Archive Mutants & Masterminds: Future Imperfect - Three at the theater (not Canon)

[Mr Fox]

Saturday night at the Golden Nugget Casino in downtown Las Vegas. To top it off it was Christmas week. Morgan expected the show to be down right dead tonight, but Tony the entertainment director had practically begged him to perform his magic act. His regular Saturday night musical group had refused to work so close to the holiday, something about their religious beliefs. Not that he cared what they did. He also didn't care that it was a Saturday night, except for one thing. Saturday's were good poker nights at the casinos, but his pal Jon the general manager of the Venetian had promised him a seat in one of the high stakes games at 11:30 if he could get there by then. That shouldn't be a problem since his last performance tonight started at 9:45 and only lasted 45 minutes.

Morgan had even arranged for his sound guy Tom to take over for him at that point. Tony had been skeptical, but that had never stopped Morgan from getting his way before. All it took was a simple little adjustment to Tony's memories and Tom had been on the ticket. Of course, Tom wasn't getting any advertisement or space on the marquee or anything, but it was a chance for him to prove himself and that's all he really wanted anyway. Besides, it was good for one mutant to help out another the way things were these days. Not that Morgan ever confided in anyone that he was a mutant, he just didn't have friends like that. Growing up on the streets had taught him not to trust easily.

In the dressing room he adjusted his jacket and checked his appearance. His long red hair was combed and left to flow free down his back except for the top which was pulled back and braided to keep it out of his face during the performance. His sharp face with it's slightly pointed chin and highish cheekbones and bright green eyes worked well toward giving him the look of his namesake, the fox. It didn't hurt that it was his real name, born Morgan S. Fox, he'd started using S. of his middle name to stand for Sly and it had become his stage name, the Sly Fox. Most folks just called him Sly now. At first he'd been annoyed with being called just Sly because he'd never considered Stallone as a great actor and didn't want to be associated with that thought, but after a while he'd gotten used to it and people knowing his reputation as a magician and a gambler made up for the potential annoying comparison. Tonight he thought he looked the part of the Sly Fox. His jacket was a orangish red with white lapels and flashy cuff links to distract people with, he shed the thing as quickly as he could after the act each night. He might not be some Brad Pitt to look at but he did have a decent sense of style when he wasn't on stage.

He looked over at Tom and turned on the mic attached to his lapel, "Testing, testing, 1, 2, 3, check, check, check." He gave the man a small smile of approval. The room didn't really need sound, it was more of a lounge setting where most of the magic took place up close and personal. That was part of what set him apart from most of the other hundred or so magicians in Las Vegas, and it was the way he liked it. The act just gave him the justification for being clever and kept people from looking too closely at his life. People expected magicians to be tricky, they expected them to be good with their hands, they expected them to be mysterious, it was part fo the job description, and that worked out just fine for Morgan 'Sly' Fox. Who would expect a mutant, to hide in plain sight like this, and just make sure, every now and then he would even appear to botch a trick. Never anything big, but just enough to keep people thinking what he wanted them to think. After all being a magician was all about misdirection.

He walked out into the lights of the room to the applause of a surprisingly packed house. Guess dinner theatre goes over well on a holiday. The room sat 200 and the lights were set up to spot him no matter where he wandered during the course of the act. There was an actual stage and he began and ended his performances there, but his magic went over best as he wandered around and got up close and personal with the people. He began his routine as always with a quick mental scan of the audience to make sure there wasn't anyone out there with ill intent or suspicious of him. Given the riots in Scotland and all the other nonsense going on it never hurt to be careful. After that he moved into the typical stage bit pulling things out of other things and making things appear seeming out of thin air. Crowds expected that sort of crap and it gave him the opportunity to put them at ease that what they were seeing was just a normal everyday magician. As the act continued he moved from table to table turning audience members into volunteers in card tricks and guessing games.

Finally near the end of the show he did another scan to make sure that none of the audience were suspicious and got a little bit of a shock. There was a woman sitting at a table in the back that was a complete blank to him. He had only ever run into a handful of people that could block his scans. This would bear further investigating after the show. He ended back on the stage with a pair of standard but somewhat impressive tricks then bowed and accepted the applause.

"Thank you ladies and gentlemen. I am the Sly Fox, you can see me here again on Tuesday and Thursday nights." He walked off the stage and into the back as the MC replaced him to ask the audience to stay and enjoy the Tom's musical performance as they finished their dinners.

The shielded mind had shaken him a bit and he'd actually cut several tricks out of the act and now he quickly shed his gaudy orange jacket for a stylish black leather sports coat. He moved out through a hallway and back into the theater from the audience entrance to get a look at that table. It was a woman and she was alone. He walked up to the table and smiled, "I hope you enjoyed the show. I am Morgan, my friends call me Sly. May I sit?" She looked familiar for some reason, he was sure he'd seen her somewhere before but couldn't place her.

[Rorx]

Tom grateful to Morgan for the word he put in with the manager to get him tonights couple of gigs. It wasn't that he couldn't have swung it on his own but it showed that someone else had some confidence in his performance and that was always welcome. Not that Tom had any doubts about how good he was, but he wanted judge things right as he made his way up the ladder if he was to hide his abilities and knowing how others considered his work was essential to judging how to pitch his performances in the future.

Morgan had been doing this act for a while now and the sound system fell into familiar settings as Tom did the initial set up and sound check with Morgan. While Morgan did his act Tom was able to consider the band that would be backing him tonight, they were reasonable enough and he had worked with them a couple of times in the past so that shouldn't be a problem. Unfortunately they weren't the one he had worked with the most while he had been supporting an act in one of the other lounges, which meant that they didn't know any of the songs he'd written himself. Oh, well, have to rely on the cover versions of things for tonight then, shouldn't be a problem. As Morgan reached the miway point of his act Tom quickly called the leader of the backing band and emailed him the track list he had come up with and got the Ok that they were familiar with them all.

Tom had some privacy in the sound booth of this lounge and put it to good use in the second half of Morgans act to get changed for his stint, keeping the headphones on while he did so in case of any unexpected incidents. He was slightly surprised when Morgan skipped a few tricks and quickly called the band to warn them to get into position. His next call was to his dad, Greg, to check how close he was to arriving to do the sound for his own act. Unfortunately, he was still too far away to be there for the first song or two, but Tom reassured him that he could rig a neutral set up that he could work with for the first couple of tunes. Quickly Tom worked to set up a macro that he could leave to swap over at the end of the MC's speil then he grabbed his jacket and dashed around to the back of the stage.

"...Ladies and Gentlemen, Tom Davies."

The curtain went up and a scattering of polite applause went round the lounge as the band started the intro. Tom waited for a few bars then stepped out into centre stage and began to sing, "It's not unusual..."

A quick glance around the room saw that it was going ok as far as starts go, and to notice Morgan sitting at the back with a lady at a table. Lucky beggar on the pull already thought Tom as he went into the second verse.

[z-May Allman]

Lena liked magic shows. They were full of chaos and dazzle, and there were few things more interesting to her than chaos accompanied by a bit o' the ole dazzle. The Sly was good for both, and she had come to enjoy his act, though this was the first time she'd seen him live. The Others wanted to do stupid things like read books or go to movies or shoot guns. They shot guns all the time! Why did they need to practice it more in their off time? It was stupid, which was why when it was her time to pick the activity in the time off, she'd selected Sly's show.

But she'd given on concession to tonight: she let Celeste dress her. Instead of her more comfortable vinyl and leather, she was dressed in a slinky black dress that made her feel like a snake. She'd practiced hissing at a couple of kids on the way over, then had broken into giggles when they'd run from her.

She had taken a table alone, and had fended off more than a few men who were interested in sharing it with her. She knew what they really wanted, the dirty, letchrous scum, and it wasn't a seat at the table. She picked her own mates, thankyewverymuch. And they were 'mates' only because it bothered people when she used the term.

Sly's show was great, and Lena found herself really enjoying it. He was cute enough to not hurt the eyes, but not so cute that he was threatening to the guys. And his eyes - it was like he knew something about you just by looking at you, which Lena found delightful. She wondered if he would learn about her, or about one of The Others. It'd be delightful chaos.

Sadly, he didn't select her, though he did stare at her for a moment. Lena grinned and winked, but he turned as she did, and she pouted as she realized he probably didn't see her. Damn it.

We don't need the complication.

Shut up, hag. Lena and Barbara didn't get along: to Lena, Barbara was an insufferable do-gooder. She wasn't sure what Barbara thought of her - mostly because she didn't pay attention - and she didn't care. He was digging me, she thought moodily as the stage changed up acts.

Sure he was, Ronnie said. All men love psycho-sadists.

Like he could tell, Lena said as she rolled her eyes.

Men can tell, Ronnie replied, as someone moved to Lena's side. As she turned to tell yet another sex-deprived loser to shove off, she realized who was talking to her.

"I hope you enjoyed the show. I am Morgan, my friends call me Sly. May I sit?"

"Yes!" she said, sliding over on her bench and patting the seat she'd just had. "I saw your act, it was amazing." Told you. Told you all.

[Mr Fox]

Morgan smiled at the compliment, but wasn't entirely sure how to react. He'd never actually talked with someone before whose mind he couldn't easily see into. He had no idea what this woman was thinking or what she wanted of him. That was both thrilling and terrifying at the same time. During the show he had scanned the whole audience twice and done several passive scans of individuals. It wasn't enough to effect him yet, but if he did much more he'd end up with a nosebleed or a headache. He wanted so badly to push open himself up and probe at this mystery of a mind, but now wasn't the time so he settled for talking to her in the old fashioned way. A way he'd never done before.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it. I like doing the magic more up close and personal than most magicians. Probably because I started out as a street magician and spent years doing magic one on one for tips. I'm afraid you have me at a disadvantage, I've told you my name but I don't know yours." He grinned, "Not only that but I have this nagging feeling that I've seen you somewhere before, but I know we've never actually met because I could not have forgotten someone like you." Sure it was a line, but it was also true. There was no way Morgan could have met someone with a mental shield like she had and not remembered them.

[z-May Allman]

Lena grinned. "Nice pick up line, Sly," she scoffed but she was grinning widely. "I'm Lena." She offered a small hand for him to shake; once he'd done so, she propped her chin on her hand and gazed at him with sparkling blue eyes. "I'm going to be inappropriate and blunt. Why me?"

[Mr Fox]

Sly chuckled as he sat down. "Yeah, best lines are always the ones that are true. I really do recognize your face." He smiled as he stared just a little too intently trying to dred up from memory where he could have possibly seen her face. Eureka!

"I've got it. You were with Cheng's friends at the private craps table in back of his club." His smile got larger and he sat back having sovled the mystery. At least the mystery of where he knew her from. Of course that raised the question of what kind of person Lena was. Cheng was not exactly a model citizen, in fact he was secretly a member of the Triads. Hmm... the plot thickens.

His smile turned to a grin, "That leads to my next line. What's a nice girl like you doing hanging out with a guy like Cheng?"

[z-May Allman]

Lena's eyes widened, and she looked surprised. It was an expression that didn't match her very well, but it was gone in an instant as she recovered. "I was probably robbing him blind while pretending to play craps," she said, an unrepentant grin lighting up her face. She leaned a little closer and murmured in his ear, "Besides, who said I was a nice girl?"

Leaning back, she smiled at him and asked, "Anyway, what's a nice magician like you doing with a guy like Cheng?"

[Mr Fox]

Sly grinned right back at her. "Well, who said I was a nice magician?" He laughed and added, "Good for you if you got some money out of him. He's not really know for being the generous type. As for what I was doing for him. Well, we've been known to trade favors on occasion. Being a magician is all about misdirection and I can use those skills in ways other than just slight of hand. I'm good at finding things out for example and he's used my services in the past to learn things about rivals that he couldn't find out through his regular channels. I do try and keep my nose clean and stay under the radar." Becoming a little more serious, "So you came just to enjoy the show then, and weren't sent by Cheng?"

[z-May Allman]

Lena lost some of her humor. "I like your show. I wouldn't lie about that." She quirked an eyebrow. "I'm not a blood hound for Cheng - not like you." Her rapscallion grin told him she was back to her glib self. "Though I do find things for him, sometimes it's more than information."

She reached out and twitched the collar of his jacket. "Misdirection, hmm? Where are you trying to direct me right now?"

[Mr Fox]

Where was he directing her? That was a damn good question, and one he wasn't sure the answer to. "Well, right now, I happen to have an appointment at a high stakes table over at the Venetian, would you care to join me? Your presence might just be a hell of a distraction for the other players. Assuming you wouldn't be bored to tears watching some chumps loose large sums of money." He smiled at that, but thought to himself that he hoped she wouldn't be even more of a distraction for him.

[Joani]

Lena was having a good time until something inside her small bag started to vibrate?

She gave it a quick glance just to make sure what it was and found Ronnie’s cellphone. The Display showed a number she instantly recognized – HQ was calling. This call was important, she knew that for sure…

[Rorx]

Tom had made it into his third number before he spotted his father, Greg, arriving to take over the sound desk for him and was relieved to see him. It's not that he had done a bad job with the sound settings he had had to leave when he came on the stage, just that having someone there who could adapt the volumes of the instruments and vocals as well as the speakers around the room could make or break a number. As he followed his dad's progress around the back of the lounge and into the booth Tom noticed the woman Morgan had been talking to diving into her bag and coming up with a phone.

Maybe you won't be so lucky so easily tonight Morgan. Heh, not like you are unlikely to be so unlucky all night.

Tom had heard Morgan mention the poker game he had on later tonight, and having accompained him on a previous occassion he felt sorry for the others at the game. Morgan was just too good for Tom to ever bother getting into a game with him, he wouldn't discount him using some of his magic tricks to get an edge. Misdirection, bluff and psychology could get you a long way in something like poker, which was one reason why Tom made it a rule to gamble rarely and only to the limit of what he felt he could afford to lose of what he was carrying.

Ending his third song Tom took a drink from beside the keyboard player before introducing a medley of Ratpack songs and starting off with "The Lady is a Tramp"...

[z-May Allman]

"Sounds fu-" Lena's good mood fell away as she realized that she'd accidently gotten Ronnie's phone in her bag.

You have to take that, Ronnie said.

Fuck off.

Lena... you have to take it.

Fine.

"Oo, lookit that," Lena said, cupping the phone in her hand. "I'm popular. Hang on, Sly, I gotta take this." She hopped up onto his lap, wiggling just a bit before sliding out over his legs and standing up. She opened the phone, walking toward the rest room and grunted in what was a fair approximation of Ronnie's voice. "Mmmhmm?" She just had to stall until she could get in the bathroom...

[Joani]

<Ronnie? Is that you?>, a male voice asked in German and Lena Mmmhmmed again.

<Guess you can't talk right now. Don't matter - we've just received a hot trail on your target. Her ID was put through a Police computer for verification at a Casino near your position. With some luck you might catch her before she moves on.>, the man on the line couldn't have been older than 20 by the youthful sound of his voice.

Click to reveal..

Language in <> parantheses is German

[z-May Allman]

Lena entered the bathroom and rushed in the stall, but it was Ronnie who slammed the door - and strained the dress. Ignoring Lena and Celeste's complaints, Ronnie asked, "<Details?>"

[Joani]

<It took us 15 minutes to trace the location. Imperial Palace Casino – with some luck you might catch her or at least find a trail to follow. You can make it in 5 minutes from your position if you put some effort into it. I don’t know when we’ll get another chance like this.>, the man’s voice tried to sound as professional as possible but the youthful sound of his voice betrayed him. Ronnie new the kid – a computer wiz working for the BND in Germany. He was reliable if somewhat rebellious in nature. They caught him sneaking around their system a few years ago. Ever since he had been part of the team.

[Rorx]

Just into the Medley and the woman with Morgan was heading for the bathroom with a phone to her ear, definitely not a lucky start to the night for Morgan then. Tom grinned to himself amidst his professional smile for the crowd.

Halfway through and the crowd reaction looked good. It was a difficult thing to judge, he wanted them to notice him as a singer for his skill, but the casino was more interested in background for the food. So far it looked like he had pitched it just right, about a third of the crowd where watching the show and the others were dividing their time between the food and the show.

[z-May Allman]

"Roger," Ronnie said. "Heading out."

Go to hell. Go to fucking hell. Lena started to rant.

We agreed to help one another, Ronnie pointed out, scowling at the closed door of the restroom. Now when I let you out, are you going to behave or not? Or can I botch your next operation?

Fuck you sideways in your purple cunt, Barbarella, Lena shot back, but everyOne heard the resignation in her voice.

Go say goodbye to the toy, Ronnie said, as she released control.

"He's not a toy," Lena said, straightening her dress and storming out of the stall. The woman in the room gaped at her, startled. "What are you fucking looking at?"

The woman didn't try to speak; she ducked into a stall and slammed the door. Snarling at everyOne in her head, Lena stomped out into the room. Her smile didn't return until she saw Sly, and then it was strained. "I can't," she said, stopping in front of him. "I can't go with you. Shit's come up and I'm the only one that can do it. So I have to go."

Leaning over him, she grabbed her purse and dug out a pen. Taking his hand, she wrote her number on it. "Call me, ok?" Turning, she started to leave.

[Mr Fox]

Sly was intrigued. That phone call had obviously upset her for whatever reason, and he added 2 and 2 and came up with some integer that resembled an answer whether it was right or not. She was hanging out with Chen who was a member of the Triads. By her own admission she wasn't a 'nice girl' so she gets a phone call and suddenly has to rush off to do something that only she can deal with. That sounded like business.

"Lena, you sure it's nothing I can help with? If it is something for our mutual friend... well, he and I have an understanding." He was divided in his desires. He didn't really want to get directly involved in Triad affairs, he liked to stay outside those circles and just do occasional contract work in return for favors. On the other hand, Lena had intrigued him. He'd never spent any real time with someone he could not read like an open book and he wanted to explore this. Of course he also had a poker game to get to and only a short time to get there. That game would be worth a hundred grand or so, but that was nothing really, he could do that any day.

[z-May Allman]

"This isn't for Cheng. This is for another friend," she said with a sigh. If only she had time to ditch these clothes and get Ronnie up and going. But their window was so small - but fuck, she hated to risk exposure.

She glanced at him and smiled. Reaching out, she smoothed some of his hair behind his ear. "Thanks for offering, but it could be dangerous. Not like finding things for Cheng dangerous, but really dangerous. You're sweet, really."

Turning, she headed for the door. Time was wasting and the target might be gone if she tarried.

[Mr Fox]

Sly was really intrigued now. The woman had a mind shield that prevented him from knowing what was going on in her head. She was involved not only with Cheng of the Triads, but with something else that was 'really dangerous'. He had to know more. He didn't like the sound of really dangerous, but maybe he could help out with his talents. He jumped up from the seat and tossed a hundred on the table in his rush to follow. "Lena, wait, I'll come with you. I've got skills. I'm not a fighter, in fact I suck at that, but I might be able to keep you safe by watching your back."

[z-May Allman]

Lena considered.

No fucking way, Ronnie said.

Barbara added, Lena, this is unwise.

Shut up, all of you. I'm up, this is eating my free time, we're doing this shit my way, Lena said firmly. She grabbed Sly's hand, smiling. "I promise that if I get you killed, I'll make it up to you, afterwards if necessary," she told him. She pulled him out into the night, laughing and smiling.

Click to reveal..

Joani, we're going to the Casino, do we need to move threads?

[Rorx]

Tom saw some of the byplay between Morgan and the woman, and then her leading him out of the lounge. Oh, well looks like he is as lucky as normal tonight after all.

The set finishes as well as expected and Tom returns back stage to get changed and chat to his dad.

"Cheers for coming over dad, sorry about the short notice, but they had a cancellation and I didn't think I could afford to miss the oppurtunity. I hope I haven't spoiled any plans you had?"

"No that's fine, you grab any oppurtunity you can in this business. And I didn't have anything planned for tonight, other than heading over to see Sheena after she finishes her show."

"So you able to finish up for me here, or do you need to get over there soon."

Greg smiled at his son, "You head off, I'll finish up here. Sheena won't be free for another hour or so anyway."

With a grin Tom finished getting changed out of his stage clothes and back into his normal street clothes. Giving his dad a wave as he stepped out of the booth he left the lounge and headed out to Red Sushi for a bite to eat.

[Joani]

(OOC: Sly's and Lena's story continues here: How to catch a Mutant 101 )

[Rorx]

Red Sushi was definitely winding down at ~11pm when Tom arrived, but at least he didn't have any trouble getting a table near the 'kitchen' where he could see the food being prepared to order. He was quickly served and ordered his normal snacky platter and a small bottle of Saki, he would leave it until he hit Gold Diggers to decide if he was going to be drinking much tonight.

Tom chatted briefly with the waitress, he was a regular customer and she had seen a couple of his gigs so they had a few points to work from, but she had to cut it short when she noticed her supervisor watching her. Tom slipped her his number before she went, after all you never know how things will work out.

[Joani]

The sudden departure of Lena and Sly had little effect on the creatures directives. It dispatched two small floating drones from it’s body and sent it on surveillance mode after the two mutants then it focused its attention on the third target it had come for. Thomas Richard Davidson was positively identified and it set itself in motion to follow through with its programming.

Tom had just slipped his number to the waitress when he heard a strange noise from behind him. The next thing he heard was glass breaking and screams of panic. “What the…?”, he heard a male voice say and suddenly fall silent. He felt his chair and the table tremble and the wall just across to him virtually exploded into a thousand pieces. Through the debris and rubble he saw to red eyes glowing and getting closer to him, the thing that approached him must’ve been at least 10 feet tall!

Click to reveal..

The machine attacking Tom looks like it belongs to a Terminator movie.

[Rorx]

Backing away from the metal monstrosity Tom concentrated power into his throat both to energise what was to come and to isolate it from the rest of himself. Then, like most of those still in the restaurant at that time of night, he started to shout/scream. The difference was that Tom's scream was underlaid with sub- and ultrasonic harmonics designed to resonate with the devices natural frquency and hopefully disrupt it.

Click to reveal..

EM suite Mastered Lethal Blast at double QP = 4 to avoid virus damage.

(14:16:21) ChatBot: (Tom_Davies) rolls 7d10 and gets 5,10,8,6,6,3,5.

2sux

Base damage = [8] + 6 dice + sux.

At the same time he instigated a standing shockwave discontinuity in the air about him to try to mitigate against any attacks from the robot.

Click to reveal..

EM - Mastered Shield at double QP =4 to give +6L/B Soak

= 8L/10B in total

Health = Healthy, QP = 20/28, WP = 3/3

[Joani]

Tom hit the metal hulk right on target sending it tumbling backwards and falling over. It spasmed like it lost control over its bodily functions and sent of a salvo of hypervelocity rounds square through the room hitting several bystanders and ripping them in half by the sheer force of the impact. The room got splattered in blood and Tom had a hard time to keep his cool.

Just when he decided to turn and run for it he bumped right into something cold and metal like. Looking up he stared directly into the face of another of those monsters. The thing made a sickening sound that came from inside of it and then Tom got hit by a metal punch that lifted him off the ground sending him flying several feet outside the restaurant. He hit the pavement on the road and rolled a few feet like a rag doll. He didn’t see the metal hulk picking him up nor did he feel it’s cold grapple as the world around him drowned in darkness.

Click to reveal..

EM suite Mastered Lethal Blast at double QP = 4 to avoid virus damage.

Lethal Blast vs. Terminator (5d10.hits(7)=3)

Base damage = [8] + 6 dice + 2

Damageroll Lethal Sonic Blast + 8 Autosuxx (8d10.hits(7)=3)

For a total of 11L Damage

EM - Mastered Shield forfeiting one dot to avoid viral damage = 2 to give +4L/B Soak

= 6L/8B in total

Health = 6HL Lethal Crippled, QP = 22/28, WP = 3/3

[Joani]

(OOC: Tom's story will continue in this thread: Chapter 1 )