solokolos

Capes of Denver: A Worm RP

Hard Leash

Collab between @solokolos and @Lemonzest1337

Hider

Right as Visage finished saying her 'name', a small chirp sound came from her phone. Looking confused, she pulled her phone out of her pocket and quickly read the text message. It was from Creep, and it was in her 'coded language.' She remembered being told about it, and had to actually prevent herself from laughing out loud. It was so childish, made by someone who clearly did not know the point of a coded language. Like obviously the point was to avoid a conviction, and specifically to not allow the prosecution the ability to establish a timeline of messages being sent at known criminal events. But the second this hit the news, if any Rocker phones got to the police they were all screwed. Of course, Visage could have brought any of this up to Creep, but that would be one less thing Visage could use to convince the Rockers that Creep hadn't performed well as leader.

Regardless, there were intruders, which was pretty serious. They weren't too far from HQ if they ran, but it would be important to change before arriving. Well, neither of them had to change, but it was a good habit for Maddy to start. "Alright we got to head out, text message from the boss. I'll pay for the food, then we leave and find an alley to change in."

Maddy tilted her head as Sarah pulled up her phone and looked as if she was about to laugh, getting up Maddy would get up and walk around the table to try and peek at what Sarah had seen that was so funny. Before she got to that Maddy was told that it was a message from the boss, something that required them to head out. ”Righty’o sounds like it’s something serious, does this mean I get to?” Maddy stopped there hoping that Sarah would infer what she meant.

"If they're part of the Community, then I encourage it." Visage said, a vicious smile crossing her lips temporarily. Standing up, she walked over to the waitress behind the counter. "Bill please. Something came up, and we've get to head out." she said, pulling her wallet out of her purse. The waitress nodded, and began ringing her up.

Maddy couldn’t help but giggle in excitement at Visage’s words, it looked like today was going to be fun after all! ”Alright ok yes good! I’ll meet you outside!” Maddy wasted no time scooting out of the shop quickly avoiding tables and chairs and shooting out the door. She looked up and down the street to see if there was any good place to get changed, a few buildings down the road there was an alley, perfect! Maddy wouldn’t wait for Sarah and would instantly run for the alley taking her backpack off and sifting through it feeling for her mask.

As Visage finished, she moved to leave the diner when her phone started actually ringing. She accepted the call from an unlisted number and put it to her ear, though regretted it pretty quickly. ”FREEDOOOOOOM! My loyal lieutenant, Shatterpoint infiltrated the Aurora PRT and got what he needed to free my ass before I got shipped off to the Birdcage! Let all the Rockers know to get the stage ready for me one more time! YEEEEEAH!”

And Ceramix hung up. Oh god they would have to deal with. . . Oh thank god, they could handle this intruder situation way easier, and she wouldn’t have to pretend to grovel at Creep’s feet anymore. Smiling slightly, she looked up and down the street. Where had Maddy actually gone? ”Humph, Visage vocalized, before heading towards the closest alleyway. Looking in, she didn’t see anything immediately, and walked deeper in for some privacy.

Maddy was behind a dumpster struggling with her costume, getting a little miffed with the pants that were taking longer to put on than she thought. She looked up to see Sarah coming down the alley, if it had been anyone else Maddy might've had to kill them. Finally getting the pants on she quickly threw on her ragged jacket and mask before popping her head up again. ”Heyo, how do I look?”

Visage noticed the hostile look that was temporarily thrown at her, but it quickly changed. Remnants from earlier? "You look very intimidating, in an unknown variable way. Unknown for now at least." She said, giving a genuine smile. "I still need to change though, give me a second." Visage said, setting her gym bag on top of the dumpster, and opened it to take out her normal dark blue costume. She wouldn't have to manually insert the padding used to keep her decent, as she had recently stitched it into the layer closer to her skin. She pulled her wig and beanie off while holding her costume away from herself so as to not set it down on the dirty dumpster or ground. After thinking for a second, she glanced at Maddy. "Can you hold my costume while I put away my civilian clothes?" she said, holding it out for her.

Maddy nodded quickly shuffled over and grabbed the costume, laying it on her shoulder as she blankly looked out the end of the alley. It was at this moment Maddy realised something, she was holding Visage’s costume and Visage was going to be putting away her civilian clothes. Maddy instantly changed the direction she facing, looking straight at Sarah and simply smiling.

Putting her wig in the bag, she grabbed a brush and quickly sorted out her pretty frazzled hair. After finishing with that, she pulled her cardigan off and set it in the gym bag, before untying and removing her shoes. As she undid the buttons and pulled down, she caught Maddy's gaze out of the corner of her eye. Visage smiled slightly, and her face tinted slightly red. Stepping out of her pants, she set them in the bag on top of her shoes. Grabbing the second pair of shoes and socks, she set on those on the ground, ready for her to slip on after her costume. Pulling the tank top above her head, she placed it in the gym bag. Finally she took the mask out of the bag and secured it against her face. The mask would look a little weird without makeup, but it wouldn't reveal her identity

It was a little chilly.

Shivering slightly, Visage held out her hand for Maddy to hand over her costume.

Maddy took a brief moment to notice Visage’s extended hand, she remembered what she was actually meant to be doing and handed Visage her costume, the moment that was done she rolled her shoulders and started walking out of the alleyway. ”Do we go together or should I meet you there?” Maddy asked glancing over her shoulder at Visage.

Quickly finishing up changing, Visage considered Maddy's question. "Yeah lets go separately. We're not that far, and I think I'll be more effective with my style of attack when alone. Make sure you confirm they're a part of the Community before you have too much fun, hun." Visage said while putting on the sneakers she wore while in disguise.

With that Maddy just grinned and shifted into her breaker form her mist quickly spreading, but before it could get close to Visage Maddy morphed her arms into gnarly looking hooks and started to scaled nearby wall, the tips of the hooks rending through the brick walls as she climbed. ”I will see you there.” Mire said just before she got to the top of the wall and wormed her way onto the roof, once up there her arms and legs reformed into stump like legs each with three thick toes on the front. Now on all fours Mire started off towards the rockers HQ leaving a short trail of mist behind her.

Adjusting her mask, Visage watched the terrible creature that was Maddy’s breaker form leave. ”I need to choose people less obvious next time.” She mumbled, and started jogging towards the Rocker’s HQ. Before she could fully leave the alley, she noticed the bag that Maddy had left. Huh. She picked it up, and actually started off. Before she arrived, she would stash the gym bag, and Maddy’s bag somewhere nearby.

Capes of Denver: A Worm RP

Chaotic Coffee?
Another (short) collab between @solokolos and @Lemonzest1337

Hider

The precise moment Nora realized she didn’t want to cook breakfast was probably right after she stepped out of the shower. Her phone pinned the time as 6:19, so she quickened her pace. Nora’s hair took longer than anything else to dry, so she worked around that. She wrapped her hair in a towel, and set to work with her morning ‘chores.’ Fixing her bed, making sure all her dishes were washed, and picking out an outfit.

By the time she was done, the clock read 6:45, and she decided that would be a good time to wake up her accomplice. Picking her phone off the bathroom counter, she scrolled down her contacts to Madison’s name and pressed call. A quick click of the speaker button, and she was back to fixing her hair, the phone echoing its ring slightly in the small bathroom.

Maddison jumped and shifted into her breaker form when her phone went off, looking around she realized it was her phone and shifted back to human form. She glared at her phone for a bit before heading over to pick it up. What kind of stupid primitive brain dead shit faced dick head ass licking dumbass mother fucking asshole fuck would call her this early in the morning!? Oh nevermind it was Visage. ”Hey Visage~. How you doing~?”

”I’m good-mm-just got out of the shower in fact. I’m not in the mood for cooking myself breakfast actually, do you wanna get some coffee and a bite to-mm-bite to eat?” Visage responded while switching bobby pins between fingers and mouth as she worked at fixing her hair so it would stay hidden beneath her blonde wig.

”That sounds like a nice idea, what place you got in mind?” Maddy walked up to her wardrobe and started looking through it the only things in there being her costume and 5 of the exact same jumper, the rest of her clothes were folded and sorted into a few categories, shorts/short sleeves, jeans/long sleeves and tracksuit pants/pajamas(includes undergarments). She just grabbed some black jeans and a long sleeve cream top, plus a jumper just in case.

Thinking for a moment as she grabbed the wig off the counter, she quickly decided. ”Sunny’s, near west 44th, sounds good. Do you want me to pick you up, or can you find a ride?” Nora grabbed her fake glasses off the counter as well, sliding them on as she watched herself in the mirror.

”I’d say a pickup works better. If it’s not too far out of the way of course, oh also when do I get to hit something? I’m not allowed to fight the rocker goons because I’d kick their ass too easy…” Maddy slid on some sneakers and grabbed her keys, spinning them on the tip of her finger as she waited for a response.

Nora picked up her phone and switched it to the in ear speaker as she left the bathroom. ”Bring your costume but don’t wear it, I’m sure we can find something for you to hit.” She said, getting her hung up costume out of her closet and putting it in her gym bag. ”I’ll see you soon~” She hung up, and went through her contacts to find the cab company she normally used. Honestly the expenses of using a cab constantly was adding up. It’d be a good idea to buy a car at some point.

Maddy pocketed her keys and fist pumped a single time fuck yes! Maddy then bolted back into her room, quickly scooped up her bag and shoved her costume into it, she decided to leave her knife at home she’d lodged it in the wall pretty good actually. After her bag was fully zipped up she swung her door open dramatically before locking it and running down the hall to meet Visage out the front when she got there.

Capes of Denver: A Worm RP

Marketing Chaos

A collaboration between myself and @LemonZest1337

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Hider

Two medium gym bags hung from Visage’s shoulder as she walked down the hallway, the edges misshapen by the volume of material inside.. She was again wearing the disguise from the first time they met, with basically the same outfit. It was a nicer apartment complex, and the rent price unfortunately reflected that. She had to use about half the money the Rockers had paid her so far to actually afford Maddy’s signing bonus. Not a huge drain on the bank account all in all, but it was still hard to watch it go. She day dreamed about the nice things she could’ve bought with it as she reached room number 44. After knocking loudly she leaned back on one foot, setting one of the gym bags on the ground.

”Coming just give me a sec!” Maddy would call out as she rolled off the couch and headed for the door. She peaked through the eye hole just to make sure it was who she thought it was before swinging open the door and throwing her arms into the air, she was in a nice clean set of clothes her hair still dripping wet from what one would assume was a shower. ”Visage!” Maddy exclaimed as she threw her arms around Visage giving her a solid hug. ”This place you got me is actually amazing it smells so nice! I smell so nice! Look smell!” Maddy grabbed a clump of her hair and held it up to Visage’s face.

Though hesitant at first, Visage obliged in the hug. She had a genuine looking smile when Maddy pulled away, though she scrunched her nose a bit when told to sniff her hair. It smelled sweet, which was better than before. Visage had been insisting that Maddy stay clean, so she assumed she had been asked to smell Maddy’s hair for her own benefit more than Maddy’s. Though maybe she wasn’t actually that conniving. Moving back a bit, she picked up the bag she had set down and moved to enter the apartment. ”I’m very glad you’re enjoying the apartment! I don’t know if you got the text, but did you look up the various parahumans in the area?” Visage asked, looking over Maddy a bit.

Maddy hopped back onto her couch, that was surprisingly enough very clean much like the rest of the apartment. ”I looked up some of them yeah, though how come you wanted me to do that? You planning on having me kick their asses or something?” Maddy tilted her head and picked her laptop up off the coffee table that sat next to the couch.

”Not even that, believe it or not, though I am glad you’re not squeamish. It’s just for your own safety when you’re out in the field. I don’t want you getting caught off guard by someone like Epsilon.” She seemed pretty nonchalant about it, though it was hard to tell whether it was because she thought Maddy could fend for herself or a different darker reason. ”Now let's get into brass tacks: Costume and general presentation will be our first section. I had a couple different ideas, but first–um where–do you have a good mirror, darling?”

Maddy placed the laptop back on the table then hopped over the back of her couch and headed off down a tiny corridor that had a door on both the left and right. ”In here!” She said as she pushed open the door to the left, revealing a rather spectacular bathroom with a huge full body mirror, fancy glass shower and a rather extravagant sink which had its own mirror. ”So what’s the plan? Gunna make me sexy as fuck or something?”

Maddy stood in front of the full body mirror and posed dramatically, her thick brown mane dropped over her shoulders still rather damp. Her shirt wasn’t flattering at all being a baggy long sleeved almost jumper looking thing that concealed most of her petite frame. Her pants were a pair of navy blue tracksuit pants that were obviously made for comfort and not looks and hardly clung to her at all looking as if they might fall off. She made sure to pout her lips to make them look plump, though she failed miserably.

Visage set the gym bags down on the far side of the room, before setting her purse down on the counter. ”Sex appeal is always a nice touch, we’ll see what we can do in that department of course.” Again, Visage removed the various pieces of her disguise, the beanie, glasses, and wig, and placed them in a side pocket of the gym bag. She grabbed a brush out of her purse next. It was clear when she was in front of the mirror again that she had actually gone a bit heavier on the makeup this time. ”You can brush your hair a bit while I talk, make this more efficient.” She offered the brush handle first while keeping eye contact through the mirror.

Maddy nodded and took the brush her left eye twitching a little. ”Alright, no problem. A-also don’t worry about sexyness, I’m chill.” Maddy took the brush from Visage and started running it through her hair, the long strokes getting frequently interrupted by the many knots that had accumulated in Mire hair. The twinges of pain were clearly upsetting Maddy.

”Idea number one is simple. You. Don’t. Exist. I act like my power got an upgrade, in the living mist that follows me. When a situation gets dangerous, you’ll be more dangerous, but you’ll also be unseen.”

Maddy tilted her head and puffed up her cheeks, she looked like she was thinking about it rather thoroughly. Then her expression changed to one of uncertainty, ”I don’t know…”

”There’s other ideas, don’t worry if one doesn’t strike your fancy. My next idea was to do a yin and yang type situation. We wear inverted colors, and. . . I only got as far as the look honestly.” She paused, considering for a moment.

Maddy straight up shook her head at that idea. ”No thank you, that sounds kinda cheesy and lame. No offense.”[

”Offence taken, but I’m strong, I’ll take it in stride.” Visage said, her jaw barely twitching before she stopped it by adjusting her mouth. Cheesy, says the bitch who chose the ‘underwhelming’ filter when decorating her body. Taking a small breath, she spoke again, completely composed. ”I don’t quite know the precision with which you can control the mist or your mistlike form, or if I should even refer to the two as separate things. I feel like you could easily be a shadowy figure following me, or a general shadow. Might tie in a bit with the first idea, I’m not sure on the details with that idea either.”

Maddy grunted as she forced the comb through a particularly matted part of her hair then paused. She tapped her index finger on her lips ”Hmmmm, I mean I’d have a lot more freedom that way for sure. And I could easily squash myself down like that, and the mist shouldn’t affect anyone. Well unless they decide to shove their head to the floor but at that point the fucker is asking for it.”

A small bubbly laugh escaped Visage’s lips, ”I agree. Not right now, but I would like to experience the mist at some point. I want to know what we’re subjecting others to, and be able to warn you if it is affecting me in the future. Would you like to play off you being a shadowy figure as an extension of my power, or do you want your cut of the limelight?”

”I want people to know that it’s me kicking their ass! Though I’m fine with being a shadow, but I want to be a shadow with a name. I’ll not be forgotten.” Maddy’s tone had gone serious, something that Visage hadn’t been exposed to yet. Though Maddy’s expression went back to a childish smile after a little moment of tension.

A small nod came from Visage, and she offered to take the brush from Maddy. ”Alright shadow sounds good, but being a shadow is also aggressive, plus I don’t know if it is exhausting. Do you want an actual costume as well?”

”Wait how could me being a shadow on the ground be aggressive? Actually I could be very aggressive. And a costume could be nice but I’m not sure, maybe just a mask? Actually a full costume would be good, just something so people don’t know my face and stuff. Unless I’ll be a shadow all the time, then I don’t need a costume.” Maddy smiled and handed Visage the brush. ”I’ll be plenty comfortable as a puddle on the floor, it’s not uncomfortable or anything.”

Nodding slowly, Visage considered it. ”I think a costume still might be a good idea. A nice halfway point between your civilian identity and Mire.” She said, smiling slightly with eye contact.

Maddy tilted her head ”Oh? What did you have in mind? Greys and blacks I assume?” Maddy smiled back at Visage, then she suddenly twitched. ”Ok what the fuck was that?” She looked from side to side with a slightly agitated look on her face.

Visage had to change gears a little bit, as she was about to answer the question when Maddy had a moment. ”What was what, honey? She asked, trying to read Maddy. She also started considering the only escape route, just in case push came to shove.

Maddy let out a short hiss before sighing. ”Nevermind, the fly fucked off. Anyway, what are your costume ideas?” Maddy’s mood had shifted to that of an excited child. ”Playing dress up might actually be pretty fun!”

The breath Visage didn't know she'd been holding was let out in a small sigh. ”First things first, let's establish a theme.” She said as she recalled Maddy's node to the front of her mind. With dissonance dialed to max, she changed into the costumed persona of Visage. ”I want it close enough that it's clear at a glance that we're the same side”

Maddy squinted in the mirror looking at herself and at Visage, she tilted her head as Visages’ look completely changed. She then had to take another moment to analyze Visages’ new look.”So I should have blue on and show off my tits?” Mire looked down at her chest and then back at Visages. ”Yeah that’s not going to work well, at least not the boob part.”

Leaning forward, she grinned and set her hands on Maddy’s shoulders. ”You’ll be surprised how much you can do with only a little.” Visage said, quieter and closer than earlier. ”Plus I have a utility belt and a mask, we can’t just write those off. Important for breaking up the flow.”

”You’re the master of disguise, costume me up girl!” Maddy stood in a T pose ready for Visage to sort her out. ”My body is ready.”

A small giggle escaped Visage’s lips. ”I’m gonna walk you through the basics first. Try to think of your costume in layers.” Visage changed her appearance again through the node. A thin gray strapless tube top covered her torso now, the bottom of which stretched over the gray leggings she now wore. It wasn’t conservative in the least. ”As an example, this is the first layer. I can wear a thicker tank top if the weather is less than favorable.” She said, before changing her appearance again. Now she was wearing the bare minimum of her tight suit, but it seemed a little off in terms of proportions. ”This is the second layer without the mask. It’s not quite decent though, so I add a third layer that is held in place by the second.” Now she was wearing her full suit, with the proportions rounded out. ”Small bits of padding her and there so I don’t have a camel toe or anything else unsightly,” Visage changed the node one last time, and her porcelain mask appeared, covering the top half of her face with cut outs for her eyes.

”So we need to decide a first layer for you. It probably needs to be thin enough to not be seen through the costume. If you want to go for sexy, a pushup bra is obviously an option, but that’ll be a bit uncomfortable as I’m sure you know. You also could try to emphasize your ass more, which would be the more comfortable route, but I don’t know if you’re okay with that. Even if we don’t go the route of giving you sex appeal, we still need to emphasize fashion over form, since your smoke form won’t have to deal with the consequences of your style decisions. Though fashion is going to come along with later layers as well, this is still the foundation.”

Maddy watched as Visage continued to swap appearance, her clothing just changing on the fly. This was the first time Maddy had been able to see a power in play this close up, at least in a non aggressive way. It was pretty interesting to just see something like that happen. ”So if my first layer isn’t going to be seen… You think some black leggings and shirt would work? I don’t know fashion.” She then poked her own chest. ”Just forget the boobs. That’ll be your thing.”

Visage frowned, but it was clearly not genuine. ”Too bad. What kind of shirt do you want?” She asked, moving over to unzip one of the gym bags. The pressure being reduced meant some of the contents threatened to fall onto the floor. It was absolutely stuffed with various clothes, along with a couple different masks on top of the piled in wardrobe.

Maddy glanced down at the gym bags and was a little lost in the sheer amount of clothes. ”I-uhhh. Maybe a long sleeve one?” Maddy was so used to having super dirty and worn out cloths at this point. ”It is just the under layer, so it doesn’t matter if it’s not fancy right?”

”Doesn’t really matter, nope.” Visage searched through the bag without much care for the organization, leading credence to the thought that she hadn’t.bothered to. ”Gotta be thin though, otherwise you can see it through the costume.” She pulled out a thin light gray shirt that looked like it had been mixed with a hoodie. ”We can take the hood off of this and use it, if you’d like?”

Maddy clapped her hands together like a giddy child. ”Oooo this is so exciting! I’ma look like a badass.” Maddy then started wrestling with her jumper as she struggled to get it off.

A quick glance confirmed what Visage already expected. Underwhelming. She pulled some black leggings out of the gym bag, and black socks. ”We can move on to the next layer once you put these on. The appearance won’t really be final with this, because I still need to remove the hood, but it should be a good indicator.” She stood up, and leaned her back against the bathroom wall, not bothering to avert her eyes.

Maddy finally got out of the jumper, throwing it to the floor then flipping it off. She then glanced at the hoodie. ”Don’t worry I’ll get rid of it.” Maddy suddenly shifted to her breaker form, being sure not to let her mist come into contact with Visage. She then morphed her left arm turning into a savage looking blade, she also made an extra arm grow underneath her bladed arm so she could properly hold the hoodie in place. Then in one quick motion Mire slashed the hood off of the hoodie, quickly retracting her blade arm into her body, the extra arm she sprouted shifting up to replace it. ”See, easy.”

Mire then shifted back into human form and slid into the grey hoodie. After that was done she slipped off her shorts and put on the black leggins and socks. ”Ok so that’s step one. What’s next?”

Completely stone faced, Visage masked the small amount of horror she felt. The main reason she had suggested she could do it was because she knew it had to be sewn shut after she was done, but now it was a bit late for that. Maddy did not treat clothes well apparently. "Next would be the actual costume layer, the first layer that will be seen by the public. Color is a lot easier for us than the Protectorate, we get our choice of darker blues, almost any shade of red as an accent, blacks, greys, and even dark greens. I'd suggest dark blue to match me, but if you want any accent colors that won't really be a problem either. Visage said.

Sounding slightly disappointed, she added "No sex appeal in your costume then? I feel like everyone could use a little. Makes you stand out more in the news."

Maddy frowned. ”You can be the sexy one, I mean you already are. And then I’ll be the scary one! They’ll do stuff for you cus you’re hot, and they’ll do things for me because they want to keep their fingers.” Maddy smiled up at Visage. ”Hmmm. What if I had a black shirt with dark blue accents or something or maybe even the other way around!” Maddy tilted her head as she looked up at Visages, kind of like a puppy looking for approval.

”People don’t do things for me because I’m hot. It doesn’t hurt though.” Visage said. She put on a show of thinking about the colors, but she had already decided. After a nod of approval was given, she started searching through the second gym bag, which was just as filled with clothes as the first. Swiftly, she found a thick black shirt with a diamond shape cut out of it around halfway down on both sides.. Setting it aside, she started searching again, this time pulling out dark blue shirt that was a bit thinner and much tighter. Visage tossed the shirts to Maddy, before returning to her search for some sort of leg wear.

”And what kind of mask are we thinking?” Visage asked, setting a few down on the bathroom floor.

Maddy caught the suit and shirt, holding them against herself and looking in the mirror. She nodded with an exaggerated “Pacha ok” look on her face. ”This looks like it’ll come out nicely.” Maddy then took a moment to quickly get into the shirts. ”Ok this looks pretty good. I gotta admit.” She said as she posed a few times to get a good look at the costume. She frowned as she realized she was still just in leggins. ”Ok I know you’re the expert. So what’d you say to black jeans? Like tight ones to bring out my butt? Since you seem to like thought of my costume having some sex appeal.”

”I just like the thought of you having more sex appeal. Black jeans might be a bit hard to maneuver-oh wait, you don’t have to worry about that! Hell yeah.” Visage said, finding some black jeans pretty easily in the first gym bag. After pulling out another mask, she moved them so they were in a line. The first one was a demon thing, white base with red teeth and black thick lines. It looked like it was from an Asian country, but Visage just got it because it looked cool. There were also a couple masquerade masks of different colors and descriptions.

Maddy kinda blushed a little at the comment lightly swinging a leg back and forth. ”D'aww shucks.” Maddy slipped on the black jeans with a fair bit of effort, they were right tight albeit not in a bad way. And they definitely made her butt look big. Maddy didn’t bother wasting time on giving the masks a through look, her hand pointing straight at the demon looking one. ”That’s obviously the best one.”

A self satisfied smile crossed Visage’s lips when she saw Maddy’s reaction to her compliment. Easy peasy. It disappeared however when Maddy chose her mask. Why did I bring that one? She thought, but decided not to speak up. The costume had really come together honestly, and the jeans helped the outfit border sexy without being indecent.

”Alright we’ll talk etiquette on the cab ride there, Mire.” Visage said, pulling out her phone to call a cab.

”Groooooaaaaan! Etiquette is so boring. I just gotta not stab people and not speak with my mouth full right?” Maddy said as she slipped on the mask. ”Oh yeah I already feel more badass.”

Quickly, Visage gave the address to the cab company, and closed her phone, idly looking at the completed costume that Mire was now wearing. ”Cab should be here in ten, then it’s about a thirty minute ride give or take until we get to our destination,” She said, smiling a bit.

Maddy kept looking herself up and down a few times, she did like this look. Even the slightly jagged cut where the hood used to be, it felt like a nice touch. ”So only thirty minutes away? Not that far away then, I thought we’d be in some kind of abandoned factory out of town or something. So where is out destination exactly?”

A small shrug was Visage’s response. ”Rocker HQ, you get to meet the boss.” She said before walking out of the bathroom.

Capes of Denver: A Worm RP

A Gamble

Collab between @Solokolos and @Old Amsterdam

Hider

After about fifteen minutes a man sat down next to Hermes, not in the same table but close enough to be noticeable. He was on the taller side at 6 feet even, sporting a tan on Caucasian skin, short dark brown hair with matching eyes, sideburns, and beard. He was moderately built, leaning casually in his chair. ”Our friend stressed getting done in a timely manner,” his voice carried just enough to reach Hermes while he continued to look in a different direction while sipping on a drink.

Nodding his head, James looked over and spoke. "It’s more suspicious for you to be sitting over there talking to no one than sitting next to me.” He said, "It’s your prerogative though.” He glanced back to his food and continued eating. Had (probably) Furnace watched too many spy movies/TV shows? Regardless James found it silly.

Furnace switched tables easily. ”Didn't want to surprise you. Jerry Stein,” he said with an offered hand. He was dressed casually, and if Hermes took the hand the handshake would be firm.

James finished chewing before shaking the hand. He wiped his mouth before cracking a smile at the introduction. "James Scott.” It was weird saying his name like that, it had actually been a while. Civilian identity had mattered a lot less when he had become Jaunt. Same with becoming Hermes.

”Whenever you're ready, then!” came the reply with a brilliant smile. ”I've heard rumors that the man has been less than inconspicuous lately, which given his track record…”

James gave a nod, enjoying the positivity that Jerry absolutely radiated. ”Lay it on me. If all goes well I’d like to finish this tonight.” He said. The thought that the megaphone of a man was being less conspicuous than normal was quite amusing honestly.

”Yes, that would be great. Our friends wanted to be contacted soon. Okay, so!” he stood up smoothly. ”Last I heard he was staying to the edges of the more populated sections, mostly off of downtown. Nothing serious, but still….I find his behavior a little odd. Not the same man who broke into the Pentagon. Any ideas on what might've happened?”

”A man who broke into the pentagon with a power that does literally all the work for him.” Regrettably he glanced down at his food as he stood up. He had wanted to finish it, but the rush was understandable. Glancing up at Jerry, he spoke again. ”Where are we headed, specifically? Or are we just gonna scout?”

”I don't have an exact location, but word on the street is that he'd been been spotted downtown near El Chapultepec last night. With a little luck and our combined talents I'm sure we'll be able to approach him without spooking the guy.” The explanation was smooth as they walked outside. And then, with a hint of amusement in his voice, Jerry asked, ”You don't mind walking, do you?”

An uncomfortable laugh escaped his lips at the question. ”You might’ve guessed I’m out of practice. It’ll be good for me though, so I really don’t mind. James said. ”Hopefully he hasn’t moved too much recently. He wished out loud as he kept pace with Jerry.

Jerry was mindful, keeping them at a brisk pace without pressing on too much for James’ sake. ”Sounds like he sticks around for a day or two before going somewhere else. Some noise complaints. Nothing really problematic. You're familiar with his power, right?”

”Not the specifics honestly. He has supreme luck sometimes is what I’ve heard, but that’s the extent of it. I’d love to know more though if you do know?” James seemed pretty happy to learn something new in this situation while admitting his own shortcomings It definitely helped that he liked Jerry. He honestly was a bit bad at walking right now, the long distance already making him breath heavy.

Jerry nodded to himself for a moment as he collected his thoughts. ”I don't have access to the files of the PRT but there were plenty of reports. Definitely luck based, potentially to the point of granting superhuman capabilities temporarily, and made him formidable enough to break into and hack the Pentagon itself…. By himself.” He slowed down a little. ”Rumor had it that he took out the entire squad transporting him when the Jacks broke him out?” He looked over for confirmation.

Thinking, James looked a bit more concerned. If his power always gave him luck this would be a much harder problem, but if it had to be activated it could be dealt with with a surprise attack. Considering he had been captured, it was pretty reasonable to assume his power was not foolproof. ”So we try to surprise him and incapacitate him as fast as possible?” James said, nodding at Jerry. ”Think it’ll work?”

”Yeah, I don't see a problem with that. A bit of recon, catch him unaware, should be easy enough. Just can't let him get away from us.”

---

Most of the rest of the walk passed with mild pleasantries between the two, until they came to the club in question. Sure enough they could faintly hear a relatively loud yelling of general gibberish from the alley, the line of people to get in laughing at whoever was making a scene. Jerry motioned for them to get closer, carefully.

Reaching the line they could make out the words. ”They're fucking lying to all of us. The PRT wants the conflict between Capes, they want the terrible an the bad, they're trying to make children soldiers and you all just laugh!”

James acknowledged the signal from Jerry, trying to act casual as he rounded the corner, trying his best to read the crowd. They didn’t seem upset in any way, just interested. ”We act like he’s schizophrenic to draw him away from the crowd, like he’s a friend or something? Some 90’s shitty comedy movie stunt? He suggested quietly, keeping an eye on the crowd.

”Careful not to draw too much attention, but it could work. The crowd doesn't seem overly invested in his antics,” Jerry replied quietly. ”I can make a scene at the door, distract the crowd so you can move him, then catch up quickly.”

Jerry’s idea seemed easier to execute without a hitch than James, so he nodded. ”You do yours, I’ll play up mine for anyone who stays,” He said, shifting forward to push slowly through the crowd. He tried not to make it look too obvious he wanted to be at the front, but people moved out of the way for people like James.

Jerry strode forward confidently alongside the crowd, whistling merrily, before he stopped in front of the bouncer. ”I believe my brother is waiting for me.”

As his conversation quickly became heated with the bouncer, egged on by Jerry, most of the crowd did indeed turn to the new developments like toddlers to a brightly colored and flashy television show. Only a few paid any direct attention towards Gamble, and even those were more cursory glances than not, but he continued his tirade without pause.

”There you are, cmon, you’re bothering the nice people. Have you been taking your medicine? James said, hamming it up as he put his arm around Gamble, his attention half divided between the crowd around him, and the volatile explosive under his arm. James started walking away from the crowd, pulling Gamble along with him.

”What, no. Who are you and what do you think you're doing to me?” Gamble growled, reaching into his pocket for his cellphone. ”I'm not going, I don't care who you are!”

He swung a fist at James’ face, winding up almost comically far beforehand.

James kept pulling him along, moving his head out of the way of the punch that was visible a mile away. ”Wow there, you don’t recognize me? Christ you’re fucked up, how much have you drank?” He said, pulling him a bit harder to throw him off balance momentarily, before catching him. ”You can barely walk!”

”What? Are you mad? Let go of me,” came the reply as Gamble stumbled. He pulled his head back and tried to headbutt James forcefully, pulling against the grip that held him.

”Not mad, but a little disappointed, James said, again moving his head out of the way of the incoming attack. Was Gamble not going to use his power? This was way too easy. He was almost at the corner, at which point he could probably teleport depending on the foot traffic.

”Whatever fucker, who hired you? I can pay double.” He got his phone from his pocket, finally, quickly sliding it unlocked.

”That sounds absolutely wonderful,” James lied as they finally rounded the corner. He checked to see if anyone was behind him, and how many people were on the street.

Surprisingly enough it was, at the moment, clear. A few people were facing away, walking and chatting amicably, as a lone car waited on them to make a left. Gamble, meanwhile, pulled his head back again as his fingers pressed quickly on the phone..

Seeing the lone car made James stopped momentarily, before switching gears and hoping it was related to Cauldron. Shrugging, he quickly, grabbed both of Gamble’s hands, putting his knee against the mans back and taking him to the ground. It wasn’t hard to tell that he was an ex-cop at that moment. The phone would probably fall out of Gamble’s hand, but James wasn’t really paying attention to it. ”Let’s get this over with.” He said, half to Gamble and half to himself. He helped him back to his feet, holding him by his two wrists and forcing to either fall over again or continue walking forward towards the car. James found it strange, not having cuffs to complete this process.

Gamble put up a mild fight, but he was obviously outmatched by James. The phone did indeed fall, an unsent text message on the now cracked screen as they moved away. The car, now that the people were gone, turned onto their street, and stopped exactly in the path that James was walking.

With a quiet efficiency a man exited the driver's seat when James got near. Slipping a gag effortlessly into place he took Gamble with a quick slap of a restraint on his wrists.

Jerry came up, looking at the phone, and stopped when he saw the exchange. ”That's that, then?”

The man in the suit nodded absently, pushing Gamble into the backseat. As he got into the driver's seat, he looked at them for a moment.

“That's one, each. We'll be in touch.”

Capes of Denver: A Worm RP

Collab between @ProPro, @Old Amsterdam, and @solokolos

Basically a Going Away Party

The entirety of Ira’s body was a live wire. It wasn’t conscious, she just couldn’t stop shaking. It wasn’t just the master protocol, though that certainly wasn’t helping. In the pits of her own self doubt, she found inspiration. Ira stumbled into her workshop, and began work. Frantically, she opened the fridge, grabbing seemingly arbitrary chemicals. Throughout the process, her mind didn’t wander. Every step played over and over in her head, the formula solidifying in form as it neared completion. It was rushed, it was sloppy, but it would get the job down.

Lillian excused herself reluctantly from the couch with a soft promise of returning later to Alessa, and began the walk towards Sonar. This was an overdue visit, and her steps carried her quickly. She couldn't help but linger on the last few hours, from the event to the movie and nice cuddling, as she walked. What would he be like, she wondered idly?
The 250ml beaker was almost filled to the brim, the contents thick, with a chalk-like precipitate floating throughout. She eye’d it for a second, before transferring it to an opaque reusable water bottle. The mix shouldn’t matter, as long it was consumed in its entirety. It would settle based on density regardless. Ira threw open her workshop door with her shoulder against it, doing a poor job of being inconspicuous.

Closing the door behind her, Ira kept her eyes on the floor as she traveled to Collin’s room. Overthinking it, she raised her eyes to seem more natural, but her thoughts wandered. Her eyes returned to the floor, the effort proving useless. ”I want to leave this department.” The words had interrupted what Alina, the nice Parahuman Expert had been trying to explain. Ira felt guilty, she hadn’t meant to throw it out there like that, she needed to think it over more, but. . . She had just said it and now here they were. The message was conveyed to the director, and the process had started. That offered her the slightest bit of relief, despite her uncertainty. As Ira took the last corner, she raised her eyes to a door, behind which was Sonar. Behind which was Collin.
Lillian rounded a corner and raised her eyes in surprise. Ira? What was…. Visiting Sonar, too? Her steps slowed with an ounce of doubt, nervousness, as she contemplated how to announce her arrival.

After her first step, a small bit of movement at the other side of the hallway drew Ira’s eyes. Lillian? "Oh, um, Lillian! Going to visit C-Collin too, I see. Have you met hi-he’s wonderful!” Ira sputtered out, looking between the younger Ward and the door. Ira started moving again, quickly moving to the door, and putting her hand on the handle, but not opening it yet. She actually froze there, watching Lillian carefully. Without meaning to, she blocked the door.

”Y-yeah. I just thought - I figured it would be good to connect. I feel like I've been ignoring people since….” her voice trailed off as she ran a hand through her hair. ”I didn't think anyone else would be here.”
A small voice screamed in Ira’s head ”That makes two of us!” Ira tried to smile, but instead she gritted her teeth like she had a tack in her shoe. She didn’t move, she just continued to stare.

Lillian coughed lightly, running a hand along the nape of her neck. ”Awkward…” she muttered. ”Then, uh, shall we go in?”

Looking confused, Ira glanced at the door, and then back at Lillian. After a beat, she said "Oh!”, and turned the handle. The door swung open, and the tinker held it open for her teammate before looking at the water bottle in her left hand. Grasping it tighter, she moved into the room, wondering how she was going to present the solution she had created.
The door opened to a modest room, but a well furnished one. There was little space for moving about, but it had a decent bed, a large television mounted on the wall, and numerous video game systems. A small bookshelf in the corner contained a collection of fantasy and young adult novels, as well as some comics. Plastered all along the walls, save the doorway that led directly to a private bathroom, were posters of various heroes from around the country. The Triumvirate of course, along with other big names like Armsmaster from Brockton Bay, Chevalier from Philadelphia, and Bastion from Boston. However none were more prevalent than Hero, the original tinker, and co-founder of the Protectorate.

Sitting on his bed, game controller in hand, was the boy of the hour. Collin glanced over to the girls, then paused his game. ”I was wondering when you were going to come in. I could hear your whole conversation, you know.” After a moment decided to add, ”You weren’t being all that quiet, your voices carried under the door. My power is still, uh, turned off thanks to the gizmo you made for me, Ira. Thanks again for that.”

He then slid off of the bed and approached them, holding his hand out to Lillian. ”I saw you on the news, and Protean has been telling me about you when he visits. It’s nice to finally meet you, Tiger Lily.”

Lillian raised a hand, embarrassed, while she looked around the room. Had they really been that loud? She didn't think they had been...

”Uh, thanks. It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Sonar. I've been meaning to visit, but things have been busy I guess.” She glanced at Ira nervously, her gaze lingering on her bottle.

Collin thanking Ira elicited a small response in the way of the young tinker averting her eyes momentarily. "Sorry-I haven’t visited you in a bit.” Ira said, as she considering taking the initiative and moving to hug him. Decided against it, she closed the door behind her, and moved to take a seat. She kept her eyes on her hands, fidgeting with the water bottle a bit. Conflicted.

The young boy sheepishly rubbed the back of his head in response, cheeks turning the slightest twinge of pink. ”Don’t worry about when you have or haven’t visited me, it’s cool. You’ve all been really busy, I know how it goes. I mean, I was your leader, after all, I’d know better than most. And please, don’t call me Sonar. That name…” He suddenly looked a bit forlorn, glancing toward the nearest of his posters of Hero. ”Doesn’t mean anything anymore. Just Collin now, right? Hahaha.”

Lillian’s ears turned a mild pink as she muttered an apology. ”Everything been…. Alright?” she asked awkwardly, wincing slightly.

Coming to the conclusion with Collin’s last words, Ira decided to lay her cards on the table. She waited for him to answer Lillian's question before speaking up. "I made a more permanent solution to your power problem. I won’t be able to recreate your helmet, but. . .” Ira met Collin’s eyes and raised the water bottle. ”This will sever the connection between your Corona Pollentia and your-um I mean, it will remove your power in its entirety. Permanently.” She couldn’t meet his eyes anymore.

”Fine, I guess. It’s just hard to live a normal life when I can’t go too far from Ira so she can keep the power nullifier working, you know?” And that was when Ira cut in, saying something… Well, something truly remarkable, really. The words she spoke felt unreal, a permanent solution to the plague of his untameable power. She herself appeared to be rather unconfident, or maybe she felt ashamed of whatever she had designed? He couldn’t quite tell. Carefully he reached out, taking the water bottle as though it were some delicate thing made of sugar barely holding together.

”Wow… Really? Just… Wow.” The words didn’t seem to match with his body language. Was he truly not excited at the prospect of being freed from this curse? Or was the shock preventing him from fully registering this news?
”That's intense, Ira. Wow. You'll be able to leave, Collin!” Lillian gushed, keeping her eyes on him.

Despite how hesitant she seemed about the formula, she let go of the water bottle instantly. Raising her eyes again, she met Collin’s with an unsteady, forced gaze. ”The people who manage the Wards, they're good people. They truly think they want the best for us, but-I-I want it to be your decision. If they knew, I think they would try to present you with all the options, but it'll twist it. You've had so much time to think about your power, I don't want them twisting your own personal decision. I want it to be yours.” Ira motioned towards the bottle, ”If you do decide to drink it, it’s going to taste really bad. Just a warning.

Ira glanced nervously towards the door, as if she expected it to be broken down any second. She half did. What she had just said was true, but she forgot to mention that she would be leaving soon. Now the moment had passed and she didn’t know if she ever would.
Collin just stared, blankly, at the gray tube in his hand. He gave it a little swirl, listening to the contents inside. After a moment, he looked up. Clearly he was torn. ”To be normal, to walk around and be able to just hear what I need to… It sounds glorious. But at the same time, I… Would it still be me? I don’t know. Leaving these four walls would be terrific, but… I don’t know if I want to mutilate my brain to do that.”

There was so much Ira wanted to say, but she couldn’t try and convince him. ”It’s your choice, Collin.” Ira said, not meeting his eyes. ”You can take your time and think it over.” Honestly, she didn’t know if that was true, but she doubted Decoy watched all the cameras at all times. They probably had times.

Lillian bit her lip lightly, her confusion growing. She didn't really understand why he'd be considering staying in such confined of a situation, threat of a lifelong coma hanging over his head. It seemed like a straightforward decision to her. Though she trusted Ira to know her little drink was safe. His concern about being him, still, though…. She supposed she could understand that fear. At least a little. How much of her own personality was derived from the bullies back at school before her powers? She'd always wanted to be someone else, but now she couldn't imagine being anything but herself. Alessa liked her enough as she was, right?

With that train of thought it didn't seem quite so cut and dry of a choice, she mused. Freedom at the risk of losing something integral to who you were. Now that she thought about it, actually, she didn't know how long he'd had his powers. Years, at least, since Hero had built that helmet before he'd been brutally murdered by that monster Siberian. Almost like her gymnastics, in an abstract way. She couldn't imagine giving that up just to be normal.

”Hey Tiger,” Collin said, addressing Lillian. ”You doing ok? Heh. Even though I’m the one handed a big complicated decision, you look like the one doing mental gymnastics.”

Lillian started slightly, flashing an apologetic smile. ”I was just thinking about a normal life. How awesome it would've been. I can't say I regret the powers, I wouldn't have met the other Wards without them, but that doesn't make it easy. I kinda envy you right now, just a little. But it's still a complicated choice to make.”

Collin’s face contorted in a number of ways as he clearly attempted to process a great deal. After a moment he seemed to come to a realization, and turned back to Ira. ”Something is off about you and this gift. You never mentioned that you were working on anything like it before, like it’s a last minute sort of thing. What’s going on?”

Ira appreciated Lillian staying honest, and at least a bit impartial. At Collin’s question, she considered a bit before answering, trying to stave off the panic rising in her chest. ”As far as creating it-um-you know how my power is. There was the situation with Shatterpoint, and the way his power seems to have warped his mind. Actually, I don’t know that it’s his power, maybe he’s always been like that, but I found the inspiration and my power guided me to a solution. Something that removes the power, helps someone be themselves again. Obviously you’ll always be different from the experiences you had with your power, but at least you won’t be controlled by it. It takes the glasses off.”

It was true, not the whole truth, but still. Ira couldn’t meet Collin’s eyes. If she told him that she was leaving, would it change his decision? That would be unfair, he should make the decision that is best for him, not the best for others.

”I guess that makes sense, yeah.” Collin swirled the bottle around some more, placing it up closer to his ear. The action was a bit awkward, but then again he wasn’t used to having to move his ear closer to something in order to hear it, was he? ”Your power was always a bit funny that way, I guess.”

He took another moment to just enjoy the silence, to enjoy nothing interfering with his ability to listen to the contents of the bottle. Once he was done, he let his arms fall back to his sides. ”I guess I’ve got all the time in the world to think about it. After all, you keep the nullifier working, so I can at least have something like a normal life in this room, and that’s not going anywhere.”

”The solution might not last that long, a week at most, besides I. . .” The rest of what Ira said was inaudible, not even voiced, just her lips moving.

Lillian was more confused than ever at this point. ”A week? Ira, what are you talking about?” she asked slowly.
Collin cut in to answer the question for Ira, seeing how uncomfortable she was at the moment. ”She means that this-” He jiggled the water bottle to catch Lillian’s attention, ”May only last about a week before it doesn’t work anymore.”

He let his arm fall to his side once again, then turned his attention back to Ira. ”But you’re trying to hide something. When I said that I had all the time in the world to think about it, you gave a time limit instead of offering to make a new one later. And you didn’t even acknowledge that you’ll continue servicing the nullifier. So…” Collin put a hand on Ira’s shoulder, a soft and friendly touch, as he did his best to make eye contact with the older girl. ”Ira, we’ve worked together in life and death situations. We’ve known each other long enough to be really good friends. Whatever it is, you can tell me. I won’t be mad.”

Silently, Ira appreciated Collin answering the question for her, turning over in her head ways to say what she had to say. She was actually surprised that she hadn’t started crying yet. Ira took a breath to calm her nerves, though she continued wringing her hands. At Collin’s touch she flinched slightly, but didn’t protest or move away from it. ”I-I’m transferring. I’m transferring d-departments” She paused for a moment, before adding ”S-soon.” Still she didn’t meet their eyes, keeping her eyes on her lap.

Lillian stood in shock, struck dumb at the revelation. ”Leaving?” she muttered with a shake of her head like a wet dog. ”I don't understand.”

Collin suddenly released Ira’s shoulder, his arm flapping uselessly down like a wet noodle. His eyes grew very distant. Once a few seconds had passed, he spoke. ”I’m very sorry to hear that.I hope I had nothing to… Do with… It.” Stumbling back, he flumped onto his bed butt first, then fell on his back, eyes staring straight up at the ceiling lights.
”Was it… The warehouse?” Lillian asked in a small voice, watching Collin and the posters and the walls so she didn't have to look at Ira.

Collin’s shift in mood was expected, but Ira still felt useless for not being emotionally competent enough to have the slightest idea how to help him. At Lillian’s question she visibly started, looking up at her momentarily. ”I-I really can’t talk about it, but that was not a great experience.” She said, again trying to stay vague. It was definitely not a great idea to increase Lillian’s trauma with that experience further with the fact that they were sentient creatures she rampaged over. The thought made her shaking more evident.

Collin sat up with unexpected speed. ”I heard about the warehouse from Protean, but since I’m officially resigned he couldn’t tell me anything that wasn’t public. What… Happened?”

Lillian glanced at Ira for a second, before staring at her feet. ”They said not to talk about it. I...I don't want to, either. My therapist said I shouldn't dwell on it.” Her words were subdued as she absently touched the side of her face that the bruising had been on.

The response Lillian gave elicited a nod from Ira. ”Don’t let our troubles become yours. You have enough to worry about, after all.” She said, trying to meet their eyes, but backing down immediately. ”I-I should go. I need t-I have some stuff to take c-care of.” Ira couldn’t stand it anymore. She needed to retreat, to reflect, anything. Even if it meant retreating into herself, she wanted to be alone for now. She stood up, and moved to the door slowly, her mind spinning.

Turning back slightly, she looked at Lillian. ”There’s something else. I-I-I don’t think I’m supposed to talk about it, b-but I think you need to know. Someone is leaking PRT data to the outside, someone higher than us. She said, thinking it over again. ”I trust you Lillian, to do the right thing with that information. Before anyone could stop her, she opened the door, running away again. The door hung open, her footsteps fading down the hallway.

Lillian looked between Collin and the door, her mouth open in confusion. ”What just happened?”

Collin just blinked a few moments, his eyes darting to the left, then to the right, indicating that he was deep in thought. After a few seconds he finally seemed to register that Lillian had spoken to him. ”Sorry, what? Agh, I’m sorry, I was just… I didn’t hear you because of the…” His voice trailed off.

”Never mind. I'm just in shock that Ira’s leaving. I don't know what to say.” She sighed, rubbing the back of her neck. ”Wait, because of the what?” she asked in confusion. She hadn't heard anything.
”Same thing. I was just thinking about… The same thing…” Again his voice trailed off. ”Wow. She’s leaving, and thinks there’s a mole? Crazy.” Collin shook his head. ”As long as you’re here, want to get to know each other with Mario Kart?”

”Yeah…. It's crazy…” she trailed off in thought before being stuck by a sudden thought. ”I'd love to, but what about the mixture she gave you?”

Collin shrugged. ”I’ve got about a week to think about it, right? It might come as a surprise, or maybe it won’t since it’s coming from the kid who’s used to a billion thoughts in his head at once, but I think better when I’m distracted.” He went ahead and started setting up the Nintendo game console as he spoke, getting ready to play whether or not Lillian agreed to join.

”Yeah, I can only imagine what it's like compared to my own hearing. But what if the mixture doesn't… I don't know, stay together? I don't understand Tinker stuff…” She let out a sigh. ”I'm thinking about this too much. It's your life. I'll just kick your butt at Mario Kart instead.”

James

6745 W Colfax. The address seemed very familar, but the specifics escaped James. Shrugging, he moved to the fridge. He passed the time as best as he could, grabbing a beer and watching a local news channel. Giving it about twenty minutes, he decided it was time to go. James crouched down. Preparing himself mentally, he focused on a gas station he had used a couple of times before. The image of the Diamond Shamrock's roof appeared clearly in his head, and he pushed against his power. The mental barrier was easy to overcome, and he was thrust into a world of nothing. Easy as two steps to the left, his shoes scraped against the roof of the gas station. Moving to the edge, he glanced around before teleporting to the ground, and beginning the short walk.

The Casa Bonita's tower was prevalent, and after a bit of considering James came to the conclusion that that was the reason the address stood out in his head. Curious. It was about a block's walk away, so he didn't even work up a sweat. Still, walking that far was unusual for him, his power had deprived him of that exercise in all honesty. Moving through the front entrance, payed the fee without thinking (despite some of the ill-gotten gains he lost during the plea deal he was still loaded), and got some Mexican food. It was quite the change of pace honestly, in a good way though. Once he was in the dining area, he glanced around. Despite the decor which bordered on gaudy in his opinion, no flashy superhero was visible. Sitting down alone at a two person table, he began eating. Furnace or no, the food was good.

Capes of Denver: A Worm RP

James

The note was pocketed smoothly as James raised his other hand to scratch the back of his head. He accepted the condolences knowingly, shrugging in an exaggerated manner. Internally he was stunned, but the newcomer hero dealt with the situation as professionally as he could. Moving away, he waited unti he was out of sight to uncrumple the note and read it. James had to read it three times to actually process what was being said. It seemed so. . . Out of character. No not out of character, just contrary to the persona Furnace had propped up.

A breath he hadn't known he'd been holding in escaped him as he made his decision, decided this was wholly worthwhile. He moved his fingers so they were holding the very edge of the note, and moved his hand to let it catch some air. It straightened until it was parallel with the ground and then he teleported towards the nearest wall.

All but the edge of the note was destroyed. James teleported again, disappearing into the ether for a while, before appearing in his home. He changed out of his costume slowly, taking care to organize his clothes properly. No hero work would mean no costume for a bit, but he didn't need a costume to get things done.

Capes of Denver: A Worm RP

James

Inkscape's stern warning reminded James his role here, taking the action he did was foolhearty. If there was an aspect of Shatterpoint's power yet undiscovered, if it perceived the future in some nature, he would've been seriously injured. James stopped the mental spiral with a quick exhale, letting the situation play out around him. Once Ceramix was captured, the hostages safe, he removed himself from the containment foam. The tongue lashing awaited him, but he shelved his worry. James approached Inkscape of his own accord, his posture steady, but something about his body language giving it away. Motioning towards the door, the signal was clear that he wanted to walk out with Inkscape. He regretted his rash decision, and was ready for the inevitable reprimand, but didn't expect it immediately.

Epsilon

The corner seemed like a great place for Epsilon, as she tried not to panic. The situation seemed momentarily resolved before Ceramix took drastic action. Hostages were involved now, and the frown Epsilon formed stayed that way as it played out. Just when the situation seemed lost, Inkscape intervened and saved the last of the hostages. Shatterpoint was still panicking, something very painful watch/listen to. That also got slowly resolved, and Inkscape started thanking people for their effort. Epsilon avoided eye contact, and stayed silent. She was Master infected, and she didn't know if it could spread. She felt so out of control, so helpless, it was-it was the situation with Chatterbox all over again.

The Visage

The ride back to the Rocker HQ was uneventful, Visage didn't even mind that the taxi stunk of cigarettes. The PRT was becoming less and less of a threat with every employee that saw her eyes. It wasn't quite enough for her to stop being patient, but it was a confidence boost. "Not like you need it." A giggle escaped her lips, drawing the cabi's eyes up to the rear view mirror. Visage didn't explain herself, she just kept looking out the window, not truly seeing the sights.

The driver slowed to a stop, looking a bit confused. "This is a pretty bad neighborhood, you do know that?" His accent was very thick, sounded like he hailed from roundabouts Virginia.

"I can take of myself just fine," Visage said, pulling out her wallet from her purse, and handing over the exorbitant fee. Opening the door, she slipped the wallet back into her purse. Visage started walking, quickly finding her way back into the Rocker's headquarters.

The few goons that were present paid her no mind, her power putting the mask on her face that she was too lazy to actually wear. She found herself at the room with Shatterpoint's laptop, and waited in the doorway. Quickly, she recalled a node that she had recently set, an officer on scene at the charity event. She stole his eyes for a moment, and got a clear image of how bad it was going for the bosses. Shrugging, she sat down at Shatterpoint's laptop, propping her legs up, and disconnecting the headphones before placing them over her ears. A smile was stuck to her face.

Capes of Denver: A Worm RP

Epsilon

Decoy was right, there were more pressing matters, but it seemed a bit dismissive. Maybe Epsilon was becoming too jaded though, after all it was a small thing. Once the citizens were evacuated, she turned her attention to Ceramix. but the situation had changed substantially since she had left the building to help remove civilians. Shatterpoint had been targeted by Hermes, while the heavy hitter of Outsider was targeting Ceramix. It was quite the battle, but it seemed to be over, at least for Shatterpoint. "I don't have the power nullification generator, so I can't do too much to help." She said into her comms. "Also I misreported earlier earlier, it was a master/stranger hybrid. the parahuman appears to be gone, but I can't fully confirm that as I am affected. The power affect made me think that Protean was present, but that's all I know about it."

Capes of Denver: A Worm RP

Hermes

The news that he wouldn't have to push himself to the point of disability from Decoy was well appreciated. He did the long range teleport again, and was struck by how much the situation had changed in the time he was gone. Slowly, the stone golem buckled, being torn apart by a (seemingly) well coordinated attack by various heroes.

Taking a breath, as pain made it hard to stand, he glanced over at the remaining Rockers. A blink of the eye, and he was outside the containment vehicle. Another blink, and two thugs tumbled into the back of the containment space. "Just stay down. If you move too much, my next teleport might merge your buddies head with your sternum. On accident of course." He wasn't going to teleport into that van again, but it was a good way to keep them still.

The battlefield had shifted again, and now Shatterpoint was here. God damn. The man was an intimidating combat thinker on a bad day. There were more Rocker thugs, but Hermes didn't want to take a pawn when he could mate the king.

Standing, he examined the various players. It could be said that it was only a matter of time until Shatterpoint was captured, but the risk of serious injury was still unreasonably high. Glancing down at his belt, he smiled. It was over. He removed a containment foam grenade, as some creature from the black lagoon looking girl covered the villain's hand in tar. He removed the pin, counting down in his head. "3 Mississippi, 2 Mississippi." He chose a position right behind Shatterpoint, and was now staring at the thinkers back, his hand extended with the grenade held within. He let go, pushing it slightly towards the combat thinker. Here was hoping.

Capes of Denver: A Worm RP

Nora

Seeing the figure of the Ward Epsilon rising above the crowd, Nora turned her camera towards her. She was scanning the crowd with something on her head. It looked like welding goggles, but with an extra bit on the top. Very strange. It wasn't actually digital or anything like that though, as Nora's power notified her of the possibility of activating it. Looking at her through the camera, Epsilon's eyes were on her now. Raising her head above the camera, she activated her power. Thinking quickly, she chose to look like how she had last seen Protean. In her place, a bulky Minotaur now stood above the crowd. Gross. Now it was time to leave though, she couldn't keep this up forever.

Moving to the side, she joined a group of civilians who were taking cover behind some of the PRT soldiers. After a bit, they allowed them to exit, and Nora smiled as she left the hall. This was a productive event.

Epsilon

Epsilon shook her head, practically face palming. The person she had thought was the stranger was just Protean. They were still out there, but she couldn't see them. "I don't see the Stranger Tulpa. They might've left. Moving to evacuate civilians." She said into her comm, before pushing herself off the ceiling, back towards the entrance.

Quickly she drifted back to the ground, taking a few steps before deactivating her flight pack. Epsilon had landed just past the protectorate soldiers, and started talking to some civilians. "We're gonna get you out of here don't worry. I can take people one at a time." She said, her voice confident. Being given orders had definitely helped. In the midst of her speaking, she heard Protean respond in the comms saying he was enroute. But she had just seen him. . . "I have been affected by the Stranger, I think. What do I do?"

Hermes

Always the same orders. He loved it, it was simple to do. Activating his power, he pushed himself back into the group of Rockers, grabbing two of the thugs, and leaving instantly. As floated, suspended in his power, his thoughts raced. This distance was too far, he might suffer permanent injuries if forced to do this another time. Arriving, he dropped them and teleported just beyond the door of the cell.

"This distance is too far. Anywhere else I can bring them?" Hermes asked into his communicator. An intern had dropped some papers in surprise, and Hermes did his best to not embarrass the man.