Mutants & Masterminds: A House Divided - Sunday Night Poker

[z-Sean McCline]

For an orphan, patterns and established relationships were very important. Each child without the stability of a family went about these in different ways, but they all tried to find somewhere to belong and something stable in the way of relationships.

For Sean, there was the added difficulty of what his parents had been. He couldn’t know that they were Teragen. It wasn’t common knowledge where Sean had been found as a baby, but he knew, and that knowledge was always there. He’d wondered which of his instructors had known and every time he’d failed or just misbehaved, he waited for them to blame his heritage. They never had, but the blame he’d given himself was just as damning.

Still, he tried to forget and have some fun. That’s why he’d established the Sunday Night Poker and Food Party among the other DV second gens. A quiet request down the line from Anna had opened it up to their Utopian peers as well.

Sean’s condo was in Otjomuise, a high-end suburb of Windhoek where many Elites lived. His place wasn’t a million-dollar mansion, but it was the entire floor of a modern high-rise. Frankly, it was more room than he needed day to day, but it had been open and the price had been right when he’d been looking. Taking this place had meant he could stop looking, too.

The main area was a combination living room, kitchen, and dining room. The living area was closest to the windows with their panoramic view of Windhoek; the floor was two steps lower than the rest, clearly defining the space. The kitchen and dining room were located behind the living room.

Right now, the place smelled good. Sean always catered these events; he couldn’t really cook and with his income didn’t need to cook. Tonight he’d gotten finger foods from the American restaurant down the street, which he’d set up in his kitchen. His big table in the dining room had the cards and poker chips on them, ready to be passed out when guests arrived. He’d set up his entertainment system in the living room so that if anyone’s date wasn’t interested in poker, they had something else to do.

The green-eyed man looked around the room one more time, satisfied that he was ready. Now he just needed his guests to arrive.

[Dash Carpenter]

In the top condo of another high-rise about twelve blocks away from Sean's, a smartphone alarm buzzed its staccato alert - and the owning hand slapped down on it, fingers dextrously tapped on the 'Dismiss' button. "Hmm," Dash noted with a twinge of self-annoyance, "We might have taken a bit longer in the shower than planned, Sam."

Samantha shrugged, smiling as she dried off, revealing much of her small, yet seductively curvy form. That restored his smile, but they had gone at it with her pressed up against the wall for some time, which was why they weren't out the door yet as planned. "Guess we have to hurry it up then. We don't want to keep Sean waiting."

Dash agreed wholeheartedly, so there was little conversation afterward as the two young friends with benefits got dressed and Dash grabbed a double size pack of Assorted Roy Chakas from the counter to bring to the party. Fortunately, the distance between the two condos wasn't far when cars were involved, and Dash's luxury Lexus UHC swooped down the road and to their destination.

Dash certainly enjoyed Sean's company and Sunday Poker, and since this was the first time for Upie second-gens as well, that was something he was wondering about, if they would let down their hair for once. He was ruminating on whether Pax had cursed his organization with the taint of sticks in the mud when Sam knocked on the door.

OOC

Roy Chakas: A 2040s chip brand.

UHC: Ultra-Hydrogen cell, Hydrogen technology turned to the maximum.

[Samantha Austin]

Samantha and Dash had been friends for as long as Samantha could remember. It was a running joke that he and she were each other's shadow. Sam didn't mind, she valued true friendship. Dash was one of those people she could trust with her life. Over the years their bond grew more than just that. She could tell he was sticking around for other reasons than her powers. When they visited each other, she knew that fun times were in store.

Every Sunday Sean would hold a poker game. Samantha would use the DeVries teleporters to pop over to Namibia Sunday night, But this weekend she thought she'd spend the weekend with Dash. Even though they kept bumping into distractions, she did not neglect her most gracious host!

She was originally going to wear one of her favorite black dresses, but that got in Dash's way when she accidentally distracted him. It would be a vibrant red instead. "I'm sure we're not that late," she said as they got in the vehicle, "They're probably getting acquainted with the new players." Her eyes sparkled at the thought of meeting these Utopians, wondering what they would bring to the table, literally and figuratively. She snapped out of her day dream and smiled, pecking Dash on the cheek - a silent reminder that it was time to put the pedal to the metal.

[The Story Guide]

Dash and Samantha reached Sean's condo at the same time of a trio of Utopians. Celestia's eyes lit up as she spotted her girlfriend, the Teen2Morrow leader gliding over to Samantha and pulling her into a quick kiss before introducing her two companions.

"Sam, Dash, I'm so excited about tonight!" she grinned, nearly glowing in anticipation. "Oh! This is Madelaine - Dianthus in the media, and Gabriel. I don't know if anyone else is coming, but I made sure everyone knew they were invited." 'Everyone' being the Utopia's Legacy Children, though Celestia privately wished the invitation had just included the younger novas of the world, period. The young that erupted needed socialization as much as those lucky enough to be born novas, but she could force Sean and the others to include them....though she might try convincing Sam to work on the others for next time.

"Cristoph wanted to come, but he got called away to Mars for some reason and December, Leliana, and Ivan said they come and bring Aoidē, if her concert ends early enough," Gabriel, a dark-skinned youth of presumably mixed Hispanic and African descent - if one was paying attention to ethnic features as opposed to the numerous cybernetic implants over his body - piped up, his voice cracking mid-sentence and causing him to blush deeply.

Madelaine, pale-skinned and physically perfect next to Gabriel's gangliness, rolled her eyes. "And the rest of them couldn't come up with excuses or can't tell us where they are what they're doing, so it's just us this time." She smiled at the two DeVries second gens and bowed. "At your service," she added playfully, though she was wearing her signature black leather outfit and ornate sword and dirk at her hip. Then again, rumor was she slept in the leathers and with the blades always within reach.

"Iris said she might be coming," Celestia added, "but she wasn't around when I rounded up the others, so I don't know. Hopefully."

[z-Sean McCline]

The doorbell buzzing ripped the young nova out of a vivid fantasy world of knights on clockwork horses and blunderbuss-firing princesses. Blinking a little at how much time had passed, he slipped on his shades and hopped up from his couch. Still half-lost in the land of Elieria, Sean locked his e-reader as he walked over to the door. Tucking the device into a handy, bare spot on his shelf, the young red-head peered through his peephole, frowning a little when he saw who was there. Not the people he’d hoped would show up, but it was an open invitation.

And it didn’t help that Sam was there.

Putting on a smile, Sean pulled open the door and waved for people to enter. “Come on in! I thought I was going to be stuck playing solitaire. Dash, Sam, Celestia – good to see you all. Hi, I’m Sean,” he added with an extended hand to the people he was unfamiliar with. “Come in, make yourselves at home. The food’s over there, and the poker table is there. The carpet and furniture are stain-resistant, and there’s games and movies and stuff if poker isn’t your thing.”

[Dash Carpenter]

Dash smiled back at his friend - though he still had the flashbacks to when he'd been roughly slammed against the wall and threatened by Sean not to hurt their friend or Dash's hands would be ripped off and shoved in rather uncomfortable places. "Well, I brought a little more food-" walking over and dumping his bag of chips on the counter. "Least I could you, seeing as you're a standup host, Sean. That and just in case I get taken to the autocleaners..."

It was amusing to those that had been around last time. Dash had started out well, then Sean had made a serious comeback on a intense hand. Dash had went all in, and Sean called. People had believed one or both were bluffing, until Dash unveiled a full house with a grin. Except Sean had grinned even wider, and laid down a straight flush. Dash laughed and then conceded - relegating himself to an observer's role for the rest of the night.

[Henry Jacobs]

Henry, as new as he was to the world of the Peacekeepers and socializing outside of the people he worked with in the lab, was nervous as he knocked on the door to Sean's appartment. He was so nervous, in fact, that he forgot that he was still in his power suit from the flight over, and didn't rein in his strength when he knocked. The damage to the door was easily fixed with a small use of his power, but Henry was already kicking himself for starting the evening off so poorly.

Whoever answered the door would find Henry in a dark red button up shirt, dark grey slacks, new black tennis shoes. The briefcase at his side, was a textured metal, and he's wiping at the door, as if he'd found a spot to pick at.

"Oh, hi. I'm Henry."

[z-Sean McCline]

Henry found the door opened by a smiling red-headed man wearing shades. “Oh, hey. You must be one of the Utopians. I’m Sean, one of the DVers.” He pronounced it like the initials followed by an er sound. A strong hand was offered to shake. Though Henry couldn’t see it, Sean’s eyes did dart to the side to see what the guy had done to his door. Failing to see anything out of the ordinary, Sean decided that he’d have someone come over and sweep the door just to be safe. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust the Utopians; it was because the guy had been doing something weird.

But that unease didn’t translate to Sean’s smile as he drew back and waved Henry inside. “Here for the poker or just to hang? Oh, you can leave that briefcase there.” He pointed to a shelf just inside the door. It was in clear sight of the room, and clearly installed just for guests to leave their items on. “If you’re here for the game, we haven’t dealt or counted chips even. You’re just in time.”

[Henry Jacobs]

Henry smiled and shook Sean's hand. Both were appropriate, if a little uneasy. "Oh, you're Sean. Nice house. Sorry about the door, I forgot I was still in my suit," Henry hefted his briefcase and patted it lovingly. "But it should be fixed now." Henry smiled apologetically as he put his briefcase on the shelf before following Sean into the apartment proper.

Once in, he looked around, taking everything in. For the life of him he couldn't help but look like a tourist from a podunk town seeing the sights in the big city for the first time. This apartment was much nicer than what he had, and everyone here was just so... beautiful.

He shook his head briefly to refocus himself, and followed Sean towards the poker table. "Oh, I've never really played poker before, but I remember reading the rules. Which type, and are we playing for actual money or just fun?" If they were just playing for fun, Henry would study the chips carefully and as discreetly as he could. That way he could hopefully make enough chips to stay in the game long enough to learn something and have a good time. But if they were playing for real money... well, he knew better than to even try.

[Dash Carpenter]

"Dealer chooses the game, and we often bet a small amount, but if you're new - we can go moneyless." Dash offered, pulling up a seat for Henry. "I'm Dash, and in the end, if we're not having a good time, what's the point in being here, Henry? Fun is what matters in the end."

[Iris Macleod]

Iris knocks on the door, carrying a bag full of chips and soda and has her backpack on.

"Sorry if I'm late. Stopped off at a convenience store"

The Newb among the Peacekeepers said smiling. She's wearing a black t-shirt with the words "No I will Not Fix your Computer" on the front, blue jeans and red and white sneakers.

"Nice to meet you. Name's Iris. I bring tithings of chips and soda. " She said in a joking manner

[Kia Mizuki]

It may be that there are no coincidences in the world, and that every random happenstance is due to the machination of some higher or lower being. Or the patterns that form in large-scale causality that we call fate may simply be examples of emergent order manifesting from chaotic processes, in much the same way that weather has patterns.

If Nora hadn't been so fond of a personal touch, in a paperless world dominated by electronic delivery, she wouldn't have been in that block of condos to give physical copies of an Elite's medical coverage forms directly to him. She liked to meet people. To see the faces behind the DeVries ID numbers, and the wild and wacky "elite names."

If she hadn't gone to do that right after work was over, she wouldn't have noticed another face she recognized standing at an open doorway with chips and soda in hand. Iris was new, like her, though an Elite and not just an HR functionary. Nora hadn't really MET her, but she'd been at a desk working when Iris had come in to finish her paperwork. It wasn't much, as connections go, but it was enough to give her pause, catch her eye.

And then she remembered the water cooler talk...the poker party being put on by some of the Elites. No, not just Elites...how had it gone? Oh yes...the second generation novas. Nora was not one of those either. Still, it was interesting. And the idea of meeting so many other novas was enough to make her giddy. Not that she wasn't usually fairly giddy already.

And why not, right? The worst they could do was turn her away. That'd be disappointing, but hardly the worst thing that'd happened to her.

So a decision was made, and fate shifted ever so slightly, and a new pattern began to emerge from chaos as she made her way down the hall to appear behind Iris.

"Hi," she chirped brightly. "Is this the party I've been hearing so much about?"

[z-Sean McCline]

Sean raised an eyebrow at Dash, a gesture mostly wasted by his sunglasses, which were large enough to obscure the motion. They didn’t do moneyless at these games, and Sean had no idea why Dash had said that. As his mentor had once pointed out: “Poker without money is like a bra without titties. Empty.” He wasn’t going to argue with Dash about it, not in front of Sam, though he added, “We do generally play for money – not enough to make a man go broke, not even a Utopian.” He grinned at Henry to show it was all in good fun.

The next knock on his door was a cute redhead, and Sean smiled and bowed as he let her in. “This is the place. Chips and sodas can be placed next to the other sacrifices, there on the counter. I’m Sean, your host. Just let me know if you need anything.”

Then he turned his attention to Sunny and his smile got even wider. Asian was sexy, blonde was sexy and somehow Asian and blonde was super-sexy. But who was she? Sean thought he knew all the DeVries and Utopian second-gens. Apparently not! “You’re welcome, too! I’m Sean, your host – just lemme know if you need anything...?”

“I’m Nora.”

“Let me know if you need anything, Nora.”

Sean did the host thing for another couple of minutes – getting a glass for Dianthus when she asked for something besides plastic to drink from, speaking with Gabriel for a bit to make he was comfortable and rearranging chairs so that Sam could sit with Celestia and Dash at her side. That done, he got a plate of finger foods and glanced at the newcomers. “So. What do you all do for Utopia? Aside from Celestia, I’m afraid I only know names.”

[Kia Mizuki]

"Oh, I'm with DeVries," Sunny bubbled as she sipped from her plastic cup. "And you guys can call me Sunny. It's kind of my nick name. I'm in Human Resources. I'm pretty new, but that just means I have lots of options to pick between, looking ahead."

She looked around, clearly impressed. "This is a super nice place! Who did the decorating?"

[z-Sean McCline]

Sean looked a little sheepish at the question. "Uh... it was like this when I bought it. I know Elitin', not interior design, so I left it alone. It didn't make me crazy, so I figured why fix something that wasn't broken?" He shrugged a little and added. "If you like it, then I guess I bought something nice."

[Kia Mizuki]

"I love it!" Sunny gushed. "You bought something great! Look at all the SPACE!" She wagged a finger at him, grinning. "You have a good eye for decoration, even if you didn't do it yourself. I bet you COULD work in design if you really wanted to."

She went over to where the refreshments were laid out, but doesn't take anything right away.

"I do have a confession to make though. I didn't really come here for the party. I was working, and saw something going on, and remembered the party so I came over."

With a guilty little chew on her bottom lip she looks back at Sean with puppy-dog eyes.

"So I wasn't invited or anything. I'm not even second-generation nova. Is...that okay?"

[Henry Jacobs]

Henry smiled at his host and those around the table. "For money is fine, I was just curious. There's a different play style when playing with versus without money. Just wanted to know what I was getting myself into." He gave a short chuckle at the end, hoping to releave any tension that might have arisen.

He turned to Iris with a more relaxed grin on his face for someone that he actually recognized. "Don't I know you?"

But, he had to split his attention. To Sunny's question as to whether or not she could stay, he piped up. "Not to speak for our host or anyone else, but I don't have a problem with her staying..." He trailed off at the end as he realized, of course he wouldn't have a problem, it wasn't his party. Social etiquette kicked his but again as he waited for someone else to interact with him.

[z-Sean McCline]

Sean grinned at her question; Henry answered it but the red head was still nodding when Henry trailed off awkwardly. “No problem, the more the merrier, right? Besides, my mentor taught me never to turn away a pretty lady from your door—unless she’s a Terat. So you’re welcome to come on in.”

“Terats?” Madeline said, arching an eyebrow. “Have you even met one?”

“Not that I know of,” Sean said easily, ignoring the uneasy feeling in his gut whenever that subject came up. Note to self… stop bringing up the Teragen. “So, Sunny, you gonna join us for Poker or another time-wasting yet worthy social pursuit?” He gave her his best crooked smile, the one that always made girls blush and giggle at him. He was hoping it would work on Sunny, too.

[Kia Mizuki]

Right on cue, Sunny executed a picture-perfect blush and giggle. She even looked down for a second, giving her an adorably demure look, while the blush indicated she wasn't so innocent as to see the entendre in what Sean was saying.

Then she looked up again, and her smile was grateful as well as titillated. "Thanks. I really appreciate it. And..." her eyes flicked speculatively to the table, then back. "...I haven't gambled much before, but it looks like fun. If you guys don't mind me learning as I go then I'd love to try it."

[z-Sean McCline]

“Oh, fresh meat? Even better!” Sean was teasing, clearly, and having a good time. He offered Sunny his arm; when she took it, he did the same to Iris. Once they’d both taken or declined his arm, he walked them over to the table and held a chair for each of them. “Can I get anyone anything to eat or drink? We have plenty to choose from.”

He glanced at Dash and added, “Not you. You can start getting the chips counted out.”

“Why me?”

“Because you’re uglier than Sam and you know what I mean when I say, let’s go high.” By that, Sean meant that they’d reduce the amount of each chip, so that people wouldn’t have to bet a lot of real money to get a lot of chips to play with. It was a typical concession when they had newbies at the table.