The Merge - Gestalt Syndrome (M&M 3rd ED) - IC

[Neo-Paladin]

Samuel

" Alright, I'll see if I can contact him", Samuel says, gets out his cellphone and dials (assuming I have his number)...

[Bladewind]

"Finally. I was beginning to think you'd forgotten about me."

Samuel can almost hear the wink in John Henry's voice. "I can get you where you need to be. But, I'm not the one with answers. Smith is."

While you digest that, John Henry texts you an address - an electronics store near where you normally meet.

[Doctor Malsyn]

Elizabeth "Eli" Walsh
HP: 4
Status: Normal
~^v~~v^~

"Are we... meeting back here tomorrow? Is that what we're doing?" Eli questioned, unsure of what was happening next.

[Neo-Paladin]

Samuel

" I got an address. Anyone want to come with me?" he asks after the call's been ended. Things were moving forward...now if only they knew where....

[Bladewind]

Smith recieves another text in the weird format of self texting. In fact, if he looks down at, he sees it typing as if by itself... All it says is:

Trust John Henry. Stop Tuolema.

[Flynnarrel]

"I'm going." John Smith says, no question in his voice.

[Doctor Malsyn]

Elizabeth "Eli" Walsh
HP: 4
Status: Normal
~^v~~v^~

"Do we all have to go? If not, I'd... rather just go home for the evening. This is a lot to process, and if we're leaving the country there are things I'd need to do first." She mutters, thinking mostly to how much blood she'd need to take with her. Maybe she could hunt on her own, if they were going somewhere more remote? It always did taste best when it was fresh, but... No, that might be too dangerous. Stocking up on packs would be better.

[jmucchiello]

Amy (How many HP do we have?)
Condition: conflicted

As the other discuss their options, Amy withdraws. She wants to crawl under her covers in bed and shut the world out. The voices that have been quiet for the last week begin to burble up in her mind. "They will only attack again." "In greater force or numbers." "Time is on their side." "Save your parents." "If not for you, for them." "You must stand for yourself." Their normal leanings toward heroics are usually frightening. But now, for the first time, what they are saying feels like the right thing to do.

"I'll go with you Samuel," Amy says, her voice shaking with doubt. "We can't just stand around waiting for them to mount another attack." She looks at the others, speaking with more confidence. "They will strike again, won't they? Next week? Tomorrow? In the next hour? Splitting up favors them."

[kirinke]

Alice

The girl nodded soberly. "Once these types get a target, it is very difficult to dissuade them without violence." she admitted. "At least in my limited experience." she looked at her friend and Dent. "For what it is worth, I am sorry." she said. "I will also do my best not to let them take you, either of you, against your will."

ooc
She doesn't consider Dent to be a friend quite yet, but considering that he is an innocent in all of this, she will do her best to help protect him.

[Neo-Paladin]

Samuel

" Alright, anyone who wants to can come with. I'll see the rest of you tomorrow?" he asks. " If you need to take some time or rest...feel free, I never lock the temple. Through that door to the right there is a restroom and through that other door there's a stocked fridge."

[Bladewind]

(How many HP do we have?)

Whatever you were at +2 - so either 2 or 3.

[jmucchiello]

Amy didn't spend any so I guess 3. Thanks.

[kirinke]

Alice

"I don't need anything to eat or drink." she smiled. "I still need to sleep. If any would prefer to stay here, I can help with taking watch at least."

[pathfinderq1]

Cat McKenzie (FG)
HP: 3; LP: 1; Condition: Normal

With the "Away Team" headed out to check on the tech connection and the rest of the group starting to fray as they contemplated their next moves, Cat waved a quick farewell and took her leave. Tomorrow was going to come all too soon, especially if they were headed north of the border- and she had a lot of things to take care of first...

Her first stop was the refuge of bookworms everywhere- the local public library (or, failing that, the main campus library at the SFIT). The public computer terminals would let her do some anonymous research on what they were going up against- probably not as good as the DXDO might offer, but simpler. She spent a couple of hours digging through the available public information on the threads they had picked up so far. Landesman, Tuolema, the Morituri, the Canadian company connection- starting with any news stories, picking through the company's public info (including maps, and if possible satellite map overlays), dragging into scientific journals and any research they had published (especially related to Tuolema). Soon enough, she had a fat folder full of relevant data- some of it might even be useful, either to her, or to one of the others in her motley band of associates...

By evening, she was getting hungry- and she was going to have to explain her sudden departure (as precipitous as her arrival had been) to her mother, as well as packing a few odds and ends. She shuffled back to the parking lot and picked up her massive beast of an SUV- and then spent a depressingly long time stuck in traffic trying to get home. Maybe she should have left before rush hour...

Perhaps luckily, her mother wasn't home when Cat arrived. She had time to fashion some leftovers into something vaguely like dinner before diving into the rest of her "research". Since they had picked up the Canada idea, she had thought more than a bit about anybody she knew north of the border who operated in supernatural circles- their opponent seemed more tech focused, but that didn't mean they had to confine their response to that arena... Unfortunately, she didn't have any direct contacts that she could think of- she was still kind of on the edges of Slayer-net. She could put some fellers out to those she DID know, but it would be second-hand, and slow, maybe too tenuous to be useful.

Then she moved on to her next step- a simple divination ritual. Even the simplest rituals still took quite a bit of time, though- and she spent several hours putting something together. Diagrams, tiny representative figures, some of the information from her earlier research- augmented by some star charts and other occult information. It all boiled down to one question: was heading to Canada the best course towards ending the threat towards Amy and Dent?

Finally, it was time for sleep. Packing and armoury-check could wait until morning...



OOC: Hopefully this makes more sense now- let me know if there is any clarification needed. (Rolls, stolen from earlier OOC post)
-Investigation 1d20+8= 16 (Internet and library research)(plus see below for re-roll)

-Expertise- Ritual magic 1d20+8= 22 (Quick Augury check- thsi is functionally a 1PP ritual, mimicing the Variant Luck- Inspiration ability as insurance that we're on the right track))

-Expertise- supernatural community (Who's Who) 1d20+6= 9 (to see if she knows anyone operating near our target destination- looks like a Big No)
-Rolls: https://orokos.com/roll/766343

-Investigation HP reroll 1d20+8= 18 (effectively 28, since the 10 improves to a 20), HP total drops to 3
-Roll: https://orokos.com/roll/766344

[Bladewind]

Cat... The DXDO counterpart in Canada, although not operating openly, is the CDO. It is mostly a means of organizing and dispatching Canadian supers. It might be a good place to contact, or it might not depending on your point of view... Either way, further west you might get in touch with Pacifica for some support...

Any research on the company names that Smith provided reveals the third to be completely unrelated to the others. Rerunning the logo will actually find a link with the 100... Becca Franco's unnamed company, the woman responsible for the mind drives... Landesman is something of an enigma and you find nothing else than you already have. A search for Tuolema turns up the source material. The Canadian company is a processing center, and given the materials and supplies that come and go from there, its a safe bet that "The Garden" is located beneath the surface. You find also reference to a Paula Tuolema. Perhaps his daughter. You can get the satellite imagery, but it reveals little. It's clear that whatever is there was meant to be hidden by the presence of the facility on the surface. Tuolema has been maintaining a low profile. You can tell that the is sought after by a lot of people who want the Morituri Process. And finally, you find reference to a scientific paper (and the paper) dealing with a new steroid that hit the market, simply called "M" that boosts the user's physical abilities without leaving a trace of steroids in their system.

The supernatural aspect reveals little. A couple of 2nd Generation Avengers were in Vancouver a few months ago with Torunn, and maybe Talisman operates there with Alpha Flight... but...

Your divinations tell you that you are indeed on the right track.

Alice... to sleep perchance to dream. Your dream is a welcome chance to connect with the core of your essence... As you wake, the background imagery becomes more memorable than the actual dream... swirling peppermint candies that becomes umbrellas, infinity logos in hexagons... and finally a large screen TV playing imagery of a nuclear apocalypse with the energy simply going upwards...A younger version of Smith steps up and turns off the TV. The TV morphs into a tablet and Smith puts it into his sling bag before walking off. You swear for a second you saw his face on the screen....

Samuel and company... Its been a day. Samuel is still processing that Supergirl was in his congregation, not to criticize but to listen to him. And then she showed up in her colors and thanked him for inspiring her... after he and some old acquaintances mysteriously found themselves at the church and attacked by supervillains...

The short trip to John Henry's shop is uneventful. The man is less interested in the tech you show him - or at the very least not able to tell you more than you already know. What he is able to help with though is to confirm a way for you to get to Canada and back with little fuss and delay... To explain that he introduces you to a robotic being by the name of Playback.

"Ever heard of a Groundbridge?" the robot asks. You notice a stylized red robotic face on its arm...

John Henry waves him to be patient. "Smith... you've been getting texts. You must have questions." The way he speaks is as if knows Smith well...