[MM3]Sunstormers IC

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Neo-Paladin
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Re: [MM3]Sunstormers IC

Post by Neo-Paladin »

He certainly has tried, but since all events happened rather far away from his position, he wasn't able to do much. Add to that the fact that his warnings were ignored because he could not back them up without exposing himself as a Sunstormer and there has not been any measurable success so far. He still hopes that this time will be different...

------

Such a poor man, the all-too familiar voice of Nemesis reaches Khemis' ears. Now he's trapped twice. His passions and his dreams hidden from the world. And settled with a horrible power...if only, yes, if only these abilities came with an instruction manual...
But maybe everything will turn out well. After all, now you and your plucky sidekicks are on the case!
jmucchiello
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Re: [MM3]Sunstormers IC

Post by jmucchiello »

"Do we tell Albert about what he will potentially do?" Deborah says.

(Do our mark have any opinion on Helen?)
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Shadowmask
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Re: [MM3]Sunstormers IC

Post by Shadowmask »

ImageImage

Helen finished chatting with her contact Doreen from the City Records Department at City Hall on the laptop. As usual the lovelorn files clerk had tried to set up Helen to go on a double date with her to Frothy's Bar and Grill along with a couple of guys at the office.

Given Doreen's abysmal track record of five breakups within the past three years, Helen politely declined although she promised they'll hang out together next week. With that out of the way, she gazed at the readout on the screen sent over by Doreen.

Apparently this Albert Jun aka "Junebug" (as CPD and Helen has taken to naming him because paranoid recluse was already taken.), didn't have any priors. No misdemeanors, major or minor. Nor was there any record of incarcerations. That in itself does not mean anything: the best criminals always operated in complete respectability after all.

Personally Helen wouldn't even bother unless this slob broken any laws. The fact he was a sunstormer who promptly fled the hospital after he was supposedly shot in a drive by ( the police report was rather sketchy at this point) definitely changes things though Helen was rather surprised Uncle Sam had not already located him and made him an offer just like she did when she revealed her powers to them and kept her job as a cop while working with the government, not for but at least she had done so on her own terms. She wasn't about to hold Junebug's hand and guide him through the legal processes.

Let the freak deal with his own problems with the government.

Helen and her partner, Park slowly parked the police car outside Jun's place.

"So do we go on inside?" He asked as he turned off the ignition.

"And then what? Take turns pistol whipping the f@$!er?" Helen retorted. "I only want to have a look around. If Junebug is harmless like DuPont then we leave him alone...for now.

We still haven't eaten and I'm starving. Call UberEATS in the meantime. And no goddamn health food."
kenmadragon
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Re: [MM3]Sunstormers IC

Post by kenmadragon »

Sunny pondered the possibilities. Albert was in a precarious situation. Unlike Sunny himself, Al had mostly been harassed for being a Sunstormer. He had been shot, his identity noticed in the hospital afterwards, then found himself increasingly isolated out of paranoia as black-ops super-soldiers stalked him for near a month. The man was in a bad situation, and if not for the remaining ties to his old life, likely would have fled Chicago in fear of the people pursuing him. Albert could react to the revelation that his latest, more persistent enemies only hunted him because of a precognitive vision with grace, taking steps to avert the events this NSA administrator foretold. Or he could rabbit out of terror, be hunted down by the government, and eventually pushed into making McMillan's prophecy become self-fulfilling.

There was also the consideration on whether these precognitive visions were 100% accurate and certain to happen, or if there was some possibility of averting these portents. After all, that was what McMillan seemed to be interested in trying -- identifying the causes of disastrous events, monitoring them with his off-the-books super-soldiers, and then deciding to do... something about them before those events could occur. Sunny supposed it really boiled down to what McMillan decided to do once he had found these people. Whether McMillan truly believed these horrible prophecies could be prevented from fulfillment through his own action or those of others. Or was the mere reception of these portents sufficient to set-off the chain of events that caused them?

It took Sunny a few micro-seconds to backtrack and pull himself out before he started spiraling into existential pondering and an internal, philosophical debate on the nature of fate, destiny, free will, and the intricacies of causality in a world where precognition is apparently a thing now.

He wrote for Deborah, rather emphatically, ">>No. Not until we know more.<<" Then, he added a clarification. ">>I doubt even McMillan has the full picture. Let's not add to AJ's burden.<<"
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Tony Jones
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Re: [MM3]Sunstormers IC

Post by Tony Jones »

"He should be told eventually," Khemis chips in. "But I agree, let's not do anything to make his situation worse right now..."
Neo-Paladin
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Re: [MM3]Sunstormers IC

Post by Neo-Paladin »

Ignoring me will not make me go away, you know...and it's very rude Nemesis chides Khemis.

McMillan knows of Helen and thinks that she was a very poor choice for the 'face' of government-sanctioned Sunstormers, considering her obnoxiously abrasive and a representative of everything that's wrong with law enforcement.
jmucchiello
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Re: [MM3]Sunstormers IC

Post by jmucchiello »

As Deborah relays this to the group she adds, "I almost think we might get along with this guy. Almost."
Neo-Paladin
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Re: [MM3]Sunstormers IC

Post by Neo-Paladin »

There is movement in the backyard as a second figure enters the scene - definitely the leader of the black ops group, Ebert.
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Shadowmask
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Re: [MM3]Sunstormers IC

Post by Shadowmask »

While waiting for their orders from ubereats (including some tex mex food for Junebug. Although Helen didn't know if he liked Mexican food but she chose it as it was the cheapest item on the online menu.), they switched on the radio:

--- "Welcome back, Ladies and Gentlemen. This is Hotline: Today's topic, and it's so old I'm almost sick of hearing about it, the "sunstormer problem." Seems we got freaks running loose in our country that can do stuff no so called normal person could ever do; including tipping over a few local stores, killing off cops and federal agents…well, the point is, Ladies and Gentlemen, what are we gonna do about it?!! I'm so sick of the papers and the internet being filled with such mutant loving garbage. I mean, does the opinion of sunstormers really matter just because they can blow up city blocks? Pretty democratic, huh? ... Maybe I should get some explosives and some tight leather and a Halloween mask so I can get away with murder. ... annnd we got a caller.

Hotline, you're on the air."

"Yeah, look. Um, I been livin' in this city for ... jeez ... must be at least fifteen years now, and ... "

"Pal, get to the point."

"Yeah, well, the point is, the world nowadays is crawling with these sunstorming freaks. They're almost everywhere. I mean you can't take five steps without bumping into one of them.

Just last month one of them blew up that FBI Building down in Washington DC. 30 maybe 40 people killed... "

"Yeah, yeah, I read about that. What about it?"

" ... well, it seems there's a lot of that goin' around lately, and-"

"Well I'm glad you're finally catching on, buddy. Anybody with that much power, they think they're entitled to anything.

Thing is, they aren't any better than some hard-working schmoe on the street, and the moment we let them get away with what they've been pulling, humanity is on the way out. That's why I say put these sorry freaks to work doing something useful rather than killing humans or beating each other up. We better find some way to control them before we suffer anymore.

And I know what you dear listeners are thinking: that one of those freaks: some dumb tramp named Helen Paladino happens to be a Chicago cop. What can possibly go wrong? Which is what I'm saying: the sunstormers are all part of the government, dreaming up conspiracies and faking hate crimes in order to drum up public support for the master race! All on our tax dollars. Next caller:...

Hotline, you're on the air."
---

"Hail Hydra." Park muttered darkly.

"Turn that bullcrap off." Helen snapped. "When the time comes, all of these a-holes are gonna send me a written apology along with their resignations.

...and Theo?"


"Yeah, Hel?"

"What the heck does "Hail Hydra" mean anyway?"

"You need to get out more and be woke like the rest of us, Hel."

"F@$! you." Helen answered as she give Park the finger.
Last edited by Shadowmask on Mon May 22, 2023 7:57 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Tony Jones
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Re: [MM3]Sunstormers IC

Post by Tony Jones »

"You'll be pleased to know Nemesis is here," whispers Khemis dryly to the others. "Contributing to the conversation."

"And I'm not ignoring you, I'm focussing on what we are actually here to do," she tells Nemesis.

"Can you get a personal phone number and email address for McMillan?" she asks Deborah. "In case we do decide to get in touch discretely."
jmucchiello
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Re: [MM3]Sunstormers IC

Post by jmucchiello »

Deborah tries to find any and all home addresses for McMillan and his personal cell phone number. But, not at the expense of paying attention to how he reacts to his subordinate reporting in.
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Tony Jones
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Re: [MM3]Sunstormers IC

Post by Tony Jones »

Some snippets from Khemis' articles in the Chicago Sun-Times:
Snippet 1 wrote: Despite what the conspiracy theorists out there might have you beleive, Sunstormers were not grown in a lab somewhere, or spawned by Satan. We are people, just like anyone else. The difference between us is that Sunstormers were touched by the Sunstorm. Given powers.
Snippet 2 wrote: Some people - some Sunstormers - have done bad things with their powers. Crimes. Murder. And that is very, very regrettable. But even without powers, how many shootings occur in the USA every day? When someone is pushed too far? At least, from their perspective. More than have been killed by Sunstormers!

How many Sunstormers feel pushed too far? People who may have been powerless before. Trapped. Angry. But unable to do anything about it. Or people whose new powers have ruined their lives somehow. All now with the power to lash out. However wrongly or unwisely.
Snippet 3 wrote: I am not calling for Sunstormers to be immune from the law. From consequences. Far from it! But for understanding. With a little understanding and tolerance now hopefully preventing a great deal of trouble in future!
Snippet 4 wrote: The situation is not helped by the most public Sunstormers being criminals. Violent ones are that. They are getting all the news, while people aren't being told anything about those of us who are law abiding. Who are trying to think things through, use our powers wisely without being labelled vigilantes or becoming as bad as the criminals themselves. And that is helping the rabble rousers, hate preachers and conspiracy theorists. Perhaps these articles will help rectify that...
Neo-Paladin
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Re: [MM3]Sunstormers IC

Post by Neo-Paladin »

She finds his address and phone number easily enough. It's scary how powerful mind reading is in a world where no one takes it into account and there are no defenses against it.

McMillan gets up as he spots Ebert and the two exchange a brief handshake.
" Sitrep", McMillan says curtly.
" We had a blackout in the area a few days ago. Not sure if the subject had anything to do with it, but we cannot rule it out". Ebert responds.
" You shouldn't. Might not have been intentional, but I am fairly certain he caused it."
" Any new mission parameters? My people are getting antsy."
" I know. It's not what you were...trained for. But we cannot risk spooking him. "
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Shadowmask
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Re: [MM3]Sunstormers IC

Post by Shadowmask »

Image

A video message suddenly came through on the police laptop. It turned out to be an online video communication cast from Captain Ian Anderson in his office back at the station. As usual he didn't look too happy.

"Paladino, we need to talk. Park, go outside and take a five minute walk or something."

Park knew better than to argue, especially to the irate looking captain and quickly left.

Anderson got down to business: "The press corps from the mayor's office said you have turned down yet another opportunity to do a public interview, Helena."

Helen shrugged her shoulders. "So what, captain? I am not a dog and pony show. Plenty of other cops in this town willing to whore themselves like Hobbs. Go harass him for a change…"

"People are scared, Helena. Have you been watching the news or caught what's been broadcasting over on the airwaves? It's a damn feeding frenzy of fear and hatred out there. Of course there are some individuals with moderate viewpoints but those unfortunately are quite few. For every positive, there is at least a dozen or more negatives. People needed hope but they trust fear even more it seems.

And you know why."

"Enlighten me."

"You are a sunstormer. The first one who has gone public and a very controversial one at that. There are many who have been questioning the fact that you are even allowed to walk the street as a police officer armed with a gun…"

"If you want my badge then take it, you old fart! If you weren't my dad's ex-partner for nearly 25 years, I'll come over to the precinct right now and personally beat the living sh@$ out of you!"

"Calm down, Helena. I won't let you off that easily. You still have your job but you have to play nice. Do the interview."

"There's a big difference between encouraging cultural diversity and understanding and another to be bowing down to pandering and censorship just to please a vocal minority for fear of offending them. But fine whatever, I'll do the interview. Considering I'm the only sunstormer in Chicago with a actual backbone as none of the other freaks won't even dare to show their faces in public anyway. Happy?"

"Not quite. But it's the best thing one can do under the circumstances.

Oh...and Helena? Try to keep it clean and polite during the interview. Children might be watching."

"Yes, your highness." Helen muttered sarcastically as the screen went black.

Park eventually came back inside a few minutes later but kept his mouth shut as he had been on the force long enough to know that private sit downs with Anderson rarely went well.

The ubereats guy soon came with the ordered food. Helen and Park ate in complete and awkward silence and after they were done eating, she got out of the car with the tray of Mexican food and casually walked up the front steps of Jun's place.

"UBEREATS!" she called out in the hallway. "I have a food delivery for a Albert Jun! Anyone at home?"

Subtlety was never in Helen's vocabulary.
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Tony Jones
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Re: [MM3]Sunstormers IC

Post by Tony Jones »

Neo-Paladin wrote: Fri May 19, 2023 7:29 pm In his vision regarding her, Evelyn Carr is struggling against a group of people, apparently part of some sort of riot or mass panic. And she, too, appears to be in a state of terror....reaching out and reflexively activating her power, people dropping left and right with gaping, bloody holes in their bodies...

The twins he sees amidst a group of people on the street, all moving in perfect sync. There seems to be no outward danger to anyone else but it's obvious the image chilled McMillan deeply.

Finally, Joanna Spencer confronting a group of people attending a funeral. Her eyes are blazing with mad fury as her power activates...trees blacken and twist, the grass turns a bone-white grey, the gravestones are suddenly displaying mocking or cruel slogans...and the earth bursts as pale, shrieking, tumorous dead pour out, tearing into the attendees...
A question going back slightly; in the visions that he had above, is there anything in them that would let someone (us?) get the location of each vision? Like street signs or something? In particular the last one given that it's presumably in Chicago, but any of the others too.

And also any clues as to when in the future they occur? As I recall it's February now, so we might be able to get an idea of season at least from (for example) the trees in the graveyard? Or if there's anything visible with a date on it?
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