Superheroes of the Trust Game Thread III

[kirinke]

"More?" Errant asks. "She's a superhero. The pay isn't as good, but it's pretty much right up there with being a doctor. Maybe life isn't as simple as black and white, but Captain Thunder doesn't kill the bad guys. Raven doesn't kill the bad guys. Centurion didn't. She's following the example of the people she probably respects the most, looks to for guidance. I don't kill people either, Hope; it's generally just as easy to take someone alive, and you can get a lot more information from them."

"Star has a point. I'm surprised you haven't quit already; it's clearly a conflict of interest. Plus, it jeopardizes the team's ability to work internationally when you have an American government agent on the payroll."

Errant rolls his eyes; Hope's ego was out of control. Surely she realized that the world did not, in fact, revolve around her. "So don't use your weather control powers when you're incognito, obviously. And I've never worried about either seeing the past or the future. Those kinds of things are inherently unreliable; when you can't control your powers, they end up controlling you. Why do you think guys like Foreshadow play in the minor leagues?"

"Can't quit right now and yeah, it's a slippery edge I'm walking on." Hope looked grim. "I know killing is wrong Errant and what I did before wasn't the best choice I've ever made," she says, echoes of that past rage and hate towards Faust and his cronies, seeing her friend die screaming in front of her, or virtually in front of her, experiencing his pain first hand. Feeling that bone deep grief and guilt that seemed to swallow her whole. She shook her self, pushing the images and feelings back under. "It was selfish and inexcusable and it won't bring back anyone." she glanced in the direction of the infirmery. There was pity in that gaze and understanding.

"I'm not going there, ever again. I just wish that Star never had to either," there was regret. She shook her head. "It's not that easy Errant, to say not use my powers." she reached her arm over to him, and you can feel a subtle wind around her, riffling the sleave of her blouse."It's always around me and if one is sensitive enough, it's easy enough to detect." she shrugged. "China has it's own mages, I've met some of them Errant."

"The visions of the future I do have are unreliable right now. But the past?" she shook her head. "When they do come to me, they're never wrong. I can deliberatly let myself open to the visions, but.... they can come at anytime." she went and refilled her coffee mug. "That's the only 'unreliable' part of my postcog ability. I can't control when they will occur." she said quietly. "And when they do come to me, I can let others see as well. Most people don't have any defenses against it. And what defenses there are, carry a heavy price with them. It's not like telepathy, though it does have some elements of empathy. That's what makes it so frightening."

She had to let him understand. "I can maybe show you an example. I don't make promises on what we'll see, but it'll give you an idea of how it works, at least for me." she smiled lopsidedly. "My postcognive ability is a bit like opening a door that you can't ever lock. A good gust of wind can knock it open."

 

[Fangor the Fierce]

"Well, if that's the case, then perhaps since we have a sample of this spore, and Grant says they are able to counter it, let's put it to the test. If it works, then something is fishy. If it doesn't, then we should get someone like Grant or those two kids to see if they can help in coming up with some antidote. I would like us ALL to have it on hand, in case one of us gets infected. Or, rather one of you. Luckily it doesn't work on me."

"That HUD capability looks like it's something that we may need now. With the recent events, and our getting separated all the time, we need some form of locating each other. Black, can you devise some small tracking device or tagging that we can all wear? I would like to make sure each of you wears some small discreet locater, that has a minute amount of cosmic energy. That way, should I need to get us all out of a situation and not able to see you, I can sense the tracking devices, and get us to safety. If you don't want that insurance, it's your call. But, with things going as they are, our safety is a high priority. Without us, it would seem, things are going to get worse."

Turning to Star, he simply smiles at her. She's been through hell, and Hope's constant mothering is working the opposite affect. Star doesn't need a mother, she needs support and trust. She's earned it.

"Star, you get some rest, if you need it. You did well today, as without your heading out quickly, Raven and the others would not have been saved. Thanks. If you need me, I will be checking up on something. Call me."

Ending the discussion, he takes his leave from the group, to let her get some much needed rest, or solitude to sort things out. Sometimes people needed to get through things on their own, and in their own time.

Wren then decides to do some investigating, with his own sources. Delving into his own past, he rifles through all information about this Animus Queen, her kind, and their purpose. (Gather Info +14)

 

[Victim]

Turning to Star, he simply smiles at her. She's been through hell, and Hope's constant mothering is working the opposite affect. Star doesn't need a mother, she needs support and trust. She's earned it.

"Star, you get some rest, if you need it. You did well today, as without your heading out quickly, Raven and the others would not have been saved."

"You sure?" Star asks quickly. I killed someone... A superhero isn't supposed to do that.

 

[Hammerhead]

Wow, it's almost too easy to get information out of this woman. She seems to trust me though. Nice enough, although pretty self-centered. Must come from being a big fish in the little pond of Aegis and the FBI; she must not have adjusted to working with other superheroes. Everyone gets to be special here.

"Exactly. You can't control when it works and when it doesn't; that's exactly the kind of unreliability I'm talking about. And I don't see how empathy could be a problem; the more you understand about your enemies, the better. Hell, that's what working in intelligence is all about."

"Oh, so you can share your visions with others? Neat. You're a weather mage, right? Doesn't seem like past/future visions would really be part of the package. Inherited from someone in the family," he asks casually.

"Me, I happen to be a hideous abomination of twisted and spliced alien genes," Errant says with a cheery smile. "I still look good though."

 

[kirinke]

Wow, it's almost too easy to get information out of this woman. She seems to trust me though. Nice enough, although pretty self-centered. Must come from being a big fish in the little pond of Aegis and the FBI; she must not have adjusted to working with other superheroes. Everyone gets to be special here.

"Exactly. You can't control when it works and when it doesn't; that's exactly the kind of unreliability I'm talking about. And I don't see how empathy could be a problem; the more you understand about your enemies, the better. Hell, that's what working in intelligence is all about."

"Oh, so you can share your visions with others? Neat. You're a weather mage, right? Doesn't seem like past/future visions would really be part of the package. Inherited from someone in the family," he asks casually.

"Me, I happen to be a hideous abomination of twisted and spliced alien genes," Errant says with a cheery smile. "I still look good though."

"Most visions of the past, at least the ones I get tend to be rather violent. Especially if they're imbedded in objects. Great joy, great pain, great sorrow. It has to be strong to leave echoes of itself that a postcog can pick up." she smiled humourlessly. "And having that thrown in your teeth can be very unpleasant at the best of times." she shook her head. "I finally went and am going to therapy to help deal with it. Like I said before it'll be a long road before I'm back to what I should be."

"I honestly don't know where I get it. I was found nearly beaten to death in an alley in New York when I was around eight. I have absolutly no memory from before that day," she smiled lopsidedly. "The telepaths I've met who've tried to look back that far, can't get through past that time. It's too painful for them." she said quietly. "Most told me, I'm probably better off not knowing."

 

[Fangor the Fierce]

"You sure?" Star asks quickly. I killed someone... A superhero isn't supposed to do that.

Before walking away, Wren hears Star's question, and hesitates at the doorway. Turning, he faces her before talking.

"And how many would he have killed had he lived? We never know... and it's not about rationalizing things. It's about making those tough decisions, when others can't; even those hard ones. Don't let it control you, and don't let it ever become an 'ok' decision to consider in battle. When that happens, you lose your humanity. But, as you can see, your remorse and reaction shows you what is the truth behind all this. You are human, and you care. Killer Bee would not have thought twice or been remorseful. That's what seperates is from them.

Wren stops talking, and smiles at Star. [color]"Sorry, I don't mean to sound like some counselor or anything like that. It's just that I have seen more in my long life than you have, but we all react differently and in our own way. Just know that you have people that will stand beside you, both in battle, and in life. Rest up, and the offer still stands; if you want to talk, about anything, I'm not a bad listener..."[/color]

 

[Victim]

"I'll think about it, Wren. Thanks for the support though." No thanks. You already think I'm weak enough without me crying all over you. And I must be pretty sad to get advice on being a human from an alien.

Star tries to review the files on the simulator, but is not having the easiest time concentrating. While getting some rest, she does a lot of staring off into space.

 

[G. Skylark]

Skylark returns to her office and unlocks her desktop. The order to go out and help deal with the riots might come at any time, but she figured there was no sense in just sitting around! She downloads basic Mandarin lessons into her iPod and listens to them while writing a report on what happened that day.

The reports of Daedalus's implosion bomb nagged at her. She decides to try and access any Trust files she can about the technology (Computers at +11), with a particular eye toward any measurements made of the implosion that just happened (if there are any). Her aim is to come up with a theory about which dimension, if any, that Freedom League HQ ended up in (Physical Sciences at +21; Int at +7 if some other Knowledge is more relevant).

Skylark eventually drifts off to sleep at her desk, causing her to float in the air.

 

[Hammerhead]

"Well if you're picking up visions of rainbows and kittens, that's not going to be too useful; picking up any useful information you can is worth a little unpleasantness, if you ask me. But who exactly do you think you should be," Errant asks.

"If you want, I can try and crack the secret of your past. I'm no Mastermind, but it's worth a shot."

 

[kirinke]

"Well if you're picking up visions of rainbows and kittens, that's not going to be too useful; picking up any useful information you can is worth a little unpleasantness, if you ask me. But who exactly do you think you should be," Errant asks. [/COLOR]

"No argument there, that was the very reason why I went into the Fed, so I could stop criminals from hurting people, like I was hurt." she replied. "But abilities like mine and yours carry a price, sometimes a heavy one. I'm paying for mine. I'm just glad I'm getting the help I need," before I hurt someone innocent who can't regenerate, she thought to herself.

But who exactly do you think you should be," Errant asks. [/COLOR]

"I.... I don't know." she leaned back, closing her eyes briefly. "I'm not an FBI agent anymore. I guess you could call me a double agent, since I'm working for both AEGIS and the Trust, although our boss heads both or headed both organizations." she rubbed the bridge of her nose. "I'm.... not exactly a superhero either. Most supers either view me as an anti-hero or a pain in the ass, sometimes both." she opened her eyes and looked at him. "It's complicated." Understatement of the year.

"If you want, I can try and crack the secret of your past. I'm no Mastermind, but it's worth a shot."

Hope looks at him soberly. "I wouldn't want to try it without a full medical backup. Last time I had a vision of the future, I nearly passed out from the force of it." she tapped the side of her head. "Any sort of deep mind-probe coupled with my own psychic abilities and um... past won't be pleasant." she said sensibly. "I wouldn't want to risk you or me without all the safeguards we can get."

"And I'm gonna have to ask you to undergo a geas, so you won't be able to tell anyone what else you find in my head without my permission." she tapped her finger on the table. "I have someone I care a great deal about to protect." she smiled. "If you want, I'll undergo the same geas for you, just in case I pick up things about you that you'd prefer to remain secret. This way, we won't be able to betray the other's secrets, by accident or by force,"

She looks at him, and you can see that ferocious protectiveness behind the easygoing mask. She wasn't giving him any information he couldn't easily find on his own, through the Trust channels. This part, though, she was serious about. If he was going to delve deeply into her mind, she wanted those safeguards. Both for his sake, hers and those they protected.

"It's not that I don't trust you Errant, but anyone can be broken and a geas will help us both keep our mouths shut in that regard. I'm a very strong postcognitive, I don't want to accidently pick up something classified you did and then be forced to tell it later."

"As to your previous suggestion about investigation... We should start with that blasted lawfirm. It represents most of the supervillians in town and no doubt has plenty of information on Barrington. I wouldn't be surprised if he was a major client of theirs." she grinned. It was a no brainer at that.

ooc:
I'd say at this point, it might be fun to have a bit of her past revealed, at least some of her childhood before she was found. She is serious about the geas and she's more than willing and happy to undergo the same, to protect his secrets. It's not 100% fullproof, but it does add a serious layer of protection for them both, I doubt that Barrington or anyone else would be looking for something like that.
Basically, her stipulations are pretty sensible caevets to a deep mind probe, especially since they're both essentially psychics.

The blasted lawfirm bit, um. it's Wolfson, Sheppard and Doe, right?