Page 2 of 4

Re: Iron City Sidekicks (IC)

Posted: Tue Aug 29, 2017 4:48 am
by T0DOSKER
FuzzyBoots wrote: Fri Aug 25, 2017 4:27 am The Squire

As The Squire approaches the ruined building, he sees the occasional flash of light, not quite random, and unlikely to be the result of streetlights flashing on the metal within, particularly given they continue even when he stands still. Someone else has gotten to the scene ahead of him. Slowing his movements to reduce noise, he walks toward the building, his caffeinated nerves conjuring up humanoid figures before his brain catches up and parses the irregular shadows.
The Squire
Condition: Normal
HP: 1 - LP: 0

The Squire curses to himself as strange lights flash from within the ruined building. His hand jerks to the weapon in his waistband, but he hesitates as he feels both the caffeine and adrenaline causing his hands to shake. Shaky hands and a gun aren't a good combination, Gavin. Don't need the Cavalier to tell you that.

The Cavalier didn't want his Squire using guns, but he taught him a bit about them. "Trigger discipline, Possidente," he would say, his finger outstretched along the trigger guard. "We are not criminals, but holy warriors. Our weapons must never taste the blood of the innocent, and so we are more careful than our enemies." The Squire didn't buy the religious bit of the Cavalier's crusade, but the lesson was sound enough: heroes don't shoot bystanders.

He let his coat fall back down over his belt and instead reaches a hand into its inner pocket, pulling out a small flashlight and brandishing it in front of him. He doesn't ignite it just yet, squinting his eyes as he peers into the darkness seeking out another flash of light. The pattern doesn't reappear, and the Squire frowns. It had to be some kind of pattern. At least, it damn sure wasn't random.

Quietly, the Squire picked his way through the debris-littered floor and got himself into a position that would mostly conceal him but also allow him maneuverability and cover depending on which he needed. From there, he resumed his squint into the room hoping to identify some kind of movement and pointed his flashlight in the direction he was looking. Come out, come out, wherever you are. The spotlight is ready for you.
OOC wrote: Gavin's genius plan is a ready action: if he spots movement with his notice check, he's gonna light it up with the flashlight. The stealth check is for how quietly he gets into, and probably the effectiveness of, his little hiding spot. Let me know if anything about this isn't copacetic, I'm still unfamiliar with 2E!
Stealth: 1D20+9 = [17]+9 = 26
Notice: 1D20+9 = [10]+9 = 19

Re: Iron City Sidekicks (IC)

Posted: Tue Aug 29, 2017 7:16 pm
by Doctor Malsyn
White Rabbit
Status: Normal
HP: 1
---
Perception: 31 A bit unncesary, but it prevents me from having her attack him blindly.
She was primed to toss out a volley of smokebombs and take down her secret stalker, but from the corner of her eye she caught sight of the man in question. That coat he wore, the attitude he had... She'd seen him before that faithful night during a pass of the building, staking out the location in the cavalier's Steed. The Squire.

She smiled, finally feeling like she was getting somewhere. First she spotted the trapdoor and now one of her fellow heroes has made their way onto the scene. Seemed she had a lucky foot after all. Then a light was shown directly into her eyes.

"Agh-! Whoa whoa too bright, put that way! I'm a friendly! Before someone sees us!" She gave a muted shout, bringing her arm up to cover face and block out the blinding light. Really, she should've seen that coming.

Re: Iron City Sidekicks (IC)

Posted: Sat Sep 02, 2017 2:06 pm
by T0DOSKER
The Squire
Condition: Normal
HP: 1 - LP: 0


The Squire squinted into the darkness for just a moment before he saw movement. His finger flicked the flashlight switch instantly, lighting up the form of a teenage girl standing in the wreckage of the Owl's Nest. She was dressed almost similarly to him, wearing a tuxedo of some kind complete with formal gloves. "Agh-! Whoa whoa too bright, put that way! I'm a friendly! Before someone sees us!" she cried out, raising an arm to shield her eyes from the sudden brightness of the flashlight.

Wait...I've seen her before, haven't I? the Squire's finger hesitated on the flashlight as he continued his squint, this time as he struggled to place the girl in front of him. After a moment, he turned off the flashlight. She was Top Hat's sidekick. The motif fit, and he had seen her from a distance the other night. She's here for the same reason I am.

The Cavalier was not one to believe in magic. He was a man of faith, after all. During their few spare moments working on the car or sitting during stakeouts, they would discuss the other heroes that had risen up in the city. The old man felt a degree of kinship with them, but of course he had his opinions. "This, Top. Hat. He does no magic, he does tricks! The people, they think him to be a wizard. But we know better, eh? Still, he is with us on our crusade. That is enough, I think."

"Hey, you're the one throwing your own personal rave in here," the Squire hissed, stowing the flashlight in his coat pocket and moving closer to the girl so that neither of them had to raise their voices. In the darkness he moved a bit closer than he wanted to, and was suddenly very aware of his coffee breath. Looking away and making a halfhearted survey of the room, he said "You're, uh, Top Hat's sidekick, right? White...White Hat?"

Re: Iron City Sidekicks (IC)

Posted: Sat Sep 02, 2017 3:07 pm
by Doctor Malsyn
White Rabbit
Status: Normal
HP: 1
---

To her credit she was able to recover from the sudden light without any more fuss, instead choosing to dust off the tail of her overcoat while the squire assessed her. She raised a brow at his suggestion of a name, both annoyed an amused. "I'm not a computer hacker, and neither do I even wear a hat of any color at all. You're at least right about one thing though. The White Rabbit, Top Hat's former most beautiful and talented assistant. At your service."

She performed a performed a backfill onto an outcropping of rubble where she would perform a grand sweeping bow. First she brought her left hand to her chest and leaving the other outstretched, and then following that with her right foot carefully swept outwards while she bent the other. The first impression was often the most important part of a performance after all, so she took this very seriously.

Relaxing herself back into a standing position, she chose to remain on the rubble looking down at the fellow sidekick below her. "It's a pleasure to meet the Cavalier's faithful Squire, though circumstances could've been better. I assume you're here to investigate our masters' grand final performance yourself?"

Re: Iron City Sidekicks (IC)

Posted: Sat Sep 02, 2017 3:11 pm
by FuzzyBoots
Jolt

The remaining structure of the Owl's Nest shows up as dark as the rest of the site, its walls at the temperature of the environment. About five feet from the door, you see the faint outlines of a pair of soles before they fade out, the heat invested in them dissipating into the the environment. The handle of the door still glows faintly from where a hand had probably rested on it. When you move closer in, you can hear the murmur of low voices, two people in conversation, probably one male and one female.

Re: Iron City Sidekicks (IC)

Posted: Sat Sep 02, 2017 3:31 pm
by FuzzyBoots
La Calavera

For a moment, the guard's hand twitches up towards his radio button, but he freezes and then he slowly puts his cigarette in his mouth before raising his hands in the air. The trembling of the cigarette in the corner of his mouth belies his calmness.
"They don't pay me nearly that much, sister. I don't want no trouble," he says, sucking in on the cigarette and blowing the smoke out of the other corner of his mouth before continuing.
"Twenty bucks is what I usually charge the fre— the people who want to see dead bodies. No souvenirs, no leaving marks. And yes, that means no leaving candle wax on the floor. That stuff is a bitch to clean up." You can see the sheen of sweat on his forehead and his breathing around the cigarette is still slightly ragged. You get the impression that he's still scared, but thinks he understands what this is all about and so feels on more familiar ground.

Re: Iron City Sidekicks (IC)

Posted: Sat Sep 02, 2017 3:38 pm
by T0DOSKER
The Squire
Condition: Normal
HP: 1 - LP: 0

The Squire watched the girl's eyebrow raise as he fumbled for her name. Shit, that's not it.

"I'm not a computer hacker, and neither do I even wear a hat of any color at all. You're at least right about one thing though. The White Rabbit, Top Hat's former most beautiful and talented assistant. At your service." As she finished speaking, the girl launched into a back flip and landed on a pile of rubble. She dipped into a flourishing bow before straightening her stance once again. "It's a pleasure to meet the Cavalier's faithful Squire, though circumstances could've been better. I assume you're here to investigate our masters' grand final performance yourself?"

"Riiiight," the Squire intoned, a confused expression hidden behind his mask. Up until now, Gavin had always wondered why the Cavalier never worked with any of the city's other vigilantes despite all the respect he had for them. Suddenly, he was starting to understand. "White Rabbit. Sorry. Yeah, I'm the Squire. I don't know about any performances other than yours just there, but I'm here to find the asshole, or assholes, that killed the Cavalier." The Squire looked around the room, peering in the darkness for a suitable place to sit or lean. Finding nowhere that wouldn't create dry-cleaning bills he couldn't pay, he crossed his arms and looked up at the girl on the rubble. "Did your strobe light find anything that might help with that?"

Re: Iron City Sidekicks (IC)

Posted: Sat Sep 02, 2017 4:03 pm
by Doctor Malsyn
White Rabbit
Status: Normal
HP: 1
---

She rolled her eyes at the obvious criticism of her investigative skills. While completely and utterly lacking, she admits, she liked to believe herself as having been somewhat subtle. Even though the evidence proved otherwise, she decided to merely attribute that to the Squire's own skill rather then her lack of it.

"It did actually," She started smugly enough. Placing a hand on brick work below her, she pivoted off her high ground in a florish. "I believe... I may have stumbled upon the hideaway our masters fled to."

Frowning now, she looked in it's dirrection. "I havn't managed to pry it open. But that asside... I'm not sure I want to. You know as well as me that they weren't recovered from the wreckage. And to see him like that-" Her voice breaks, but she pushes the emotions down. Now wasn't the time.

Re: Iron City Sidekicks (IC)

Posted: Sat Sep 02, 2017 4:36 pm
by T0DOSKER
The Squire
Condition: Normal
HP: 1 - LP: 0

"It did actually," she said smugly, hopping down from her perch in an needlessly extravagant way. Jeez, EVERYTHING is a production with this girl. Even in the dark she still looks dramatic. "I believe... I may have stumbled upon the hideaway our masters fled to. I haven't managed to pry it open. But that aside... I'm not sure I want to. You know as well as me that they weren't recovered from the wreckage. And to see him like that-"

"Wait," the Squire said, feeling like the air had been knocked from his lungs. "What? You mean the Cavalier could still be alive?" Without waiting for her to answer his question, the Squire pushed past the White Rabbit towards the direction she had looked in. He looked around frantically, scanning for the hideaway she had mentioned. He whirled back on her, heart racing in his chest. "Where is it? What haven't you opened?!"

Gavin had never even thought that Cavalier had survived the explosion. After he hadn't turned up anywhere, Gavin just assumed his body had been consumed in the explosion. He had never even considered the possibility that the old man had managed to hole up somewhere, but the possibility occurring to him so suddenly was overwhelming everything else. I swear to God, if Mr. Gelso is alive I'll go to church with him every Sunday of his life.
OOC wrote:The Squire really wants to open that thing up, but you found it so I think the opportunity should be yours, Doc.

Re: Iron City Sidekicks (IC)

Posted: Sat Sep 02, 2017 5:14 pm
by Doctor Malsyn
White Rabbit
Status: Normal
HP: 1
---
Mind if I borrow your style? It's strikingly clever.
"Wait," she saw him start. "What? You mean the Cavalier could still be alive?" He continued frantically, before shoving Bethany asside to which she stumbled away in mute surprise. Rude as it was, she could hardly blame him for his actions. "Where is it? What haven't you opened?!"

"Squire, no that's- She started, hand outstretched to catch his shoulder. With great hesitstion, she finally placed it as gently as she could. When she continued talking, her voice was soft and shivered with emotio. "That's not what I meant. It's been a week, and there was the fire- I'm saying you have to be prepared. Whatever we see down there... I don't think either of us will find it pleseant."

Bitting her lip, she withdrew her hand and walked over to the hatch, kneeling down to brush away some of the ash. "I want him so very much to be alive, and I know you Wish the same of the Cavalier. And Jolt, wherever he is, would wish to see Ultraman one last time. But they were only human."

The White Rabbit looked back up to the tall boy. "You have to promise me you won't freak out. And I'll do the same."

Re: Iron City Sidekicks (IC)

Posted: Sat Sep 02, 2017 5:54 pm
by T0DOSKER
OOC wrote:Go for it Doc, I'm glad you like it!
The Squire
Condition: Normal
HP: 1 - LP: 0

"Squire, no that's--" she said, pain apparent in her voice. Gavin realized that she had nearly choked up earlier, and began to regret his emotional outburst. He was so caught up in his own feelings, hers had been shoved aside. VERY heroic of you. Idiot. He became aware of her hand on his shoulder, so light he could barely feel it, as she went on. "That's not what I meant. It's been a week, and there was the fire- I'm saying you have to be prepared. Whatever we see down there... I don't think either of us will find it pleseant."

She removed her hand and walked over to what Gavin soon realized was a hatch in the ground. He felt his throat catch again, and was glad that his mask and the darkness covered any tears that might have welled up in his eyes. He screwed his eyes shut in a protracted blink before opening them to see the White Rabbit kneeling in front of the hatch as she spoke. "I want him so very much to be alive, and I know you Wish the same of the Cavalier. And Jolt, wherever he is, would wish to see Ultraman one last time. But they were only human."

But what if he IS alive? What if this hatch is some kind of tunnel or something, what if it's a an old fallout shelter and they're all just waiting for the buzz to die down before they come out? What if... Gavin's mind buzzed with all the possibilities, all the ways that he could have been wrong and the Cavalier was just waiting for his Squire to figure it all out and find him. Gavin had no illusions, he had seen the Cavalier gravely injured long before he had become the Squire. Serving alongside him, Gavin had seen the Cavalier getting older before his eyes; groaning when he stood or taking a little longer to get up after a big hit. But, even with all that, he was still the same Crusading Cavalier that burst onto the scene and saved lives and beat down men twice his size. He was simultaneously fragile and immortal in Gavin's mind, and the sidekick so desperately hoped his mentor was the latter. He thought all of this before he heard the White Rabbit speak. "You have to promise me you won't freak out. And I'll do the same."

Swallowing, the Squire clenched his fists and his leather gloves crinkled. "I promise I won't freak out. Do it." I'm sorry.

Re: Iron City Sidekicks (IC)

Posted: Mon Sep 04, 2017 10:32 pm
by Doctor Malsyn
White Rabbit
Status: Normal
HP: 1
---

She saw him clench his face, a look of determination clear. "I promise I won't freak out. Do it."

With a nod, she looked back to the warped hatch, covered in debris and ash. With a sigh, she starts moving things out of the way. "Alright, let's get this done with. Can you help me out? It'll go quicker with the both of us."

Re: Iron City Sidekicks (IC)

Posted: Wed Sep 06, 2017 12:55 am
by FuzzyBoots
The White Rabbit and The Squire

As White Rabbit and The Squire begin clearing off the debris, they find there is a distinct trapdoor. Likely, investigators missed it in a cursory inspection. As it is, the edges are warped from heat and pressure, and there's a lockplate on the front, although it's the sort that's more meant to discourage casual burglars and slow people down than any serious impediment to someone with lockpicking skills.
OOC wrote:Just now realizing that only one of you has Disable Device. I'm going to go with a DC 20 for it being a formidable lock, but not beyond The Squire's skills. If you can think of a good Aid action, I'm open to suggestions. If you'd like, you can Take 20, but that will pretty much guarantee Jolt showing up mid-pick. Alternately, you can post a series of rolls, taking a round each time, and we'll figure it out from there.

The warped edges will require a Strength check (either can Aid the other) of DC 15 or a relevant Skill check if you can think of one.

Re: Iron City Sidekicks (IC)

Posted: Thu Sep 07, 2017 6:00 pm
by MissRo
La Calavera
Condition: Normal
HP: 1 - LP: 0

She considered breaking his face for the implications he'd made, but in the end decided that having an in at the morgue was of more value then a bit of gratification.

"May the dark lord grant you blessings on the night's plutonian shore. What's your name? You know, in case I have... othee business here." she replied, and continued for the door.

She stopped just in front of him as she went to pass, plucking the cigarette from his lips and snapping it in half before tossing it to the ground. "That shit will kill you."

Jolt

Posted: Fri Sep 08, 2017 6:08 am
by Camus
Jolt slithers closer to the pair, trying to pry into the conversation, making mental note of the heat signatures he saw.
Stealth +11: 24