Gauss 2

[2017-07-30 21:54:33] <Antioch|GM> Getting Daybreak started means working late nights. Brandon's been doing the same, taking out loans, meeting with investors, scanning through freelancer portfolios to find a good graphic designer for their website, getting equipment, a costume ordered. There's enough seed funding to get him set up with one of the rogue costumers in town -- one of the good ones, itself run by a cape. Power Threads.
[2017-07-30 21:54:33] <Antioch|GM> Getting measured, fitted, a costume tailored to his frame and specifications, it all takes far less time than expected. Seems to help if your seamstress happens to be a microtelekinetic.
[2017-07-30 21:54:33] <Antioch|GM> Still, having a costume is only one step out of many. It's late Tuesday night, he and Brandon are in the Daybreak office, and there's still worlds more stuff to do. Not all of it is strictly necessary, mind, like registering with the PRT as a cape, but it lends legitimacy to the organization, and a strong foundation is needed to build Daybreak into the team he wants it to be.
[2017-07-30 21:54:33] <Antioch|GM> All that said, there's no "I" in team. Two people he's gotten in touch with have responded, with neither respondent expressing interest in joining Daybreak in the short-term. There's at least the chance to sell them on it when they come to tour the office -- when it's fully staffed and furnished. As it is, it's at the halfway point, more or less, and that's just the stuff left over from his previous enterprise.
[2017-07-30 21:54:33] <Antioch|GM> "More coffee?" Brandon asks, emptying half the pot into his thermos and pouring in some half-and-half. ||
[2017-07-30 21:54:46] <Antioch|GM> ((Feel free to spend a portion of this post describing your costume, please.))
[2017-07-30 22:22:19] <tubes|Gauss> "Yes, please." James holds out his mug for the other half of the pot. Just enough half and half to cool it down so he could immediately start chugging. He'd been disappointed by the lukewarm reception he'd gotten from the most obvious...well, targets wasn't really an appropriate word? Hire-ees? Whatever. They weren't interested, which meant he'd have to knock it out himself if he wanted
[2017-07-30 22:22:20] <tubes|Gauss> to find anyone. Well, he'd pulled himself up from the boostraps before, he could do it again. Put in the hours and the work and he'd get results somewhere.
[2017-07-30 22:22:20] <tubes|Gauss> There were a couple of other immediate possibilities in town, but they either came with very dubious motives and even more dubious moral compasses, or had their own gig going. He couldn't really imaginge the Trinity of Triumph dropping their Saturday-morning cartoon adventures to help underpriviledged children. They'd have to go scouting, probably, and check out emcee. He wasn't superhot
[2017-07-30 22:22:20] <tubes|Gauss> on the idea of recruiting super-powered bloodsport competitiors, but it wasn't like every normal person who did boxing and stuff was a crazy person, so he was probably just being biased.
[2017-07-30 22:22:20] <tubes|Gauss> The costume was a pretty slick deal, all things considered. He'd been fine with pretty much whatever, but Brandon had been adamant on the importance of it, so it'd been done by professionals. It was pretty slick, if he had to say so. The DBZ impression had stuck with him, so he'd gone with a martial-artsy style outfit.
[2017-07-30 22:22:21] <tubes|Gauss> A light blue gi and belt formed the base - to make sure he stood out when he had his power on full blast -  along with some tight-fitting boots and MMA-style gloves that went up his forearms. The gi had red-orange lighting bolt-designs at the shoulders, hips, and shins. The mask was a close-fitting bronze-colored affair with a small band across his eyes, forming a circlet and going down
[2017-07-30 22:22:22] <tubes|Gauss> to trace his temples and jaw, leaving most of his face exposed. He'd been adamant on that - people needed to know there was a face and a person underneath the mask, and that meant expressions and seeing his mouth move.
[2017-07-30 22:22:23] <tubes|Gauss> All said, they were making rapid progress into the cape business, considering they'd gotten the cape needed for the business not even a week ago. Not rapid enough for James' liking, but Rome wasn't built in a day, and all that. ||
[2017-07-30 22:26:34] <Antioch|GM> "We're making good progress," Brandon says, topping off James's mug with enough half-and-half to turn the coffee from black to creamy brown. "Paved enough of the way towards a public announcement this week or the next, and we can seal the deal before then with some sort of publicity stunt. You see that thing the Guidance chick pulled earlier today?" ||
[2017-07-30 22:31:13] <tubes|Gauss> James had spent most of his time in the back alley figuring out his power. And getting blown up. Aghhhhhh. He was still pretty sore. "Nah, what'd she do?" Guidance being one of the 'lukewarm' responses he'd gotten. She was more interested than Princess Decemeber, for sure, but he didn't see it happening unless she a) actually showed up to see their HQ and b) they really wow'd her with
[2017-07-30 22:31:13] <tubes|Gauss> it. ||
[2017-07-30 22:36:48] * FossilLord → FossAsleep
[2017-07-30 22:41:22] <Antioch|GM> "Went out to the canal downtown, grabbed a bunch of water from the river with her powers, did a sort of watershow, some flying tricks, and a Q&A at the end. I figure we wanna do something similar -- well, similar-ish. Not so similar that people call us out for cribbing from her playbook. You feeling anything on that front?" ||
[2017-07-30 22:52:42] ⇐ iridium248 quit (iridium248@net-79p.vhr.127.203.IP): Quit: http://www.kiwiirc.com/ - A hand crafted IRC client
[2017-07-30 22:55:00] <tubes|Gauss> "Hmmm... You know I'm game, but I'm just not sure what I have in the way of party tricks. It mostly just seems to break stuff, and I feel like i'm hitting a limit when I try to jack up the power like I did that first day." Ugh, he hates to say it, after all the mental trash talk...
[2017-07-30 22:55:01] <tubes|Gauss> "I could always enter into that arena thing. It sounds bad, but I feel like I could push it futher if the stakes were higher. I'm not super keen on it, but if it's our only option for publicity..." Hrm. James is vaguely frustrated. ||
[2017-07-30 22:59:21] * soulpelt| → soulpelt|sleep
[2017-07-30 23:13:06] <Antioch|GM> "Or do some patrols to kick things off, see if anyone tries to pick a fight," he suggests.
[2017-07-30 23:13:39] <Antioch|GM> "Don't sweat it for now, we can keep our options op—"
[2017-07-30 23:14:04] <Antioch|GM> Brandon's interrupted by a shrill, three-tone pulse coming out of James's phone.
[2017-07-30 23:15:22] <Antioch|GM> Endbringer alarm – he hadn't switched the setting off from global alert, from before he took his overseas trip. ||
[2017-07-30 23:18:09] <tubes|Gauss> Patrols still felt like a variation on pick a fight -
[2017-07-30 23:18:09] <tubes|Gauss> James is knocked out of his musings by the shrill noise from his phone. It takes him a moment to get back into a gear and place it.
[2017-07-30 23:18:09] <tubes|Gauss> Endbringer.
[2017-07-30 23:18:09] <tubes|Gauss> He checks the details before saying anything. ||
[2017-07-30 23:19:02] → Thaydean joined (uid129619@hathersage.irccloud.com)
[2017-07-30 23:19:10] <Antioch|GM> Leviathan. Rio de Janeiro.
[2017-07-30 23:20:02] <Antioch|GM> "The fuck?" Brandon says. ||
[2017-07-30 23:30:33] <tubes|Gauss> James doesn't respond right away, caught up in thoughts about charity and aid organizations they could do benefits for, all the indirect ways a normal person could help with that sort of thing. If you could really even help with disaster on that scale. Then it strikes him. He wasn't limited to indirect help. Sweet baby Jesus, he was a cape now.
[2017-07-30 23:30:33] <tubes|Gauss> And capes fought Endbringers.
[2017-07-30 23:30:33] <tubes|Gauss> He feels almost disassociated, placing his phone back down on the table. This was it. The test, if there ever was one.
[2017-07-30 23:30:33] <tubes|Gauss> "Endbringer alarm. Leviathan's on his way to Rio de Janerio." The words sound far away to his ears. Christ. A phone call, a quick trip in Brandon's souped-up hot rod to PRT HQ, and he'd be there. In a fight with a monster that's destroyed cities, whole countries and landmasses.
[2017-07-30 23:30:33] <tubes|Gauss> Fuck, it was the right thing to do if there was ever a right thing to do. Shithead meth dealers and superpowered serial killers showed up to fight Endbringers. How could he do any less?
[2017-07-30 23:30:34] <tubes|Gauss> But all he can think of is that one terrifying moment, when he was in front of the engine he'd slaved over, that people believed he could pull off, and it was redlining, and he /knew/, down to the decimals, just how fucked he was...And then nothing. For months, just brief flashes and pain.
[2017-07-30 23:30:35] <tubes|Gauss> James isn't sure he can face that down again. The stakes were so much higher this time. He can't fail like that again, see it staring him in the face, knowing it was his fault...||
[2017-07-30 23:33:39] <Antioch|GM> "Nuh-uh," Brandon says, shaking his head. "No way. I know what you're thinking." ||
[2017-07-30 23:36:08] <tubes|Gauss> That brings James back to reality. 'Do I fight an Endbringer' was a real decision he needed to make, like, right now.
[2017-07-30 23:36:08] <tubes|Gauss> "Nuh-uh? Nuh-uh what, man? This, this is it." James tries to take the position he /knows/ is right, but his doubts betray him. ||
[2017-07-30 23:37:41] <Antioch|GM> "You don't fucking throw down with Leviathan as your first fucking thing of being a cape. That's just not happening. You said it yourself, you're still figuring out your power, right?"
[2017-07-30 23:37:48] <Antioch|GM> He looks James dead in the eyes.
[2017-07-30 23:37:57] <Antioch|GM> "Seriously, dude. It's not happening." ||
[2017-07-30 23:43:47] <tubes|Gauss> "What are you, my mom? You gonna ground me if I go off and get myself killed fighting an Endbringer?" He tries to joke a little, but it falls flat.
[2017-07-30 23:43:47] <tubes|Gauss> Just looking at the numbers, he stood a pretty good chance of getting killed. James was pretty good with numbers. They weren't very good numbers, if you were a fan of living.
[2017-07-30 23:43:47] <tubes|Gauss> Brandon was right. He shouldn't go. Sure, one of them was dead, but the others didn't seem like they were vanishing any time soon. There'd be other opportunities, opportunities when he was better trained, more experienced...
[2017-07-30 23:43:47] <tubes|Gauss> It all sounds like excuses. They /were/ excuses. Good ones. Still excuses. ||
[2017-07-30 23:45:14] <Antioch|GM> "I'm being fucking pragmatic here, dude. How the fuck are you gonna help people the way you're planning to, how the fuck are you gonna get Daybreak off the ground, if Leviathan turns your rookie ass into watered-down ground beef?"
[2017-07-30 23:48:07] <Antioch|GM> Brandon shakes his head, putting his palm on his forehead. "Look, man. You're king of biting off more than you can chew, and I'm behind you every step of the way, but not this. I'll kick your ass myself if I have to."
[2017-07-30 23:49:04] <Antioch|GM> James realizes there's no need for Brandon to kick his ass - just stall for time. There's only so long the PRT transport craft waits for capes to show. ||
[2017-07-30 23:57:45] <tubes|Gauss> Fucking shit. James stands up and starts rapidly pacing.
[2017-07-30 23:57:45] <tubes|Gauss> "Fucking shit. Damn it. Fine, I have a good excuse this time. What about the next time, and the time after that, and the time after that." The clock was ticking, and Brandon knew it too.
[2017-07-30 23:57:45] <tubes|Gauss> "Meth dealers and white supremacists show up to those fights, dude. What does it say if I skip out on a fight that fuckin' Nazis and the KKK show up to. Nazis!" James would tear his hair out if it wasn't too short to do so. That was at least part of the reason he kept it short. ||
[2017-07-31 00:01:11] <Antioch|GM> "After that, you'll have more experience, hell, you'll have teammates that can watch your back, there's literally no good reason to go now. Nobody fucking knows you're a cape yet, they're not going to give you shit for it!" ||

[2017-07-31 20:51:15] <tubes|Gauss> James sits back down in a heap.
[2017-07-31 20:51:15] <tubes|Gauss> "I'll give myself shit for it." He mumbles. It would be a compromise on his integrity. Not doing the right thing. Period. That was the only good reason he needed. The only good reason anyone needed.
[2017-07-31 20:51:15] <tubes|Gauss> He leans forward, folding his hands as best he can.
[2017-07-31 20:51:15] <tubes|Gauss> "Look, man, think of it the other way. I go out there, punch Leviathan in the face, straight out of the gate. Nobody knows i'm a cape? They'll know then. We were talking about picking a fight as an introduction, what better fight is there to pick?"
[2017-07-31 20:51:15] <tubes|Gauss> James sits back with a sigh.
[2017-07-31 20:51:15] <tubes|Gauss> "You're right. I'm the king of biting off more than I can chew. But if it's for a good reason, the /right/ reason, does it really matter?" He'd already gotten blown up once doing it. It was blind luck he hadn't had his head taken off by a piece of flying metal. At least this time he might have enough warning to duck. ||
[2017-07-31 20:53:53] <Antioch|GM> ((Social, please.))
[2017-07-31 20:59:12] <tubes|Gauss> $roll 2h6
[2017-07-31 20:59:12] <[ATM]> tubes|Gauss [5] (5)  = 5
[2017-07-31 21:11:51] <Antioch|GM> "And you're willing to make that gamble?" Brandon asks challengingly. "You're going to stake your life for publicity, either come back alive to, what, get Daybreak started a few weeks ahead of schedule, or you fail, and everything we've spent the past few days getting set up goes to shit."
[2017-07-31 21:11:51] <Antioch|GM> He sighs, echoing James.
[2017-07-31 21:11:51] <Antioch|GM> "It's the right thing to do. Is it the smart thing to do?"
[2017-07-31 21:11:51] <Antioch|GM> He shakes his head almost unconsciously, answering his own question.
[2017-07-31 21:11:51] <Antioch|GM> "But... goddammit. That's the hero thing, isn't it?"
[2017-07-31 21:11:51] <Antioch|GM> He's silent for a long moment -- too long, it feels, when he needs to be en route to the PRT headquarters thirty seconds ago --
[2017-07-31 21:11:51] <Antioch|GM> "Fuck. I'm not going to be the one to stop you." ||
[2017-07-31 21:18:30] <tubes|Gauss> This was it, then. The moment of truth. But he'd just convinced himself, hadn't he? That was the whole reason they'd started this thing, just a few days ago - doing the right thing, where other people might do the easier thing, or the 'smarter' thing. Heh. Picking a fight with Leviathan certainly wasn't the smarter thing.
[2017-07-31 21:18:30] <tubes|Gauss> James stands up, and holds out his hand.
[2017-07-31 21:18:30] <tubes|Gauss> "Gimmie a ride? The transport is only gonna wait so long. We've got monsters to slay." ||
[2017-07-31 21:20:39] <Antioch|GM> Brandon meets the outstretched hand with a handshake, weaker than his usual firm grip.
[2017-07-31 21:20:39] <Antioch|GM> "I'm driving," he says. "If your gimp hands crash my car before you even get on the plane to fight Leviathan, I won't know how to react. My brain will implode." ||
[2017-07-31 21:25:44] * Lysa|Kumiho → Lysa
[2017-07-31 21:28:57] <tubes|Gauss> James grips back, and gives a wide grin. He was already starting to feel the adrenaline, overcoming any nervousness he'd had before. It was the same as any crunch-time project he'd had in college, the same as every late night pulled on their previous endeavour - so what if the stakes were a little higher?
[2017-07-31 21:28:57] <tubes|Gauss> He'd been wearing in his costume, and still had the main gi on - he grabs the extra pieces and starts heading for the car. ||
[2017-07-31 21:37:04] <Antioch|GM> ((Social - Empathy applies))
[2017-07-31 21:38:45] → JustLurking joined (uid195947@hathersage.irccloud.com)
[2017-07-31 21:39:18] <tubes|Gauss> $roll 1d6
[2017-07-31 21:39:18] <[ATM]> tubes|Gauss [3]  = 3
[2017-07-31 21:39:59] ⇐ tubes|Gauss quit (scott@net-cq3jge.tx.comcast.net): Quit: NORMIES GET OUT
[2017-07-31 21:40:06] → tubes joined (tubes@net-bj4.rdt.21.185.IP)
[2017-07-31 21:40:24] * tubes → tubes|Gauss
[2017-07-31 21:48:21] ⇐ ThalAI quit (uid132942@hathersage.irccloud.com): Quit: Connection closed for inactivity
[2017-07-31 21:57:39] <Antioch|GM> Brandon's ride is an Italian import, a dying breed even since Leviathan's influence saturated the American markets with domestic automobiles. It's one of his few concessions to spending the money he'd otherwise be saving -- James has heard him gripe far too often back in their college days about his first car, a hand-me-down Ford teetering on the brink of being totaled by a particularly violent sneeze.
[2017-07-31 21:57:39] <Antioch|GM> "So," Brandon says, as the engine hums to life, "if a cop tries to get me for speeding, you can shout 'I'm going to fight Leviathan' out of the window, right?"
[2017-07-31 21:57:39] <Antioch|GM> It's not a fantastic joke, nor is it well-delivered. More than anything, it seems a forced attempt to inject humor into an otherwise nerve-wracking situation. ||
[2017-07-31 22:05:02] <tubes|Gauss> James laughs anyway. Being punched into the seat by the acceleration - on the way to fight an /Endbringer!/ makes him feel more alive than he's been since the accident, maybe more than he's ever been. He struggles to work his feet into the boots while Brandon saloms in traffic.
[2017-07-31 22:05:02] <tubes|Gauss> "What, are you telling me you can't outrun a crown vic in this thing?" ||
[2017-07-31 22:08:37] <Antioch|GM> "Hey," he replies, "I did say /tries/."
[2017-07-31 22:08:37] <Antioch|GM> As if to emphasize his point, he guns the engine further, blowing through red lights on empty streets, GPS navigating him through the area north of downtown. The estimated time to arrival on the screen says three minutes -- with the way Brandon's driving, it's guaranteed to be less. ||
[2017-07-31 22:13:20] * soulpelt|GM → soulpelt|
[2017-07-31 22:17:48] <tubes|Gauss> James works his gloves on, then settles the headpiece into place. This would certainly be a hell of an entry if they make it.
[2017-07-31 22:17:48] <tubes|Gauss> Through the adrenaline, he feels kind of bad. Brandon was pissed, probably. He was right to be pissed. James could bench press a car now - what kind of commentary is the business guy supposed to make when James wants to go punch monsters in the face instead? James was probably coming off as a little crazy with this stunt. A little. But...fuck.
[2017-07-31 22:17:48] <tubes|Gauss> How the fuck could he face himself in the morning? How the fuck could he sleep, looking at the body count, and knowing that, he /personally/ could have done something about it? That there had been a plane, waiting at that very moment he'd decided, to take him to do something to do about it. And he'd said no.
[2017-07-31 22:17:49] <tubes|Gauss> Every civilian and cape dead was one that he could have prevented, if he'd only bothered to show up. Was his life worth more than an entire city? James was pretty full of himself on a lot of a things, but he wasn't so much of a narcisist that he could say no. He'd faced death once in the face before, and made it then. And if he didn't this time...Well, as they say, with your shield or
[2017-07-31 22:17:49] <tubes|Gauss> on it. ||
[2017-07-31 22:17:51] <tubes|Gauss> --||
[2017-07-31 22:18:07] <tubes|Gauss> When he came back, he and Brandon were doing steaks and cigars and whiskey and all that shit. ||
[2017-07-31 22:18:51] * Pink|Croc → Pink
[2017-07-31 22:21:58] * Foss|AFK → FosAsleep
[2017-07-31 22:25:06] <Antioch|GM> The double towers of the PRT headquarters are lit as they make their approach, someone manning the vehicle entry gate.
[2017-07-31 22:25:06] <Antioch|GM> "Leviathan," Brandon says, rolling the window down, and that seems to be enough.
[2017-07-31 22:25:06] <Antioch|GM> There's a clearing on the riverbank, the size of a football field and some change, and it's being used as a landing point for a sleek, futuristic-looking aircraft. ||
[2017-07-31 22:30:57] <tubes|Gauss> James climbs out, of the vehicle, geared up. He takes a brief moment to take it all in. Shit. This was it. The tinker-craft-thing, the capes, all of it.
[2017-07-31 22:30:57] <tubes|Gauss> He leans back down to look at brandon.
[2017-07-31 22:30:57] <tubes|Gauss> "Steak and cigars on me when I get back?" He says. His heart was thundering in his chest. He didn't really feel like he was doing right by his friend. But James had to go. What was he if he didn't? ||
[2017-07-31 22:44:28] * soulpelt| → soulpelt|sleep
[2017-07-31 22:47:14] <Antioch|GM> "You fucking better," he replies, offering a shaky-handed fistbump. ||
[2017-07-31 23:11:12] <tubes|Gauss> James returns it with vigor. "Monster-slaying's hungry work, man. I'll be ready for it." ||
[2017-07-31 23:16:27] * FosAsleep → FossilLord
[2017-07-31 23:24:28] <Antioch|GM> And then he steps out of the car, onto the field, joining the several capes ready to put their lives on the line in the fight against Leviathan.
[2017-07-31 23:24:28] <Antioch|GM> There are capes he recognizes -- the local Protectorate, primarily, and Princess December -- and capes he doesn't.
[2017-07-31 23:24:28] <Antioch|GM> This is it. ||
[2017-07-31 23:28:33] <tubes|Gauss> James looks around for someone who might be in charge. Or know what's going on. He's not really sure how any of this works. He tries to make up for it with enthusiasm. If he can't find anyone in-charge-ish, he just taps the nearest person on the shoulder.
[2017-07-31 23:28:33] <tubes|Gauss> "Hey, so is there, like, roll call? A signup sheet?" ||
[2017-07-31 23:33:59] * FossilLord → FosAsleep
[2017-07-31 23:35:43] <Antioch|GM> Axis seems like the person to talk to, being the Protectorate team leader.
[2017-07-31 23:35:43] <Antioch|GM> For the moment, she's silent, her attention turned towards an older-looking man with no cape costume on, and the rest of the crowd's focus is turned that way as well. The new Director, he surmises.
[2017-07-31 23:35:45] <Antioch|GM> ||

[2017-08-14 18:56:41] <Antioch|GM> One, two, three, four...
[2017-08-14 18:56:41] <Antioch|GM> There are, all told, at the final head count, fourteen capes ready and willing to attend the Leviathan fight, and seven of them are from his department. It's possible, likely even, that the only city that's going to match Indianapolis in terms of turnout is going to be Rio de Janeiro itself.
[2017-08-14 18:56:41] <Antioch|GM> Willing might be a strong word in one particular case. Pain Train is still strapping on the fiddlier portions of her armor with B.F.T.'s assistance, mumbling curses and looking for all the world as if she were dragged there by her ear.
[2017-08-14 18:56:41] <Antioch|GM> The rest, though, seem alert, tense, the two professional capes from SPEC, Princess December in a far bulkier costume than her usual, Lionheart in the same costume he'd worn when he left the Protectorate a year ago, the unexpected Bath Boy, and a new face, someone in a martial artist's uniform. Gauss II, by his own introduction.
[2017-08-14 18:56:41] <Antioch|GM> There's time to speak, though not much of it. ||
[2017-08-14 18:57:46] <Teller|March> ...
[2017-08-14 18:58:29] → tubes|Gauss joined (tubes@net-bj4.rdt.21.185.IP)
[2017-08-14 19:17:23] → vanderhuge joined (uid207300@highgate.irccloud.com)
[2017-08-14 19:23:53] <Teller|March> One thought keeps going through March's mind: How many of these people standing in front of him are going to be dead before the end of the day?
[2017-08-14 19:23:53] <Teller|March> By some metrics, the large turnout is a good thing. By most others...more boots on the ground now means more graves later, and any losses for the department at this juncture would hurt badly. But if his capes are willing to risk their lives fighting this monster, who is he to tell them no?
[2017-08-14 19:23:53] <Teller|March> His eyes scan the capes in front of him. What the hell is he supposed to say to these people? March doesn't have an 'Endbringer pep talk' prepared, and even if Leviathan had been kind enough to call ahead a week in advance to let him know it was coming to visit he still wouldn't have one ready. Words don't seem sufficient.
[2017-08-14 19:23:53] <Teller|March> So March opts not to say anything at all. Instead he brings his hand sharply to the side of head and salutes the departing capes, heroes and villains alike. ||
[2017-08-14 19:24:34] <Antioch|GM> ...
[2017-08-14 19:24:55] <Teller|March> ((*side of his head))
[2017-08-14 19:27:58] <Antioch|GM> Most of his capes return the salute, only Acacia and Van Helsing declining to do so. Both seem distracted in their own way, Acacia still and silent, Van Helsing fidgeting with nervous energy.
[2017-08-14 19:27:58] <Antioch|GM> Holmgang and Lionheart salute as well, and Bath Boy hesitantly follows the saluting capes' lead.
[2017-08-14 19:27:58] <Antioch|GM> There's more hesitation than that running through the crowd -- some apparently see the salute as a salutation rather than a valediction, and they continue to look at him intently, expecting more, Princess December the most intense of the scrutinizers. ||
[2017-08-14 19:28:00] <Antioch|GM> >> tubes|Gauss
[2017-08-14 19:30:04] <tubes|Gauss> ...
[2017-08-14 19:31:17] * Teller|March → Teller
[2017-08-14 19:31:39] * Teller → Teller|March
[2017-08-14 19:33:02] * Thaliaway → Thalia
[2017-08-14 19:34:21] <tubes|Gauss> Gauss had taken his hand away from Axis as the Director approaches. Well, he would probably know what was going on. There's a kinda-awkward moment, and then the dude snaps-to. Uh...
[2017-08-14 19:34:22] <tubes|Gauss> Then everyone returns it. Well, mostly everyone. Gauss glances around for a moment at people returning the salute, before clumsily returning it himself. What was the saying? 'Once more unto the breach'? Marsh seems like he's a big fan of that saying. He wasn't a big fan of applying that idea to street level crime-fighting, but here?
[2017-08-14 19:34:22] <tubes|Gauss> Yeah, it definitely fit here. James feels his spine stiffen a bit as the gravitas sinks in. His heart rate is starting to ramp up again. ||
[2017-08-14 19:34:43] <Antioch|GM> >> Teller|March
[2017-08-14 19:37:38] <Teller|March> ...
[2017-08-14 19:48:43] * soulpelt|nap → soulpelt|
[2017-08-14 19:49:31] <Teller|March> ((Sorry, was checking a few timeline details.))
[2017-08-14 19:57:25] * Thalia → Thalia|Emmi
[2017-08-14 19:57:33] <Teller|March> March resists the urge to bark, "What? That's it. Get on the damn ship and don't die."
[2017-08-14 19:57:33] <Teller|March> Instead he drops his salute and draws near enough to speak, sizing up his audience as he does so. Several of these capes have been around the block a few times. Experience meant little in terms of survival when it came to the Endbringers, but it gives him a place to start with them. "I don't know how you people did this a year ago." ||
[2017-08-14 19:59:25] * Camtist → Camtist|Belle
[2017-08-14 20:00:16] <Antioch|GM> ...
[2017-08-14 20:04:17] <Antioch|GM> "Me neither," Bath Boy murmurs. It's audible, even above the whining hum of the ship's idling rotors.
[2017-08-14 20:04:17] <Antioch|GM> "Do what?" Lionheart asks, smiling thinly. "Kill an Endbringer?" ||
[2017-08-14 20:04:20] <Antioch|GM> >> tubes|Gauss
[2017-08-14 20:07:45] <tubes|Gauss> Gauss hasn't done shit so far, so he elects to stay silent and listen. He feels like he made the right choice, no matter how nervous he might be. Especially if someone called Bath Boy is a veteran of Endbringer fights. ||
[2017-08-14 20:08:28] <Antioch|GM> ((Bath Boy is saying that he doesn't know how it's done because he has no experience. I'm not sure if that's immediately evident, so I'm not sure if you want to redact, but I am throwing that out there.))
[2017-08-14 20:10:09] <tubes|Gauss> ((oh))
[2017-08-14 20:10:32] <tubes|Gauss> ((you can just scratch the second line then, it's not really important. I wasn't sure whether or not to include it anyway))
[2017-08-14 20:10:43] → OptimusRhyme joined (OptimusRhym@net-tjugev.res.rr.com)
[2017-08-14 20:10:48] <tubes|Gauss> ((the third line i mean))
[2017-08-14 20:11:40] <Antioch|GM> ((OK, sure.))
[2017-08-14 20:11:42] <Antioch|GM> >> Teller|March
[2017-08-14 20:11:47] <Teller|March> ...
[2017-08-14 20:23:13] * Pinkhair → Pink|GM
[2017-08-14 20:23:26] * ColdGold → ColdGold|GM
[2017-08-14 20:23:45] * ColdGold|GM → CG|Snakeskin
[2017-08-14 20:31:40] → CaptNameless joined (uid208854@ealing.irccloud.com)
[2017-08-14 20:39:20] <Teller|March> "Before that," March says, responding to Lionheart but addressing everyone. "Back when we thought they couldn't die. Back when fighting them was like throwing yourself at natural disasters just to buy the world a little more time before the inevitable. Nothing grinds your soul down like fighting a hopeless war."
[2017-08-14 20:39:20] <Teller|March> He pauses, briefly wondering which of them heard the rumors about the end of the world. Which of them believed it. "But then the clouds parted, Christmas came in July, and Herokiller bit it, didn't he? And we all realized that maybe, just fucking maybe, the inevitable was evitable after all."
[2017-08-14 20:39:20] <Teller|March> A single data point, against the 'number of Endbringers over time' graph that seemed to only be trending upwards. Not something they needed to hear right now. He looks at Bath Boy. "Doesn't change the fact that you're throwing yourself at a natural disaster, or that any one of you could die today. The only difference? There's hope, because those fuckers can die too."
[2017-08-14 20:39:20] <Teller|March> "It's a long, bloody, ugly war, but now we know it's one we can win." ||
[2017-08-14 20:43:37] <Antioch|GM> ...
[2017-08-14 20:45:06] <Antioch|GM> "It wasn't about killing them," Princess December says. "Stopping them was enough for me. Protecting. Mitigating."
[2017-08-14 20:45:06] <Antioch|GM> "Stemming the tide," she continues, laughing weakly at her own pun.
[2017-08-14 20:45:06] <Antioch|GM> "Losing later's better than losing now," Warpath cuts her off matter-of-factly, as if stating the obvious.
[2017-08-14 20:45:06] <Antioch|GM>  ||
[2017-08-14 20:45:06] <Antioch|GM> >> tubes|Gauss
[2017-08-14 20:51:18] <tubes|Gauss> He's still not really sure what's going on, but...
[2017-08-14 20:51:18] <tubes|Gauss> "We're here, right?" He felt like it was pretty hard to be ambivalent on the matter, if you were willing to show up to fight an Endbringer...Well, maybe if you were some kind of crazy Fallen cultist looking for a close up - Wrong attitude, right.
[2017-08-14 20:51:18] <tubes|Gauss> He can't really pop his knuckles anymore, so he settles for cracking his neck.
[2017-08-14 20:51:18] <tubes|Gauss> "What else is there to do other than give it our best shot?" Fuck, he sounds like a total fucking dweeb.
[2017-08-14 20:51:19] <tubes|Gauss> ...Was still true, though. ||
[2017-08-14 20:51:27] <Antioch|GM> >> Teller|March
[2017-08-14 20:55:30] * soulpelt| → soulpelt|work
[2017-08-14 21:09:53] <Teller|March> "You're here," March echoes. "You all got one of the shittiest calls of duty on this planet, and you answered it. That's the important thing."
[2017-08-14 21:09:53] <Teller|March> He still addresses the group at large, but his attention is on Princess December now, scrutinizing her much as she was scrutinizing him earlier. "I'm not going to thank you. It wouldn't mean anything, because you're not doing this for me. Know that whatever your reasons, you've got my respect."
[2017-08-14 21:09:53] <Teller|March> There's more he could say, but there's not much time. "Ship's waiting. Fight smart and don't die." ||
[2017-08-14 21:10:39] <Antioch|GM> ((Feel free to roll a Scrutinize check on her. Your choice of Wits and Social.))
[2017-08-14 21:11:19] <Teller|March> $roll 2h6+1 Scrutinize - Wits
[2017-08-14 21:11:19] <[ATM]> Teller|March "Scrutinize - Wits" [6] (3) +1 = 7
[2017-08-14 21:12:04] ⇐ Druza quit (uid209687@charlton.irccloud.com): Quit: Connection closed for inactivity
[2017-08-14 21:26:28] <Antioch|GM> She's nervous, but that much is obvious. Why wouldn't she be? What he's said doesn't seem to change that. She's going into this with serious expression, but beneath it all, particularly with her shaky tone of voice in mind, it's as if she's forcing herself to do it against her better judgement. Her words earlier are as much for herself, her own reassurance, as it was to answer the question. And according to the records, it'll
[2017-08-14 21:26:28] <Antioch|GM> be her third time out – Leviathan each time. ||
[2017-08-14 21:26:33] <Antioch|GM> >> tubes|Gauss
[2017-08-14 21:27:16] ⇐ ThalAI quit (uid132942@hathersage.irccloud.com): Quit: Connection closed for inactivity
[2017-08-14 21:27:38] <tubes|Gauss> ||
[2017-08-14 21:28:01] <Antioch|GM> ...
[2017-08-14 21:30:09] <Antioch|GM> The capes take their leave, Protectorate entering the ship first. There's a sense of urgency – they're not outright running, but many are taking brisk strides, and Van Helsing does have to run to keep up with Holmgang's long strides, matching pace with a cape who has more that a foot of height on him. Princess December, Acacia, and Bath Boy are stragglers, but not by any great margin.
[2017-08-14 21:30:14] <Antioch|GM> ||
[2017-08-14 21:30:20] <Antioch|GM> >> Teller|March
[2017-08-14 21:30:43] <Teller|March> ||
[2017-08-14 21:30:54] <Antioch|GM> >> tubes|Gauss
[2017-08-14 21:36:11] ⇐ Lysa quit (uid222159@brockwell.irccloud.com): Quit: Connection closed for inactivity
[2017-08-14 21:36:59] <tubes|Gauss> Gauss spends a moment as a bystander, watching the capes get on the plane, before he remembers that that group also includes him now. Crap. He jogs to catch up and get on the loading ramp, glancing at the Director, then turning to where Brandon's car would be across the field. James has to tamp down on his emotions when he spots the souped-up hot rod. He felt like an asshole, cajoling
[2017-08-14 21:37:00] <tubes|Gauss> his friend to do something he clearly didn't want to do. But damn it, Wasn't that the point? Do the right thing, if he got blown up for it, if he got fucking drowned for it, if he had to drag people kicking and screaming behind him to it.
[2017-08-14 21:37:00] <tubes|Gauss> Besides, there was no time to mope. He was about to Shyoruken Leviathan. He chuckles to himself at the mental image. James bounces, trying to burn off some nervous energy, get limbered up. ||
[2017-08-14 21:45:04] <Antioch|GM> He's the last one in, and the ramp retracts behind him, bay door swinging down overhead and sealing with a pneumatic hiss. There are monitors inside, displaying Rio de Janeiro's coast, and it's just as dark there as it is here, with patches here and there with building-mounted spotlights sweep over the churning water.
[2017-08-14 21:45:22] <Antioch|GM> "My parents are gonna kill me," Bath Boy mutters, buckling himself in. ||
[2017-08-14 21:46:03] <Antioch|GM> >> tubes|Gauss, unless Teller|March has a final post.
[2017-08-14 21:46:45] <Teller|March> ((I don't. 'Fight smart and don't die' are good ending words.))
[2017-08-14 21:53:33] <tubes|Gauss> ...
[2017-08-14 21:54:50] ⇐ [ATM] quit (ATM@localhost): Quit: Closing
[2017-08-14 21:56:09] → [ATM] joined (ATM@localhost)
[2017-08-14 21:56:09] * ChanServ set +v [ATM]
[2017-08-14 21:57:29] * Teller|March → Teller
[2017-08-14 21:58:22] <tubes|Gauss> Gauss straps himself in. He tries to remember what he would do to burn off nervous energy before tests, before big projects, but it seems like ages ago. It was literally months ago, at least. Probably more than a year at this point. What the hell had he done, anyway?
[2017-08-14 21:58:22] <tubes|Gauss> Nothing, shit. His style had always been prep until his eyes bled, and then just go in and whip it out. So to speak. Well, no reason to do any different now. Except he had no prep whatsoever this time around. Not that anyone really could prepare for Endbringer fights, probably.
[2017-08-14 21:58:22] <tubes|Gauss> Well, the time was well past for preparation. That only left the other part, which meant it was do or die. And dying was never an option.
[2017-08-14 21:58:22] <tubes|Gauss> James feels his fear, the nervousess start to fade, in the face of an almost maniac excitement. He's starting to get why adrenaline junkies are a thing. Here be monsters, man. Biggest raid of all time. Don't over-aggro, blah blah blah. Easy. Time to whip it out. Metaphorically.
[2017-08-14 21:58:22] <tubes|Gauss> He turns to Bath Boy. Poor kid. Not that he was really much older, but, well, at least he had the advantage of having already been blown up once.
[2017-08-14 21:58:23] <tubes|Gauss> "Hey man, we're about to go punch Godzilla in the face. Knock Levi on his ass, and they won't have anything to complain about. What're they gonna do, ground you for saving the world?" ||
[2017-08-14 21:59:16] <Antioch|GM> ((Social, if you want to. Charm doesn't apply.))
[2017-08-14 22:01:36] <tubes|Gauss> $roll 1d6 soc
[2017-08-14 22:01:36] <[ATM]> tubes|Gauss "soc" [1]  = 1
[2017-08-14 22:05:27] * FossilLord → FosSleepy
[2017-08-14 22:06:30] <Antioch|GM> "Right," he replies weakly, not bothering to make eye contact. "Yeah."
[2017-08-14 22:06:30] <Antioch|GM> It remains unsaid that there'll be no need for his parents to ground him if he doesn't make it home in the first place.
[2017-08-14 22:06:30] <Antioch|GM> ||
[2017-08-14 22:14:18] → iridium248 joined (iridium248@net-79p.vhr.127.203.IP)
[2017-08-14 22:17:52] <tubes|Gauss> ...Right. Well, shit. It's not like he called his parents either. This would be where he needs to give the kid a stern slap on the back, or something. Going in with that kind of attitude really /would/ get him killed. Not that anyone was going to die, after they knocked the monster clean on it's ass. But there was always room to slip on a banana peel along the way, or something.
[2017-08-14 22:17:52] <tubes|Gauss> "Hey, man, you ever seen Top Gun? High~way ~to the ~danger zone~? That one?"
[2017-08-14 22:19:57] <Antioch|GM> ((||?))
[2017-08-14 22:21:15] <tubes|Gauss> ||
[2017-08-14 22:21:18] <tubes|Gauss> ((sorry))
[2017-08-14 22:23:03] ⇐ iridium248 quit (iridium248@net-79p.vhr.127.203.IP): Quit: http://www.kiwiirc.com/ - A hand crafted IRC client
[2017-08-14 22:23:15] <Antioch|GM> The improvised faux-Kenny-Loggins voice turns some heads and raises some eyebrows, but Bath Boy nods after a moment of baffled incomprehension.
[2017-08-14 22:23:15] <Antioch|GM> "... what about it?" ||
[2017-08-14 22:26:49] * FaustAndAbout → Faustus
[2017-08-14 22:27:15] * Saff → Saff|Storm
[2017-08-14 22:27:21] * Faustus → Faustus|GM
[2017-08-14 22:32:53] <tubes|Gauss> "You? You're dangerous. But you can be my wingman, anytime." James grins. "Now what do you say we have a little fun with it?" ||
[2017-08-14 22:36:32] <Antioch|GM> "Uh..." he says, floundering for words as he finally lifts his head to stare at the manic, grinning Gauss II.
[2017-08-14 22:36:32] <Antioch|GM> "Alright," he manages. ||
[2017-08-14 22:36:44] <Antioch|GM> ((Last post, and we cut to the fight tomorrow?))
[2017-08-14 22:37:26] * FosSleepy → FosAsleep
[2017-08-14 22:37:28] <tubes|Gauss> ((sounds good))
[2017-08-14 22:38:04] → Lysa joined (uid222159@brockwell.irccloud.com)
[2017-08-14 22:38:18] <tubes|Gauss> ...
[2017-08-14 22:50:55] <tubes|Gauss> James briefly wonders if he can get the pilot of this thing to do a barrel roll. This ride was entirely too somber. Of course, the g-force might also just make his heart explode, given how it was thundering in his chest. "Great balls of fire, Iceman. Time to turn and burn." ||
[2017-08-14 22:51:07] <Antioch|GM> ||||