Nerdzul

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.

Hehe unfortunately Nightscale isn't immune to fire and ofc failed the reflex save with a 15 (with impervious toughness he would have auto passed the half damage save too) and the toughness save with a 23 by one (I imagine that the DC is 24 right?) after spending an HP since the first roll was again 15... Awesome... He is however a bit more lucky when trying to claw Creepshow with a crit 30! to hit while having the +2 to attack / -2 to defense for the turn. The save DC should be 28 I think with the +5.

”Maybe we should try to light it up. Can you make light with your illusions?” Luke shook his head. "Can't... light ... 'd be just... in our heads..." Luke leaned closer to his friend and whispered back, as quietly as he could muster it. Now there was a way he could make some light of course, his dragonfire would lit up the place well, but it would also signal their position to everything in the entire damn cave, although perhaps it could blind or startle the creatures at least for a short while. Unfortunately, he wasn't sure that he could call on his full power. He had tried during their walk, but instead of naturally reaching for his magic as he was used to, it felt like he was diving blindly into molasses, he could grasp something, what exactly though, he could not tell. He hesitated for a moment, trying to control his breath, so as not to give away their position. He did remember, during their walk, sensing a sideway passage in the cave wall, snaking into the dark, maybe they could do back there and use it to bypass the creatures, it looked pretty tight though, maybe Leon could navigate it somewhat comfortably, but Luke himself, built like a football player as he was, he would have to struggle to squeeze inside. Sneaking past the monsters was always a possibility, although, even if they were both well versed in moving quietly, it would definitely put their abilities to the test. Or perhaps they could try and draw the monsters' attention somewhere else, but how? Or they could run for their lives and pray... Or maybe... A loud sound, almost a clack, not unlike the one made by snapping bones, interrupted Luke's train of thought. It came from one of the creatures. A similarly twisted call responded to it from the darkness, then another and another... The boys could feel the activity of the monsters intensify. Perhaps they hadn't pinpointed their position yet, but Luke was certain that the creatures were now at least partially aware of their presence. A drop of cold sweat ran down his spine.

"Wha-" Luke was about to object, but then again. Ghost was right. She was a villainess and much likely, if the parts had been reversed, she wouldn't have granted him or Leon the benefit of the doubt. Besides, it was not just them, those people were in danger. Speaking of people in danger, with the villains neutralized, Luke surveyed the crowd to see if there was anyone in need of help. Not unlikely given the mess that had just transpired. ”Don’t date crazy.” "Your got a smart sister then." Luke chuckled at Leon. "We owe you one by the way man. Thanks..." He added shortly thereafter, this time back to addressing Ghost. "Do you? I mean... I don't think that the police can do something with these two, I guess we need to call someone that can actually restrain them." He continued, throwing a glance toward the unconscious forms of Red Mist and Purple Haze. "Nightscale by the way." He introduced himself. "And this is paper..."

Nightscale is gonna try and grapple Villain 4 before he can run away. Assuming that he could get to him in the crowd ofc. If it helps Nightscale has Speed 3, can jump past obstacles to get to him and if he had managed to catch his scent try to track the guy with his super senses in the crowd. If he can't find Villain 4, he will try to help Leon with Villain 1. But of course in any cases he will still miss horribly... with a 10 to hit Well... Luke's luck is still in full force I see.

Luke nodded. If they wanted to sneak in without alerting everyone inside they needed to deal with the motion sensor, although, to be honest, that was something that he needed to leave to his more tech-savvy companions, it was a shame, perhaps, but his illusion could only trick the mind and not the machine. "Found something guys? I dunno how long I keep myself from just kicking down door." He joked, although, admittedly the idea was kinda tempting. Not that the idea to burst in the lion's den felt like it was the wisest, though. "Anything we can do to help?" Again he wished he could do something to help, but for now the mission was pretty much in the hands of Nevermore and Cat-Sith, of course Luke could be discrete if he wanted to, but given his track record last year, well, he felt like maybe it was better to let the professionals do their thing, this time at least. "Dunno, a distraction maybe?"

“We should keep moving.” Luke was about to object, but then again, yeah, his roomie was right, they were in no condition to fight against an unknown enemy, for now at least. He nodded, albeit pointlessly, given that Leon couldn't see him. “We’re on defense right now. I don’t have any paper, what about you?” The young man was about to shake his head, but still instinctively searched the pockets of his shorts to see if he had anything that could help, luck was on his side, at least a sliver of it, when he did manage to find a scrap within. It wasn't much, a tiny and flimsy slip of low quality paper that had probably once been a burger joint receipt, before a ride in the washing machine had left it blank and forgotten for god knows how long. "Here." He whispered, keeping his voice as low as he humanly could and handled the scrap to Leon. Perhaps it would not suffice to take down a formidable foe, but then again with his friend's gift and creativity, Luke somehow felt at least a tiny bit safer now. Especially given that, when it came to himself, the boy wasn't exactly confident about his powers, as the walk in the dark (and the violent encounter between his nose and the cavern wall) had demonstrated not long before. If the walk before had been slow, now the boys founds themselves reduced to little more than a crawl, as the danger of a misstep was now magnified, with even the tiniest of noise potentially alerting the stalker in the darkness of their presence. Luke's heart skipped a beat when his foot hit a small rock on the ground, sending it tumbling down a slight slope. Fortunately, for once, a metallic crash happened at the same time, covering their tracks. On the way, Luke kept his right hand against the wall of the cave and the left still on Leon's shoulder, subconsciously keeping his grip tighter than before, as if to make sure that his friend was still there with him. In truth, the seventeen years old, although he would never admit it openly even under torture, was quite grateful of having his roomie around during the ordeal. Quietly, he blessed the ability picked up in what seemed like a life ago, to thread lightly on his feet, as for now it seemed that whatever was hiding in the dark hadn't managed to find them. In fact, it almost felt like it was no longer on their tracks, its own steps fading at first and then going silent. The source of the crashes was getting closer now, albeit, given that they knew little of the proportions of the cave, they couldn't still tell how much more they had to walk, the wind had began anew dancing on their skin and if adrenaline hadn't sent blood pumping in his muscles, Luke was certain that he would have found himself shivering with every gust. Still, unpleasant as it was, the current was almost a blessing now, as it meant that an opening must have been ahead and the noise at times was enough to drown the one of their steps. It was when the wind quieted a little, that the boys realized that again they were not alone, between them and the source of the crashes, they could clearly hear a few sets of breaths and some quiet scuffling. More creatures like the ones that had almost spotted them before, were lying ahead. Again it was the time for Luke's grip to tightened on Leon's shoulder. They needed to think of a way past those things and fast.

Luke managed a 23 so the boys are set for now. He will also skill mastery notice.

Finally someone had managed to land a hit on Scarlet Mist. Not himself, of course, but at least it was something. He gave Ghost a mental high-five. Now probably all that it would take to neutralize her, would have been a hit from his claws, but to be honest, Luke was not much in the mood of hitting a woman, even if she a superviallian, especially when it looked like she had pretty much lost the will to keep fighting. "Surrender now! No one else needs to get hurt." He offered, his eyes glowing of golden light, giving him an almost demonic look. "Free this people from your powers, I dunno what you two thought you were doing, but they were just here to have fun, they definitely didn't deserve this." He raised his fists and let the ghostly claws of his draconic shape manifest around them.

So a stealth check is in order if the boys want to sneak away instead of just dashing (and a notice check too to avoid obstacles in the dark)

I think that Nightscale is just gonna try to intimidate her, asking for a surrender, with a 27

I figured that since they both have SM 20 at Notice and they were not rushing it, no roll was needed to navigate the darkness. For now. That said if you want to roll notice and try to get more than 20 perhaps Paper can get some details on the thing that is with them in the dark, or about what is generating the metallic noise. Hehe btw Luke won't charge in blindly, if Leon has a better idea about what to do

Luke winced as he felt his roomie's hand pulling away. Whatever, it was not the time to investigate and besides, it was his friend's choice if he wanted to talk about it, or otherwise. First they needed to get out of here. "We need to move before you turn into a dragon-cicle, mister I can sleep in just shorts.” "Hey. I'm not that cold." He protested, of course, the temperature of the room and the way he kept shifting the balance on his feet in order to try and gather at least a shred of warmth, suggested otherwise. "It's just practical, you know?" He added, the shiver running down his spine, though put a bit of a dent in his theory. Now it was not like he could have expected to be whisked away from his room in the middle of the night, right? (Although it had happened once already when he met his double so well...). “If there’s a wind, there’s gotta be an exit. But what ever is making that crashing noise might tell give us an idea what’s going on. We’re alone and significantly unarmed.” "Yeah." Luke nodded. “So I guess we should check out the noise.” "Agree. Let's stick together ok, though? Don't wanna risk splittin' up in this freakin' darkness." He placed a hand in Leon's shoulder, a precaution, just in case one of them got in troubles while shuffling around blindly in an unknown cave. The navigation was agonizingly slow, the cold rocky floor was rough and unpleasant to traverse especially given that their lack of shoes, its surface uneven, unpolished and filled with treacherous holes and small crevasses that threatened to trip or at time even swallow the two boys, forcing them to test the ground before every steps. A lesson Luke had learned pretty quickly by kicking a particularly sharp and hard rock formation after the two had taken the first few blind steps. From time to time, they could hear again the sound of crashing metal in the distance, they were getting closer, but it didn't look like it always came exactly from the same place, much rather from a vast area ahead. Finally though it looked like they managed to hit something. More precisely, Luke pretty much stepped face first against a wall of the cave. "Fuuuuu-" He was about to break into a tirade of expletives when he realized that there was another, unfamiliar sound in the cave now. It was no longer just the feeling of being observed, he could swear that he had just heard steps, the newcomer had managed to thread lightly so far, but both Luke and Leon were accustomed to notice small details, given their mutual experiences on the streets. Luke cursed the fact that his friend won't be able to see him if he gestured. "Did you hear that?" He whispered, silently praying that he hadn't been heard by anyone, but Leon. Whatever that thing was, it kept to the shadows, Luke couldn't tell if it was stalking them, or just walking the cave as they did. It must have been a big creature though, walking on all four, it was quiet, but now that the boys attention had been drawn to it, they could feel that it must have been pretty heavy. The fight or flight instinct began to creep in and Luke clenched his fists. Although, to be completely honest, he wasn't feeling that confident about their odds, whatever that was, the creature was probably more familiar than they were about this strange cave and the complete darkness would much likely put them at a disadvantage.

“Did you leave the window open? And please don’t tell me we slept through the alarm again.” Luke shook his head, mentally facepalming when he realized the futility of the action while shrouded in completed darkness. “Much worse man…” As another gust of icy breeze hit his bare flesh, the young man found himself feeling a pang of jealousy toward his PJ and t-shirt wearing roommate. He wrapped his arms around his chest and exhaled a small cloud of vapor. "F-!" “Oh, I am so gonna get that little son of a…” “Don’t think it’s a prank.” Now, he could not be sure of course, but then again, it would have been a tad too elaborate, wouldn’t it? He was about to add something, when the silence of the cave was interrupted by a crashing sound. He couldn’t tell what it was exactly, but it felt like if a pile of crash metal had just collapsed in the distance or something. It was more than enough to startle the seventeen years old, though. “What the-“ The young man felt the hair on the back of his neck raising, together with the sensation that someone, or something, was watching them from the shadows of the cave. He felt... well... incredibly vulnerable, blinded by a darkness even his dragon eyes couldn't peer through, in a place totally unknown, barely dressed and cold. Luke quickly realized that his heart was racing. Uneasily, he shifted the balance on his feet. “Dude, WTF? Where are we?” "I dunno man, but we can't stay here." Where to go though? It was not like he could see a clear destination, unable to rely on his eyes, he needed to find a way to get at least a basic sense of direction. The boys other senses could provide them with some clues though, the sound of dripping water on one side, the crashing pile of metal on another, truth was, even the icy breeze that from time to time kept tormenting Luke, they all could lead them toward possible paths. Toward what fate though? They could not tell. He offered a hand to help his roomate to get up from the floor. "There- We-" Then the realization struck, Leon's hand was warm, his left hand, he did not feel the paper-y texture of his friend's replacement arm, in fact, it was back to flesh and blood... "Wha-"

For Luke, walking through a graveyard with the intent to fight definitely felt a bit weird, then again, vengeful nostalgia zombies, graveyards had to be their natural habitats, right? Still the atmosphere was enough to keep him more than a little on edge, muscle tense and senses in high alert, in case some undead decided that waiting for them to bust its ass was not a good idea and instead attacked first (besides, he had seen enough zombie movie in his young life to get some expectations of what might happen next...). "Sure." Now, exactly how does one expect the unexpected eluded the seventeen years old, but then again, Betsy was the seasoned hero there and Luke was somewhat confident that she would know what to do. Besides, he was gonna keep watch just in case. "You ok?" He turned to face his girlfriend during the walk, knowing how sensible she was when magic was involved.

Luke nodded. "Yeah dragons do that too." He smiled, but it didn't fully reach his eyes. "I mean, not that I have met that many yet." He ruffled the hair on the back of his neck. Truth was, with the exclusion of the weird meeting with Lawfyr, his alternate self, who was pretty much as clueless as he was, Luke had met exactly one other member of his species and they were too busy fighting some sort of nightmare creature to exchange Dragon trivia. He lowered his eyes again when the conversation shifted back to Matt. "Yeah, she is pretty formidable..." And yet, his friend hadn't recovered yet. Truth was though, it was not Ms. Summers fault not being able to miraculously help him, though. The young man nodded again. "Well it's that... I... It's just I wish I can do something." He clenched his fists. "And... It's all pretty much my fault. He is my friend and not only I failed to save him, he wouldn't be in troubles if it wasn't for me." Now it was his turn to remain quiet for a little while. "He was the first one that told me I should use my powers to help people, you know?" Yeah and he had been quite blunt at that, even if Matt had been a petty criminal himself he has been capable to see what Luke couldn't at the time. Who knew, perhaps without him, Luke would have been a villain. I was doing a way better job at that, than being a hero. "Sorry by the way... I mean, it's not like it's your job to listen to this or somethin..." He shook his head. "I... I mean, you must have planned something for our first mentoring session already and..."

OCC for this if needed. @Spacefurry The place works pretty much on dream logic and it messes with their powers. Since I'm gm-ing I won't award Luke any free hero points for that, but Leon is definitely not subjected to that rule. They could also only bring with them what they wear while they sleep. The idea is, that the boys would have to rely a lot on their wits and on each other to get out of trouble. If you like the idea, as we have discussed on Discord, perhaps Leon can have his arm back in there, at least it makes sense to me that he will still consider it to be part of him. (Plus I imagine it will freak him out a bit). The way I imagine the place, is that it is built mostly on Luke's subconscious mind, but since Leon is also there, it might shift to accommodate details taking from his own as well. If you have anything you think would be fun for them to encounter there, let me know

Nightscale Way too late Leon and Luke's dorm room or perhaps somewhere else. It was not unusual recently, for Luke to spend his nights shifting in his bed, to the charging of his roommate that had found himself having to contend with the restlessness of the young dragon boy. What little sleep he could get was plagued by nightmares, of the kind you wake up from covered in cold sweat and with only vague dreadful memories the morning after. That night, though, it felt different. It wasn't the aftermath of a bad dream to wake him up. It was... Well it was freaking cold. An icy breeze was dancing on his bare flesh, clad as he was only in the pair of black gym shorts that the seventeen years old used to sleep in. Still under the haze of dreams, the young man turned, his hands stumbling around in search for his blankets. They weren't there. Gone. Weird. Truth was, that, well, it were not only his blankets that were missing. In fact, as he began to properly wake up, Luke soon realized that he was no longer even in his bed. Instead, he was laying with his back on a mix of cold, rough stone and dirt. It felt like the floor of a cave. What the hell! The seventeen years old jumped on his feet. Adrenaline pumped in his veins and dispelled what was left of his drowsiness. It was dark. He rubbed his eyes and a shiver ran down his spine when he realized that they could not pierce the shadows as he was used to, since the day his dragon soul awakened. The world was eerily quiet, all he could hear, at first, was just the sound of his breath, his quickly accelerating heartbeat and dripping water in the distance. It was when his senses had began to adapt to the situation that he noticed that perhaps, there was actually another noise. Rhythmic, slowly paced, it was another set of breaths. Someone was asleep nearby. He stumbled in the dark, toward the source of the noise, until he found the sleeping form of his friend. "Leon." He whispered. "Wake up man!" They were not in Kansas anymore.

"Luke." The young man smiled. "nks." There was perhaps a hint of relief in his eyes when he found out that, despite being part of the Big League of superheroes and the eldritch spectacle in front of him, Phantom seemed quite approachable. “Can I call you Phantom?” It was only fair to ask. As her magic washed over him, he shifted uneasily the balance on his feet, hands in the pockets of his worn sweatpants. His mom had told him that at the eyes of a sorcerer his true form would be evident. But then again, Luke hadn’t yet grown accustomed to the fact that it did not mean the seventeen years old green 5’11’ tall, green eyed boy, in sweatpants and sleeveless t-shirt, but the black-scaled twelve feet tall, golden eyed winged creature of myth. “I…” He was surprised, pleasantly so, when she asked him if there was something he wanted to talk about. Truth was, Luke hated talking about his problems almost as much as he despised having to ask for help, but with one of his best friends, almost a brother actually, unwillingly turned into a cyborg and no longer the master of his own body, well, even a dragon-sized pride could not get in the way. His gaze raised to meet her glowing white eyes. “Well… It’s my friend, Matt. He is- Well, he is hurt, badly. Ms. Summers is helping out, but… They say they can’t wake him up.” He slumped his shoulders, it went unsaid, but it was clear that Luke considered this to be his fault. If he hadn’t wasted his gift playing gangster, Matt wouldn’t have been shot and much likely he wouldn’t have fallen into the hands of whoever had tried to turn him into a puppet.

He was gonna meet the freaking Phantom! Truth was, the young man would have probably been bouncing around at the idea, if he hadn't spent half of the night close to the unconscious form of his friend in the school infirmary. Still, this mentoring thing was an important step if he wanted to become a superhero and besides, well, Phantom was a master magician, perhaps her talents could somehow help. He wouldn't have missed this for anything in the world. Before stepping inside, Luke gave glance at his figure reflected in a trophy case nearby, this wasn't one of his best days, his eyes were tired, a pretty abundant shade of the evening had grown on his cheeks and his hair unkempt. Although, admittedly for the latter, it was not that different from every other day. "Hello." He stepped inside. "Luke here, I mean Nightscale." His eyes darted to the purple rainbow of runes. Cool. "I'm here for the mentor program."

Nightscale 11 Posts - 2 PP Party Rocking 2 Back Alley Brawl 1 A clockwork Grey 2 Stinger's Tale 2 Team Talk 1 Bedlam In Bedlam 1 The Steel Strike 1 Freedom Fallout 1

Nightscale kept following the scene from his perch on the rooftop. Truth was the young man was itching for action, but he wasn't exactly proud of his past experience with stealth since he had began his superhero. Dragons weren't know to be subtle after all. So yeah, better wait until his companions had finished surveying the scene. "So what's going on C- Nevermore? Found a way in?" It was a shame, if you asked him, that he could not just change into his monstrous form and then tear down the walls or something. But then again, the bad guys had super-tech weapons and it was still the city. So yeah, no indulging of his mythological creatures instincts, for now.

Can't promise you anything... Luke gave her a worried look, that was pretty much what the doctors have said when he first brought his friend to the ER. That time, it worked. Well at least a little, but given his buddy current state, it hadn't been enough. he took one deep breath and then nodded. What have they done to you man. I'm so f- sorry. He shook his head when she offered him to go. Now, perhaps it wasn't the wisest to object at the moment, but there was no way he was gonna leave. Not now. "I'd like to stay. I mean... I know I can't get in, or help you, but... Please." His gaze shifted to meet the one of the older superhero, a mix of fear and determination within. He was not gonna leave his Matt. Hell, he would stay there awake for days if he needed to, just for a chance to see that his friend was alright. "I need to be here."

"Hey. We didn't want anyone to get hurt here." Yep, id didn't look like it was the same for Holly and her bro though, unfortunately. He felt perhaps a bit ashamed of trying to help his friend score with a supervillain, but than again, no way of knowing right? Besides, there were definitely more pressing matters at hand. "Calm down, we can still work this out." Could they though? With his wings proving 'ineffective' to say the least, there was only a way that he knew could be used to stop the villains. The ghostly wings vanished from his back, while the spectral claws of hid draconic claws formed around his arms. Basking at the new influx of strength, the young man rushed against the red mist, unfortunately, the only thing that he managed to hit was the air.