Toledo Knights: Tiger by the Tail

[Bluecross]

= - = - = Interlude = - = - =

Jon Kinnes / Chimera


Mid morning one fine day Jon swings by the ranger station on Mt Wittier. He’s a fairly frequent visitor there, and has got to know some of the rangers quite well. This morning probably his closet friend among the rangers is at the station, talking to some teens planning a day hike in the forests that gird the mountain. Finishing up with a cheery farewell to the excited teens, Tom Harper sees Jon.

“Hey Jon, good to see you. Listen, I’ve got something I want to show you.”

Tom walks Jon out onto the porch, and taking down a jacket hanging there, makes a show of showing it to Jon, demonstrating the zips and pockets. As he’s doing that Tom brings up what he really wants to talk about.

“Jon, I had a visit form some Federal types a couple of days ago. They were looking for you… … and your friend.” Tom gives Jon a moment to consider this news.

“A youngish guy with white hair, - Drexler, his name was, plus two ‘suits’. I don’t know how they knew, but he knew your name, and that your friend has been helping people out around here. He said that he needed to talk to you. And your friend. Federal business.”

Tom cocks his heads to one side and looks at Jon. “I’m still trying to figure out how you got to know your friend…. Anyway, I think this Drexler guy is Ok. He said you’re not in any trouble… yet. And for you to meet him at this address, and bring your friend if you can.”

Tom hands Jon a business card. It’s unusual – made of some silvery metal, and a bit heavier than you’d expect. There’s a hologram logo which reads ‘NORCS’ and a glistening electric blue engraving, which reads:

“Mr Drexler
Level 3,
Conseco Tower,
Royle and 5th,
Toledo 30713”

Later that afternoon, Jon gets off the Skyrail at the ‘Royle and Fourth Station’ and walks the couple of blocks to the corner of 5th. He’s drawn by a mixture of curiosity and concern. A quick bit of research has shown that NORCS is a bona fide Federal agency, entrusted with all matters related to super-people. Jon is a super-person, something that had never really struck him until today.

Conseco Tower is thoroughly unremarkable office block like many others here in downtown Toledo. Going up the steps into the lobby Jon notices nothing unusual, just the normal bustle of an office building in mid-afternoon. He checks out the board listing the occupants, but level 3 is apparently unoccupied as there’s no tenant listed. Getting into the lift, Jon presses the ‘3’ button. The doors close, and the lift goes down. Fast. Smoothly it comes to a stop and the doors open onto a large room, completely lined with what looks like polished steel. A solid counter with a pretty young receptionist behind it is the only furniture. She looks up as Jon hesitantly steps out of the lift.

“Good afternoon! You’re here to see Mr Drexler, aren’t you?”

Jon has the distinct impression that she knows who he is...

GM:- Celtic, you can make a post here about Jon's reactions/thoughts etc if you like. I'll post again tomorrow if you haven't before then.

Tom Harper

Tom is a senior forest ranger in the Mt. Wittier State Park. He’s in his mid-forties, fit, with long straight brown hair. Part Cherokee, Tom has a passion for the outdoors, wilderness and wildlife of all sorts. He’s usually friendly and approachable, but really dislikes urban idiots and vandals.

[Bluecross]

Inferno

Alexandria eased the suit on, alone in her room. It fit really well, she’d made a couple of small adjustments to it. She stepped out of her window and flew off, up into the night sky, small jets of flame from her hands and feet propelling her.

Alexandria had found that she could fly around at night completely un-noticed, as long as she kept high enough to be out of the glow of streetlights and store signs. People almost never looked up if there was no noise. She’d gone out a few times over the past week, trying out the suit, and thinking about Henry, replaying that night over and over in her mind. She’d even been back to the gas station once, but it was fruitless. How would she recognise the people who had taken Henry from her? How could she track them down?

A commotion from below turned her thoughts to the here and now. Something was going on in a back alley. Looked like a mugging or a fight. At least four guys were beating two others. Inferno swooped down towards the struggle, intending to intervene.

Something stung her face, and she felt herself getting suddenly dizzy. The lights on a storefront across the road began to swirl and blur, wobbling and growing bigger….




With a ‘thump’ Inferno hit the ground, her crash-landing cushioned by a pile of rubbish bags in the alley. She felt completely helpless, unable to move, and everything was swaying and spinning around her. Alexandria could hear a woman’s voice, growing louder, but indistinct, mixed with some metallic clicks and clunks.

“Got her…. click-click ….easy shot…. clack ….Yeah, spotted her two days ago…. cl-unk ….sure Stomper, with the others?”

Then someone clamped an acrid-smelling cloth over Alex’s mouth and nose, and she slid into blackness and uneasy dreams…

GM:- That's the set-up for Inferno being captured (to 'replace' Hikashi). Inferno gets a HP for GM railroading . Nareik, if you'd like to make a post here you can - just please keep it an 'internal monologue' kind of thing.

[Bluecross]

Technomancer


These were exciting times for Travis. He’d been in the Plaza Grande Mall, looking longingly at some rather expensive consumer tech items, when the jewel robbery had taken place. Unfortunately, Travis hadn’t seen the actual robbery, but he’d had a pretty good view of the battle on the beach that followed. Travis had managed to get up onto the roof of the Mall, and using, his latest adaptation of some night vision gear, had watched the battle, revelling in the action and wishing he could be part of it.

The next day, using some slightly illegal apparatus, Technomancer was on the trail. Scanning police radio and a number of cellphone bands, he’d been able to follow the case as it developed. Mid afternoon Travis was up at ‘Off-Road Adventures’, having a very interesting conversation with Harry Wilkins about the use of mobile communications technology to track the movement of vehicles, when Travis’ phone bleeped for an incoming message.

“Mr Drexler of NORCS requests a meeting with Travis Meekins, aka LuckyTech_314. Conseco Tower, level 3.”

That’s what Travis read, but the message was in an old programming code, one unique to a model of obsolete computer that his Dad had loved to use in his crazy inventions. Only problem was it included one of his on-line gaming handles, one that Dad certainly didn’t know. Did he?

Excusing himself, Trav… no, Technomancer went outside with a sinking heart. Looked like Dad was having one of his crazy spells again. Better get down there and see if he could stop it before anyone got hurt. Technomancer could cope with anything Dad could dream up… he hoped.

Not long after that, Technomancer was looking at the tenant board in the lobby of Conseco Tower in downtown Toledo. Oddly, there was no listing for level three or NORCS. Shrugging his shoulders, he got in the lift and pressed ‘3’. The doors closed and the lift promptly went… down. Fast enough for Travis to taste the anchovies from last night’s pizza.

He was puzzling over what was going on when the lift stopped and the doors opened. A large room, sheathed in burnished steel, and with a steel counter, behind which was a cute receptionist. Strangely, there were no doors.

Technomancer stepped up to the desk. The receptionist looked up from her typing and said pleasantly:

“Good afternoon! You’re here to see Mr Drexler, aren’t you?”

She seemed to recognise Travis, somehow. But there was something off about her, he couldn’t quite put his finger on it…

GM:- Poodle, this is the intro post for Travis, tying him in with our other new PC (who is not in the room), Chimera. Feel free to post in response to this. I’ll be continuing tomorrow night (my time) and you’ll get to meet Jon Kinnes then.

[CelticREI]

Chimera/Jon Kinnes
HP: 1
Condition: Wary.

Jon listens to what his ranger friend tells him and heads to the building, after the stomach-dropping elevator ride he slowly moves from the metal box into the large metal room What is with people and using metal when it's not needed?... he ponders before the receptionist speaks up.

“Good afternoon! You’re here to see Mr Drexler, aren’t you?”

Jon nods while tilting his head this way and that, slowly looking around the room and digesting the info that has brought him here "I am." he waited for the receptionist to lead him to the room he would meet his unknown 'suits' or the place he would be ambushed, either he felt ready for.

[poodle]

Technomancer

Travis looks around warily...nope, too upscale for his dad. maybe it was about that hentai site he'd ... nope no way for that, the virus bomb he'd dropped in the athletic scholarship site..that was too subtle...fnar fnar fnar...maybe it was a job application. He really wish he'd brought his good pocket protector and slide rule.
NORCS what the heck was norcs? Fnar fnar fnar...norcs...fnar fnar fnar. He tried to imagine himself saying he was here about norcs but couldn't do it without snickering.
Hevaguely remembered something about NORCS snicker...
knowledge check (1d20+4=19)
Some other guy came in looking totally out of place. What the hell was the job offer if they were after a hippy like him as well? Oh no even worse than a hippy an outdoors guy, all 'lets do ten miles for our breakfast of soy an granola bar'. Travis shudders at the thought.

[FuzzyBoots]

Buzz
HP: 2
Status: Shaken

Buzz's vision of millions of copies dissipated and she found herself sitting in the rubble of what used to be the warehouse. She patted herself down, taking a reflexive deep breath for a sigh of relief before the situation hit her. I can breathe. There's air. That means... if that was a fuel-air bomb, I've been out of it longer than I thought because the oxygen's back. She rolled up her sleeve to check her watch, only to find that the explosion had done it damage, and it was currently displaying 31:80:08. She growled and scanned her surroundings.
I see Nicky... he looks alright. That's good, given he's the only guy who's going to be able to fix us up if we're hurt badly. But... I don't see anyone else. Buzz briefly blurred as she did did a quick check of the rubble, even doubling back to check it a second time, but her search was futile.
They're gone... I– Before she could move further in that train of thought, her cell phone rang. She flipped it open.
"Hello?"
"Buzz, are you OK? I can't get hold of anyone else. What's happened?"
It's Drexler... what do I tell him? She gulped and spoke.
"Somebody set us up the bomb! I mean... Deathshadow detonated a Fuel Air Bomb. I just woke up and I can't see anyone except Nicky. He seems alright... the police are talking to him. I– I don't know what to do."
"OK, I need you here now. Conseco Tower on Royle and 5th, level 3." The connection ended and Buzz gulped again. Am I in trouble for not finding a way to protect everyone? With hesitant bursts of speed, she moved to Nicky's side.
"Once the police are done with you, Mr. Drexler is calling us back in to debrief us," she said to him, "And he doesn't sound happy... did you see where everyone else went?"

[Bluecross]

GM


Jon Kinnes / Chimera
and Technomancer


After a moment’s pause, the receptionist nods at you, and a previously unseen door opens to your left, a section of the wall sliding to one side, revealing a slim young man. He says:

“Come this way please”

And without waiting for a response turns and goes inside.

Following, you see a short blank corridor, completely empty except for an open doorway at the other end. Walking down the white, brightly lit corridor you wonder for a moment if this is what heaven is like…

GM:- Technomancer: you’ve heard a bit about NORCS, basically what’s in the linked post. Internet buzz about NORCS is hard to interpret – some think it’s a government plot to control society, others say aliens are behind the super-people, others say NORCS is secretly planning to wipe out all super-people, villains and heroes alike. Hard data is hard to come by. What little you can find seems to indicate NORCS is on the level - a ‘super-people’ version of the FBI or something like that. Certainly NORCS –registered heroes are out there ‘doing good’. The Guardians are the most well-known, but there are some others.

The room at the end of the corridor is a modern, sparsely furnished meeting room. Windowless, it’s lit by subtle up-lighting. A large table with several chairs is the main furniture. The young man is no-where to be seen. Instead, your attention is drawn to a man with white hair, who rises to greet you…



… and the other person who has come into the room at the same time as you, via a second door.

GM:- Travis, meet Jon. Jon, meet Travis. You’ve both ‘just happened’ to arrive in the meeting room at the same time. Something odd is going on here…

“Gentlemen, I’m glad you have come. My name is Mr Drexler. I’m the Chief Field Agent for NORCS. Please have a seat.”

Drexler continues to speak as you sit down, giving you a chance to look him over. He’s obviously confident, probably mid-thirties, with unusually white hair and penetrating green eyes, and he speaks as if he expects people to take him very seriously. Something about him seems a little odd, unsettling, almost sinister. Perhaps it’s the white hair on a fairly young man…?

GM:- Technomancer and Chimera: make a Notice roll, please.

”First let me set your minds at ease: you’re not in any trouble. At least, not yet. I’ve called you here because I want to make you an offer. You’re both extraordinary people, and NORCS wants to work with you.”

Drexler sits down at the head of the table and looks at you each in turn, making eye contact. ”I am aware that you’ve been involved in, well borderline legal activities. I’m offering you the chance to get legal, to continue to be a positive force for good, and to get the benefits that NORCS registration offers.”

”Of course, my offer is no more than that – an offer. You’re free to leave at any time, and to decline registration. You’ll no doubt be aware that there are some people similar to yourselves who aren’t registered. What you might not know is that most of those people end up in jail, being sued for very large sums of money, or in hospital facing massive bills that insurance won’t cover.”

”If you become registered, you get free health cover, insurance and accident indemnity, training programs, and legal status as government law enforcement officials. Plus I can offer you a generous salary, and the opportunity to do some really exciting stuff. You’ve no doubt heard of the Guardians. Well, I’m in the process of building a similar team of super-powered people to operate here in Toledo. And I’ve specifically chosen you both for your unique talents and abilities. I want you on the team.”

Drexler stands up. ”Now I’ll give you a moment or two to consider my offer. I have something to attend to, and then I’ll come back to answer any questions and, I hope, sign you on as NORCS operatives. In these envelopes is a small fee to cover your expenses for today. Yours to keep whatever you decide.”

Drexler puts a plain white envelope in front of Jon and Travis, and leaves the room, walking straight up to a blank wall, which slides away just before he steps into it, opening onto a white corridor, and sliding shut after him. The two of you are left alone….

GM:- Poodle and CelticREI, you can post and interact with each other… more tomorrow…

[Bluecross]

GM

Buzz
HP: 2
Status: Shaken

With hesitant bursts of speed, she moved to Nicky's side.
"Once the police are done with you, Mr. Drexler is calling us back in to debrief us," she said to him, "And he doesn't sound happy... did you see where everyone else went?"

"Woah... a little woozy. Ah... I ain't seen anyone else. But I was stuck under some rubble, and I think I heard voices. ...One really deep guy's voice, like a friggin' giant or something, he sounded. I reckon the others have been taken... there was something about "findin' another one" and a vehicle. I could hear the engine moving off.." Nicky seems pretty groggy still, but he's clear that he heard someone talking about taking their team-mates away. No idea where they went, just in a large vehicle from the sound of the engine.

[CelticREI]

Chimera

As Jon sits he gives Travis a look over, as they are both in a place like this briefly wondering what he is able to do. He listens to the man speak his part, giving him his attention until he states he is wanting to create another Guardians team which afterward Jon gives the man his -full- attention. Shortly after Mr. Drexler stands and leaves him and the other man to think things over.

Jon chuckles to himself "He didn't have to give me time to think. Already know my answer." Jon stood and started to slowly pace around the room, giving it a mild search to see everything in it. "NORCS only reaches out to people with abilities." he stated matter-of-factly "So what do you do?"

Notice check 14+12=26 Chimera see's -all-... hehe
He'll take 10 on the Search check if the GM wants one (he's not searching for anything specific, just looking around the room while waiting)

[poodle]

Technomancer

nerdy looking guy jumps a little at being spoken to, as he was fidgeting with something in his pocket, looks like an old digital watch.
"um...what do I do? er...mostly I defrag people's harddrives, clean registries and if I am lucky I get to bash some C++ out or go retro and play with some cobol.. and yourself

Scrabbling around in his pockets Travis 'happens' to find an old voice stress analyser. Gadget: detect lie/aural. free action. 3pp

[CelticREI]

Chimera

Jon looked at the man fidgeting away slightly puzzled at first "They would want me to work with a tech support guy?..." he muttered to himself before shrugging "With the place we're at I find it hard to believe your skills would be anything short of amazing, this is as Drexler said a team to be like the Guardians..." he half sat, half leaned against the desk that Drexler was at minutes ago "I can change, shapeshift, mimic, many different names for it." he shifted into looking -exactly- like Travis "Different people, or if I want, different 'monsters'" he shifted his arms into his werewolf arms, but kept the rest as Travis. Giving his arms a quick look over then he shifted back to Jon "Now that I showed you that I'm an honest fellow, I'd like to think you would return that favor." Jon gave Travis a smile, and an actual one not an intimidating or demeaning one, and gave where Drexler left a glance while wondering how long it would be...

Dumping all his pp into Morph (Any Form) with Selective and Precise (9 ranks worth ^_^) so he can shift around appearances. +45 to Disguise with that one, not even whatever deity ye choose to believe in could tell them apart ;)

[Bluecross]

GM


Jon Kinnes / Chimera

Jon checks out the room while Drexler is absent. The most remarkable thing about the room is that there’s nothing remarkable about it. No windows, a large conference table with some chairs, all newish looking stuff, clean and modern lines. The walls are plain, painted off-white. At one end of the room is a large screen, and a projector mounted in the middle of the ceiling faces it.

Looking a bit more closely, Jon finds the doors very hard to see. There aren’t any handles on the inside, and they’re very closely fitting, only a very thin line betrays their location. There are three doors, two side by side on one wall, the doors that Jon and the other guy came in, and a third door in the end wall opposite the projector screen, where Drexler went out.

Jon stands for a moment, looking at the door and thinking about Drexler. Something was odd about him, but it was really hard to pick just what, apart from the obvious external things like his hair. He had some kind of accent, but very faint, and he seemed older than he looked in some way. Perhaps not older in years, but in experience? Jon thought that nothing you could do or say would throw Drexler off, he came across as supremely calm and confident, but in a quiet way, not cocky. In Jon’s experience, that kind of confidence came from having abilities well above those of ordinary people. Drexler was a super-person. Jon felt sure of it.

[poodle]

technomancer

"um yeah...that's me. Tech support. I haven't got my tool kit with me. have you got a problem with something?he asks hopefully. "Neat trick with the arm though, cellular polymorphism is still quite a rare phenomenon. I go with the Jansk-Chang theory about zero-point flux on the heisman concordination but the Lipowitz singularity equation makes me wonder if it isn't quantum spin causing nuonic polymer destabilisation.It does make me think that n-dimensional topography is increasingly ... um er...sorry. Like I said, Neat trick. The nerdy guy looks kinda embarrassed. "A super huh- how's that working out for you?"

[Bluecross]

GM


Jon Kinnes / Chimera and Technomancer


Jon and Travis are getting acquainted when the end door opens, and Drexler returns, this time with a tech guy carrying an aluminium suitcase in tow. Drexler introduces him as ‘Mr Renard’.

GM:- To speed things up I’ll skip over the back and forth a bit, and assume that you’re both going to sign up with NORCS. Hope that’s OK.

”Sorry about that, there’s a few things in progress that I need to keep up to speed with. Actually, I’m a bit pressed for time, so I’m going to, uh, ‘insist’ that you become NORCS agents, at least on a temporary basis.”

Drexler runs a hand through his hair, and sighs. ”I have a field team investigating the recent robbery at the Plaza Grande. It looks like they’ve run into some trouble, and I’m going to need your help. Right now. Mr Renard will make up your ID cards, that won’t take long. As of now you are NORCS agents, on a temporary basis at least. I hate doing it this way, but I can actually legally conscript you. Of course, if you’re happy to be involved, that’s great.”

Mr Renard has set up a laptop connected to what looks like a printer. He proceeds to take a photo of each of you, and, once your name and some personal data has been entered into the laptop, the machine produces an engraved silver ID card for each of you.

“There’s one thing you mustn’t forget. Once you’ve worn the card for 30 seconds it will be keyed to you individually. After that, if it’s out of skin contact with you for more than a minute, it will automatically self-destruct, burning up. It gets quite hot, so be careful!”

“The NORCS Super-person ID card is a unique solid titanium card, the size of a standard credit card. It is engraved with the bearer’s NORCS ID number, likeness and personal details. Made to withstand the rigours of super-person lifestyles, it can endure extremes of heat, cold, chemical and corrosive attacks, and a very high level of physical impact. Mounted on an armband, stylish neckchain, or otherwise integrated into the personal costume of the bearer, the card can be used as a driver’s, pilot’s and gun license, a passport, an ATM or credit card, (accessing personal accounts), a social security card and much more besides. It is recognised everywhere in the United States as an official ID for both civilian and law enforcement purposes.”

You can choose how you’ll wear your card, just post something about where it is.

While you are getting your cards, the door opens again and a young woman rushes in. She looks like she’s been through a car wreck or something, her outfit streaked with dust and grime. It’s Buzz


Drexler pulls her aside for a quick whispered consultation, then he turns to all of you (three, now).


Jon Kinnes / Chimera, Technomancer and Buzz

”Ok. We have a situation. A serious situation. Buzz here”, Drexler nods and smiles at a tired-looking Buzz, ”has been out with the field team. They’ve caught up with the robbers, but in the battle the rest of the team, apart from one injured member, has been captured. I regret to say it appears that the deputy Field Agent has been compromised, and leaked information on the team’s actions. As of now you will report to me only, preferably in person.”

Drexler produces a personal computer from a jacket pocket, and uses it to activate the projector. On the screen you see pictures of the missing team members: Hikashi, Guardian and Semilla. Then the image switches to a live satellite feed, zooming in from the Toledo Bay area to a closer view of the southern slopes of Mt. Wittier.

”We’ve tracked their cellphone signals to this area, specifically the south slopes of Mt Wittier.”

GM:- Technomancer: Your little ‘lie detector’ device buzzes in your pocket as Drexler says this.

”The signals were moving, but they’ve been stopped for a couple of minutes now. Looking at the area, the most likely place for them to be is an abandoned mine, the McGinley gold mine. A chopper is ready to take you there now. I think time is of the essence here.”

He looks at his tech officer. ”Mr Renard has cellphones for you both, Buzz has one already. They’ve been loaded with a phone list that includes my private number, various law enforcement contacts and the team ember’s numbers. Also, they’ve had some info on the mine and area uploaded. Let’s go.”

Mr Renard gives Technomancer and Chimera each a new cellphone, one of the latest touchscreen models.

As you’re trying to take all this in, Drexler ushers you out one of the doors you came in, down the corridor and off down a side passage (odd, that wasn’t there before..?) and to a lift. The lift zooms you up, and you exit on the roof of Conseco Tower, where a stealthy looking black helicopter is whirling up.

Before you can say anything you’re all three in the back of the chopper, and flying off across Toledo harbour towards the dark bulk of Mt Wittier, looming against the moonlit night sky. On your new phones you read:-

McGinley Gold Mine is on the southern slopes of Mt Wittier. It was abandoned in late 1989, after being in use for no more than ten years. It was a small operation, producing enough gold to make a small profit for its owners, but never the wealth that was hoped for. The Mt Wittier eruption made the surrounds of the mine entrance unstable, and damaged some of the interior galleries. It was deemed unprofitable to carry out the repairs and safety work needed to make it operational. There are no maps of the interior layout available, but it is not a large or deep mine.

After a few minutes of flight the helicopter deposits you in a small clearing in the pine forest high up on Mt Wittier. There are no houses or roads nearby, except for a rough gravelled track the runs through the clearing and on up the hill, towards the mine.


= - = - = Interlude Ends = - = - =

[Bluecross]

***\\//***\\//*** Tiger by the Tail ***\\//***\\//***


GM:- Inside team




Guardian, Semilla and Inferno






A series of garbled and blurred sensory impressions run through your mind: Rough hands picking you up – coarse laughter - the rocking and bumping of a vehicle – streetlights flickering by. Finally it stops and you are half carried, half dragged out of the vehicle and across some graveled ground. You get only vague impressions of where you are and what’s going on, and snatches of conversation from the men who are holding you. Somewhere on the way here they did something to you… drugs, maybe?

You feel like you’ve recovered somewhat, but something’s been disconnected… …you can hear, see, feel, but it’s all at distance, remote, like you’re not inside yourself, but watching.

“She’s pretty. I wanna play.”

“Stomp says no time for that, besides, she’s out of it. And you’ll get plenty of action at the Flamingo tonight.”

“Aww, man…”


“Tough, this one. He’s trying to fight us. (Laughter) Give’m another shot.”

“Naa, don’t waste it. He’ll be dead soon enough.”



Your captors drag you inside somewhere, bumping you across a door threshold and down a rough corridor. It’s dark in here, they’re using lights to see. Tiny fluorescent motes dance before your eyes, fascinating you. Glowing blue, orange and yellow they twirl and glide in the air…


“Where to, Stomp?”

“Whaddya, stoopid? Same place as the others, fool. And a little gift too after you’ve dropped ‘em in.”

“Haa haa… a gift! Good one, Stomper! Where’d we go last time?"

“Down here wasn’t it?”

“Uhh… think so. Whatever. He’s not watching anyway.”

GM:- Semilla, make a Knowledge: Medical roll. Guardian, make a Profession (Security) roll. Inferno, make a Knowledge: Physical Sciences roll.