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[notquitethere]

I just realised... you're a villain team now!? Infamy exceeds Fame.

Villain teams can use Infamy as fame, so your team size os current 5 and you can recruit.

[Stirk]

I just realised... you're a villain team now!? Infamy exceeds Fame.

Villain teams can use Infamy as fame, so your team size os current 5 and you can recruit.

PUNCH!? Punch's Fame is 4 (and 3/4s) and their Infamy is 3, so as long as their bonuses are still in place they're still heroes.

[notquitethere]

Bro Club Downtime

Brouhaha rests, healing wounds.

Joshua Tree and Pincushion patrol the Greenbelt. They don't see anything particularly out of the ordinary, except that they do run into the new team Rust Riot, also on patrol. Rust Riot seem to comprised of two figures wearing scrap metal mechanised suits, their features completely hidden behind the rusting buckets and cracked visors.

+1 rep in Greenbelt. Joshua Tree gains "Friends with Pincushion" and Pincushion gains "Friends with Joshua Tree.

Bolt Blue and the Advisor patrol Atomic Heights. Advisor gains "Respects Bolt Blue. Bolt Blue gains "Respects Advisor". +1 rep in Atomic Heights

Lexicon takes on private clients, beginning a detective agency arm to the Club. +1 income.


RECRUITMENT 11 REPORTS

The Watch have a tryout. ([3+4] Seven heroes attend:

Spoiler: The Watch Tryout (click to show/hide)

Name |   Known Powers | Traits | Fame/Infamy
Karma Kid | Mirroring damage inflicted on self onto others | Child, Vindictive, Calm | 0/2
Lost Tide | Salt-Kinesis, Axe-Fighting | Teen Runaway, Secretive, Responsible | 0
Muffin Madness | Random (based on eating Chiffon's pastry) | Manic, Open-Minded, Indebted to Chiffon | 0
Spit Feathers | Feather generation?, Feather Propulsion? | Impressionable, Inexperienced, Athletic, Despises Fish | 1
Reverso | Long-Range Gravity Warping | Intense, Secretive, Loyal, Brawler, Respects Endless Highway, Respects Longfire | 2
Captain Georgia | Super strength and durability linked to peanut consumption | Strong, Serious, Blunt | 4
Plumbaris | Ranged weight manipulation | Crude, Playful, Educated, Loves Lady Lefant | 9

The most cohesive are Lost Tide, Muffin Madness and Plumbaris:
Name |   Known Powers | Traits | Fame/Infamy
Lost Tide | Salt-Kinesis, Axe-Fighting | Teen Runaway, Secretive, Responsible | 0
Muffin Madness | Random (based on eating Chiffon's pastry) | Manic, Open-Minded, Indebted to Chiffon | 0
Plumbaris | Ranged weight manipulation | Crude, Playful, Educated, Loves Lady Lefant | 9

The tryout is well attended with many serious contenders. Lost Tide cuts a distinctive figure with his ragged cloak and fireman's axe.

"You been in Zircon long?" Frostara asks him, noticing his east coast accent.

"Long enough to know I can never go back. Not after what I've seen."

Through the tryouts Retry notices that Lost Tide stays clear of Psyla.

Muffin Madness is a lot more forthcoming. Her costume has blue polka dots, reminiscent of blueberries. It has a special pouch for keeping baked goods in. She never stops moving. "I REALLY wanted to join this team, you're the Chiffon team. I love her SO much. She's the reason I became a hero, you know? Without her, I'd be nothing."

Plumbaris is also in good spirits. He's a short, stocky man in a lead-grey supersuit, who never stops smiling. He speaks with an affected Estuary British accent, though it's not clear whether that's just part of the disguise. "Ah Javier me old mucker, how the bleeding hell are ya?"

"As well as might be hoped, Phil." Ziggurat nods politely.

"Is Doris about?"

"She went to Leadville," Ziggurat says, quite plainly.

"Ah rats. And who's the sprog?" he asks, pointing to Bantum Boy. The boy runs up and flaps his wings.

"I'm the bombastic Bantum Boy!"

"How'd you like to go a little higher?" Plumbaris says. Before waiting on an answer, Ziggurat gains about fifty pounds and sinks to his knees by the shock and Bantum Boy flaps around with ease, weighing very little.

* * *

Later, The Watch take on the Mangler II on clemency:

Name | Known Powers | Traits | Infamy | Motivation
The Mangler II | Powersuit Construction | Vengeful, Destructive, Inventive | 3 | Mangling


 The man looks small and weedy outside of his giant robot suit.

"You can use Doctor Hijank's old lab," Frostara tells him, as she gives the villain the tour of the base.

"This'll have to do..." Mangler II says as he looks over the workspace. "I'm going to make a suit bigger and better than ever before. Not even Tin Soldier will be able to stop me this time!"


PUNCH! recruit Pockette:

Name | Known Powers | Traits | Infamy | Motivation
Pockette | Portals | Hapless, Happy-Go-Lucky, Amoral | -1 | Getting successful as a bounty hunter

"Huh, so you're big shot mercenaries??" she says, on meeting the team. She's dressed in a party frock and carries a lace parasol, which she uses to focus her portal creation.

"I wouldn't say big," the Chorist says. "There's room for growth."

"Well I was gonna join up with Brick and Mortar but I like your set up way better. I'm your gal!"

"I'll just get your sign-on pack in order," Princess Professional says.

"You're not going to get me to assassinate the mayor right?" Pockette asks, suddenly worried.

"I don't think so," Mistress Extra says.

"Good, good, I tried to do that once and let me tell you, it's harder than you'd think. People just don't stay still!!"


House Edge try to recruit Toytown, but she says she'd be up for it but their base is too cramped.


The Gray Company hold a tryout. [2+3] Five villains appear:

Spoiler: Gray Company Tryout (click to show/hide)

Name | Known Powers | Traits | Infamy | Motivation
Rat King | Gestalt Intelligence, Rat Bodies, Ice-Shielding | Unfathomable, Unsettling, Omnipresent | 0 | Freeing rat-kind from human tyranny
Ascenso | Combined versions of nearby powers | Evolved-Supremacist, Intense, Gourmand | 0 | Reviving a Crimson Plague 2.0
Aunty Anti | Power Immunity? | Anti-Evolved, Conspiracy Theorist, Tenacious | 0 | Neutralising the Exalt Evolved
Electrobun | Doesn't tire | Athletic, Well-Read, Insufferable | 0 | Experiencing Everything
Sin Reaper | Emotion Manipulation? | Religious, Jolly, Manipulative |  0 | Cleansing Zircon City of its wickedness

Sin Reaper is the most cohesive and joins the team:

Name | Known Powers | Traits | Infamy | Motivation
Sin Reaper | Emotion Manipulation? | Religious, Jolly, Manipulative |  0 | Cleansing Zircon City of its wickedness

Dressed in a long black cloak, carrying a scythe, and wearing a skull half-mask, the Sin Reaper dresses as if it were Halloween, except for the prominent silver cross around his neck.

"Let us tarry not, fair fool, for there are sinners to reap!" he says, his grinning wildly. "Guilt and penance, my friend! That is what we shall deliver."


Animalia take Woodchunk on clemency.

[notquitethere]

MISSION PHASE 11

After a period of relative quiet after the big invasion, steadily new cracks begin to emerge in Zircon's foundation...

Mayor Bigby gives a big speech about the value the heroes have brought to the city, how the clemency scheme has proved valuable, with reformed crooks such as Haste and Ponche rising to the plate. In the assault on the town hall, Bittern and Bloodmoon came through to protect the institution of democracy, despite their rapsheets. Unfortunately, not all Evolved can match their sterling example. PUNCH!, long associated with unsavoury casino bosses, have been repeatedly seen to do business with the Legion of Wickedness themselves, and have become designated as a Nuisance Organisation.

Nuisance Organisations
A dispersal order has been placed on PUNCH!, banning them from organising publicly. Privately, Bigby has indicated that he will lift the order if PUNCH! bring in four wanted criminals, dead or alive.

While they are villains, if PUNCH! do a Team Up, they may still gain their mercenary fee.

Spoiler: Goods and Services - NEW (click to show/hide)

Local Assistance: -1 rep in a neighbourhood. This turn, gain +1 to your mission roll in that neighbourhood.
Legion's Expansion: -1 income, +1 base size and +1 team infamy for working with the Legion (this can be taken multiple times)
Liquidation: Remove "Wealthy" trait from a hero. Team gains +2 income levels, and hero gains trait "Bankrolling [team]".
Repayment: Remove "Bankrolling [team]" and decrease income by 3 income levels, and hero gains trait "Wealthy"
Chiffon's Bakery: -1 income level to get a bakery subscription (end at any time): once per mission phase assign a pastry to a hero with your action and they will have +1 random power for that mission.
Bounty: Hand in (dead or alive) any of House Edge (except for PB, for obvious reasons), for +2 income
Supercar: -2 income level, gain asset "Supercar". Arrive at the scene as quick as your rivals who are a neighbourhood closer!

Suits - (A hero can upgrade their suit with any of these simultaneously)
Armor Suit: -1 income level, and a hero of your choice gains the trait "Bulletproof Armor"
Mirror Suit: -1 income level, a hero of your choice gains the trait "Laser-Proof Armor"
Chamo Suit:  -1 income level, a hero of your choice gains the trait "Stealth-Tech"
Hazmat Suit: -1 income level, a hero of your choice gains trait "Hazmat".

Spoiler: Tags (click to show/hide)

[First Come]: Whichever team gets there first will resolve the mission, others don't get a look-in
[Time Sensitive]: Teams which get there first get the first attempt and might resolve things before the other teams arrive
[Heroes: X]: Only the first X heroes to arrive will be able to do this mission.
[X Limit]: Only heroes who meet Y limitation will be able to go (e.g. fame, size, power-type, trait)
[Deadly]: All but the toughest or hardest to harm heroes risk injury, and possible death.
[Deadly: Bullets][Deadly: Lasers][Deadly: Gas]: A specific deadly threat which will only hurt those who don't have suitable protection.
[Harrowing]: The cohesion of teams will be pushed to its limit.
[Recurring]: This mission will keep appearing until someone succeeds, though there may be consequences for not attending to it, and the difficulty may escalate with failed attempts.
[Mutually Exclusive]: Twinned missions, where one team cannot send someone on both sides.
[High Profile]: Guaranteed individual fame for all attendees.

#-1 Villain Missions
If you are a villain team, you may undertake personal missions, or any of the following. Villains may private-message their actions.

Spoiler: Villain Missions (click to show/hide)

1: Heist: Rob somewhere to gain income
2: Kidnap: Capture anyone (usually for a bounty)
3. Murder: Assassinate a target
4. Team-Up: Join the villain team on any of the missions below; if you succeed, you'll share in the benefits; either way, they will owe you a cross-over.

#0 Personal Mission
You may assign a person for a personal mission. Name one of the following goals, assign someone to it, and you will either gain a related opportunity in the opportunity phase, or some immediate increase of intelligence.

Spoiler: Personal Missions (click to show/hide)

1. Increase base size
2. Increase income.
3. Bond with a teammate (both are tied up for the mission)
4. Patrol [neighbourhood]
5. Create an asset (give an idea of what you want to make, must have appropriate power set)
6. Investigate a [hero, villain or team]
7. Experiment with powers
8. Rest
9. Create a business

#1 Cutting Tip
An anonymous tip-off says that someone in Cutting Edge has been spotted in a bland data-center in Mireton.

#2 Royal Infestation
[Recurring][Harrowing unless Animal-Lover]
Montgomery is overrun by rats, all moving as one! What could possibly be done?

#3 Old Blood
[Heroes: 1][Recurring]
Young people are turning old, all over Warren. This must be the work of Reinita, but why is she draining so many? It would take a determined and subtle sleuth to catch her out.

#4 Melt Down
[First Come]
Brick and Mortar have kidnapped Bakal (evidently assuming she's still on the team). Their ransom note demands that The Spork meet them at a closed-down abattoir in the Docks. He is to come alone and unarmed, without any of his devices, with a huge suitcase full of cash [3 income worth]. On successful delivery, the beef with the Stoneface Gang will be said to be over.

#5 Hunting Season
[Deadly: Guns][Time Sensitive]
Big Joe Pike and Aunty Anti and a few dozen other unpowered have teamed up to wipe out Animalia in Sandup. They're surprisingly well-armed.

#6 Capture the Flag
[Time Sensitive]
Dozens of people, mostly teenagers and young adults, are tearing up Downtown with a massive super-powered game. Having saved up to buy Chiffon's pastries, they're using their powers to play a huge game of capture of the flag, to the dismay of the suits who work in the city. Who's going to be a party pooper?

#7 Restoration Spectacle
[Income limit: -1 income/hero attending]
Don Jetman has a technology display of the first functional time machine, or so he claims. Tickets for the event at the Advanced Widget Enterprise headquarters in Atomic Heights cost a small fortune, though the event will be filmed live.

Spoiler: Neighbourhoods of Zircon City (click to show/hide)

You will arrive at the scene quicker to missions in your own neighbourhood.



Downtown: Commercial and financial centre of the city
Oldtown: Political and historical centre of the city
Docks: Warehouses, wharfs and derelict cargo ships
Dusk Beach: Waterside nightclubs and casinos, most alive at night
Silver Row: the famed shopping and culture hub
Atomic Heights: An area with a concentration of scientific and technological companies
Montgomery: A middle-income urban neighbourhood, home to the large Montgomery Park
Warren: A low-income urban neighbourhood with many narrow alleyways
Greenbelt: the semi-rural outskirts of the city where the very wealthy have their estates
Sandup: Ongoing reclamation project in former swamp; currently a huge construction site
Mireton: Old mixed-income neighbourhood, now full of trendy cafes
Hermitage: wealthy suburban neighbourhood, home of the Zircon Cathedral

KNOWN PATROLS
Montgomery: Cutting Edge
Hermitage: Cursed Legacy
Dusk Beach: Spider Knights
Silver Row: Constellation Aurora
Sandup: Animalia
Greenbelt: Rust Riot

[Maximum Spin]

Let me just slip in here and put Lexicon on Old Blood before anyone snipes it. I wanted to do this LAST time, and now it's even more of the most obvious choice.

More assignments TK.
All right. I guess we're going to blow two income levels on bulletproof armor and a camo suit, send Advisor (armored), Joshua Tree, and Pincushion (camouflaged) to #5 to save our weird duck friend, while Bolt Blue and Brouhaha are assigned to experiment with their powers in the hopes of being able to put on a really cool show to earn back some money later.

Spoiler: Bro Club (click to show/hide)

Team Name: Bro Club
Leader:
{
Name: Chase Brody, the Advisor
Gender: Male
Appearance: A skinny frat boy in an expensive business suit, with slicked-back red hair. Now has a snake-like mask covered in real silver-leaf.
Alter-ego/backstory: Chase decided to start a superhero team in order to rebel against his dad and prove that he is a better successor than his sister Taylor. Although he didn't bother to follow any standard bureaucratic process to do so, it was easy to convince everyone to let it slide.
Powers:
Charismatic Suggestion: Chase's suggestions have a forceful weight to them, making them feel like they were the person's own ideas, especially among the weak-willed.
Sonic Psycholocation: Advisor knows the location of those who can hear him speak in close auditory range.
Traits: well-connected, business genius, fundamentally unlikable; prepared; Nemesis: Sanguine; missing finger; wealthy; Friends with Brouhaha; Intolerant of Unevolved (secret: he always was); Respects Bolt Blue; (Hates Reverso. Trust me on this.)
Fame: 6
}
Members:
Bolt Blue | Localised Weather Events | Blundering, Bold, Generous, Wealthy, Respects Joshua Tree, Respects the Advisor | 5
Joshua Tree | Rapid Plant Generation, Bark Armour | Religious, Wealthy, Neat, Respects Bittern, Holy Warrior, Respects Lexicon, Known Killer, Respects Pincushion, Friends with Pincushion | 2 | Infamy: 1
Pincushion | Needle-spray, Enhanced Healing, Poison-tipped Quills | Accurate, Trigger-Fuse, Understandably Hates Flying, Dedicated to the Bro Club, Friends with Joshua Tree | 1
Lexicon | Master of Languages and Hidden Signs, Reflective | Pedant, Observant, Out of Shape, Respects Joshua Tree, Uncomfortably Reflective, Admires Pincushion, Feels Unsafely Deployed | 3
Clemency:
Brouhaha | Sound Blasts | Reckless, Charismatic, Muscular, Known Killer, Wealthy, Respects Marigold, Respects Pincushion, Poor Memory | Fame: 2 | Infamy: 2 | Motivation: Money

Team:
Fame: 3
Income: Comfortable

Base
Base Size (base size mod): Appropriate (+2)
Base Description: An office in Chase's dad's hedge fund's building. A half-finished mansion in the Sandlot. I mean, Sandup. Sandplace. Now slightly more finished.
Base Location: Downtown Sandplace
Maximum Team Size: [2+2=] 4

Ethos
Killing: We kill villains
Civilians: Saving civilians is the number one goal
Collateral Damage: We pay for any damages we make

Reputation:
1 in Silver Row
3 in Old Town
3 in Sandland
1 in Docks
1 in Mireton
1 in Greenbelt
1 in Atomic Heights

Crossovers:
Bittern (duck lover) ×2

[Stirk]

We don't negotiate with terrorists. The last thing we need is for more heroes to get kidnapped. We don't have the money anyway

The Spork will show up, with nothing but a huge suitcase. Inside that suitcase is one of LB's bombs instead of cash. Hopefully something that can take out Brick, even more hopefully something that can knock out everyone in the building so we can call it a day. Everyone else will hide nearby but well out of sight. PB will set up a perimeter to prevent escape (Thanks for claiming the teleporter PUNCH!) with the Spork's usual gadgets in his multiple sets of hands. The remaining heroes are on hostage rescue. When the bomb goes off they rush in to save the day while The Spork takes cover and tries not to get shot if any bad guys are still standing.

PB, The Spork, Tin Soldier, and Lord Bomberrel to #4.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Team Name: House Edge
Leader: Tin Soldier
Fame: 7.5+2 | 2
Income: Broke

Base
Base Size (base size mod): Appropriate
Base Description: among the musuem's archival collections, hidden behind a freize of the god Fortuna.
Base Location: Old Town
Maximum Team Size: 4

Ethos
[Pick one from each set of options]
Killing: We kill as a last resort
Civilians: Stopping the villain is the most important thing
Collateral Damage: We pay for any damages we make

PB | Limited Self-Replication, Can absorb any living person| Comedian, Gimmicky, Charming, Fed Up with Dying, J-less, CrackShot, Ageist, Respects PB| 7 | 0
The Spork | Gadgets?, Techsense (Knows how to create power nullifying technology), Fireproof| Forgiving, Irritating, Pyromaniac, Obsessive, Hates Giant Robots, Disfigured by fire,Friends with Lord Bombarrel| 3 | 1
Tin Soldier | Metal Absorption, Metal Skin, Advanced Mechanics, Immortal? | Legend, Cunning, Heroic, Authentic, Veteran, Indebted to House Edge, Respects Spork, Quick (for his age), Believes in House Edge,Respects PB| 14
Lord Bombarrel | Unusual bomb-making | Known Killer, Old, Prepared, Mad, Ingenious, Friends with the Spork,Enjoys being in House Edge |2 | 6 | Getting and Staying out of prison


Local Fame:
Old Town +3
Mirton +1
Silver Row +3
Warren +1
Montgomery +1
Docks +1
Greenbelt +1
Atomic Heights +1

Loads of untraceable guns
Antievobolauncher

I Was A Superhero but now I'm Reincarnated in Another World!:
Name: Luke Teach
Gender: Male
Appearance: An out of shape man in his 30s with male pattern baldness. Wears an overpriced suit with armored lining. What's left of his hair is black, with dark brown eyes.
Alter-ego/backstory: Luke was a janitor at the local university before awakening his powers. With no close friends or family, he was considered by most people to be a loser. One day gambling at Big Pig after a night of drinking he was caught in the middle of a super hero battle, which would have certainly killed him if it was not for his powers awakening. With his new found powers he immediately begun amassing wealth and success. Feeling unfulfilled after having success handed to him (and perhaps spurred on by his new found desire for conflict) he decided to go into the super hero business, setting the place he discovered his powers as headquarters out of a sense of nostalgia.
Power: Probability Manipulation: Ambient physical distortions and enhanced dexterity resulting in uncanny "lucky" aura. Gadget arm, I swear I had it on my sheet at some point.
Traits: [Lucky], [Out of Shape],[Self Indulgent], [One Armed]
Fame: 5

[crazyabe]

Dread Fool will take to the Rooftops to take on the Old Blood Mission- because he can't have a whole other super villain stompin' around on his turf (even if they WERE already there...).

Sin Reaper is assigned to Patrol Warren.

Spoiler: Gray Company (click to show/hide)

Team Name: Gray Company
Leader: Johnson Peter William Richards, "Dread Fool"
Fame: 0
Infamy: 0
Neighbourhood reputations: +1 Warren
Income: Modest
Cross-Overs: None
Identity: Antivillains

Base
Base Size (base size mod): Appropriate
Base Description: Old Bomb Shelter
Base Location: Warren
Maximum Team Size: 2 [2 + 0]

Ethos
Killing: [We kill people]
Civilians: [whatever gets us paid is the most important thing]
Collateral Damage: [We don’t care about property damage if it helps get the job done]

LEADER
Name: Johnson Peter William Richards "Dread Fool"
Gender: Male
Appearance: white male, roughly 6 feet tall, could be described as "unnaturally thin"- Wears a particularly ugly jester costume alongside an eerie full face mask.
Alter-ego/backstory: Johnson Peter William Richards had a rather lonely upbringing, mostly because of his name- being called "dicky dicky dicky DICKY!" by all the other kids at school didn't help him make any friends at all, which is rather sad as his name is the only thing his parents left him before they abandoned him at an orphanage and sailed away on their private yacht reportedly worth only marginally less than a small manor in Greenbelt. This loneliness is likely what drove him to the "wrong crowd", which eventually lead to working for petty super villains and minor gang-lords. Recently, he has come to the rather odd conclusion that "Superheros must be paid better then generic minions"- and decided to see if going 'legit' is all its made out to be.
Power: "Killer Clown" - "Uncanny Co-Ordination: Dread Fool can juggle any number of objects, walk on his hands or ride a unicycle along a tightrope, with perfect control over his physical co-ordination."
Traits: Mercenary, Ex-Villainous Henchman, Cheerful
Fame: 0

MEMBERS
Name | Known Powers | Traits | Infamy | Motivation
Sin Reaper | Emotion Manipulation? | Religious, Jolly, Manipulative |  0 | Cleansing Zircon City of its wickedness

[Kashyyk]

Nitrox, Crackler and Zirconia will attend Cutting Tip (#1). Let's see if we can't rescue the Cutting Edge team. Be ready for a fight, or for an evidence hunt.

Película will attend Royal Infestation (#2). She likes animals, luckily, and can hopefully scare off the rats with some appropriate illusions.

Camarada will attend Old Blood (#3). She's chatty, and Stealthy. I'm sure she won't be the one to tip Reinita off.

Mentat will attend Capture the Flag (#6). He can probably convince people to move to the new arena that Ziggurat is planning to build, and discourage people from continuing by inflicting the Humming.

Spoiler: Protection Inc. (click to show/hide)

Team Name: Protection Inc.
Leader: Mentat
Fame: 6 _{[5 + 1]} | 1˝ _{[˝ + 1]}
Income: Comfortable (3)
Identity: Powerhouse - You're much more likely to gain powers, but also much more likely to destroy scenery or face injury in the line of duty
Cross Overs: Odd Squad (??)
Neighbourhood reputations:
Docks +1
Mireton +1
Old Town +1
Sandup +2
Silver Row +2
Warren +2

Members
Name | Known Powers | Traits | Fame
- Mentat | Mindreading, Weaponised Telepathy, Telepathic Infectious Humming Infliction | Charismatic, Protective, Self-important, Bankrolling Protection Inc, Friends with Camarada,  ;)Respects Bittern | 7
- Camarada | Can't be directly attacked, Ignored (unless actively suppressed) | Altruistic, Forgiving, Charming, Conciliatory, Tactical, Fearless, Reckless, Friends with Película, Respects Mentat, Friends with Mentat, Dedicated to Protection Inc | 3
- Crackler | Electricity Manipulation | Known Killer, Friendly, Comedian, Improviser, Enemy of the Scarlet Plague, Respects Nitrox, Bullet-proof Armour, Hazmat | 8
- Nitrox | Unstoppable power attack??, Air walking | Heroic, Fabulist, Fear of Drowning, Crush on Camarada, Loyal to Protection Inc., Cathedral Invasion Expert, Bullet-proof Armour, Hazmat | 7
- Película | Illusionary Projections, Functional Invisibility | Teen runaway, Loves animals, Bankrolling Protection Inc, Hates Crowds, Berserk, Hazmat, Injury: Tired, Friends with Camarada, Friends with Reflux | 3
- Zirconia | Diamond-like Skin | Local Knowledge, Carefree, Manipulative, Finds Crackler Amusing, Hazmat | 2 3 | Money
- Alba | Feline Abilities | Cute, Adopted Película, Accepting of Camarada, An actual cat | -

Base
Base Size (base size mod): Large (+3)
Base Description: A roomy apartment
Base Location: Warren
Team Size: [2 + min(6 vs 3)] = 5

Ethos
Killing: We kill as a last resort
Civilians: Saving civilians is the number one goal
Collateral Damage: We pay for any damages we make

[Egan_BW]

"What a pain. How are we supposed to make money like this? Nobody who isn't an evil idiot is willing to negotiate..."
"Just have to push on, as we always have. This is an opportunity to clean up the city like we haven't been able to in the light. And, it's a good excuse to use the Night Map."
"Is it strange that I enjoy working in my sleep?"
"Not at all~"


Bulletproof armor for Princess Professional, Stealth suit for Atla, NBC suit for The Chorist. Also... concealed shotgun for Princess.

Stalk by night, hunt by day. For each of the following hunts, use Local Assistance IF it goes down in Dusk Beach, Downtown, Docks, Mireton, or Silver Row.

• Princess Professional kidnaps Ascenso before that situation can... fester. Give him a chance to come quietly, but if he doesn't...
• The Chorist and Mistress Extra murder Sanguine. She's far too dangerous and unrepentant to be left live. Cash in the Constellation Aurora Cross-Over. The Chorist stays in the middle, protected from Sanguine's power by his suit and singing to counteract her effect on Extra and CA.
• Atla and Pockette bring in Brick and Mortar. The hunters become the hunted. And fill out our bounty quota nicely~ Make sure to be subtle on the approach, then ideally just grab them and go.

Spoiler: PUNCH! (click to show/hide)

Team Name: PUNCH!
Leader: Mistress Extra
Fame: +2 (+2 1/5)
Infamy: +3 (+0 1/4) [Enforcers (Permanent): +1] [Legion's Expansion (Permanent): +2]
Income: Broke (+0)

Base:
Base Size: Large (+3)
Base Description: Gay Morte, a modestly sized but very crowded nightclub.
Base Location: Dusk Beach
Maximum Team Size: 5

Ethos:
Killing: We kill as a last resort.
Civilians: Saving civilians is the number one goal.
Collateral Damage: We pay for any damages we make.

Reputation:
Dusk Beach: +3
Downtown: +3
Docks: +1
Mireton: +1
Silver Row: +2
Greenbelt: -1
Warren: 0
Old Town: -1

Team:
Mistress Extra | Nightmare Possession, Dreamwalking | Energetic, Hedonistic, Sadistic, Cat-like grace, Mental Fortitude, Tinnitus, Friends with Princess, Respects Princess, Loves Princess | +3
Princess Professional | Understanding complex organizational structures | Conventional, Punctual, Confidential, Loyal, Forgettable, Bulletproof Armor, Concealed Shotgun, Friends with Extra, Trusts Extra, Loves Extra | +1 +1
The Chorist | Hypnotizing Singing | Religious, Good-Looking, Optimistic, Hazmat, Cathedral invasion expert | +6 +1
Atla | Can turn Gigantic | Happily Swapped, Serious, Resourceful, Stealth-Tech | +1
Pockette | Portals | Hapless, Happy-Go-Lucky, Amoral | 0 -1 | Getting successful as a bounty hunter

Cross-Over: Constellation Aurora
Asset: Night Map

[Glass]

Spoiler: The Watch (click to show/hide)

Team Name: The Watch
Leader: Frostara
Fame: 9 (47/10 + 2 [Defeated The Crimson Plague] +3 [Founded Watchtower])
Infamy: 3 (7/10 + 1 + 2 ['Murdered' Odd Squad 'in cold blood'])
Income: Modest
Identity: Big Tent

Base
Base Size (base size mod): Vast (+5)
Base Description: Offshore complex built by Ziggurat
Base Location: Old Town
Maximum Team Size: 9

Neighborhood Reputations
Atomic Heights: +1
Greenbelt: +3
Sandup: +2
Silver Row: +2
Old Town: +1
Warrens: +2
Montgomery: +1
Hermitage: +1
[All else neutral]

Ethos
Killing: We kill as a last resort
Civilians: Saving civilians is the number one goal
Collateral Damage: We pay for any damages we make

Leader
Name: Allison Goldstein/Frostara
Gender: Female
Appearance: An attractive young woman with dirty blonde hair kept in a ponytail and grey eyes. She wears a light-blue form-fitting ice-skating uniform, decorated with a subtle pattern of snowflakes. Somewhat less subtle is that the snowflakes on the back are clustered in such a way as to give the impression of a clock face.
Powers: Creates ice walls, Ice skating, Ice jets, Blood freezing
Traits: Hates Longfire, Modest, Good-looking, Tactical, Indebted to The Watch, Trusts Retry, Cool Under Pressure, Deadly, Organized, Protective of Bantum Boy, Steam burns
Fame: 5

Leader Founder
Name: Caroline Frisk (real name)/Retry (“super” name)/DeterminedDreamer (online username)
Gender: Female
Appearance: A young woman with short, auburn hair and red eyes that lack pupils, instead consisting of a seemingly endless set of concentric rings. While fighting crime, Retry wears a long, dark-green hooded coat over a suit of gold-looking armor, as well as a heart necklace. Presumably, the armor's interior is padded to similar comfort levels as her older clothing. She wields a pair of tonfas.
Alter-ego/backstory: Caroline, like many people with too much curiosity and free time and not enough sense of self-preservation, decided that it would be fun to go explore an abandoned facility to see if she could find anything interesting. For a variety of reasons, this was an enormous mistake, as some facilities are either abandoned for a reason or are less abandoned than they first seem. Now, she’s not exactly talking about any of the specifics of what happened, but it certainly seems that she regrets what she did. Except for the small fact that it doesn’t seem she ever actually did it, and her accounting of what day it is was off by one.
Power: Stable Time Loop: Retry casts herself back into the past, or perhaps she foresees forward... in either case, with concentration and over short periods, from her perspective appears to reset the position of reality from a few seconds to minutes.
+Super-strength, +Super-jumping
Traits: Tries everything, Thoughtful, Mute, Guilt-Ridden, Bulletproof Armor, Electrogirdle, Tires Easily, Fearless, Concerned about Psyla, Friends with Void, Ex-Leader
Fame: 10
Infamy: 1

Members
Frostara (Allison Goldstein) | Creates ice walls, Ice skating, Ice jets, Blood freezing | Hates Longfire, Modest, Good-looking, Tactical, Indebted to The Watch, Trusts Retry, Cool Under Pressure, Deadly, Organized, Protective of Bantum Boy, Steam burns | 5
Retry (Caroline Frisk) | Stable time loop, Super-strength, Super-jumping | Tries Everything, Thoughtful, Mute, Guilt-Ridden, Bulletproof Armor, Fearless, Electrogirdle, Tires Easily, Concerned about Psyla, Friends with Void, Ex-Leader | 10 Fame, 1 Infamy
Void (David White) | Micro-blackhole centered on self, Supernova blasts from absorbed energy, Apocalypse/City-destruction, Dazzling Sunbeams | Inscrutable, Unsettling, Helpful, Close to going supernova, Control Belt!, Evasive, Friends with Retry | 3 Fame, 1 Infamy | Use his powers for good, figure out E Corp?
Ziggurat (Javier Pahuac) | Tower Creation | Practical, Intelligent, Inhibited, Hates Crowds | 7
Psyla LXI ("Sarah"?) | Insta-reincarnation, Increasing Psychic Power, Mysterious inter-dimensional assistance | Cold, Resourceful, Determined, Tactical, Doubts about Retry's leadership, Respects Frostara | 8, 1 Infamy
Bantum Boy | Short-Ranged flight, Hyperkicking | Child, Crazy, Happy, Looks up to Frostara | 5, 1 Infamy
Lost Tide | Salt-Kinesis, Axe-Fighting | Teen Runaway, Secretive, Responsible | 0
Muffin Madness | Random (based on eating Chiffon's pastry) | Manic, Open-Minded, Indebted to Chiffon | 0
Plumbaris (Fillan Doyle) | Ranged weight manipulation | Crude, Playful, Educated, Loves Lady Lefant | 9
The Mangler II | Powersuit Construction | Vengeful, Destructive, Inventive | 3 Infamy | Mangling

Other Notes
Have control belt designs
1 Crossover: Cursed Legacy
1 Crossover: Rust Riot
1 Crossover: Watchtower
1 Crossover: Route Horizon
Chiffon (Mari Chang) made a baking company
RIP Sally "Sixpence" Agreste
RIP Johanna Freedman, the Miraculous Mirror Maiden
Electrogirdle: wearer gains powers "Super Strength", "Super Jumping" and trait "Tires easily" while it is worn.
Doctor Hijank rejoined the Odd Squad Rust Riot
Free will is real! As long as you’re not mind-controlled, at least.

Per request, the Watch, now with funds, will purchase Pathfinder an armor suit.
Ziggurat will go to Downtown to start constructing an offshore capture the flag arena, much like how he built the Watch's base. Actually interacting with the crowds can be left to Mentat. Maybe we can talk with Chiffon and make it an official thing? (#6)
"...negotiating with rats. Is this a joke, Allison? Leaving aside the absurdity of the nature of the situation that has led us to this request, why this course of action?"
Allison sighed. "I'm pretty sure that I was the rat at the center of this. Fucking Doppelswap-" -she looked like she wanted to spit on the ground to emphasize the point, but refrained- "-swapped me into one's body, and I was there for a week waiting for Suffrage to swap me back. And- well, it's no secret that the old woman that Tin Soldier got swapped with has gotten some of his powers. And you'll note that the rats have ice shielding."
She was silent for a bit, but Sarah was psychic, and she was also able to figure out the idea here without even needing that. "You feel responsible in some capacity, even though it was wholly outside your control and the situation was essentially entirely anticipatable."
"Can we please just go talk to the rats?"
"You are the leader. Shall we?"
Frostara and Psyla will try to talk to the Rat King. (#2)
Retry will go protect Animalia. (#5)
Lost Tide, Plumbaris, and Muffin Madness will look into the news regarding Cutting Edge's location. (#1)
Void and Bantum Boy will patrol Atomic Heights (or whichever district the time machine display is happening in). Hopefully, nobody would be stupid enough to mess with that, but you never know. (#0: Patrol, Psuedo-#7)
“The Mangler II” will build a suit for himself. Its primary function should be generalized protection - it should be bulletproof, laserproof, and impermeable to dangerous gasses and liquids. If he tries anything stupid, we will haul his ass back to jail. (#0: Create Asset)

[VermilionSkies]

Spoiler: Route Horizon (click to show/hide)

Team:
Team Name: Route Horizon
Fame: 8 (6+2)
Income: Broke

Reputation:
Old Town: 1
Warrens: 0
Downtown: 1
Hermitage: 1
Greenbelt: 1
Mireton: 1
Docks: 1

Leader:
Pathfinder | Gliding, Perfected Spacial Awareness, Lone Hero | Blunt, Quick-Thinking, Extreme Sports Afficiando, Self-Sacrificing, Hates lone missions, Respects Reverso, Martial Artist, Believes in Route Horizon, Respects Endless Highway, Friends with Reverso, Respects Longfire, Acting In Endless Highway's Memory, Notable Scar, Bullet-proof Armor | 6 Fame | 1 Infamy|

Base:
Base Size (base size mod): Appropriate
Base Description: Route Horizon works out of a specialized garage provided by Mayor Bigby.
Base Location: Oldtown
Maximum Team Size: 4 1

Ethos:
Killing: We kill as a last resort.
Civilians: Saving civilians is the number one goal.
Collateral Damage: We don’t care about property damage if it helps get the job done.

Misc:
Unable to recruit.
Crossover: The Watch

"Alright... I can do this. Let's do this!"

Pathfinder deploys to Mission 5.

[Glass]

...Pathfinder can deploy alongside the Watch. So that she's not alone.

[IronyOwl]

Haste finally rests that knife wound and scorching.

The other three attend #7: Restoration Spectacle. Lotus Petal can attest that Don Jetman's products are the best, and being on hand for such a spectacle will be good for everyone's careers.

Call in Marigold. Ideally she'd cover our entrance fees, but if she still wants to help people this might be the place to make that happen.

Spoiler: The Dandy Lads (click to show/hide)

Team Name: Dandy Lads
Leader: Jack Dandy
Fame: 7 (+3 Avg Fame, +1 Inherent, +1 Unswap Charity, +2 Defeated Crimson Plague)
Income: Comfortable -> !!BROKE!! [Broke|Tight|Modest|Comfortable|Opulent]
Reputation:
+1 Silver Row
+2 Old Town
+2 Mireton
+2 Downtown
+1 Montgomery
+1 Atomic Heights
+1 Docks
Cross-Over: Cutting Edge
Cross-over: Marigold
Electrogirdle: wearer gains powers "Super Strength", "Super Jumping" and trait "Tires easily" while it is worn.
Focused: Heroes are more likely to gain new and distinct powers, but team size is capped at four

Base
Base Size (base size mod): Small [Tiny (+0)|Small(+1)|Appropriate(+2)|Large(+3)|Vast(+5)]
Base Description: Abandoned lab in Atomic Heights
Base Location: Atomic Heights
Maximum Team Size: 3 [2 + (the smaller of Base Size Modifier and Fame)]

Ethos
Killing: We never kill
Civilians: Saving civilians is the number one goal
Collateral Damage: We pay for any damages we make

Name: Jack Dandy
Gender: Male
Appearance: A tall, handsome man with a muscular frame, blonde hair, blue eyes, and a cleft chin.
Alter-ego/backstory: Jack Dandy was born Donald Arthur Whisk, but took up a more pleasing stage name at the age of 13. At 15 he landed a breakout role as the spunky sidekick in a cheap but popular science fiction flick, which taught him that not only could he succeed as an actor, he could inspire people while doing it. As he grew older, he transitioned from heroic supporting roles to the main man himself, but he never lost the humility and enthusiasm that made him so popular with audiences. One day during a difficult shoot, a costar was almost crushed by a collapsing prop before Jack was able to leap to his rescue from some thirty feet away. Jack Dandy has been inspiring and entertaining on a bigger stage ever since.
Powers:
-Hyper-Athletics: Peak gymnastic performance that pushes past the edge of what was previously thought humanly possible.
-Skill Mimicry: Jack can, with focus, perfectly copy a skill he has previously observed
--He can reflexively mimic his opponent's attacks, making him near impossible to beat in hand-to-hand combat.
Traits: Charismatic, Heroic, Vain, Unsure about The Man In Grey, Indefatigable, Wealthy, Missing Ear, Confident in Lotus Petal, Friends with Lotus Petal
Fame: 4

Name |   Known Powers | Traits | Fame
The Man in Grey | Disappears involuntarily when his safety is threatened | Mysterious, Altruistic, Quiet, Calm, Distrusts mindcontrollers, Sympathy for Vile Viola, Conspiracy Theorist, Spy, Wary of Lotus Petal, Feeling overlooked, Crush on Haste | 4
Long grey trenchcoat, grey domino mask, and grey fedora
The Man in Grey gets better at moving around while disappeared and tricking himself into feeling threatened enough to vanish, allowing limited range invisibility and intangibility (he can't really perceive anything in the real world when vanished).

Lotus Petal | Uncanny Knife-Throwing, Gymnastics, Weakness Spotting: Lotus intuitively senses the weakest point | Extrovert, Focused, Returning Knives, Unapologetic, Friends with Jack Dandy | 2
Moves with a blur of silks

Name | Known Powers | Traits | Infamy | Fame | Motivation
Haste | Speed aura, Slow Aura | Charming, Cowardly, Greedy, Wary of Lotus Petal, Knife Wound, Scorched, Crossover: Watchtower, Respects The Man In Grey | 1 | 3 | Money
Haste has an improved application of her powers: she gets much better at speeding and slowing different parts of someone, making people run into walls, trip over, accidentally hit themselves with flailing limbs.

[notquitethere]

MISSION REPORTS 11 - A

Spoiler: #-1 Villain Missions (click to show/hide)

Princess Professional is tasked with taking in Ascenso, a new villain they'd had word of in the area. That's how she ended up in the VIP section of a Club Destinos on the Dusk Beach strip, sitting around a table with some power supremacists.

Ascenso was there, a huge man with tiny sunglasses low on the bridge of his nose, his piercing eyes glaring over them. Next to him at the table were Master Tusk and Johnny Knifehands, both recently out of prison. They'd missed all the big Crimson Plague fights are were just charged with some minor offenses. Tusk is shirtless, as ever, his moustache even longer after his stint in the clink. Johnny Knifehands is holding a beer very precariously with his blads. Opposite them, wreathed in cigar smoke, softly phasing in and out, is Wispa, the only Crimson Plague villain to escape the invasion uncaught or unkilled.

They all look at Princess Professional with suspicion. "Your mutt murdered my main man Mangler," Johnny Knifehands menaces melodically.

"She's not a part of the team any more. We've swapped sides," Princess Professional says, matter-of-factly.

"I heard you don't even powers," Master Tusk says.

Princess Professional's knuckles turn white as she clenches her fist at her side. But she keeps it cool. "That's funny," she says, not remotely amused. "I didn't think hitting people with sticks was a power either."

"If PUNCH! wanna help us bake this cake, let's let 'em," Ascenso says. "And if they're fulla shit, we can stick 'em like pigs later. You was telling us about the new strategy, MT?"

"Correct," Master Tusk says. "Conversion hasn't worked. Force hasn't worked. Separatism won't work. What haven't we really tried?"

"Assassination!" Johnny Knifehands says with glee.

"Laying low?" Wispa asks.

"No, friends, acceleration," Master Tusk says with a flourish. "We need the great war between the dying race and our superior Evolved. Through this war, all latent evolved will emerge and we can purge the lands of the untermensch. Just as the last battle brought out Ascendo's powers, we need to accelerate the conflict to reveal all of our kind."

"Let the blood of the unworthy flow in the streets!" Ascendo says, slamming a fist down on the table.

"We're going to do it smart this time," Master Tusk says. "We have an opportunity to rid ourselves with the unfaithful minority of our kind that would seek to thwart us. They can bear the brunt of the initial backlash, while we stay in the shadows."

Princess Professional tries not to appear horrified as they discuss the atrocities they could do while pinning the blame on hero teams. After the meeting is over and she has made some vague promises on behalf of PUNCH! the villains disperse for now, and she covertly follows Ascenso.

She's sneaking along through an alley she saw him turn into. She suddenly feels a sharp pain in her side. Johnny Knifehands had followed her to shiv her.

"This is for the Mangler!" he shouts, stabbing her again. The first two strikes are deflected by her armour, but he slices a gap for a more deadly strike. A civilian passing the mouth the alleyway recognises Princess Professional, as a well liked local hero. "HEY!" he shouts.

This distracts Johnny for a moment, a moment long enough for Princess Professional to grab Johnny's wrists. His hand-blades glisten in the buzzing neon from the nearby club signs.

He tries to pull free and Princess Professional twists his sharpened blade to his own neck. The passerby had called across the street to the Spider Knights on patrol. Ectoboy and Lynxxx arrive to help overpower Johnny Knifehands and take some of the credit.

Together they take Johnny Knifehands back into custody on charge of attempted murder.

OUTCOME
Mission: PUNCH!: Mixed Success. -1 rep in Dusk Beach from local assistance
Johnny Knifehands is in custody
Princess Professional: +1 fame. +1 infamy (Rumours spread in the underground of her being seen with villains)
Lynxxx: Gains +1 fame
Ectoboy: Gains +1 fame

***

Brick and Mortar are pacing about a huge ill-lit shed. Its former use as an abbatoir is evident by the stained floor and the rusting hooks dangling from the ceiling. In the shadows on two sides of the space, several metal pillars have been erected, lined with nozzles. In the middle of the room, tied, blindfolded and gagged with rope to a wooden chair is the old Filipina woman, Bakal.

"I still don't understand why you had to blow all our cash on some magnets and blowtorches," Brick says.

"Knowing your enemy is half the battle. Do you remember the last time happened we fought Tin Soldier?"

"You so sure that the pocketknife dweeb won't come through with the cash?" Brick asks.

"They'll come in force, I'm sure of it. Then we catch them in one fell swoop. Never have to work again with a payout like—"

Mortar promptly falls through a sudden hole in the conrete floor.

"What the—

Brick disappears into a second hole.

Outside the warehouse, Mortar falls through a hole in the sky and is caught be a giant hand materialising out of nowhere. A second giant hand catches Brick. Atla and Pockette had snuck in to the area with the help of some local connections.

"Mission accomplished," Atla says, holding the squirming villains. "We're com— yowww!!"

There's a large explosion in one of Atla's fists, blowing a chunk of flesh from her right hand. Mortar drops three storeys down and arrests her fall with another blast.

Before Pockette get around to catch her in another hole, Mortar blasts away, using her gun as a makeshift personal rocket.

Atla bleeds profusely all over the warehouse roof and outside walls, screaming in pain.

Pockette rolls through a portal and appears on the warehouse roof. She shields herself from the spray of blood with her umbrella. "Chuck the guy, I'll sort him!" she shouts.

Atla lobs Brick up into the air and Pockette conjures a pair of portals above and below Brick. He free-falls through the portals in an unending loop. The giant woman shrinks down to her normal height, panicking over the injury. What could she do with her hand in such a state? She looks down at her hand and is surprised and pleased to see it healed: her huge self could afford to lose some mass when shrunk, her flesh was knitted whole without so much as a mark.

"OK, let's bring this guy in..." Atla says, back to business.

Pockette sets a portal in the ground and Brick hurtles up into the air. Atla grows back to full size and catches the muscleman.

"Guess I picked the right side, hah!" Pockette laughs, as she portals up onto Atla's shoulder.

OUTCOME
Mission: PUNCH!: Mixed Success. -1 rep in the Docks from local assistance
Brick enters custody.
Atla: Fame +1. Gains power "Heals when shrinks"
Pockette: Gains opportunity. Gains trait, "Lackadaisical"

***

The plan to take on Dark Humor is carefully planned and executed. Mistress Extra tracks Sanguine's location through the dreamscape. Sanguine has too much self-command to risk attacking through that vector, so Mistress Extra takes note of the imagery of a dark forest in her dreams to get a sense of where she might be. Working with Constellation Aurora, she follows a series of dream clues leading to a safe house in Green Belt. A shack in the woods, this is where Sanguine is planning her next move.

The shack is essentially one large room with a few makeshift beds arrayed around. A pantry of sorts was made up of a table piled with stolen food. The Chorist hooks up a mic and mobile speakers. Sol Heart, Iron Gavel and Mimesis fan out around the clearing. Mimesis had rolled her eyes when she saw she would be working with the Chorist. She expects him to be preening but instead she finds him much more mature and focused than anticipated.

Unseen in the trees above them, Dark Humor's new Phlegm is floating serenely. It was Wiffle, captured by Sanguine while her main Phlegm is still in prison. He has the power to drift through the air and is impervious to all harm. Now bloodbound, he sets off an alarm that rings inside the shack.

Inside the shack, Sanguine, risk averse after so many losses, commands her new Melancholy to hold off the attackers, while her new Choler, Gigaman, is to get her out of there.

The Chorist begins singing as the roof of the shack blasts open with hot laser fire, and Gigaman flies out, holding onto Sanguine. He flies straight up and smashes fist first into an invisible ceiling put there by Mimesis. The pair fall back and land on the shack roof.

Iron Gavel, ear-plugs in, wastes no time and runs towards the shack, hammer held high. Anuran, the newly captured Melancholy, suddenly smashes out of the shack window. His frog biology gives him selective hearing and he easily tunes out the Chorist. Jumping onto the shack roof, he shoots a tongue out and steals Iron Gavel's huge hammer.

"This isn't you! Search your heart, you know it's true!" Sol Heart says, locking eyes with Anuran. He lets out a loud croak of exertion and lifts the huge hammer to smash down on Gigaman. It bounces harmless off Gigaman's head. The blow is followed up by a back-up throwing hammer that Iron Gavel lobs with his super-strength. It also does no harm, but the blows together slow Gigaman long enough for him to hear the Chorist's song and fall unconscious.

Sanguine commands herself not to hear the music and bites her lip to spray a fresh wash of blood on Anuran. It drips off an invisible wall that Mimesis quickly throws up. Sanguine turns to try and rouse Gigaman so he can murder the newcomers with his laser eyes. Before she gets far, with cat-like grace, Mistress Extra scurries up a drainpipe onto the shack roof. She runs across the gables and launches herself at Sanguine. As she hits her, she slides a long knife straight through her throat. With disbelief, Sanguine tries to spit out her last commands before choking on her own blood.

High above them, Wiffle sleeps peacefully, drifting through the treetops. Anuran apologises and everyone accepts that he was under compulsion. Gigaman is less clear cut. Keeping his continually sedated through song, they bring him in. It's clear that Sol doesn't agree with how Extra handled it, but it was Extra's mission and so it was her call to make.

OUTCOME
Mission: PUNCH!: Overwhelming Success, Constellation Aurora: Success
Mistress Extra: +1 fame. Gains trait "Bloodthirsty"
Sanguine is dead. Gigaman enters custody.
Chorist: +2 fame
Mimesis: Loses trait "Hates the Chorist"
Sol Heart: Gains trait "Inspiring"
Iron Gavel: Gains +1 fame
Mission Reward: PUNCH! gain +1 temporary fame: "Finishing Off Dark Humor". Mayor Bibgy is pleased by the swift defeat of Johnny Knifehands, Brick, Gigaman and, especially, Sanguine. PUNCH! are no longer proscribed and may consider themselves a hero organisation once again. "If only all hero teams could be so efficient," he is heard to say.

Spoiler: #0 Personal Missions (click to show/hide)

Brouhaha and Bolt Blue experiment with their powers. Bolt Blue learns that his powers are stronger when he has ambient weather, or even just water vapor, to work with. He even manages to get it cold enough to snow when he's in a neighbourhood with water access. While they're experimenting at the base, Brouhaha jumps into their new swimming pool and discovers his sound blasts are much more powerful and easy to aim when underwater.

***

Void and Bantum Boy patrol in Atomic Heights. At one point they spot Lotus Petal hurrying across a parking lot. They hail her and she says the tech demonstration was really boring, and then hurries off. Nothing else happens.

The Watch gain +1 rep in Atomic Heights.

***

The Mangler II makes an armoured suit. Smaller but more mobile than his previous suit, he explains that it is designed to be invulnerable against all prior threats to the Mangler: it's carbon plated, making it both bullet-proof and Tin Soldier-proof. It has it's own oxygen supply so he can't be choked out by gas attacks or smothered by a werewolf. It has powerful beam lights, for dispersing laser fire and shining through smoke.

The Mangler II gains trait "Mangler Power Suit 2.0"

Spoiler: #1 Cutting Tip (click to show/hide)

In the middle of the most rundown part of Mireton, on a commercial estate next to a boxing gym and a carwash, is an ugly concrete building. A small sign says 'Rubric Data Solutions'. It doesn't look anything special and the heroes almost miss the building. The six of them assemble outside, the full moon high in the sky. From Protection Inc., Nitrox, Crackler and Zirconia, the latter glistening in the moonlight. From The Watch are three newcomers, Lost Tide, Plumbaris and Muffin Madness. Muffin is hopped up on a jam doughnut that's given her the power to exacerbate flaws.

The doors are locked and the windows are barred and tinted.

"How we going to loosen this goose?" Plumbaris asks.

"Any ideas gang?" Nitrox asks.

"I'll just zap the security lock," Crackler says. He fries the external keypad and card scanner. The door remaings bolted. "Huh, that always works in the movies."

"ARRGH!" Lost Tide screams, smashing his fire axe into the door. The reinforced steel dents slightly.

"I'll check up top..." Nitrox says, walking up through the air.

"I got it," Zirconia says, grabbing the door handle and shoving it hard. With her hardened skin, she doesn't worry about hurting herself. Even still, it doesn't budge. "I guess I don't got it."

"Can't you make it light as paper?" Muffin asks Plumbaris.

"Nah, sorry love, objects keep their tensile strength innit?" he says. "And be glad they do, otherwise the poor buggers I use it on would come apart in a stiff breeze..."

"AWHWHWHWHWA!" Lost Tide screams and smashes his axe on the door again and makes another dent in the metal.

Nitrox returns. "Windows all barred, all the way. Maybe they'd be easier to break than the door?"

"Oh! Oh! OOHH!" Muffin says. She concentrates on the first dent and the door buckles. She keeps concentrating until the two dents meet up, and then a crack appears and widens. After some lengthy concentration, a sizeable hole has been made in the door. Zirconia goes first, folding down the sharp edges. The others follow through the hole.

They spread out through the building. Crackler short-circuits the cameras and alarms and the whole electricity in the building goes out. The internal doors are not as sturdy and are easily opened with Zirconia's rough treatment. On first appearance, it's just a data center. There are several floors of offices and a floor of chilled servers.

Reflecting on the wave of destruction she'd inflicted on the fixtures, Zirconia says, "This is just a regular break-in but less profitable."

"Wait, wait I can, uh, feel something..." Nitrox says obliquely, continuing his policy of not revealing his real power. "There's a draft coming from the janitor's closet."

Lost Tide smashes the lock on the door of the janitor's closet.

"So your power is hitting stuff with an axe, huh?" Crackler says. Lost Tide narrows his eyes. "No, it's cool, it's a cool power," Crackler says, raising his palms.

"I'm better near the water," Lost Tide mumbles, opening the broken door.

Inside, it's remarkable sparse and tidy for a closet. They spend another ten minutes searching about for a switch until they finally push a shelf at the right angle, opening a secret door leading to stairs spiralling down.

The heroes file down the stairs, Zirconia first, as the most robust, and Muffin Madness last, as the twitchiest.

At the bottom is a large laboratory with banks of consoles, glass-lined chambers, and huge coils of wires and piping trailing to the center of the complex. In the middle of the empty lab, the focus point is a huge tank. Inside the translucent blue liquid, hooked up to hundred of sensors and an oxygen mask, is Glasser. Glasser, the newest member of Cutting Edge, is mostly naked, his suit having been cut away to expose skin for the sensors.

"HEY! STOP!" A security guard who had been snoozing at one of the consoles wakes and scrambled for his communication gear.

Lost Tide pulls salt from the guard's pores, making him double over with nausea and pass out. But not before he has time to hit the emergency alarm. Crackler blasts the alarm boxes and hits the console as well, sending an electrical surge backfiring through the system. The tank begins to glow and then the glass explodes into trillions of microscopic pieces, spilling glass-dust and holding fluid across the room.

In a wave billowing out from Glasser, the piping and fixtures disintegrate into a growing cloud of sand

"Hop to it, lads and ladels!" Plumbaris yells. He lightens the guard to nothing, throwing the weight onto the unreachable Glasser, deep within the sand cloud. He grabs the guard over her shoulder and sprints out. Everyone else leaves too at speed.

The heroes run out of the data center just as it collapses into the basement, disappearing in a vast pillar of sand.

"If you make you's light and I can get us all clear!" Nitrox shouts to Plumbaris over the roar of the growing sandstorm.

"I need someone to take the weight!" Plumbaris shouts.

"I'll do it!" Crackler shouts. His suit has the most protections. He figures he can survive the sand.

Plumbaris puts five people's worth of weight on Crackler who curls into a ball behind a car. He links arms with the others and Nitrox pulls them all weightless along with him as he runs through the sky. He touches down on a nearby roof of one of the few local skyscrapers. The sandstorm grows massively below, engulfing the whole of Mireton.

Lost Tide resalinates the security guard who lies drowsy on the roof. "I'm cursed," says Lost Tide. "First the cruise ship and now this. I can't be around people." He walks off to find a way down.

"Crackler better not die," Zirconia says. Her funny new friend is the only reason she's sticking around.

"Oh wow you were amazing," Muffin Madness is telling Plumbaris, who allows himself to be flattered. The two don't appear to have noticed Lost Tide has withdrawn.

Nitrox returns into the storm, intent on getting Crackler. He returns, sandblasted and weary, desperately hauling Crackler out of the storm. Both of their hazmat units on their suits are clogged and eroded completely beyond repair, but without the protection one of them would surely have died.

The centre of the storm is an impassable vortex of sand. The rest of the neighborhood is merely incredibly unpleasant, obscured, and sand-choked, leading many people to leave the area for the time being.
OUTCOME
Mireton is engulfed in a sandstorm and is now very difficult to pass through and counts as three neighbourhoods in size for travel speed.
Mission: Protection Inc: Failure. The Watch: Failure.
Nitrox: Gains injury: Bone-tired. Hazmat part of suit is destroyed.
Crackler: Gains injury: Bone-tired. Hazmat part of suit is destroyed. Damages paid for by Protection Inc. leading to -1 income.
Zirconia: Cohesion check mixed success. Gains trait "On Edge"
Lost Tide: Cohesion check failure. Gains trait "Angst-Ridden". Leaves The Watch.
Plumbaris: Cohesion check success: Gains trait "Amused by Muffin Madness"
Muffin Madness:  Damages paid for by The Watch leading to -1 income.

Spoiler: #2 Royal Infestation (click to show/hide)

The people of Montgomery had not had great luck with animal life. Ever since Baron von Woof put all their cats up a tree, the local feline population had been a lot more risk averse... or so people speculated when the local rat population burgeoned, eventually taking over whole backlots with swarms of tiny bodies. Frostara knew different.

"They're only here because of me," Frostara says.

"You regret not euthanising the Doppelswap rat when you had a chance?" Psyla asks, bluntly. The pair of them are walking along an empty residential street, on the look out for rodents.

"I had been the rat, it would have been like killing part of myself..." Frostara says.

They see the teen hero Película at the corner. She nods at the Watch heroes. The three of them patrol until they catch sight of a rat scurrying across the street. Hurrying over, they see one, then two, three, ten, a hundred rats spilling out of a drain into the street.

MAKER YOU HAVE COME TO HARROW US LIKE ALL YOUR KIND the rats whisper as one.

"I- I'm not I-" Frostara begins, momentarily paralysed by the sight of so many rodents, a mob ever growing, now talking to her. She sees Psyla stand impassively, waiting for Frostara to make her move.

"They're not attacking yet, this is a good sign," Psyla says to Frostara, telepathically. A shiver runs down Frostara's spine, as she remembers what Doppelswap style from her. Even Psyla's benign telepathy felt like a violation.

"We're not here to fight," Frostara says.

"Aww, you're muy bonitos!" Película says, kneeling down to let the rats run over her, up her sleeve and onto her shoulders. She beams as the skitter about her. She's been slowly learning English, which now seems worthwhile if it means she gets to talk to ratties.

THIS ONE IS RATFRIEND the rats whisper as the run around Película.

"No hables de Alba..." Película thinks loudly to Psyla.

"How can we help you?" Frostara asks.

WE WILL DESTROY THE HUMANS THAT KILL OUR KIND

The rats swarm over Frostara and Psyla. Psyla pushes them aside with her telekinetic force lines, but the line is weak given the poor connection she has on the rats. Frostara takes a deep breath, keeping cool, keeping calm, until one of the rats scrambles over her unhealed steam burn.

She screams out and steps back on a rat tale. Things get ugly fast as the rats react as one, pushing, scratching, biting Psyla and Frostara, who lash out in turn.

"ˇEspera!" Película shouts. "We're friends. We're friends. Just cool it."

Frostara takes the suggestion literally, covering herself and Psyla in a protective layer of ice. They notice some of the rats that had been flung aside had frozen themselves over too.

"If you come on too hard, people will just fight you harder," Película says to the rats. "But if you make friends with people, help them out, then you can save more of your kind too, you know?"

RATFRIEND IS WISE. THE RATMIND WILL GROW IN PEACE.

And with that the rats disperse to all their thousands of hidden places, ready to emerge anywhere to save the day... and bring more rats into the fold.

"My work here is done," says a version of Psyla watching on a nearby rooftop.

OUTCOME
Mission: Protection Inc: Overwhelming Success. The Watch: Failure.
Película: +2 fame.
Frostara:  Mixed success cohesion check: gains trait "Uncomfortable with psychics". Gains power, "Reactive ice shielding: Frostara can generate ice when attacked to instantly shield against injury". Gains injury "Rat bites".
Psyla: Success cohesion check: gains trait "Team player". Gains injury "Rat bites".
Mission Reward: Película gains +2 rep in Montgomery.

[notquitethere]

MISSION REPORTS 11 - B

Spoiler: #3 Old Blood (click to show/hide)

A crowd gathers around an all-night laundromat, the window smashed in, a reflective figure sprawled out across a bank of driers. Standing in the window, wielding a scythe is the Sin Reaper. A middle-aged woman watching the place leaps off a folding chair to cower in the back.

"Think you can sneak past thee?! Think again sinner!" the Sin Repear bellows.

Lexicon was not having a good evening. The investigation had started promising. He had been on his way to a bar where one of the ageing incidents had taken place when the Sin Reaper, on patrol, had spotted him and mistaken him for some kind of nefarious interloper, smashing him through the window. Lexicon is overcome with dread, paralysed in place, as the Sin Reaper towers above him. Something stirs within him. A kernel of power and bravery. He rolls out of the way as the scythe comes down.

Sin Reaper is coming in for round too when someone unseen behind him smashes the folding chair over his head. He stumbles around and sees no one there.

"What invisible demons assail me?!" Sin Reaper bellows. "REPENT!"

A wave of crushing guilt washes over the area. The crowd cringe away, regretting the times they've harmed others. Camarada who was also investigating the nearby bar and had come to Lexicon's aid, unseen to the Sin Reaper, is overwhelmed by visions of attacking her friends when possessed in the cathedral.

Lexicon steels himself against feeling bad and grabs a huge container of fabric conditioner and whacks the Sin Reaper with it. Before he can follow up, Lexicon is assailed by a juggling ball filled with steel ball bearings, lobbed straight to the face. Lexicon's vision blurs as the Dread Fool comes into focus. The hero finds the words to say.

"I'm Lexicon, I'm on your side, I think. Here to stop Reinita."

"A likely story, spector!" Sin Reaper says.

Dread Fool realises it is a likely story and calls off his teammate. Gray Company leave the laundromat and Camarada appears to Lexicon.

"Shit Lex, you don't look so good," she says. "Let me get some ice on that..."

News of the fight spreads and any chance of catching Reinita by surprise in the area fades. Speaking with people in the bar later, it transpires the victims of the ageing were a part of a notorious frat house with a cloud of accusations over predatory behaviour. Perhaps they preyed on the wrong woman.

OUTCOME
Mission: Bro Club: Failure, Protection Inc: Failure, Gray Company: Failure
Sin Reaper: Gains trait "Paranoid". Gains +1 rep in Warren for patrolling. Gains injury "Bruised skull".
Dread Fool: Minus -1 rep in Warren (for damages and brawling with heroes).
Camarada: Gains trait "Guilt-Ridden"
Lexicon: Gains new power "Emotional Command: Has control over his own emotions, better than any actor." Gains injury: Lacerations. Gains injury: Broken nose. Gains trait "Hates Gray Company"

Spoiler: #4 Melt Down (click to show/hide)

House Edge arrive at the closed-down abbatoir. Vast quantities of blood drips down the walls to pool on the concrete.

"Well it certainly smells like an abbatoir!" PB says.

"Perhaps we're too late?" Tin Soldier says.

"There's no way all this blood could have come from one person," The Spork says.

The Spork heads in with a hidden bomb in a briefcase while the others hide nearby. From inside the abbatoir, there's a wail and a clang. They wait for an explosion but there is none, so Tin Soldier leads the charge, followed by Lord Bombarrel, while PBs continue fanning out to catch any villains fleeing.

There's two big clangs from inside the abattoir and some shouts for assistance.

At last, a PB heads in. His gun is ripped from his hand by an incredible force. He finds the others stuck to a powerful electromagnet next to a giant blowtorch (currently off). There's no sign of either Brick nor Mortar.

Bakal is tied to a chair in the center of the space. PB unties her and then sends a clone to turn off the generator powering the electromagnets.

"Thank you, dears," Bakal says. "I feel so bad about leaving you before, and now I owe you again!"

She has no idea what happened while she was blindfolded.

OUTCOME
Mission: House Edge: success; personal null
House Edge gain very powerful blow torches and some very large and heavy powerful electromagnets. With his Tech Sense, the Spork now has the ability to make things with either.
Mission Reward: Bakal gives House Edge x2 cross-overs

Spoiler: #5 Hunting Season (click to show/hide)

In the recovered moorlands on the far part of Sandup, there is little sign of the previous development. Occasionally a concrete bollard or half a street-light will poke out of the swamp. Stalking through this space, thigh deep in sludge, a group of hunters have spread out.

Leading the hunters are Big Joe Pike and Aunty Anti. Aunty got her powers after running fearful of her life when she'd been protesting at the town hall. She would be afraid no more.

They've taken the fight to Animalia, but Animalia aren't worried. Bittern flies overhead and begins raising the water in the swamp. Bloodmoon appears on a bluff and howls her terrifying howl. Woodchunk picks up a log, ready to chuck it.

Aunty's powers hit them at the same time. Bittern finds her flight speeding up and she struggles to control herself as she hurtles towards the ground. Bloodmoon is afraid of her own voice and cowers, head under her own paws. Woodchunk's front teeth grow out of control and he is compelled to gnaw at the wood to wear them down. The hunters level their guns and begin firing.

They don't get far. Pathfinder speeds through the air and catches Bittern before she hits the ground. She redirects the pair of them into a safe crash landing in the mud.

Pincushion unstealths and appears in the midst of the hunters. He sprays out a wave of poison-tipped quills at the hunters. A dozen of them double over nauseous in the mud, easily half the hunters.

Big Joe Pike sends two blasts of his shotgun directly at Pincushion. Pincushion shouts, "That stung!" His wounds heal over and readies to fire another barrage of quills. But the healing keeps going and going, his cells mutating and expanding. Huge tumours spread out across the whole of his body.

"Where's your precious power now?" Aunty Anti asks. The hunters unload bullets into Pincushion as he staggers under the wave of super-cancer. Retry undoes everything and holds Pincushion back.

Or at least, she thinks she does. After fielding them all back, she leads a valiant counter-attack to win the day. When she comes to her senses, she's lying, bleeding out in the mud, her helmet cracked, her armour riddled with bullets. Her successful timeline was a mirage. Aunty Anti's power is to turn the powers of others against them, and while Retry was imagining one timeline, the other rounded on her.

While Pincushion is dying of sudden onset super-cancer, and Retry is set upon by the hunters, Joshua Tree feels his plants are not obeying him. So he lets his hold on them end and calls for assistance.

Bittern is able to fly straight off the mud, but Pathfinder can't leap while stuck in the waters. A cold sweat runs over her. She looks across to where the fight is happening and sees that it isn't going well for the heroes. What if she can't get there in time and everyone dies? She bends her legs and leaps, blasting mud in a huge crater around her, propelling her into the sky.

Bittern and Pathfinder swoop down towards where the Bro Club are making their way. Bittern grabs the Advisor under the arms; Pathfinder does the same for Joshua Tree. Gliding low, the Advisor and Joshua Tree run over the surface of the swamp, carried by their allies. They're all peppered with gun fire, which mostly bounces off the heroe's armor. Pathfinder and Bittern both crash into different hunters, knocking them flying into the mud. Both relatively safe in bullet-proof armour start attack the various hunters with abandon.

Woodchunk and Bloodmoon clamber along stray logs and the rare bollards to get to them. When close, they leap straight on Big Joe Pike. He unloads a buckshot which takes out a chunk of Woodchunk's side, before collapsing under the weight of the wolf.

Lying in the mud, her life essence draining, no good past to return to, Retry struggles to live and make the most of her limited time. Everything slows down and... stops. She has a long moment to look and think, though frozen herself. How might she use this moment?

She looks about and tries to work out why she can think. She realises what Aunty Anti's power must be. But why isn't it effecting her now? She looks about and sees that in the choas of the fray, Aunty Anti has made it to the nearby skeleton of the warehouse where the Odd Squad once made their stand. The old laser craters are now long since rewilded, but the hunters have left a speedboat docked at the waterfront. Abandoning the others, Aunty Anti takes the boat and speeds off.

As time catches up again, Retry tries to warn the others of what she's seen, but she's mute. All paths lead to her unconsciousness from blood loss and after pulling back from it in a short time loop over and over, she eventually succumbs, hoping to be saved by the others.

The others make short work of the unpowered humans, and although they're mostly all injured, the day is eventually saved. Three people are dead. In the fray, one of the hunters is encouraged to shoot himself by the Advisor, and the person Bittern landed on drowns in the mud. Pincushion is unrecognisable as a bloated collection of tumours.

Joshua Tree holds his friend's body and an intensity comes over him. "This is a war. And a war is not won by being reactive. We are long past the time where we must cleanse the city of these devils. They lured us here to protect a pack of fiends." He glares at Bloodmoon who is nursing her wounds. Tentative strangling vines rise around him.

"We're going to get those fuckers," the Advisor, assures him.

"No. It has to be my way now," Joshua Tree says. The vines coalesce around him, carrying him out of the mud and away through the swamp.

Bittern and Pathfinder set about stabilising Retry, while Woodchunk and Bloodmoon disarm the hunters, bind them and lead them out of the swamp. Animalia, feel unsafe and unwanted in Sandup, abandon it for good. But not before Bloodmoon has convinced herself she knows Aunty Anti's scent...

OUTCOME
Mission: Bro Club: Mixed-Success, The Watch: Mixed-Success, Route Horizon: Mixed-Success, Animalia: Pyrrhic Success
Big Joe Pike and other hunters are in custody. Animalia re-settle in Green Belt.
Joshua Tree: Gains trait "Quick". Cohesion check critically failed. Gains the trait "Uncompromising" and leaves Bro Club.
Advisor: Gains +1 fame. +1 infamy.
Pincushion: Dead.
Retry: Loses Guilt-Ridden (she tried her best up to possible death). Gains injury "Crushed ribs". Gains trait "Short-breath". Gains new power "Time Freeze: Retry can stop time for everyone, including herself, to give herself more time to think and work out a scene."
Pathfinder: Gains trait "Eagle-Eyed". Gains new power "Blast Off: Pathfinder can shoot straight up into the air, with a propulsive blast around her"
Bloodmoon: +1 fame. -2 rep in Sandup. Gains power "Scent tracking". Injury: Silver bullet wounds.
Woodchunk: +1 fame. Cohesion mixed success: gains trait "Unsure about Animalia". Gains injury "bullet wounds"
Bittern: +1 fame. -1 rep in Sandup. +1 infamy. Gains trait "Shell-Shocked".
Mission reward: Bro Club, The Watch and Route Horizon gain +1 cross-over with Animalia.

Spoiler: #6 Capture the Flag (click to show/hide)

Mentat and Ziggurat stroll downtown. They are greeted by a chaotic scene of traffic backed up for a mile in three directions, blocking the bridge to Dusk Beach, as the roads are littered with craters, uptorn lampposts and pillars of smoke crackling with black lightning. The players run around like mad, many of them with movement powers, many of them with multiple pastries inside them. It's impossible to tell whose winning as the flag hurtles through the air, snatched away with teleportation, pulled back by a speedster, slowed down by strange wave effects.

"You can almost taste the power in the air," Ziggurat says, nervously surveying the crowd.

"You go set up, I'll redirect," Mentat says.

Mentat enters the central downtown square, the mid-way point of the match that is getting incredibly out of hand.

"Hello everyone!" he projects with an infectious ditty into everyone's mind nearby. "We are creating a dedicated arena for power play, on on the riverside. Please make your way o—"

At that point a teenager with stone skin carrying the flag and not looking where he's going hurtles into Mentat at about 80 miles per hour, crushing the hero. The teen, skids to a halt and turns back with horror.

But Mentat doesn't quite die. At the moment of his death, his mind is spread out among dozens in the vicinity, and he continues on as a voice in their minds, telling them to leave the area for the riverside. They do so, and in weeks and months to come it will remain the permanent spot for games with powers.

Ziggurat hastily constructs an arena out of the river, and keeps adding new challenging spires, ramps and walkways while play continues there. When he goes to meet up with Mentat, he's shocked to find his dead body. Especially as Mentat continues talking with in his mind as normal.

When the rest of Protection Inc. come to find him, and question the witnesses, the witnesses spread an infectious melody from themselves to Protection Inc. Mentat moves the locus of his mind to his friends, seeing through their eyes when they let him, and guiding them in their heads. At the base, he defaults to looking through Alba, to avoid invading privacy.

OUTCOME
Mission: Protection Inc: Phyrric Success, The Watch: Mixed Success
Mentat: Mentat's body is destroyed. Mentat gains power "Distributed Intelligence: Mentat's mind is spread out across a number of people in close proximity at once, spread by infectious mind song". Mentat gains +1 infamy (word spreads that he is a ghost haunting people). Mentat no longer takes up a team slot, but also cannot attend missions alone.
Ziggurat: Ziggurat gains trait "Attention to detail", The Watch incur -1 income for damaging the ecology of the river bed for a second time, not to mention blocking boat passage.
Mission reward: Protection Inc. and The Watch: +1 reputation in Downtown.

Spoiler: #7 Restoration Spectacle (click to show/hide)

The Advanced Widget Enterprises vast headquarters contains a large auditorium, now filled with enthusiasts from around the country. The Dandy Lads (without Haste) are sitting in the front row of the big tech demonstration. They pull in a favor with Marigold, who comes with them and pays for the tickets. There are a few other local heroes in the crowd: The Woman Lamp, looking radiant in an evening gown and burning hair; Captain Georgia, wearing a top hat and cane, just like his father does back in the Goober State; Black Box; and Lavateen, who is livestreaming the whole show on her phone and giving commentary, to the annoyance of those sitting near her.

On the big stage, Don Jetman is looking sharp in CEO-casual attire of a black polo neck. He stands before a large metal box which looks a lot like a microwave for a commercial kitchen.

"I have brought you all here today to witness the future of home appliances!" he announces after ten minutes of visionary hype. "Behold the Refresher! No more will we suffer from rotten vegetables, smashed crockery, torn clothing. The future of sustainability is here. One day there will be one of these in every home in America."

He opens the door of the box.

"Can I have a volunteer?" he asks.

Jack leaps forward and bounds onto the stage.

"Give it up everyone for Jack Dandy!"

The crowd cheer wildly. An assistant walks on and hands Jack a Ming Dynasty vase and a hammer.

"Jack, could you please place the vase in the Refresher and smash it."

Jack takes the ancient artefact and after a moment's pause he places it in the device and smashes it with the hammer. Don closes the door of the device, then presses a spot on a plain panel on the side. There's a flash of light within.

Don opens the door again and revealed inside is the vase, unblemished. A hush goes over the crowd.

"We studied the powers of local legend, Retry," Don says. For a moment he catches the eye of Black Box in the crowd. "This helped us capture what we refer to as Tau-Waves. These make up the flow of potentiality forwards and backwards through time. By harnessing these Tau-Waves we can return anything to its prior state, one minute, one hour, one day, one week in the past!"

The murmer of speculation spreads through the crowd.

"And yes, one day we hope this technology will be safe and reliable enough to be used on people, to save people's life. Death from accident may soon be a thing of the past! But for now, these devices are set to only work on non-living objects..."

Don pats the Refresher affectionately and it hums.

"To show this was not a simple magician trick, can we have another volunteer break an object of their own?"

"I will!" Captain Georgia bellows. The muscular, well-dressed man pulls a bag of peanuts from his inside pocket, slips one into his mouth and strides down the aisle and leaps up onto the stage in one bound. He takes the bag of peanuts and splits it open, spilling the nuts into the device, along with the empty packet. For good measure, he cracks his cane in half and puts it in as well, and takes a cybermonocle from his breast-pocket, crushes it in his fist, and puts the tangled shards of metal and glass in too. "If this be a trick, soon we'll see, or my name ain't Captain Georgia!" he shouts to the crowd.

Don Jetman presses some buttons on the side. The device hums louder, higher-pitched, and smoke starts venting out, sparks crackle out the back.

"What's happe—" Captain Georgia begins before promptly winking out of existence as the device explodes.

Rogue Tau-waves disperse across the entire auditorium creating instant chaos. Some people in the audience turn into old versions of themselves, others into future versions, ageing in an instant. Don Jetman himself turns into a ten year old boy. Marigold tries to run and keeps returning to her seat, stuck in a loop as the auditorium, and the clothes of people in her way get turned to gold. Lavateen is frozen in place, while Black Box moves at double-speed. The Woman Lamp looks twenty years younger.

A few thousand or so Lotus Petals appear all around the auditorium, in different outfits but all about the same age. One of them is from the brief time she was an active brainwashed Crimson Plague agent. This evil Lotus Petal flips about the place, cutting a bloody swathe as she escapes the area, using her teleporting dagger to stab those in her way.

The Man in Grey fades out of existence... all except his left eye, which is looking at the auditorium as it was a week ago. This eye is caught by Marigold flailing and turned to gold.

Perhaps the strangest effect of all is Jack Dandy. Hit by the brunt of the waves, and the explosion of the device, he is rippled with shrapnel. As he moves, bleeding, across the stage, versions of himself appear behind him, repeating everything he does exactly. As these version reach the spot he is standing, they fade into nothing. One of the echoes is killed by the Evil Lotus Petal's dagger before she makes her mistakes, and other echoes trip senselessly over the dead body. Jack tries to back away from this apparations and soon the stage is filled with echoes of himself backing about.

Panicked, overwhelmed, Jack screams, "STOP!"

All the Jacks disappear. Marigold's timeloop ends, Lava Teen and Black Box return to their normal speeds. The remaining Lotus Petals, in various states of confusion, collapse back into the original Lotus Petal, as if nothing happened. Don Jetman is still a child, and many of the other audience members are similiarly age-effected. The Man in Grey phases in, his left eye now permanently golden.

"—ning?" Captain Georgia finishes, as he reappears. For him, it is as if no time has past.

OUTCOME
Mission: Dandy Lads: Overwhelming Failure
Evil Lotus Petal enters the rogue gallery
Lotus Petal: Gains +2 infamy (people don't know she isn't the evil one)
Jack Dandy: Gains injury: "Shrapnel", Gains injury: "Burns". Gains power: "Time Echoes: Jack can leave echoes of himself that repeat what he's just done in the same space. These echoes disappear if they touch him." Gains power: "Temporal Collapse: Jack can collapse nearby ongoing time-altering effects
Man in Grey: Gains trait: "Golden Eye"
Marigold: Pays for a lot of damages!
The Woman Lamp: returns to a prior self before her retirement, entering the recruitment pool