indy logs

<Antioch|GM> ...
<-> Teller is now known as Teller|March
<-> Teller|March is now known as Teller
<-> Teller is now known as Teller|March
<Antioch|GM> One, two, three, four...
<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.
<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.
<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.
<Antioch|GM> There's time to speak, though not much of it. ||
<Teller|March> ...
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<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?
<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?
<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.
<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. ||
<Antioch|GM> ...
<Teller|March> ((*side of his head))
<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.
<Antioch|GM> Holmgang and Lionheart salute as well, and Bath Boy hesitantly follows the saluting capes' lead.
<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. ||
<Antioch|GM> >> tubes|Gauss
<tubes|Gauss> ...
<-> Teller|March is now known as Teller
<-> Teller is now known as Teller|March
<-> Thaliaway is now known as Thalia
<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...
<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?
<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. ||
<Antioch|GM> >> Teller|March
<Teller|March> ...
<-> soulpelt|nap is now known as soulpelt|
<Teller|March> ((Sorry, was checking a few timeline details.))
<-> Thalia is now known as Thalia|Emmi
<Teller|March> March resists the urge to bark, "What? That's it. Get on the damn ship and don't die."
<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." ||
<-> Camtist is now known as Camtist|Belle
<Antioch|GM> ...
<Antioch|GM> "Me neither," Bath Boy murmurs. It's audible, even above the whining hum of the ship's idling rotors.
<Antioch|GM> "Do what?" Lionheart asks, smiling thinly. "Kill an Endbringer?" ||
<Antioch|GM> >> tubes|Gauss
<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. ||
<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.))
<tubes|Gauss> ((oh))
<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))
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<tubes|Gauss> ((the third line i mean))
<Antioch|GM> ((OK, sure.))
<Antioch|GM> >> Teller|March
<Teller|March> ...
<-> Pinkhair is now known as Pink|GM
<-> ColdGold is now known as ColdGold|GM
<-> ColdGold|GM is now known as CG|Snakeskin
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<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."
<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."
<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."
<Teller|March> "It's a long, bloody, ugly war, but now we know it's one we can win." ||
<Antioch|GM> ...
<Antioch|GM> "It wasn't about killing them," Princess December says. "Stopping them was enough for me. Protecting. Mitigating."
<Antioch|GM> "Stemming the tide," she continues, laughing weakly at her own pun.
<Antioch|GM> "Losing later's better than losing now," Warpath cuts her off matter-of-factly, as if stating the obvious.
<Antioch|GM>  ||
<Antioch|GM> >> tubes|Gauss
<tubes|Gauss> He's still not really sure what's going on, but...
<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.
<tubes|Gauss> He can't really pop his knuckles anymore, so he settles for cracking his neck.
<tubes|Gauss> "What else is there to do other than give it our best shot?" Fuck, he sounds like a total fucking dweeb.
<tubes|Gauss> ...Was still true, though. ||
<Antioch|GM> >> Teller|March
<-> soulpelt| is now known as soulpelt|work
<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."
<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."
<Teller|March> There's more he could say, but there's not much time. "Ship's waiting. Fight smart and don't die." ||
<Antioch|GM> ((Feel free to roll a Scrutinize check on her. Your choice of Wits and Social.))
<Teller|March> $roll 2h6+1 Scrutinize - Wits
<[ATM]> Teller|March "Scrutinize - Wits" [6] (3) +1 = 7
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<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
<Antioch|GM> be her third time out – Leviathan each time. ||
<Antioch|GM> >> tubes|Gauss
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<tubes|Gauss> ||
<Antioch|GM> ...
<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.
<Antioch|GM> ||
<Antioch|GM> >> Teller|March
<Teller|March> ||
<Antioch|GM> >> tubes|Gauss
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<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
<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.
<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. ||
<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.
<Antioch|GM> "My parents are gonna kill me," Bath Boy mutters, buckling himself in. ||
<Antioch|GM> >> tubes|Gauss, unless Teller|March has a final post.
<Teller|March> ((I don't. 'Fight smart and don't die' are good ending words.))
<tubes|Gauss> ...
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<-> Teller|March is now known as Teller
<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?
<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.
<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.
<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.
<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.
<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?" ||
<Antioch|GM> ((Social, if you want to. Charm doesn't apply.))
<tubes|Gauss> $roll 1d6 soc
<[ATM]> tubes|Gauss "soc" [1]  = 1
<-> FossilLord is now known as FosSleepy
<Antioch|GM> "Right," he replies weakly, not bothering to make eye contact. "Yeah."
<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.
<Antioch|GM> ||
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<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.
<tubes|Gauss> "Hey, man, you ever seen Top Gun? High~way ~to the ~danger zone~? That one?"
<Antioch|GM> ((||?))
<tubes|Gauss> ||
<tubes|Gauss> ((sorry))
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<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.
<Antioch|GM> "... what about it?" ||
<-> FaustAndAbout is now known as Faustus
<-> Saff is now known as Saff|Storm
<-> Faustus is now known as Faustus|GM
<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?" ||
<Antioch|GM> "Uh..." he says, floundering for words as he finally lifts his head to stare at the manic, grinning Gauss II.
<Antioch|GM> "Alright," he manages. ||
<Antioch|GM> ((Last post, and we cut to the fight tomorrow?))
<-> FosSleepy is now known as FosAsleep
<tubes|Gauss> ((sounds good))
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<tubes|Gauss> ...
<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." ||
<Antioch|GM> ||||