Nerdzul

Luke grinned and shook his head at Owain look. I guess that dragons and knights are natural enemies or somethin' The thought made him chuckle. "It's not as different as you might think now..." He replied "I mean, the basics are free for everyone, which is great, but if you need the training that really helps you make money you gotta be loaded." Then again, of course it was much better than the middle ages, but the disparity of treatment was still definitely there. In fact, for himself, the level of instruction he was getting at Claremont was way above what he would have had without manifesting superpowers (although, he would have to admit that it would have been at least partially his fault as he was also less motivated in his old life). He furrowed his brows at Owain's mention of 'the worst among us'. "What do you mean with that, man?" "Yeah there must be a lot of cool stuff to see for you two." He grinned at Neko's exuberance. "By the way we can show you around a bit if you like..."

Luke smiled as he was complimented about the job well done, in truth though it didn't truly reach the eyes, he didn't exactly feel feel that proud of his actions that night. He had failed to recognize a supervillain (and had even tried to play wingman to help Leon flirt with her) and he had hesitated when it was time to strike true when he had the chance for some misguided misconception that maybe he could reason with the crazy red mist girl. Now, the presence of a more experienced superhero had certainly helped minimize the losses, but what if he hadn't been there? Then again, at least both villains were down now, so there was that... Ghost... Didn't exactly ring a bell, but then again, Luke wasn't the foremost expert about the world of super-heroes. Still, the name made sense right, given the guy's powers. "Nice to meet you." He nodded. He resisted the idea of asking if he was an actual ghost or something. 'Hey are you dead?' Didn't sound exactly like the most polite thing to say to someone that had just helped you out, all things considered. "'nks." This time there was a bit more of conviction in his smile as he realized that the villains were going to be taken care off. The young man's eyes widened a little when he mentioned that Stars might rat them with the headmistress. Now Luke was definitely not alien to detention at Claremont, but then again... it was not like he was eager to pile up more of it. "Sneaking out? No way... We are here for totally legitimate reasons." He grinned playfully. "Still... we should better go back..." He gave a strong pat on Leon's back. "Thanks again man..." He tossed shortly thereafter, grateful of Ghost's discretion. "Ah... by the way... Are you in this part of Freedom a lot?" He asked before they left. "I mean... Maybe we should trade contacts or something' in case we can help each other out." He added, after all, local superheroes should know each other right?

Nightscale (23 Posts + 2*2 GM posts = 27 Posts = 3 PP) + 2PP Vignette. Ground and Center 4 Hoard of the Beast 8 Old School Spirit 1 Party Rocking 2 A clockwork Grey 1 An American Dragon in London 2 Stinger's Tale 1 Back Alley Brawl 1 The Steel Strike 1 The first Rule 2 GM Posts Tyger Tyger, burning Bright 2 Ghost Stories Vignette (1000+ words I think 2PP?)

Nightscale – Southside – Halloween Night. It had been a while since the last time that the sound of a tommy gun had echoed through the alleys of Southside and perhaps, but Luke could not swear on that, it was a first that the weapons have been held by the undead hands of zombified gangsters. Where the hell did they find them, by the way? It was not like the city buried gangsters with their weapons, right? And yet… There they were, roaming the streets of their former neighborhood. Under the command of some ghostly Don who had apparently forgotten that his time in power had been over by nearly a century. In hindsight, he could not exactly complain that the small undead army was using vintage weaponry, after all, they could hardly penetrate the scales of the huge black dragon that was trying to herd them away from the streets. Come on. I have a freakin’ date, go back to sleep, will you? He roared angrily as he dashed past a corner, chasing a ghostly old timey limo with the undead Don and his most trusted goons. The dragon smirked. It was a dead-end. Apparently, the memory of the ghostly godfather was as rotten as the brains of his minions. “Hey Capone knock-off, there is nowhere else to go.” The undead mobster however didn’t seem that worried, in fact, he had dismounted his ethereal vehicle and was now facing Luke with a twisted grin on his lips. “Indeed, insolent lizard. Although, It is fortunate, for me at least, that the case applies only to you, isn’t it?” Luke was about to protest a small army of fedora-wearing zombies appeared on the roofs nearby and began to pile up on the dragon. As Nightscale was occupied dealing with the sudden onslaught, the mobster walked back to his ride, deliberately, showing no sign of urgency. “Goodbye, my scaled friend.” He waved at Luke. “I will see you on the other side…” The malevolent laugher of the undead Don echoed powerfully as the limo and all of its occupants dashed directly through one of the walls, like if it wasn’t even there. Of course… He should have thought of that shouldn’t he? Whatever. He had more pressing matters to attend to. Nightscale swathed a few of the zombies away, producing a satisfying crash when the undead creatures hit the ground. The relief though, was only temporary as more and more of them began to pour from every direction. Perhaps he could have burned them away with dragonfire, but there was no way he was gonna unleash his flames in a populated neighborhood. He extended his wings, but the creatures had already began clinging on them, their weight preventing even his powerful muscles from gathering enough momentum. Now he could feel some of undead trying to climb upward on his neck, using his crests to anchor themselves. Damn! He was… Well… He was about to be overwhelmed. Again, Luke tried to shake them away, but it was a futile effort. There were just too many of those things. He roared in frustration. Individually, the undead were freaking ants compared to him and yet… they were winning. Luke’s eyes widened as he desperately tried to think of a way out. Bang! Bang! Bang! Gunfire. One of the zombies that had begun climbing his serpentine neck fell to the ground, burning away shortly thereafter when whatever supernatural power was keeping it there faded. Another quickly followed. Then more… And more… What the-? A symphony of gunshots, bricks, pots and assorted trash fell on the undead horde. Not all of projectiles managed to strike true, of course, but the one that failed bounced harmlessly on his armored scales anyway. The zombies were not that well protected. Soon their numbers was no longer enough to keep the massive lizard pinned. Finally free to move, Nightscale roared again, triumphantly this time. His claws and fangs making short work of what was left of them. He could hear a chorus of cheers now. How? Luke turned toward his saviors, a crowd of locals, some of them just concerned citizens, others thugs, gangsters and petty criminals, the kind of types that usually didn’t have much sympathy for the Southside Dragon. And yet… There they were to save his life in a time of need. “These are our streets. And you are our dragon.” Their leader explained, as her gaze met with the gold pool of the dragon’s eyes, there was a playful grin on her lips. “Now go and get the Don, will you?” Nightscale nodded, bowing in gratitude toward the small crowd as he unfurled his wings. --- Now, sure, the ghost-limo could pass through walls, which was definitely an advantage, but then again, an old-timey car could not drive faster than a dragon could fly. With his claws infused with supernatural power, Nightscale landed on the hood of the vehicle, crashing its spectral engine like it was nothing, but a toy. The Don and his crew of undead minions darted out of the limo. One of them, the don right hand man (right hand ghost, maybe?), a tall specter in a fedora, a well- tailored suit and built like a football player, unleashed a hail of a gunfire, the bullets shrouded in a sickly blue glow. Luke winced as some of the projectiles managed to pierce even his formidable hide. He didn’t let the setback stop him however. He lounged forward, snatching the ghost in his fangs, which were still burning with supernatural energy and trapping the creature within, ignoring its angry howls until it faded away into nothingness. The rest of the don minions weren’t as eager to face the monster that had just dispatched their toughest fighter and raised their hands in defeat. “Go back to sleep old relic. Your time is over.” Luke let the flames begin to rise from his chest, the otherworldly glow already emerging between his fangs. “So it seems.” The Don replied, there was no fear in the dark pool of his eyes however. He raised a hand to signal his remaining minions, that had already began to scatter away to avoid a fiery demise, to stop. “For now… at least.” The grin on the desiccated and fading lips of the undead mobster sent a shiver down Luke’s spine. “I will see you soon. Young man.” Then the entity finally vanished, leaving but an echo of his laughter as a proof that he ever been there.

After their hug, tension drained away a little from Luke's posture, after all, just being close to his girl enough to infuse him with renewed determination. There was no way things could go that wrong, right? Right? "Hey. No supervillain attack on the way... We are off to a good start. " He joked. The place was cool, wasn't it? Luke did his best not too look like a wide-eyed kid, but then again he wasn't as successful as he would have wanted, after all this was not just a 'mere' meet his girlfriend's guardians kind of thing, Synapse and Foreshadow were also well known super-heroes. "How do I look?" He asked, Muirne (likely not for the first time that day), before they stepped inside the Central Hub to meet Synapse. When the young man realized that her steps had stuttered a little, he offered her his hand so that they could hold each other. Now of course he had no way of knowing the inner conflict between Muirne and her 'companion', but he still could definitely sympathize with the feeling of being at least a little on edge. His smile widened when they finally met the young woman who must have been Synapse, she was... Well... Normal? In fact, Luke almost felt like perhaps he would have been more comfortable in his usual attire rather than the current one. Whatever. He turned to face Muirne for a moment, giving her a pleasantly surprised smile. By the way is it wrong to consider his girl's surrogate mother kinda hot? The thought was enough to bring back a bit of awkwardness and push the teenage boy to ruffle the hair on the back of his neck. "Yeah. One and only." Luke grinned, although the reply didn't sound as natural as the young man was used to. "Nice to meet you." He threw another glance toward Muirne and then closed the distance between himself and giving Synapse a strong handshake. "Thanks by the way... I mean for inviting us here." "First time in London." He admitted. "And by the way all of this is ... well it's pretty cool." He smiled again.

Everyone give me a notice check. You can see the outcome under the spoilers. Everyone DC: 20\Chimera DC: 15: Chimera DC: 15: Owain\Neko DC: 20 (Knowledge: Arcane Lore): Horrorshow DC 15:

"A man who certainly has bone to pick..." The voice of the Mistress of Mayhem boomed in the arena as one of the fighters stepped in from behind the makeshift stage. Barrel chested, dressed only in a pair of tattered shorts and military dog-tags around his neck, the wolfman jumped past the roaring bonfires, careless of the flames, he landed in the middle of the arena, bared his claws and howled powerfully toward the sky. "And I ensure you... the guy is definitely not all bark... Fangs ready and claws bared, say welcome to Ripjaw! Our first fighter!" She raised waved her arm toward the fighter and grinned widely at chorus of cheers coming up from the crowd. --- While unfortunately Neko's cats could not locate the Tyger on the scene, several details did not escape her senses. A powerful unnatural scent of the jungle weirdly saturated the arena, one that she could recognize as a sign of spellwork at hand. Owain, himself, with his own awareness of the supernatural, could see vines of dark emerald power crowding the abandoned warehouse. The manifestations were stronger around the masked individuals, who strangely enough maybe, Owain realized all lacked any distinctive scent. All, but one, a woman that had just recently joined the crowd and was wearing an bear mask to conceal her features, it almost felt like the unnatural effect was ignoring her. --- "I promise you're all going to be shocked!" The voice echoed again as a woman waltzed in the arena, clad in a biker's attire, her eyes concealed by a pair of oversized black googles, she stepped very deliberately on the grounds while swirling a metallic chain over her head, electrical sparks danced around its links and a thunder soon echoed in the arena, strong enough to fully drown the chaos of the crowd. Playfully, she teased the wolf-man with her chain. "Hey doggie doggie doggie..." "Can you all feel the tension in the air the way I do? Please say hello to Chain Lightning!" She grinned mischievously again as the crowd cheered. --- As the two fighters showed off in front of the crowd, many of the patrons swarmed toward the bookie and his assistants, a couple of the gorilla masked goons and began to shout their bets. Among t them, there was Davyd's uncle. Although, one could infer that he wasn't paying much attention to the two contestants, but his mind had been drifting somewhere else during the introductions. When he got to the man with the fox masks, the time for betting was pretty much over and much money had traded hands traded with paper slips with the details of individual bets, Sasha's eyes kept shifting from place to place when the bookkeeper saluted him with a grin. They shook hands and apparently the bookie took his bet, but perhaps there was something more going on than what met the eye. --- While Jennifer walked through the room, she could feel the confusion beginning to ramp up. The crowd growing more restless about the fight to come. She could swear however that from time to time, one of the masked individuals have given her a sideway look, like they could somehow feel that there was something out place. None of them though, seemed to bother or pay too much attention to her, for now.

As he witnessed the scene Luke burst into laughter. "You got him alright." He grinned when he recovered a modicum of composure. "Sorry man..." He gave Owain a playful pat on the shoulder. "Do you always 'hunt' each other?" He tossed playfully. "Btw that's a freakin' fun way to pick who does the chores..." The young man gave Leon a mischievous smile, although, to be perfectly honest, their rock-paper-scissors system had worked well for him so far. It was almost too easy in fact to play with a guy whose battle name was 'Paper'. "In my case though, there wouldn't be game at all..." Indeed, his track record on the matter of stealth at the school wasn't exactly stellar. Still, Luke shook his head and grinned when Leon nudged his shoulder, doing the same in return. We need to find you a date man... "I also have to side with Neko abou that..." He chuckled. "That's cool... Always wanted to learn somethin' about hunting..." He added as Owain explained that he was a trained hunter. "I mean... a dragon should know right?" Not that he has ever had the need to hunt for his own food, thankfully, besides he wasn't sure if there was any quarry he could find in Freedom that could satiate his monstrous form. "So how is it han- I mean, how are you doing, you two?" He added shortly thereafter. "I mean, looks like Claremont suits you..."

As most days at lunch, Luke was devouring his meal with glee and had used his best puppy dogs eyes to get a little bit of extra to fill up his plate not long before. After all, while in truth his parents had always done their best to keep him and his little 'bro from going hungry despite their chronic lack of money, even after a year, he had yet to get fully accustomed to the abundance of stuff they could get at the school cafeteria and definitely indulged whenever he had the chance. Plus, he did train a lot and kinda had a dragon appetite anyway... The weather was nice that day and although perhaps a sweater would have been needed, Luke was wearing just a red sleeveless t-shirt, jeans and sneakers, seemingly minding little of the cold. Although he was actually feeling it deep inside his pride prevented him from showing it. ".... and so Muirne invited me to see her guardians in a couple of days..." He had shared with his roomie between bites, with at least a vague hint of dread in his voice. Now, getting to know the people that acted pretty much as his girl's parents was perhaps a good sign, but then again, as a teenage boy, Luke would have to admit that he was at least a tiny bit nervous. "...in London and-" His eyes drifted toward the raven that had just joined them at the table. Now, perhaps a year ago he would have been surprised if a Raven began to talk to him, but now, well... he had seen much weirder stuff in the past. "Sup man?" He saluted Owain. "And nope..." He shook his head. "Haven't seen her anywhere. Need some help?" He tossed.

Luke winced as he listened to the supervillains talking about miniatures and trading cards. What the? "Neeeerds!" He grinned playfully. It did look though like there wasn't much money to be saved at the building. A shame if you asked him, given that the chance of getting a reward was way slimmer now (not that he would not do his duty as a superhero for free of course, but well...). "Oh, it's you two, who's your friend?" "Hey!" The young man smiled. "It's a freakin' small world ain't it?" "This is Paper..." Luke introduced Leon. "Paper... this is Shooting Star... we have kicked some asses together." He grinned, in truth, the fight with creepshow and his monsters hadn't exactly been a walk in the park, but then again, Leon didn't need to know that. Now of course, he would have loved to spend some time to catch up with what she has been doing since the last time they saw each other. But then again, even if they didn't look exactly serious, there were supervillains to catch. He nodded as Paper spelled out a plan. Fine. He will go for the big one. "Well, I guess if I'm not getting payed I can at least get a good fight! Do y'all wanna go one at a time or all at once?" "Dunno, what about you guys?" Luke clenched his fists, as his eyes revealed the supernatural gold underneath.

As Luke felt his friend's breath normalize, his own racing heart began to calm as well. He gently squeezed Leon shoulder. "I'm here man... we are in this together..." He whispered. “Damn right we’re badasses.” "Damn yes we are!" He chuckled when he realized that Leon has managed to recover some of his spirit, besides, if he had to be totally honest, some encouragement was sorely needed on his side as well. They kept scuttling into the dark, squeezing and pulling themselves deeper in the passage. Quietly Luke prayed that it would not suddenly stop and force them to go back to the room where the monsters still awaited. He could still hear the twisted clacking noise from behind them. They felt angrier than before. "This freakin' darkness..." He protested, while on the way. "I mean, you should have seen that thing when I kicked it square in the face..." He commented, playfully, trying to ease the tension a little. In truth, he was far from eager to do that again, but well, a bit of bravado couldn't hurt right? "That definitely taught it a lesson." He chuckled. "Hey... your paper trick before was also kinda cool..." He conceded sometime later. His heart skipped a beat when suddenly Leon fell down ahead of him, while his hand was still firmly on his roomie's shoulder, he still could not react in time. Luke's mind was already racing to the possibility that his friend would have been swallowed by the treacherous ground when Leon grabbed him. "'nks..." He muttered, before giving his friend a nudge on a shoulder. "Don't give me any more heart attacks though... Ok?" He teased. “Careful, there’s a ledge. Don’t know how deep.” "Awesome." He remarked drily. With monsters behind their back and a drop ahead. They were trapped weren't they? "We can't-" He ruffled the hair on the back of his nekc and uneasily shifted the balance on his feet. "We need to keep movin'..." How though? "We can try to go... down?" He suggested, there was little confidence in his voice though. "I can go first." He offered, although he didn't like the idea of climbing the wall in complete darkness, Luke was a good climber, perhaps, with a bit of luck he would have a chance. Trading place with Leon was a bit awkward perhaps, given their cramped conditions, but eventually, the boys managed to do so. Luke knelt on their side of the ledge, testing the ground with his hands and then shifting so that he could keep his chest and more importantly his hands against the rocky wall as he descended. Then, gathering all that was left of his courage, he scampered down into the dark...

She could not find the Tyger there, although, I imagine that lacking much familiarity with a person might make ESP unreliable, however, something else do catch her attention, with her ability to sense magic by scent, Neko could feel that there is al almost overpowering smell in the area that evoke the sense of being deep in a jungle or in a rainforest, no one around seems to notice and she gets the impression that there is some kind of supernatural effect at work. (I dunno if she can also figure out what the magic she senses do, in that case let me know). Edit: just noticed that Gwain also can detect magic, for him, the effect appear as vines of supernatural power that grow everywhere on the scene. At the same time anyone who checks the masked people (including the Tiger's Den gorilla masked goons and the ringleaders) with their own enhanced senses (Gwain as a wolf for example or Horrorshow) would notice that there is something off about them, as none have any discernable scent.

There you go

@Avenger Assembled, @Dr Archeville, @Spacefurry ooc for this. You can choose for your character to be among the crowd, or being one of the fighters. In the latter case, if you want, you can write the Mistress of Mayhem introducing the character to the arena in some playful and bombastic way. Showing off in front of the crowd, is of course very much welcome.

“Ladies and Gentleman! The Tiger's Den Welcomes you to this Evening Entertainment.” The voice boomed through the abandoned warehouse, shutting down the hushed conversation and the drunken laughers that, up to then, had filled the room and alerting the patrons that it was time to flood around the makeshift arena. They were a colorful bunch, most of them thugs, gangsters and other shady figures from Southside, cheerfully spending the night out and enjoying the fights to come. However, any observer could easily spot that common criminals were not the only kind of attendees, as among the crowd one could see individuals whose attire would have been more appropriate in a soiree among the mansions of Bayview rather than a violent night in a rusty warehouse. All of them wearing elaborate animal masks concealing their features and appeared no less hungry for the entertainment provided than the rest of the crowd. “Tonight. I will be your Mistress of Mayhem. Queen of the Arena. Voice of god.” It was a tall blond woman talking, clad in the sumptuous attire of a circus ringleader, a golden cat-mask concealing her eyes, but leaving her smile uncovered. A grin that any watcher that focused on it for more than a moment could be left with the uneasy feeling that it sported too many teeth. She was standing on a makeshift stage, overlooking a pit where the fighting was going to take place, the scene was illuminated only by roaring bonfires with the orange glow giving the ambience of the place an almost infernal vibe. The patrons crowded around the pit and began to shout, ready for blood, all under the watchful eyes of the Tiger Den’s goons, tall, sharply dressed, figures with powerfully built, their expressions concealed by gorilla masks and their hands covered in white gloves. “Fresh Blood Awaits! Proud. Young. Ready for Battle.” The woman continued, raising her hands as if to welcome the fighters into the arena. “Or so they think.” She smirked, malevolently as her eyes surveyed the crowd. “The Tiger will welcome the victors among us. Brave Brothers! Baptized in Battle!” She proclaimed “And as for the losers… well...” She visibly shrugged as a cruel laughter echoed in the room. By the side of the makeshift arena, a portion of the crowd has already began to swarm closer to another one of the organizers, a thin, blond man whose clothing matched the Mistress of Mayhem, with the exception only of the mask, that instead of a cat depicted a red fox. “I am sure that my brother would be eager to take all of your bets, but now, please… It is time! For! Our! Warriors!” --- Finding out about the activities of the Tiger’s Den hadn’t been an impossible task, even for a group of young, or in the case of some among them, time displaced heroes. Sure, the underground fighting ring was new in Freedom City and operated outside the boundaries of the law, but their 'show' had quickly earned enough renown, or infamy perhaps, that information about it was not hard to come by, given enough legwork at least. Unfortunately, from what they had discovered, the kind of bouts like the one planned for that night, were just the tip of the iceberg. There were other, more secretive events whose location and timing were much better guarded. It was on that kind of occasions where the Tyger, leader of the organization, showed up, dark deals were discussed and shady plots formed, frequented by the crème de la crème of the criminal underworld. Now of course, one would need an invitation to participate and those were hard to come by, unless, one could join the Tiger's Den League. And some spots spots were at stake that very night...

Luke nodded. "nks..." He muttered again between breaths. The young man looked intently as Phantom wove her spell, curiosity burning into his young eyes. Now Luke could do some magic, but in truth, he had little understanding about how even his own power worked, relying on instinct rather than skill. Phantom on the other side, seemed so confident in her work. "Yeah it's kinda weird right? I mean, I don't feel like I'm a dragon... F- I don't even know how one is supposed to behave." He shook his head. "In stories they are the bad guys, most of the time... So I guess it's better that way." He smiled, in truth, he had his adoptive parents to thank for that. Although, from time to time, the young man did worry that his instinct would prevail and turn him into one of those monsters he had read about. "Tiamat right? We met while on patrol. Didn't have much time to talk, though. She seemed cool." "It's not just that I am lonely." He objected, although admittedly Phantom was right about that, he had felt like he was alone in the world, right after he had ran from home when he had discovered his true nature. Still Luke considered himself lucky on that front, his family was close, even despite what he had done or said to them the first time he left their home, he had his old friends and the new one he made at Claremont and yet... "It's just that... well... I feel like that with this new life here, my old one is like... slipping away." He lowered his eyes, in truth, this was probably the first time he had ever bared his feelings about it and it felt weird perhaps doing so with a stranger, yet, at the same time it was somewhat liberating. "Like I am not around enough for my friends, for my family. Even when they need me." "Especially when they need me." Like Matt. Maybe things would have been different if he had been with him more. "How do you? I mean, you have a family right..."

I can volunteer Nightscale

Awesome, I'll check their background a bit to try and make some connections Then I think I'll wait another day or two to see if anyone else is interested and make the first post

hehe, the dice gods graced Nightscale with a 21 to hit the creature at least

Luke was still quietly praying that the creature won't be able to sense him, the pungent rotten stench its breath was now invading his nostril and he could clearly feel the warmth of it exhaling on his skin now. He was trapped like an animal. His instinct screamed for him to run away, but there was nowhere to go. Now on any other day, he would have dashed out and faced the creature, but with his powers in their current sorry state, he had little confidence that it was a fight that he could win. Please. Please. Please. The boy could feel Leon's tension mounting up ahead of him. The rhythm of his breath growing faster and more hectic with every passing moment. His roomie was having a sort of panic attack. No! No! No! No! He couldn't blame him of course, given the situation, he himself he was well aware that he was barely holding up and that perhaps, if it wasn't for the presence of his friend, he would have been in the same condition now, or worse. A gasp escaped his lips. A snapping, twisted clack echoed in his ears. Startling him. He could feel drop of the creature saliva landing on his back and deep guttural sound filling the cave. It must have sensed something. Perhaps it was his own breath, or maybe Leon's mumbling. But it knew. The creature leaned closer and Luke could almost feel its jaws that were now an inch or at most from his skin. He had to do something. Now. Desperately, he braced himself against the wall, gathered all his courage, desperately needed for what he was about to do. With all momentum that he could muster, he kicked the creature squarely in the jaw. He recoiled at the brief contact between his foot and the monster smooth, slimy flesh and bared fang and thanked whatever superior power was watching over them, that the beast had been caught off-guard by the attack and lacked the presence of mind to latch on his leg with its teeth, instead, backing away, angrily, if only for a moment. Luke didn't have time to appreciate the brief of respite. He pushed himself deeper into the cave. The twisted clacking noises signaled that the monster was trying to burst in. Luckily, while its long neck could fit inside, the cave, that was barely enough for Luke himself, was too small for the creature to fully navigate. Just a little deeper... Wincing as he scraped his shoulder against the rocks, Luke pushed forward with all of his strength until, finally, albeit with a new collection of bruises as the price of his escape, he almost crashed into Leon. All he wanted now, was to collapse on the floor and recover his strength, but there was no time for that, his friend needed him. “I can’t… I can’t do it…” “Yes you can.” He took one deep breath. "I know you do." He continued, doing everything in his power to remain calm despite the monster's twisted calls coming from just a little behind them. He gently placed his left hand again on his friend shoulder. Quietly praying that he wasn't making things worse. "We are getting out of this. Trust me." He repeated slowly. "It will be alright." In truth, he had no idea about what to do himself, in fact, he was second guessing every word, still, feigning confidence was a skill he was well versed in, hopefully, it would be enough to transmit at least a little bit of a sense of security to his friend. "We are both freakin' badasses, you know?"

Heya, I have finally decided to give GM-ing a try with a group thread. The plot I have in mind, sees the heroes infiltrating an underground fighting ring that frequently involve superpowered fighters. The idea is to mix a bit of investigation and combat. I'm looking for two or three relatively green super-heroes (PL 7-10), although not necessarily Claremonters, if anyone is interested I'd love if we can decide some personal hook for the character participating the thread, although the general idea is that some young metahumans have vanished and the fight club is somehow involved.

”I swear, if we find out who dropped us into a Pitch Black ripoff I will fight you for the first shot at them.” A quiet chuckle escaped Luke lips. It was barely audible, but still, a mistake. A few more of those dreadful clacks interrupted the silence. More steps shuffling in the dark. They were getting closer. Much closer. Luke's eyes widened. We could really use Riddick right now. ”Think you can suck that guy in long enough to try the passage we passed? I think I might be able to distract the things a little.” "O-ok." He nodded as Leon quickly formulated a plan. They would need to dash there and fast. With those things closing in on them. The young man didn't exactly know what Leon meant as a distraction and was about to pull him away when the strange vibration from the paper tuning fork pervaded the cave. More clacks followed. The boys could clearly feel the creatures going to investigate. "Now." Luke whispered, while quietly crediting Leon's wits to their survival. I owe you one man. This time, he let his roomie lead the way, as they dashed back toward the small opening in the wall, wanting to make sure that Leon would get there in time before doing the same. As they ran, with Luke's heart racing like hell, they could sense the clacking sounds getting more hectic as the creatures inspected Leon's work. Now the boys couldn't be certain, of course, but it almost felt like the creatures were trying to figure out what exactly was going on. It bought them precious time. For once, Luke felt a mote of relief. They were still in troubles, of course. Deeply so. But they had a chance. When finally Leon could feel an opening in the stone walls under his fingers, the monsters have began to fan out , the boys could hear the clacks coming from many directions as the creatures had grown bored by the tuning fork and had abandoned it to search for them. And at least of those things was definitely headed toward the direction of the two teens. The passage was indeed tight, irregularly cut into the rocks, Leon would need to be careful in navigating it, again, having to check his steps and use his hands to test the walls before moving deeper inside, the rough stone brushing against his skin. He was just a few steps past the entrance, when he felt something cold scuttling against his left foot, it was an insect of some sort, another among the inhabitants of the cave. Luke, that was just a step or two behind, found himself forced to uncomfortably squeeze, through, progressing at a glacial pace. Now Luke luckily wasn't claustrophobic, but he still would have to admit that constrained as he was, he definitely felt on edge. Luke was still less than a foot past the entrance of the passage when the boys heard one last clack. The monster's head leaned inside. Luke couldn't see it of course, but he could feel its warm breath on his skin. It was but a few inches from his back. He froze instantly. Closed his eyes and tied his best not to breath. He wished he could quiet the sound of his heart that was now echoing in his ears. Meanwhile, the small creature on Leon's unshod foot had began to try and scuttle upward on the back of his leg, searching for an opening in the fabric of his PJ.

Some fiery substance washed upon his flesh. Luke tried to dodge, but he was just too slow. That stuff burned through his shirt easily and he only barely managed to shrug it off from his skin before the heat could overwhelm even his draconic hide. He glared at the creature that had just attacked him, but the young man focus was still on Creepshow. After all, that thing was probably just one of the monster's experiments, perhaps even an innocent like the Brute that was now fighting with Shooting Star below (who hopefully was winning? Luke would have to check on her). The real monster there was just the guy with the mask. "You are going down for this." He charged again, catching the supervillain as he was still reeling from outrider's assault, his claws striking true this time. Luke gave the guy a satisfied grin. "And stay down."

Blindsided, unable to catch unknown the scent of his assailant among the crowd, Luke was caught completely off guard. The hockey stick hit him square in his chest, forcing the seventeen years old to exhale all the air in his lungs, leaving him gasping for breath as his attacker ran away through the crowd. Wait what? He didn't remember burning anyone's sister. He gave the man a surprised look. "No I didn't." He replied, when he had managed to catch his breath. Still, why was he feeling at least a bit guilty after the accusation. Maybe because he had seen countless movies when the villain treated hurting the hero loved ones with disdain... Like it was a 'But for Me, It Was Tuesday' kind of situation. Now he had fought against some women supervillains though. Maybe she- Doesn't matter now. The guy was disappearing among the crowd. He rushed toward him, jumping in the air in order not to trample any of the bystander and trying to cut the hokey mask guy's path. "Leaving so soon?" He teased. Again it did sound like something a villain would say didn't it? His eyes now burned with golden light and the ghostly manifestations of his claws were in full display. Nightscale dashed against the guy, planning to have a little talk, after he had restrained him, but unfortunately, he had to swerve at the last time to avoid crashing into one of the passers-by a the guy easily dodged.

“I’m freaking excited about this, you know?” Luke had given his Muirne a wide smile as they waited for their ride, quickly followed by a playful hug. “Thank you by the way…” Now, he would have to admit that, despite deeply loving the idea of a vacation in London with his girlfriend and the fact that he could charge otherworldly monsters and supervillains without a sliver fear in his heart, that the idea of meeting Muirne’s guardians had managed to put him at least a little on edge. What would they think of him? Would they approve? They were both true superheroes and he was just some kid from a Freedom city trailer park (although, also a dragon admittedly…) and with a criminal record to boot… and… and… Whatever. He was not gonna let some stupid insecurities ruin this. This is gonna be great! Not knowing exactly what to expect from them, Luke had chosen to wear his best shirt (and only one actually in his wardrobe that still had sleeves, wasn’t athletic-wear or too worn to be presentable), the least ruined jeans he had and his trusted pair of sneakers. He was clean-shaven and had spent like half an hour in front of the mirror that morning to get his hair in a somewhat presentable shape. Although they had returned to their natural mess pretty much the moment he left the dorm room he shared with Leon. Not the ruffling the hair on the back of his neck like ten times since then had helped of course. A part from what he was wearing, he didn’t bring much, a small backpack with some change of clothes pretty much, plus of course, Muirne own luggage that he had volunteered to carry. Ironically perhaps, the young man almost felt a sense relief when he realized that they were going to travel through a portal. After all, this wasn’t really a new experience for him and while he had never been anywhere outside of the state, he had already traversed gateways to other realms a few times in his young life. While on the other side, even if he could now fly with his own power (and honestly speaking did so pretty recklessly and deeply enjoyed the feeling), Luke had never been on a plane in his life and the idea of being locked in a metal tube in the sky for hours on end didn’t sound super appealing. “Woah that's cool.” He grinned when they found themselves on the other side of the ocean. “Thank you.” He nodded at the metallic voice that welcomed them to London, the playful smile still on his lips, his posture relaxed, although the green pools of his eyes did betray at least a bit of tension when the voice informed them Synapse was waiting them nearby.