Blue Rose

"Entirely reasonable," Kit says amicably, though her tone has changed markedly. Instead of her high-speed, energetic barrage of words, she's slowed down, become calmer, as if weighing her words more carefully, and bearing herself more like Cerys, to boot. "I shall simply need to sell a different plan next time." There is no sly grin, no maniacal giggling, just a calm turn of the head. "Would you please your purse?" She asks, now giving her Cerys act an exaggerated monotone to poke fun. "It is a rather large tell otherwise."

Sam is taking in Tona's real question, sorting out her answer in her head when Cerys goes off questioning the morality of practical jokes. But first, she deals with Tona. "Okay, short version? That would be something else. Like, I could make an image of a brick, and put it where the penny is, but you can't really disguise a penny as a brick. And yeah, I can project a building. That's about my limit. But this is starting to sound like class. We can talk about the finer points of illusions another time." That done, she turns to Cerys. "Just lighten up. It's just a harmless little joke, and nobody's getting hurt." It's bizarre to see Cerys' face, hear her voice, and have them express Sam's carefree manner. "Besides, it's not like we're-" Her eyes go wide and her face lights up. "Ohmygod, it would be so hilarious if we could pull this all night, see how long it takes Mali to figure it out! But I'd have to wear something else. Think I have time to go get ch-" She cuts herself short. "Um... yeah. Like I was saying. It's just a couple minutes for a quick laugh, then it's over." She offers a guilty chuckle, though she does regret not giving Cerys her own face instead of Tona. That way, if she tried to blow their cover, it would be that much easier to frame her for pulling some stupid prank and stringing the joke along for way too long. Tempting...

As this exchange goes on, Silvia waves one of her crew over who was watching from the ship. The girl's just a swabby, but she isn't needed for anything important. "Please go see if Lord Giles has a cup of tea to spare, Miss Vanessa." With a nod and a, "Yes'm," the girl darts off for the ship as Silvia gets more comfortable in her seat. "And tell Mister Bosque to make sure the cannons are ready," she adds from across the room before Miss Vanessa can leave. She offers Mister Stils a smile, looking quite serene and unhinged.

The young Miss Vance is left with a choice. Reveal some of her secrets, giving up tactical advantage, or gloat. The choice is obvious. She buffs her nails as she begins speaking, actually working with the illusion quite well- no clipping- and speaks as if her incredible mastery of the arcane is no big deal. "Well, I wouldn't call it a matter of area, for starters. It can reach as far and as wide as the mind can reach. Should work even if you're on the other side of the city, long as I maintain the spell. I don't even have to know where you are. It's more like..." She taps the image of Cerys' chin as she decides how to explain. "Like I've planted a seed on you, of what people should expect to see when they look at you, so wherever you go, that's what they see. I can even force it on someone, if they're particularly absent-minded." She looks off into the distance, redoubling her efforts to look nonchalant. "I can maintain a couple dozen of those 'seeds' at once." Of all her spells, this is the one she put the most work into, and out of the corner of her eye, she's looking at Tona-with-her-own-face for that impressed look that she finds oh-so-satisfying. "Of course..." she adds, reaching into the biggest problem with her disguise, her handbag, and pulling out her phone. "There is the obvious problem." She snaps a picture of Tona and shows it to her. She appears as herself, perfectly normal. That done, Sam puts her phone away and hands her bag to Tona. "Hold this."

That one's an offensive Morph ability. Only DC12 Will, so if you want to break it, just do it. No need to roll in the light-hearted silliness. (And for a general idea of how good the illusion is, it's DC25 Notice.)

"Hey! Hey! Hey!" Sam squirms when Cerys starts getting grabby, almost falling over in her shoes, but she's quick to make the obvious move; drop the illusion. That done, she's free to pass her traitorous 'friend' the exact same card she'd shown her earlier. The rules to poker. "Paranoid, much?" she asks, doing her best to sound hurt, donning her well-practiced puppy dog eyes. She's really good at puppy dog eyes. And then she loosens her scarf a bit, so she doesn't accidentally set herself on fire if she works some more magic soon. Thankfully, Cerys doesn't know about how her brand works, or that would be an obvious tell. She looks for Mali; a distraction would be welcome right now. But then- "Oh! Oh! Great idea for when Mali shows up!" She's already forgotten all about the card. "Just relax for a sec. This one's fragile." She takes a couple steps back, to take a good look at Tona and Cerys, taking in all the details. Then, she closes her eyes, takes a deep breath, and focuses. Other than a very slight charge in the air, neither of the other girls feel any different. However, they can see Sam's form shift, growing to match Cerys, complete with clothes, while Tona takes on Sam's form and Cerys takes on Tona's. Just an illusion, but a good one. It's bizarre to see Sam's devious smile and sinister hand-wringing coming out of Cerys, but there it is. And then, she straightens out. She loosens her now-unseen scarf once more, and tries to adopt Cerys' usually-stoic visage, leaving her friends to figure out what just happened.

People coming out of nowhere are always a jolt, but from Blod- no, it's Cerys now. Not work, not work, not work. Anyways, appearing like that is not particularly surprising. More of a given, really, with this group. Instead, she plays it cool and shows Claremont's resident British ninja her card. "Hey, Cerys. Glad I'm not a fly." She looks her friend up and down, always sparing an eye on Tona to spot the trick. "Love the jacket. Now we're just waiting on Mali, right?" She pulls the card out of Cerys' view, holding it tight to her chest, then starts working a mirage, turning her card to a joker. An image in her friends' heads, rather than the piece of paper itself.

Kit... no, they're going out on the town. It's Sam right now. Sam cocks an eyebrow as Tona looks about ready to flip out at the greeting, though she doesn't realize just how close she was to being caught in a mildly annoying card shotgun. "Card tricks, huh? Alright, then." She reaches out for a card, and then suddenly stops. "Oh! Be right back." She walks into the shadow of a lamp post, and not thirty seconds later steps right back out with a handbag, matching her skirt and hat. Going out on the town without money? Bad idea. "Okay, card trick. I pick the ace of spades!" she announces loudly and proudly, then before the joke can fully die, she behaves herself and actually picks a card for real this time, and sneaks a peak at it. Ironically, the instructions for poker.

Samantha 'Kit' Vance, former apprentice to the legendary thief, the Phantom Fox, ex-aide to a demon bent on world domination, the girl from Hell herself rises to take another day by the horns! Or maybe just hit the snooze button. Then hit the snooze button. Then hit it eight more times. But it's alright; she set her alarm so that she'd have time to hit the snooze button for an hour and still have plenty of time. But when she finally wakes up, she rises, ready and eager to... lie there staring at the ceiling for ten minutes. Then get up to stare at the wall for five minutes. Then, she actually hits the ground running, hopping off her top bunk to ambush her unsuspecting Cheerios! With orange juice, since she forgot to pick up milk. Toss the dishes in the sink, get 'em wet, and done! Totally not a problem sitting there all day. Clothes! To the closet! She darts in, and pulls out the outfit of the day. She'd been a bit disappointed that the school didn't have the classic school girl outfit, so she bought her own that she wears whenever she feels like it and has in four different styles. Because that's how uniforms work. She went for the sailor suit, since she can cut a hole in the back and cover it with the cape, so she won't set herself on fire if she uses her powers too much. That would be bad. And of course, her night shirt's just left on the ground. So, she makes her way to class, making her usual game of it. If no one in her class notices she's in until the bell rings, she wins! Helps her when she's actually late. She can just claim she won. It's not an easy game, with so many people so close together- even a master has limits when she isn't using her powers- but it's fun to try. Class, class, class. Though she actually pays more attention than usual today! The sailor suit usually helps. Maybe the clothes really do make the woman? Then at day's end, it's time to be someone else! Right after dinner. Clean off the only set of dishes, have a peanut butter sandwich and orange juice, toss the dishes right back in the sink. Now, someone else! And when she's done, a step through the dark and shadowy closet, and she steps out a cluster of trees where the group's meeting. "Hey, Tona!" she waves to the new girl, walking up in her own outfit. Her top's a loose black-and-white horizontal striped number, collar hanging off her left shoulder, sleeves hanging loose just below the elbow, leading to a row of bangles that clink as she moves. Her skirt is bright red, with a matching hat that looks like she stole it off a flapper, and around her neck is a nice, cream scarf. Not the perfect touch, but it keeps random onlookers from getting a headache from viewing the alien geometry etched on her back. And so, she joins the wait. "Poker while we wait?" she asks when she gets close, and immediately begs the question; why isn't this tiny girl looking up at Tona? And a quick look down answers that. Platform shoes.

Emotion Control. DC17 Will or the man feels really quite sad.

Kit has no idea what Blod just said, but it sounded angry. The kind of angry that a mind-controlled thug just won't appreciate. Probably something really self-righteous. Hm... She drops her veil, suddenly appearing in the midst of the crew. Or rather, suddenly removing the block in their minds that kept them from acknowledging her presence in the first place. Much less jarring to drop, and easier to do. Then takes a look at their captive, and his mind starts becoming filled with waves of sorrow and regret. You're bad and you should feel bad. Well, okay, you're possessed by a piece of something bad, and that piece of it should feel bad. Or... maybe that was a bad idea? Eh, whatever. "Well in that case," she says to her classmate, changing her own mental subject, "Wanna go check the hold for some cursed relic or something?"

"Hey, if its power can reach this far, then there's gotta be something we can hit," Kit shoots back, with all the logic of someone who only has a fraction of an idea what she's talking about. "Besides, I can't 'see' that far and it was definitely here earlier. I don't think it got to far. Maybe if I look again from the hold..." She has a random realization and suddenly changes the subject with, "Say, do you think the crew thinks you're crazy, talking to air like that?" Of course, Wave-Eye has no way of knowing the crew can't see or hear her at the moment. I love magic. "But anyways, no. No questions. At least, none he'd bother answering."

As the King of Suits intervenes, the captain can't help but smile. She'd have preferred if he'd waited to see if Stils responded to her method, but this works, too. She drops the wind effects and turns around, sending the biggest chair she can find to the door with little more than a wave of her hand, making a basic barricade, and takes a seat. "Very well. We shall try things your way. I'll be over here in case this takes too long." The cultist finds himself on the receiving end of the good captain's winningest smile, as if she hadn't just parked a warship outside his window and muscled her way in without warning.

Yeah, this scene needs a little good cop.

Maybe this was a less-than-heroic approach... ^^U And this probably warrants an intimidation check. 1d20=18

Coward Silvia thinks, and she almost puts her hand to her sword. No, he hasn't proven hostile yet. No need to actually threaten him. Of course, that doesn't rule out strongly implying the threat as she walks slowly towards their lead, drawing out this show. "But clearly, you are involved; you have information." She looks over her shoulder to King of Suits. "Barricade the door. We wish to keep this a private conversation." She looks back down at Stils, her heels beginning to float off the ground, her hair and cape starting to billow upward ever so slightly, giving her a more looming, ominous presence. "Now, you shall tell me everything you do know, and point me to one who knows the rest." She gives him a moment for stunned silence, then shouts, "Speak!"

In nearly the same instant as Voltage's shot, Silvia rolls off to the side, gathering a rolling mass of air along with her, and then with a hop, she lashes out, her fingers cutting the sky like claws, sending the blades of wind out to strike at her enemies. And some unimportant structural elements. Where Voltage struck one foe, she strikes three. "How precise? Can you put us on their doorstep, or will we need an investigation?" Of course, first they need to find their way out of here. Wherever 'here' may be. And, naturally, she has to keep an eye on her opponents in case one of them lacks the good grace to stay down.

I was thinking maybe something that could be resolved without violence? ^^U

Rav and TK have okayed Kit butting in on this expedition. Particularly, the night on the town. If you're not cool with that, Tiff, just lemme know. As for the fools that need to be taught a lesson? Perhaps something more subtle would fit the tone better. Not outright villainy, but some low-end rogue talents using their gifts to cause mischief?

Initiative: 1d20+1=10 And in my next post (as soon as TK does the IC post for the teleport/zap routine), the other three will have to roll DC20 reflex versus an area attack. DC25 Toughness on failure, DC20 Toughness on success. Assuming, of course, the room is big enough for me to not hit Voltage with the burst. And that the other three are clustered tight enough to catch 'em all.

After Voltage goes down, Silvia looks like she's about to say something, then staggers a few steps to the door, hand going for her sword, but she falls just as she reaches it, leaving her sprawled across the floor, ready to draw her weapon. Now, to wait for someone to vent some frustration on. She's not expecting a glorious battle; just applying a quick thrashing to some thugs. Still, they will have to act quickly, lest the enemy seal them back in. In fact... if she's quick, there may not be a need to fight at all, depending on what's on the other side of that door. A smirk forms on her supposedly-unconscious face.

At first, Captain Silvia finds herself growing cross at being treated like a common specimen, but after a moment, she throws her head back, loosing a laugh that echoes through the chamber. This man has a god in his presence and doesn't realize she's anything more than a lowly conjurer? And then, she hears the gas turn on. Not a concern. She turns to her fellow hero, approaching him to protect him from the gas, not that the man is likely to notice. "We have an advantage," she declares, fully expecting that the conversation is being monitored. "Our captor is utterly incompetent." At that, she crushes the fake Eye of Argon in her hand and tosses it across the room, in case their host was fool enough to make that his bug. She then begins redonning her cloak as she leans close to Voltage, now whispering. "He is pumping in poison gas- most likely, a fast-acting sleeping gas of some sort. Do not worry, I have already neutralized it. We feign passing out, then when they come to retrieve us, we strike, and storm the facility proper. You look scrawny to begin with; you go down first. More believable that way."

It would be funnier if Silvia didn't notice. I do hope you're aware of her environmental control power. Calm weather and breathable air within twenty-five feet.

Take 10 via skill mastery. Result of 15.

The good captain walks over to the man, carefully removing her blade from his leg. Of course, with only one arm, she's using her boot on his hips to brace herself, so it looks substantially rougher than it truly is. With a blast of air, she cleans her weapon before sheathing it. Then, with the same razor-sharp blades of air she was earlier trying to thrash the man with, she tears his shirt into broad ribbons, using them to bind his wound. It would still be a good idea to get him to a hospital to get the hole cleaned and stitched properly, but as long as he stays off it for a week or so, he'll fine. That done, she turns her attention back towards the temple. "This... is unfortunate. With the relic awake, it will use this place to gather its power, then return to this fool, or else find another host. And that man still needs to reach a hospital." She removes her cloak, then attempts to use it to insulate herself from the relic's touch, that she may safely remove it from the dais. It's unlikely to work, but it's worth the attempt.