanners, you're up now. You have until Tuesday evening to post.

[Atomicweasel]

Hana had a vision of herself, rising black and terrible into the sky, unleashing twin tendrils of darkness at Carlos’s fleeing back...but she hesitated. She had seen Bond’s bullets ricochet harmlessly away from him. What if she chased him and he turned on her? What if his powers were greater than hers? Hana glanced to her left, where two of the villagers stood, weapons at the ready. There was easier prey at hand and, Hana thought, better hunters than me.

“Don’t let him get away!” Hana shouted at Primal, but the voice was not hers. It was not even human. It came out warbling and wrong, the voice of something trying to sound like a person. As she spoke, darkness dripped from her clawed hands and into the dusty soil. The inky whorls raced across the parched earth like liquid lines of mercury, then stabbed up into the villagers from beneath their feet.

[Dawn OOC]

The men died. It was terrible to watch as their bodies were ripped apart from below. One moment, they were alive; the next, chunks of bone and meat thumping to the ground.

Jasmine could see what Mrigesh was wrestling for; the woman fighting with him had a small blade in her hand. The doctor was struggling to hold her wrists. As Jasmine watched, a child wrapped itself around Mrigesh’s leg and bit him. The doctor yelped and jerked and that was when the woman got the blade.

From where Jasmine was standing, she suddenly understood that the villagers weren’t running away from the attackers; they were running to weapons. Every man, woman and child in this place was turning on them.

Somewhere further away, Jasmine heard Pumpkin screaming.

Celeste is up; you have until Thursday evening to post.

[z008]

Celeste growled in annoyance as the fighting started. The newcomers were interesting and the others were boring and now the boring ones were keeping the new ones from letting her look at the new shinies.

So she found the leader of the boring ones, the one that she usually avoided. She knew he was dangerous, but she was dangerous too. She'd never shown them before. Better they think her less than she was. Until now. Now, the air around her seemed to shimmer as she jumped, aiming to land on him.

He moved too quickly, though, and she landed, rolled up into a crouch facing him. She growled again. She did not like this predator.

[Dawn OOC]

Staggering backwards from the crazed woman with the knife, Jasmine saw Mrigesh fumble out his sidearm - and hesitate. The doctor's eyes were anguished as he wrestled with the desire to protect himself and his oaths as a doctor.

Click to reveal..

Mrigesh is defaulting to Full Defense.

Primal and Eric, you both need to post. I don't think your stated actions to me conflict, so both of you are cleared to act.

[Primal]

Primal hunched low and was poised to strike, following Hana's recommendation to not let the bastard get away.

Then Pumpkin screamed and something in Primal churned, wrenching his attention away from his chosen prey. She was only 6, and super or no, in his eye she was just a child.

With a snarl and muttered curse under his breath he leaped... in the direction of Pumpkin's terrified screams. It was a tough call, but Hana was the eldest of the two and capable of defending herself, so instinct demanded he protect the youngest.

Click to reveal..

The green grass had grown long in the first weeks of spring. A little blond boy came tearing out of the house, screeching with delight, and dove into his father's arms. Laughing, they wrestled in the yard until a melodic voice called out to them.

"Ty! C'mon, don't play so rough with him, he's not big enough yet," the lovely woman scolded him playfully.

"Relax, hun, he's tougher than he looks. A few scrapes and bumps never killed anybody. They build character." He grinned wide and brightly. "We're just playing."

"Well, just..." she was hesitant, as any worried mother would have been, but looking at the two of them, grins and grass stains and all, she relented. "Just be careful, please?"

His feet hammered into the ground with the rumble of distant thunder as he closed the distance to the children swarming Pumpkin, biting and shoving her ruthlessly. This was NOT gonna work. Not at all. Not while he could help it. The man Tyler Cole had once been struggled to retain control as the instinctual drive to maul any and all threats to his 'family' grew increasingly difficult to resist.

Thick, black claws tapered into deadly points three inches from his fingertips, and they tore through the earth as he barreled forward on all fours. His hand rose up as he approached, snarling even as the lion exulted in the certainty of the kill, and Tyler Cole's fading humanity pleaded with the beast to end it without the blood of children being shed...

He stood up, sliding to a halt in the loose gravel, and throwing his arms out to his sides he let loose a mighty roar, a roar that vibrated within the parched earth, rattled the ramshackle homes, and cracked the windows of nearby vehicles. It called out to all within miles, demanding obesiance, warning them all to take heed of his majesty.

Click to reveal..

Disorient - 5 Successes on all with 25 meters. Friendly fire possible.

Dreadful Mien is active.

The disorientation takes the form of primal fear, a gripping instinctual response from the brain that tells everyone that they are going to die.

Willpower can not negate this power. Spending 1 Willpower will permit you to muster enough courage to act normally for 1 turn. This power only lasts 5 turns, and it may not be maintained.

Spent 3 quantum and 1 Willpower (Willpower was spent to activate Disorient)

[SalmonMax]

Over at the pig pen, Eric and his trusty canine friend were looking over (or in Bingo's case, through) the fence at the livestock destined for slaughter. Though his family had raised cattle, not pigs, he reckoned that a healthy animal was a healthy animal, and that it shouldn't be too tough to judge one if he knew what to look for. The pigs seemed fine to him, for the most part. Whoever'd been picking them knew his stuff. No obvious flaws in skin, all were attentive and responded to noises and movement, they had clear eyes and clean ears and mouths...

Then something started happening over towards the parking lot. Eric heard shouting, and then...then screaming, and noises that belonged in a science fiction show, not reality. Something black shot up into the air like a photo-negative of a flare and began lashing out as Eric watched, thunderstruck. The people from the enclave who were watching him assess the pigs took off running.

Then another scream got his attention as he fumbled for the pistol in his satchel. A thin, high pitched wail, like a little girl. Eric whirled and saw a ring of men closing in on a little girl! Those were more people from the enclave! What were they DOING?!

"Hey!" he shouted. "You guys get away from..."

His warning was interrupted when something HUGE impacted the ground just outside the ring of people menacing the girl and ROARED. Even as far away as he was, Eric felt that roar steal strength from his legs and make his blood run cold. Dimly he could hear Bingo barking frantically at his side, confused and frightened by the chaos but trying to defend his master.

Jesus Christ was that thing going to eat her?!

"No!" Eric started stumbling towards the fray as fast as his scared legs could take him. He pulled the gun out, a 9mm pistol that seemed woefully inadequate in the face of this creature. "Leave her alone! LEAVE HER ALONE!"

[Dawn OOC]

Pumpkin shrieked at the noise and doubled over, crouching with her hands over her ears. She started to cry as the echoes of Primal's roar faded.

The other kids fared no better. Instead of hunkering like Pumpkin, four of them ran, scattering with screams of fear. The fifth stood frozen as the front of his shorts discolored.

New round!

Bond is up; you have until Wednesday evening.

[Fox]

Hunkered down between the two cars, Bond snapped one pistol back into it's holster and pulled free two grenades from his webbing. He heard Primal's resonant roar and saw the kids scatter from Pumpkin as the big mutant menaced them, then saw someone running towards the big man shouting at him to 'leave her alone'. Two and two quickly added up: it wasn't the first time someone had mistaken Primal's intent. Pulling the pins from the grenades with his teeth Bond broke from cover, letting the levers *ping* away as he turned a complete circle to the right, his footwork never faltering as he ran towards Pumpkin.

With inhuman speed and grace he threw one grenade as he spun, then transferred the other to his right hand and threw again as he came about. The first rolled under the left-most of the two cars he'd just vacated, and as Bond's backpedalling became side-stepping the second landed squarely in the middle of the three armed folks by the butchering pen.

His circle complete, Bond was now moving forwards towards the youngest member of his companions as the grenades ticked down. His left hand came up and snapped a shot off without seeming to aim, but Eric felt the impact that shattered his pistol and tore it clean from his grasp without so much as scraping his skin. As deterrants went, that sort of marksmanship wasn't bad.

"Duck." advised the familiar-looking man a bare second before Eric heard the loud sharp *crack* of an explosion behind him.

Click to reveal..

Tossing one WP grenade under the orange car next to his starting position.

-3 dice penalty

Dex & Athletics

[Einherjar] 3:49 am: Last 2 are Mega

[Dozer] 3:49 am: oh?

Einherjar *rolls* 7d10: 7+9+1+1+5+8+10: 41

[Carver] 3:49 am: Nice!

[Einherjar] 3:49 am: Better

Fire in the hole. Hauling ass.

Move action: run toward Primal and Pumpkin - can cover 9 meters

Tossing one Fragmentation grenade at the hostiles by the butchering pen.

-4 dice penalty

Dex & Athletics

[Einherjar] 3:51 am: Last 2 are mega

Einherjar *rolls* 6d10: 1+6+8+10+5+9: 39

[Einherjar] 3:52 am: Happy times

[Einherjar] 3:52 am: One potato, two potato

Dead on target in the middle of them: 8d10L damage to all within 3 metres, half out to 6m

Einherjar *rolls* 8d10: 2+9+3+10+8+3+8+8: 51

5 Lethal damage to those 3

Shooting the gun out of Eric's hand.

-5 Dice penalty, +2 difficulty

[Einherjar] 3:54 am: last 2 mega

Einherjar *rolls* 6d10: 2+2+9+5+9+7: 34

[Einherjar] 3:54 am: Whoo

[Carver] 3:54 am: Well done, considering.

[Jasmine Gentian]

Primal's furious roar, along with the unexpected explosion, had left Jasmine's ears ringing for a brief moment, but it didn't really matter. Her focus, for now, had narrowed distinctly - Mrigesh and his combatants, the glint of sun on the woman's blade, and the slight tremor of the gun in the doctor's hand. She'd pulled the machete with the intent of using it on another super, but these were regular people, and probably ones who had been influenced - mind-fucked, even - into loving this creature, and maybe even into doing his will. She didn't know how it worked, and she didn't care to enough, except to prevent it. So she dropped the machete, and when she swung at the woman, it wasn't that sharp, deadly edge that made contact with the woman's face, it was the blunt impact of Jasmine's elbow as it swung upwards into the woman's chin - hitting her just hard enough to knock her into unconsciousness.

Even as the woman dropped to the ground, Jasmine whirled around, dropping the grabbing the two young boys by the backs of their shirts and jerking them away from the frightened man. She ignored their yells of protest and the stream of youthful Spanish that she recognized enough to know they probably would have been whipped by their parents for in a normal world. Then she turned around and tossed them both (with no particular grace, but not too much force) into something resembling a heap of dust and clothes about twenty feet away. Then she knelt down, sweeping up the machete as she took a defensive position in front of Mrigesh.

"You okay?!"

Click to reveal..

1st Action: Striking the woman, using precision to limit damage.

6d10 → [6,5,1,6,10,2] = 2 suxx + 5 auto-suxx = 7 suxx

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3101230/

Activating Quickness, QP: 15/21

Activating Multi-tasking, QP: 14/21

[Jasmyne] 7:58 pm: Rolling for Jasmine/Multitasking, first 2 die are megas.

Jasmyne *rolls* 5d10: 2+4+1+1+9: 17

     [Carver] 7:58 pm: No MT for you, young lady.     

[Jasmyne] 7:58 pm: Darn. Okay.

Pulling the biting brats off of our doctor!

1st Brat:

[Jasmyne] 8:06 pm: Rolling Str+Might for grappling Brat #1:

Jasmyne *rolls* 6d10: 9+8+1+7+3+6: 34

[Jasmyne] 8:07 pm: 3 + 5 auto-suxx = 8 suxx

[Jasmyne] 8:07 pm: Wait, crap, forgot to lose the two dice.

Jasmyne facepalms.

[Jasmyne] 8:07 pm: You want me to reroll Carver, or just drop two dice?

[Carver] 8:14 pm: Ok, Just feel free to drop the last two and make sure your next roll is right.    

[Jasmyne] 8:14 pm: Thanks,sorry. Even if I dropped the first two, which are successes, she'd still have 6, which I assume is enough to pull the little brat off.

[Carver] 8:15 pm: I'll give that to you since he's 8 and she's got Mega-Str 1.

2nd Brat:

[Jasmyne] 8:18 pm: Rolling for the second brat, -3 for splitting actions:

Jasmyne *rolls* 3d10: 7+2+7: 16

[Jasmyne] 8:18 pm: 2 suxx + 5 auto suxx = 7 suxx.

Activating Quickness: 13/21 QP

Brat-Tossing:

[Jasmyne] 8:23 pm: Tossing them several feet onto their butts, Carver - one action or two?

     [Carver] 8:24 pm: One if she opts not to care about the landing too much; i.e., them bouncing off one another.

[Jasmyne] 8:24 pm: ...and another Str+Might roll, I assume?

     [Carver] 8:24 pm: No, Str+ throw *watches Bomb twitch*

[Jasmyne] 8:25 pm: She'd only care enough to make sure she's not throwing them too far or too high - she'd prefer not to break bones and shit.

[Jasmyne] 8:28 pm: Carver, I don't see a "throw" listed in abilities for Abby.. at least not in the main book. It just lists, under Str abilities, Brawl and Might. Might: This ability encompasses physical

fitness and feats of focused muscle power. It rates lifting, climbing, jumping and throwing competence. Etc etc.. throw is listed as a specialty.

     [Carver] 8:28 pm: It's an add-on from the PG.

     [Carver] 8:28 pm: Meh, just use Might.

[Jasmyne] 8:29 pm: Oh, okay. Well that's fine, I didn't know.

[Jasmyne] 8:29 pm: I don't look at the PG as much as I should.     

[Jasmyne] 8:29 pm: CURSE WHITE WOLF. LOL.

Jasmyne *rolls* 6d10: 2+7+1+10+2+2: 24

[Jasmyne] 8:32 pm: 2 suxx + 5 auto-suxx = 7 suxx

[The Bomb] 8:34 pm: Throw is a combat maneuver

[Jasmyne] 8:35 pm: So.. resisted? Or what?

     [Carver] 8:35 pm: That's a toss.

     [Carver] 8:36 pm: There's not much two little kids can do to stop a grown super-woman from throwing them around like rag dolls.

[Jasmyne] 8:37 pm: Heh. Okay, and I assume picking up my machete that I dropped counts for my last turn, right?

Carver *is* rubbing it in, btw.

     [Carver] 8:37 pm: It can.

[Jasmyne] 8:38 pm: LOL. Rub away - she doesn't feel TOO bad, since they WERE sinking their teeth into the good doc's thigh muscles.

Activating Quickness: 12/21 QP

Last turn: Grabbing her machete - nothing special here! WHEW!

[Dawn OOC]

“Yes!” Mrigesh shouted, though he looked far too shaken to truly be alright.

Click to reveal.. (Simon’s actions)

Attack on injured man Roll: [2, 6, 1, 9, 10, 4, 2, 9, 5]. Total Successes: 3.

Damage (Heavy pistol with 2 overage) Roll: [5, 7, 5, 7, 4, 3, 6]. Total Successes: 2. = 2 lethal

Move action to the gate

Simon’s pistol rang out one more time and the dying man was officially dead. Even before the body slumped bonelessly, Simon was rolling from under the Hummer and charging the gate, his gun held before him. It was suddenly easy, watching him move, to remember that he was a cop before Z-day.

Click to reveal.. (Carlos’s actions)

Carlos’s Doing Something roll! Roll: [2, 8, 1, 5, 7, 5, 6] + mega [5, 7]. Total Successes: 4.

Perceptions rolls to spot or hear him are at a Difficulty 4; you need a minimum of 5 to see or hear him.

Celeste was watching the man who had run closely. Then the air around him rippled and he disappeared from sight!

Hana is next; you have until Friday evening to post.

[Atomicweasel]

The thing that had been Hana turned as Simon charged forward. The eyeless whorl of darkness that passed for her face shifted toward him and then looked to the gate. She walked with stilted lurching movements, like a stuttering image on a screen. On the other side of the gate she paused, the shadows twining around her protectively. Shadow-Hana cocked her arm, and swung it, back-handed, as if swatting at some insect...

...and a blackened fist sprung from the ground, spurting out like a geyser of oil, smashing into the two villagers who stood before her. The first villager took the brunt of the blow and was flung a hundred and eighty feet into the air. The second had a shorter flight, sailing sideways into a warehouse with a sickening splat that sounded like a wet dish rag being flung against a parquet floor.

Click to reveal..

Spending a will point to avoid effects of Primal's roar. Splitting attack between two villagers directly north of gate, using crush.

Attack roll: 4d10.hits(7)=3, 4d10.hits(7)=1 3 suxx on 1st, 1 suxx on 2nd

Damage rolls:

11d10.hits(7)=6 6 suxx x2=12 lethal for 1st, and he flies 60 meters, lawl.

9d10.hits(7)=3 3 suxx x2=6 lethal for 2nd, and he flies 30 meters. The 1st is taking a trip into the big blue sky...the 2nd is being tossed into warehouse3...assuming it's less than 90' away.

They also have their inits reduced by 6 and 3 respectively.

[Dawn OOC]

More villagers poured out of the warehouses, intent on attacking the company. Celeste found herself the attention of several angry, gun-wielding nuts.

Click to reveal..

Lots of shooting at Celeste Roll: [10, 4, 1, 5, 8, 7]. Total Successes: 3.

Light pistol, +2 overage Roll: [3, 5, 1]. Total Successes: 0.

Villager shoots at Celeste Roll: [6, 2, 7, 3, 5, 8]. Total Successes: 2.

Light pistol, +1 overage Roll: [3, 5]. Total Successes: 0.

Villager shooting at Celeste Roll: [9, 10, 5, 4, 6, 4]. Total Successes: 2.

Heavy pistol, +1 overage Roll: [6, 7, 2]. Total Successes: 1.

Villager shooting at Celeste] Roll: [2, 5, 7, 5, 3, 9]. Total Successes: 2.

Shotgun, +1 overage Roll: [8, 1, 1, 1]. Total Successes: 1.

2 Lethal damage from 2 different sources

The first two shots didn’t bother her, but the last two were actually painful. The feral had been shot at before, but this was the first time she’d been hit. She yelped in surprise at the sting and then at the second. That had hurt!

Click to reveal..

Villager shooting at Jasmine Roll: [3, 5, 7, 3, 4, 7]. Total Successes: 2.

Light pistol, +1 overage Roll: [9]. Total Successes: 1.

Villager shooting at Jasmine Roll: [8, 5, 9, 6, 9, 6]. Total Successes: 3.

Heavy pistol, +2 overage Roll: [7]. Total Successes: 1.

Villager shooting at Mrigesh Roll: [7, 10, 8, 8, 7, 10]. Total Successes: 6.

Shotgun, +5 overage Roll: [4, 5, 9, 6, 4, 2, 2, 5, 1, 2, 9, 8]. Total Successes: 3.

Jasmine has 2 Lethal from 2 different sources

Mrigesh has 3 Lethal from 1 source

Jasmine had her own fun to deal with; more comers to her party. Two men dashed out of the second warehouse and fired at her, both hitting. The stings were light compared the man from the first warehouse who shot at Mrigesh, her shotgun roaring loudly, even in the chaos of battle. Mrigesh went down in a welter of blood, his eyes wide with shock.

The kids around Pumpkin had fled, save the poor lad staring at Primal, urine soaking his pants and shaking too hard to move.

Celeste is up, you have until Saturday to post.

[z008]

Click to reveal.. (Perception Roll)

1d10=9, 1d10=3, 1d10=4, 1d10=6, 1d10=8, 1d10=5 Celeste has no idea where Carlos is.
Attack Roll]1d10=10, 1d10=5, 1d10=10, 1d10=6, 1d10=7, 1d10=3

Celeste spun on the predator's pack, pain catching her entire attention. She ran for him, power slicing off around her as she charged. She barely tapped the man, but the man burst entirely into flames; he screamed and fell to the ground, trying to put the flames out.

[Dawn OOC]

Mrigesh looked down at his own chest, his mind already assessing the damage. "Ouch," he said weakly as the foremost thought in his mind was: getting shot hurts.

With shaking hands, he started to patch his own wounds.

Primal is up, he has until Saturday to post.

[Primal]

The giant hunched over an scooped up Pumpkin, his hand nearly large enough to grip around her waist completely, and held her close to his chest. "I've got you little one." His voice was the usual bestial growl mingles with human speech but it was soft, almost soothing. This beast was not here to hurt her, for all the good it did after he'd scared the bejeesus out of her. "No one will hurt you Pumpkin, just hold on to me."

Quote:

"No!" Eric started stumbling towards the fray as fast as his scared legs could take him. He pulled the gun out, a 9mm pistol that seemed woefully inadequate in the face of this creature. "Leave her alone! LEAVE HER ALONE!"

His head jerked alertly towards the man shouting at him and he snarled, his vocal chords delivering a another roar in his direction. It was an intimidating roar that warned the man that Primal was ready for a fight.

Poor Discolored Shorts Boy didn't even have time to let his eyes swell rounder with surprise as the monster within Primal improvised. Snatching the abusive little child up and hurled him at Eric at a terminal velocity.

"Less talking, more dodging." He growled as the small child tumbled head over feet toward the man with the gun.

Click to reveal..

2 Actions.

1st Action to pick up and cradle Pumpkin.

2nd Action to hurl a small, bed wetting child at Eric.

(Throwing child at Eric) Revenant *rolls* 7d10: 5+9+7+6+2+1+10: 40

(Reroll 10 due to Powerful) Revenant *rolls* 1d10: 4: 4

3 Successes.

Possible damage (not including successes from the attack roll, in case Eric dodges, is: [10]+4d10B.

Primal is cradling Pumpkin. Since the game takes no consideration for facing please assume any shots fired at Primal, providing he can see the shooter, he will pivot his body to absorb the entire barrage to protect Pumpkin up to and including hunching over to cover her completely.

At the moment Primal obviously thinks Eric is part of this mad house so he has no qualms about hurling one of their sick, demented children at one of their sick demented adults (Eric). If that's what it takes to keep his 'family' safe.

[SalmonMax]

Eric's jaw dropped open in horror as the creature scooped up a child and hucked him right at him! And okay, maybe it was one of the kids who'd been threatening the girl, but Jesus Christ!

He didn't have time for anything fancy. In that moment of crisis, he just took the first thing that popped into his head that might possibly save the kid and himself...and changed.

His skin whitened and puffed out into rounded, cubish shapes. By how they jiggled as he moved, he was now quite soft. At the same time, he GREW. He swelled up to twice his height; more than ten feet high. He was broader too, and thick; even tubby. But that was probably because he didn't look terribly human anymore. Humanoid sure, with head and arms and legs...but his body was pasty white and kind of segmented, like it had been built with cream colored blocks. His clothes had vanished, along with any need of them, anatomically.

Though strangely, there was a little sailor hat atop his head.

"Ungh," came a bass, groaning voice. "Oh shi..."

The flung child impacted dead center, just under where his sacrum would have been. His flesh bowed in under the hit, making a deep crater and knocking him back a step. He windmilled his stubby arms as he wobbled. "Whoa...whoa! Waugh!"

In the end, the boy's impact was enough to push Eric backwards off balance and land him right on his giant, marshmallowy back with the child-bullet sitting bemusedly in a large circular divot in his midsection.

(OOC - Shapeshifting! 5 sux = 1 in Growth, 1 in Density Decrease, 1 in Armor (bsically rubbery armor, not hard armor), and 1 point to imitate a specific appearance. That of Mr Stay Puft.)

[Dawn OOC]

Pumpkin clung to Primal, weeping with fear. Yes, Primal had scared her, but he'd also picked her up and was speaking with soft words. She was so scared that at this time, he was just another adult holding her. The little one was too afraid to even summon her 'friends' to help her.

Bond is up - you have until Thursday evening.

[Fox]

Bond skidded to a stop by Primal, taking a long (for him) moment to assess the shapechanging member of Carlos's crew. He swiftly reloaded the spent clip as he reached for Pumpkin.

"Let me take her." he suggested. "The leader's going to get away and bug us later if we don't get some serious muscle on him now. I can handle bodyguard work. Shhhh, Pumpkin. It's okay. I've gotcha." The girl went to him willingly enough, this adult being more familiar and less downright scary. "Woof!" Bond said merrily as she hugged his neck tightly. "You're getting bigger. Must be the candy."

"s'not candy." Pumpkin muttered into his shoulder. "'m grown up!"

"So you are." Bond said gently as he covered the... Stay-Puft Man?... with his pistol. "Cover your ears, okay sweetheart? The gun can get loud."