csyphrett

Re: Magistracy:Origins 8 Luna smiled as she broke out the window of the back door. They finally had a grip on what they wanted to do. It felt good. Maybe now they could put their lives back in order. Or maybe not. The couple had gotten out the map, traced a route to the doctor's street. Then they left the car as close to how they found it as possible. A quick walk back to where they had punched the hole in the fence got them back on the street and moving along. Phaeton used his flight to help them along. His control had improved so that he was generally steady, and didn't burn things as he floated along. His speed took them an hour to get to where they had to be. A casual search showed that the doctor did not have an alarm system hooked up to guard his house. That made things better for them. So they walked around with as much stealth as they could muster in the hopes the neighbors were also going about their businesses and not watching the house. Then Luna broke in so they could look around. Phaeton decided to start his looking with the refrigerator. He was disappointed to find one bag of coffee sitting on a shelf in the fridge. He tried the cabinets for canned food. He found some cleaning supplies and that was it. "This guy doesn't eat here." He called to Luna investigating other parts of the house. "Two suits in the closet." Luna called back. "Two changes of underwear. Running shoes. That's strange, right?" "What the heck does he do here?" Phaeton found a computer station set up in what traditionally should be a living room. He noted the front windows were shrouded from people looking in. The boy found a set of discs and files in cabinet next to the computer station. He might have felt guilty about breaking into them if he hadn't found a picture of the doctor with some woman. They were smiling in front of some pines somewhere. He wondered if the doctor had experimented with her first. One of the discs went into the computer after Phaeton turned it on. A password screen came on. Phaeton couldn't think of anything the doctor might have used as a pass. He took the disc out, cut the computer off. At least he had the paperwork to look through. The files were full of autopsies with reports of damage and pictures. There were no names. Each dead subject was marked by batch and experiment number. Reading the dry notes angered Phaeton. He put them away before he burned them up. "Nothing in the bathroom but a toothbrush, some paste, and a towel." Luna returned to the main room. "This is a shell of some kind." "Maybe he moved to where he does the experiment autopsies." Phaeton sat at the computer, glaring at the empty screen. "This might be where he goes to throw off suspicion." "So he might not come home for a while." Luna sat down on the floor. "We should go back to his job and follow him when he leaves." "I need a shower." Phaeton stood up. "We both need a change of clothes so we can blend in." "Only two suits in the closet." Luna sprang to her feet and vanished. She returned with the clothes on hangers. She placed one to drop from Phaeton's chin. "It'll be a little small, I think." "Don't worry about it." Phaeton took the suit. "We clean up, change clothes, head back to the lab. Any thoughts how we can follow him without being seen." "I think so." Luna kissed him on the cheek. "You'll look great after a shower." "Thanks." Phaeton gave her a hug, awkward and uncertain. "You will too. Better than great. You already look great now that is." "You're blushing." Luna returned the hug. "I think I like that." "Thanks, I guess." Phaeton disentangled himself from her arms slowly. He liked the hug. It made him feel normal instead of a glowing freak. "We have to get ready." "We should save time by showering together." Luna smiled. "I've seen you naked already so it shouldn't be that much of a big deal." "I think I love you a little, but I'm not ready to go to the next level yet." Phaeton reached out a hand to take her hand. "Can you wait for me?" "Only a little?" Luna felt anger flare up, but the look in his face stopped her from saying something to wreck the feeling that they were committing themselves in some kind of ceremony. "I can wait." Phaeton kissed her, more sure of it. Then he turned away and ran into the bathroom and closed the door. "Five minutes, then I'm coming in after you." Luna smiled. Then she pulled her own suit off the hanger to make alterations with her hands.

Re: Magistracy:Origins 7 The first thing Luna and Phaeton did was find a place to get a map of the area. The clerk at the convenience store looked at them. He didn't say anything. That was probably good for him. The address for where the doctor's number had been listed was too far to walk in any good time. Phaeton could probably fly over in no time if he left Luna behind. She just looked at him and told him what would happen if he did that. He decided not to call her bluff. The pair decided that the building was south, they would walk until they could hitch a ride. Hitching should be easy with their combined talents. The drivers didn't even have to know they were on board if they timed it right. Phaeton lifted them on to the first semi heading in the right direction once they made it to the highway. They rode along until they reached the right exit, then he boosted them off and on to an overpass bridge. They walked to the nearest street and got orientated with the map. "This way." Phaeton started walking. "How do you know?" Luna walked at his side, folding the map and putting it in her purse. "The highway was to the south of the street and the address." Phaeton pointed to a nearby street sign a little further along. "This street was north, and on the way to where we want to go." "Got it." They reached the building for the address and noted it was for a drug company as they crossed the parking lot. The sky was lighting a pink color in the East, marking time for them. They didn't have long before the day crew came in and got in the way. Not to mention, they didn't know if their doctor was even at the place. He might have a lab set up somewhere else to conduct his research. "What do you want to do?" Phaeton looked at the building with its guards roaming around in front of it. "I say we go in and break everyone's face until we find the doctor." Luna started forward. "Wrong answer." Phaeton grabbed her shoulder. "We wait here and watch things until we're sure he's here, or not. We give it a day." "He could be freeing those guys back at the lab right now." Luna looked over, fury darkening her face. "They don't know where we are, and the one guy needed medical attention, so they probably killed him instead of taking him to the hospital." Phaeton sat down in the long grass. "We can afford to wait one day." "What if he just leaves?" Luna glared at the boy. "We'll never find out who we are." "Then he does." Phaeton closed his eyes for a second. "I guess we could go to the police but then we'll never find him." Luna sat down, staring angrily toward the glass monolith looming over them. "What do we do for twelve hours?" She finally turned her head to look at her companion. He was asleep, curled up in the grass. "Good job, Columbo." She settled in, looking at the parking lot. She could give him an hour to nap. The sun was barely up. Plus he couldn't raise questions if he was asleep. Luna sat closer to him, letting his warmth wash over her as she kept watch. This could be nice if she wanted it to be. She just had to make up her mind where she wanted to go for her future. She sat for a few hours, thinking about where they could go from here when the man she wanted to see roamed in front of her, walking from an old Ford. She slapped Phaeton on the butt to wake him up before standing. "He's here, lazy bones." She brushed off her dress with her hands. "What do we do now?" "Let's go over and look at his car." Phaeton stood up, wiping the loose grass off his clothes. "Maybe he left the registration in it." "I get it." Luna smiled for the first time in a long time. "That means we can find out where he lives." "That's right." Phaeton led the way to the metal fence holding the parking lot inviolate from people like him. "We could do with a lot more cars around as cover." "It's that blue Escort over there." Luna sliced the fence apart with her fingers. The subjects walked over to the car. Phaeton tried the door. It was locked. He paused, not wanting to damage the car before they had talked to the good doctor. Luna ran her fingers in the wheel wells until she found a magnetic key holder. She thumbed the cover off. A key looked up at her with a silver gleam. She unlocked the driver side door and got in. She unlocked the other door for Phaeton. "Let's see if he keeps his paperwork in the glove box like everyone else." Phaeton pulled the receptacle open. He pulled out a variety of envelopes and handed half to Luna. They went through the papers quietly. He found a square piece of paper from New Jersey. "Write this down." Phaeton handed the paper over, taking the envelopes from her. "That's where we go next." Luna nodded. Why wait for the man in the parking lot when they could wait at his home? The only drawback she saw was if an alarm was in place to keep people out. Then they would have to wait outside until the doctor came home.

Re: Magistracy:Origins 6 Phaeton and Luna really checked their trap over after their look around. The building was some kind of leftover from the cold war. It sat on a river somewhere. Luna insisted that the lights in the distance was the New York skyline. An empty lot surrounded by a fence made the place look like every other place they could see around them. Luna took the nurse's money and bought food for them after they discovered the doctor didn't keep any on the premises. She hacked her way through the fence at a spot away from the main gate. They didn't want their captors to know the mice had escaped. They planned their ambush with the help of the nurse who didn't want her face burned off after all. That had been hard. Phaeton was sure that he didn't like burning people, and he needed to maintain concentration so he didn't burn up his scrubs. Still they got an approximate time for the others to arrive back at the prison. That was all they needed. The guards came in first, checking the place over. The spokesman seemed surprised the nurse wasn't anywhere in view. They came down the corridor, pausing at the damaged doors. It looked like the experiment had worked. The kids weren't in their rooms. The spokesman reached for his phone. The doctor had to know that his lab rats had gotten out and were wandering around. That would mean his experiments could be upgraded with the formulae he had established as working. A hand chopped the phone out of his hand before he could dial out. He turned, swinging an arm. Something like a knife took him in the ribs and all he felt was pain that dropped him to his knees. The sidekick also turned, wandering what was going on. He took a fist to the face that floored him. He thought he saw something glowing as he was picked up by the neck and thrown like a rag doll. The impact with his face against the nearest steel door dropped him to the ground. "That was fun." The glowing Phaeton floated next to where Luna held her target with her hand. "Now let's get down to business." "What did you do with our clothes and things?" Luna squeezed to emphasize she had the upper hand now. "We would like them back." "Threw them away." The spokesman found speaking difficult with the pain wrapped around his heart. He couldn't reach the pistol under his arm the way he was locked down. "Standard procedure." "So you didn't keep a record of who we are?" Luna's lips tightened. She wanted that information. Now it was gone with three words. Ripping out the man's heart seemed too easy now. "Not my call." The man was on his knees. "That was the way things were set up. No one expected you to live so we didn't want to be caught with the stuff." "Where is the doctor right now?" Luna gave him another squeeze. "He's doing autopsies at his lab." The spokesman thought about reaching for the pistol with his other hand. He just had to break her grip on his torso. That should be easy. "As soon as he's done, we get rid of the remains." "Give me the address." Luna could see the hope in his eyes, a plan. "Otherwise I'll have to find it myself." The spokesman reached up to his shirt's breast pocket like he was reaching for a piece of paper with the address on it. Then he went for the pistol hanging in its holster, while trying to twist out of the grip on his rib cage. He turned, bringing the pistol up. A hammer hit his face, cracking it. He went down, gun sliding across the hall. "Did you kill him?" Phaeton picked up the gun, melting the barrel closed with his fingertips. "Does it matter?" Luna wiped her hands on her stolen dress. "Yes it does." Phaeton checked the sidekick, emptying his pockets. "We agreed to not kill them." "Quit being a wussy." Luna checked the spokesman's pockets, then picked up the phone, looking at the number on the display screen. "Can you drive?" "I don't know." Phaeton checked what little memories he had. "I don't think so." "Let's lock these losers up, then we can find this doctor." Luna opened the cell door the nurse was in, and stepped out of the way. Phaeton dropped the two guards in with their previous captive. "We'll have to fend for ourselves for a little bit." "So what's the plan?" Phaeton thought about taking the men's clothes but decided against it. The scrubs would do for now. It's not like he would get cold. "We call 411 and find out where this number is," Luna wrote the number down on a scrap piece of paper with a stolen pen. "Then we go visiting. The doctor isn't going to come here until the autopsies or new victims are ready so we have time to hunt him down." Phaeton hated to admit it but that seemed like a reasonable plan to him. It sounded almost too reasonable. "Go ahead." Phaeton gestured with his hand. "Then we can get something to eat and figure out how to get across the river to Manhattan since neither one of us drive." "Hopefully by then I will have a plan for that." Luna dialed the number for information. "Too bad you can't fly us across without burning me to death." "I'll work on it." Phaeton lifted off, concentrating on his flight while she navigated the information menus. He dropped to the earth when she said thank you. "What you got?" "The number is listed here in New Jersey." Luna slapped the phone shut and put it in her stolen bag with the rest of their new belongings. "All we need is a map and cab fare then we can get drive out and talk to the man ourselves." Phaeton smiled as they headed for the exit. It looked like they were going to be able to talk to their maker one on one after all. His day was looking better all the time. "What do we do after we talk to him." Phaeton opened the door, letting Luna walk out first. "Where do we go?" "I don't know." Luna looked around. "I don't think we'll be able to go home again. We're unrecognizable from before we went in. We don't even know what we're supposed to look like." "Let's talk to this doctor." Phaeton headed across the parking lot to the rip in the fence. "Maybe he has our names tucked away somewhere." "What are you going to do if he doesn't?" Luna followed, bag flapping against her hip. "I don't know."

Re: Magistracy:Origins They had grabbed Rob Solis in front of the arcade. He hadn't known what hit him when the bag went over his head. Then he had been led into the very same room he laid in now. Then they had taken his clothes and given him a gown. He had the feeling they had thrown everything he had been carrying in an incinerator somewhere to erase any evidence of where he had been taken. Then came the injection after hours of waiting. Rob rolled on the floor, his brain baking under the influence of the drug coursing through his system. The light from the overhead lamp was a comfort, soothed him. His hand caught fire but he didn't care. It wasn't burning him. Rob got to his feet, pushing against the door. The light beamed down into him. He felt energized. His hand started sinking into the metal as it ran in rivulets down the wood paneling catching fire as the boy felt the fire run up his arms. Rob smiled, face glowing. His hand broke through. He pulled back as the metal ran along the opening. He heard something that sounded like a hammer. Maybe one of the others was still alive. He had to get out of the cell. Rob stepped back, willing his fire to increase. For a moment, he felt as one with the light. He leaped forward, faded away into a brighter shining cutting through the air. Then he was outside the cell, standing there with burning air around him. That was great. He should do that again. First he needed to get out of there. Rob jogged to the locked door where the hammering was coming from. The lock had been pushed out three or four inches. The pounding guy must be strong as heck. He grabbed the lock in his burning hand, watched it melt in satisfaction as the tongue split under the pressure. He stepped back to let the door cool. "Who are you?" A girl emerged from the cell, clad in the same type gown that Rob wore except his had burned up. "And where are your clothes?" Rob searched his memory. He remembered fragments, things from before he had been dropped in the nightmare pot. They all seemed to belong to someone else. He couldn't remember if that someone had a name either. "I don't remember." Rob admitted defeat. "What's yours?" "I don't remember either." The girl grabbed her long silver hair in one hand, pulling it back as if to put it in a pony tail. She gave it a yank with both hands. The hair separated like water from the pull. "Let's look around for something to wear." "I want to get out of here and try to find out who I am." Rob's skin gave off flames again. "Looking around is the last thing I want to do." "Take off, naked boy." The girl started into the bowels of the place, butt hanging out in the wind. "I'm not going anywhere without clothes and answers." Rob shook off the seductive sway long enough to look around. He thought he was making a mistake, but followed her to where he did remember being injected. There were worse things to do than follow a naked hind end around, he supposed. The room was empty. The pair looked around, wondering what had happened to the rest of the kids that had been in the room with them. Were they released? Rob had the feeling that wasn't the case. No witnesses, no evidence. Footsteps hurried down the corridor behind them. The lab rats turned at the sound. The nurse stood in the door. She didn't look happy to see either of them moving around. That was okay with Rob. He wasn't okay with being used to test something that could have killed him. The nurse turned to run. Rob caught fire and flew after her. She screamed when she saw him coming up the tunnel after her, burning the air like a rocket. He flew by to land in front of her. "We would like to talk to you about what's going on here." Rob held up his burning hands. "Where are your files?" "The doctor has them." The nurse backed up from the pyrotechnic display. "He transcribes the findings for later tests." "And where is the doctor?" The girl stood behind the nurse. "We would like to talk to him." "I don't know." Rob raised his hands, bringing them closer to her face. "I don't know. He calls when he wants someone to do the tests for him. That's all I know." "Then you can go to sleep." The girl brought her hand down. She smiled as the nurse collapsed at her feet. "I'm calling you Phaeton from now on. That was great with the burning and flying." "I'm calling you Luna." Rob looked at her. "How are we supposed to find out anything now?" "Relax." Luna exchanged clothes with the nurse before locking her up in a cell. "Where do you think they are going to run their next horror show? They got a good thing going here." "Why Phaeton?" Phaeton asked, arms crossed. "Because he drove the sun across the sky." The girl smiled. "Why Luna?" "Think about it." Luna stared after him as he reentered the experiment chamber. Then she ran to the door. She shook her fist in the air as he looked around the room and two other rooms next to it. "I'm not crazy!" Phaeton ignored the outburst. A set of clean scrubs were on a cabinet in one of the smaller rooms. Now he needed to concentrate on not burning them up.

Re: Magistracy:Origins 4 They kept Diana strapped down for what seemed like hours. They fed her with a spoon so they wouldn't have to untie her. Neither side liked that for the obvious reasons. Finally she fell asleep while she waited for new developments. At least they hadn't hurt her more than necessary yet. "Wake up, sleepy head." The spokesman and his sidekick were back. The balding kidnapper shook her shoulder. "Time to go." "What's going on?" Diana struggled to sit up. Her limbs protested at the renewed circulation forced into them by her movement. "Where are you taking me?" "Just down the hall." The spokesman undid the leg straps. "Cooperate and we let you walk. Otherwise we strap you back down and bring in a chair to roll you around." "Screw you." Diana went for a kick. They needed her for something. That gave her partial immunity to their wrath. The sidekick caught the leg. They reapplied the straps against her struggling. One of them held her down while the other left the room. She could tell by the lessened weight on her back. Then she was in a chair with a quick flip around. More straps tied her to the wheelchair. "We would have to pick a wildcat." The sidekick started rolling Diana out of the room. "Makes things more interesting." The spokesman walked on Diana's left as they rolled by a set of closed doors that could have been more cells. Then they navigated a doorway and rolled her into a large chamber with cubicles set up. Some of the walled spaces were filled. More prisoners for whatever was going on? The two guards rolled her into her own slot and parked the wheelchair. She could see them thinking about putting a gag on her. Finally they walked off, maybe to get another prisoner. "Does anybody know what's going on?" Diana tried to keep her voice low. She didn't want a gag in her mouth. A chorus of no's and invective reached back to her ears from down the line. That didn't mean much. Most people didn't tell you they were going to do something bad to you before they did it. Diana worked on her straps, trying to loosen them up so she could get out of the chair. Her numb fingers didn't help her efforts. She froze when the nurse, the watchdogs, and someone new appeared. He must be a doctor with the lab coat on over green scrubs. Splatters of blood formed a small x on his shirt. Diana went back to work when she saw that. This guy had cut someone up and she was determined that she wouldn't be the next one under the knife. The doctor took a recorder from his coat pocket. He slipped in a tape, recorded a test one two three before nodding to himself. "This is for test number 2149." He walked behind the cubicles, out of Diana's sight. "Time of injection starting is twelve PM on the thirteenth of May." He returned with a cart of syringes and glass bottles with each of their names on them. Diana spotted hers at the end of the cart. She struggled in the wheelchair, trying to rock it over, do anything to get out of there. The doctor spoke into his recorder as the nurse prepared each syringe and worked her way down the line. Diana had to be held down by the guards so the woman could stab her in the arm. Fire raced up that limb, reached into her brain. The doctor continued taking notes, marking their reactions, watching the effects on their subjects dispassionately. He paused beside Diana's cell, recording how he might have had some success with her neighbor. It was too early to tell yet. He noted that Diana had no outward sign yet, which was puzzling. He speculated that she might be partially immune to the booster. "These two can go back to their rooms." The doctor indicated Diana and her neighbor with the recorder on pause. "Make sure you keep them under watch while I observe the rest of the subjects." "Sure thing, boss." The spokesman grabbed Diana's chair and started wheeling her down the hall. Diana didn't care about that. She was too busy trying to keep her brain from leaking out of her skull. A simple thing like movement was too complicated for her at the moment. She didn't even make a token resistance when she was laid on the floor of her holding pen. Diana woke sometime later. She didn't know how long she had been out, but she was still strapped up. Her hair had fallen over her face. The color seemed off somehow. There were other things to worry about than that. She needed to get out of there before they stuck her again. She already had an idea that some of the other prisoners had been killed by the experiment. The doctor had calmly described specifics in front of her. Diana reached down with her fingers, grasping the straps around her wrists by the top edge. She pulled with her fingers, shredding the leather in her grip with an easy movement. Next came the leg straps, then the straps around her upper body. That was easier than she had expected. Diana went to the door, listening at the barrier. She couldn't hear anything. It was time for her to get out of there. Diana brought her hand down on the lock with a sound like rolling thunder.

Re: Magistracy:Origins 3 Luna and Phaeton They took the bag off Diana Archer's head to reveal a blank room with gray walls on all sides, no furniture, concrete floor. Her two captors stood by the only door, bored expressions on their faces. "Clothes." The one on the left held his hand. Diana looked at him in shock. She had been cuffed before they took the bag off, now her wrists hurt and a stranger demanded her school uniform. "Don't look at me. Strip." "I won't do it." Diana tensed, falling into the karate stance she had learned. "We can do this the easy way or the hard way." The spokesman folded his arms. "Either way, you're going into this gown and we're taking your clothes with us. Don't make us hurt you." Diana looked at the hospital gown in the second man's hands. She thought about it, thought about the implications. Then she stepped to the door, aiming a punch at the spokesman's lower regions. A back hand met her face, knocking her to the floor. "Last chance, kid." The spokesman stepped back. "We're not supposed to get rougher than we have to but the doc will overlook a few black and blues if we tell him you made a fight of it. Don't make us step it up." "Leave the gown and step outside." Diana picked herself up. "I'll change and hand my clothes outside to you." "Knock when you're done." The two stepped outside the door, leaving the gown on the floor. Diana stared at the exit, wondering how she was going to get out of the cell. At least they were keeping their hands to themselves. That had been a big fear in the front of her brain. What did they want with her? Diana knocked on the door, handed her uniform through a crack. She hated to see it go. She might have been able to build a weapon out of it somehow. "The nurse will be by to check you in a few." The spokesman's voice drifted through the opened doorway. "Don't try anything cute when she gets here." "I'm going to get out of here and I am going to kill you when I do." Diana stood at the door, fist clenched. "Until then, chow is in a couple of hours, bathroom is in the corner." The door slammed shut. Before it did, Diana thought she had caught a glimpse of someone being dragged down the hall in front of her cell, bag over his head. How many were trapped like she was? The nurse came in while Diana was still exploring her small drab cage. The girl couldn't find any weakness in the walls. The door sounded like wood over steel when she slapped it. The vent in the ceiling was barely big enough for a rat. She thought about trying to rig up something from the light, but didn't think she could get the grill over the bulb off with her finger nails. "Hello." The nurse had a needle and empty vials, and a rubber hose in her hand, Diana's two watchdogs at her heels. "Please bend your arm. This will sting a little bit." "When will you tell me what's going on?" Diana hugged the far wall, looking for her chance. "What's going on?" "I need to draw some blood from you." The nurse tried to smile. "The more you cooperate, the easier it will go." "You want some blood, vampire?" Diana launched herself across the room at the nurse. "I got your blood, $(*#$!" The two guards grabbed Diana and put her face down on the floor before she could do more than punch the nurse. They bent her arms up and sat on her back as she struggled in their hold. "Get the straps." The spokesman said. "We'll have to do this the hard way." "Jeez, what are they feeding these kids now?" The other guard grabbed the back of Diana's neck in a big hand and squeezed slightly. The door opened and closed twice. It took a while before Diana got too tired to keep fighting but eventually they strapped her legs and arms to her body so she could only wiggle like a worm. She screamed invective at the three of them while they took a moment to recover. "They don't pay me enough for this." The spokesman wiped his brow. "Go ahead and stick her so we can get out of here."

Re: Magistracy: Characters This is cool of you, Mike. CES

Re: Magistracy:Origins Cool, Mike. I find it hard to explain stuff though. CES

Re: DEMON plot help (Warning: Spoilers) Another idea I had while reading this is the lapis disrupts other people's magic. A lot of the Demon book is concerned with how Black is trying to create a world wide summoning circle with thousands of people at the same time. What happens if something is in there disrupting the magic for the summons at the wrong time? What happens to pocket dimensions if the magic is tapped in the wrong way? Van der Bleek probably wouldn't realize that every DEMONHAME he visits has technical failures which causes things like bound demons to get loose, elemental spells collapsing, teleportation cutting off in mid teleport. And where does that magic go? CES

Re: Magistracy:Origins Either or is fine, Mike. The math might be off but since I probably won't be using the sheets, I don't see how it matters one way or the other. CES

Re: Magistracy:Origins 2 350 point version of Jerry Silver Real Name: Jerry Silver Nationality: American Hair/Eye Color: Gray/Blue Place of Birth: Los Angeles, Ca Date of Birth: 3/9/1917 Height/Mass: 5'9, 175 pounds Cost Characteristic Value 5 STR 15 33 DEX 21 20 CON 20 20 BODY 20 15 INT 15 20 EGO 20 5 PRE 15 COM 10 PD 3 ED 4 SPD 3 10 REC 12 END 40 8 STUN 45 OCV: 7 DCV: 7 OECV: 6 DECV: 6 Phases: 4, 8, 12 Cost Powers and Talents (END) Lightning 75 pt Multipower 5u Lightning: 5d6 ranged killing attack (75 pts), side effect (6d6 energy blast -1/2, always happens, Always occurs when power is activated.) 50 pts 5u Lightning: 15d6 energy blast (75 pts), side effect (6d6 energy blast -1/2, always happens, always occurs when power is activated.) 50 pts. 5u Electrical conduit: Absorption 15d6 vs electricity to add to energy blast. (-½) 50 pts 5u Taser fist: 15d6 hand attack Hand to hand attack (-½) 50 pts 4u Lightning: Transform 15d6 75 pts, machines to junk (-½) side effect (6d6 energy blast -1/2, always happens) 38 pts 5u Lightning : 15d6 Flash 75 pts side effect (6d6 energy blast -1/2, always happens) 50 pts 2 Life Support: Longevity Cost Skills 3 Mechanics 12- 3 Electronics 12- 3 Inventor 12- 3 Computer Programming 12- 3 System Operation 12- 3 Fast Draw with lightning 3 Bureaucratics 12- 3 KS: US Military 12- 3 KS: Intelligence Community 12- 3 KS: Superhumans 12- 3 KS: Hidden History 12- 3 AK: The World 12- 3 KS: Electrical Engineer 12- 3 PS: Electrical Engineer 12- 4 Navigation: Land, Air 12- 3 Combat Driving 13- 3 Combat Piloting 13- 4 TF: Wheeled vehicles, planes, jets 3 Teamwork 12- 3 Tactics 12- 2 WF: Small Arms 10 + 5 OCV levels with lightning 6 +4 Lightning Reflexes 7 Contact: The President of the United States 8- 7 Contact: The President of Russia 8- 7 Contact: Head of the CIA 8- 7 Contact: The Prime Minister of Great Britain 8- 7 Contact: General Secretary of the UN 8- 5 International Police Powers 1 passport 5 Diplomatic Immunity 150 Points Disadvantages 15 Secret: Power is killing him 11- 10 DF: Electromagnetic aura 20 Public Identity 11- 10 Reputation: Cranky Curmudgeon Blaster 11- 15 Psych Lim: Protective of those around him 30 Hunted by Magistracy's enemies 14- 20 Watched by the UN 11- 15 Psych Lim: Smoker 15 Psych Lim: Wants to get his way. CHA Cost = 118 Total Powers Cost = 106 Total Skills Cost = 127 Total Cost = ____350/350______________

Re: Looking for Veteran Henchthug Ideas Argent could provide battle armor, IHA a mutant scanner, Warlord transport contacts. CES

Re: DEMON plot help (Warning: Spoilers) The obvious thing to me is the jewel either does one of two things which may or may not help you out. Option one) it allows a demon to possess anyone near the crown when worn freeing arch demons one at a time. That would cause major havoc around the npc, especially among demon underlings. Option two) it allows the wearer to drain off a small amount of life energy around him to open a big enough portal for all hell ala Yu Yu Hakusho. CES

Re: In the Company of Strangers (story) 8 Alice the Owl saw the giant monster marching toward town. She couldn't believe her eyes. The term gigantic hallucination sprang to the front of her brain as she considered what to do. Alice had reached the edge of her flying circle, close enough to see the lake. She had dropped on a roof to rest her feathered wings and look at things nearby for other places to forage from when she saw the wide body snap a tree aside. Yellow eyes glared around the leviathan maw. Alice knew she had to do something but the only thing on her mind was to warn Squirrel and get out. They hadn't counted on Zornwill, or Godzilla, marching through their town. They weren't heroes. They couldn't stop it. Alice spread her white wings and took to the air. She poured on the speed toward their nest. Squirrel had sharp senses, but Alice didn't think he would run in the face of danger. Their life on the road was making him braver with every day. A job as a bounty hunter would have been out of the question a week ago. Alice hit the roof running. Squirrel and his boys were waiting, looking at the distant silhouette blocking the horizon like a mountain. His furry tail twitched. His posture told the tale. He was already considering staying and fighting. He was considering committing suicide. "We have to get out of here." Alice touched his arm. "That thing will wreck the town. There's nothing we can do to stop it." "You go." Squirrel looked at his rodent friends. They stood at attention, saluting him. "We're going to stop that thing." "You can't stop it." Alice grabbed him. Large brown eyes stared at her gold ones. "You can't expect to beat that thing." "We can sure slow it down for others to get away." Squirrel smiled. "You'd be surprised what a Super Squirrel can do." Squirrel pulled out of her embrace as gently as he could manage. He went to the edge of the roof and climbed down. His friends looked at Alice, bowed, and started after him with a clicking of nails. They were across the yard and through the fence in seconds. "I can't believe this." Alice the Owl knew there was one thing she could do. She didn't like it but it was the only course of action she could see. If Squirrel wouldn't leave with her, she wouldn't leave him behind. They had something like love between them. They had forged that bond over years of traveling on the road. She wouldn't break it, not even for a giant monster. Alice looked at the juggernaut approaching at its own lumbering pace. She raised her fist and shook it. "I'm coming for you, you (&^(& monster." Alice spread her wings then took flight. Alice's sharp eyes spotted her love moving through the streets. He was at the head of an army of rodents. More and more joined his procession as he raced across town. They were coming from everywhere. This must be what the Pied Piper had looked like walking through Hamelin playing music for the dancing rats. Alice dipped down to let him know she was with him. She thought Squirrel smiled for a second. He waved at least. Then he doubled his speed with his hopping leaps along the sidewalk. The two settlers paused at the edge of town as more and more squirrels joined them. Rotating lights showed them where the police had set up their efforts. Squirrel bounded over to the closest car, pausing with his hands up. "Hey cop man!" He waved his hands to get the deputies' attention. "We're here to help. Don't shoot at us." One of the deputies almost did when he got a good look at their visitor. "We're going to try and distract it until the heavy artillery shows up." Squirrel made hand gestures to indicate his planned moves. "We don't want an accident. Could you spread the word, please?" Squirrel and his entourage bounded away. They were confident the police couldn't do anything but shoot at him, and they wouldn't do that. He hoped they wouldn't shoot. Alice floated overhead, nodding her head as the deputy talked into his radio. It looked like the easy part was over. Now came the death and dying. She followed the squirrel army toward their massive enemy, already thinking in her head she would go for the eyes. She hated them.

Re: In the Company of Strangers (story) Lake Marlowe flashed under the starry sky. It was a yellow dash of light under the water. It looked like reflected lightning. It did that three times. Then the water boiled in a storm of bubbles and wavy lines running from the center of the disturbance. A paw broke the surface first. It was leathery and webbed, perfect for swimming. It curled a little, capable of lifting things. The size said a car was a play toy to it. The other paw broke the surface. Then the head. Yellow eyes glared as it surveyed the shore it headed toward. Sensory input declared food was nearby and more tasty than the fish in the lake. It started forward, lumbering on thick elephantine legs. It couldn't jump with lower limbs like that, but then, it didn't plan to. Trees fell before it as the sea monster trekked away from its watery home. It opened its mouth. A roar of satisfaction thundered out over the land. It was good to be king. It headed to the main road to the lake brushing aside the yellow tape in its way. Lights drew it onward toward the buildings it dwarfed. Lights went out as it knocked over a power line with only a mild sting on its armored hide as it lumbered on like a living tank. One foot hit a house. A wall and part of the roof caved in under the impact. A stunned home owner came out, trying to figure out what had happened. Two paws snatched him up and sent him down the monstrous gullet almost before he had a chance to scream. That was good. More food. The reptile clawed through the remains of the house, looking for more snacks. The talons narrowly missed the man's wife and kids, cowering from the front of the house. She hurried her kids down in the basement and urged them to be quiet. The lake monster moved on, frustrated by the hill of debris. The monster continued carving a path toward downtown. It thought it would eat its fill and then return to the lake to rest and recover. Drivers spotting it coming toward them stopped and tried to flee. Some with cell phones and blue tooths called 911 to report a beast as tall as a radio antennae, as wide as a highway, and moving ten feet with each stride. The flood of reports had Major Weston, the officer in charge, dispatch a car to see what was going on. Five minutes later, a deputy reported the reptile picking up cars and cracking them open to get at the people inside. Major Weston called the radio and television to get a warning out to those in the path as he tried to think of his next move. Unfortunately Marlowe had never needed monster fighting gear, special weapons, or anything associated with bigger cities' special problems. Weston's people only had shotguns and some automatic rifles. He didn't think that would do a lot of good at the moment. Weston sent the call out to every able bodied deputy to assemble at the station. He called the sheriff who could call the governor for help from the National Guard. Then he put a bird in the air to keep the behemoth under watch while he tried to think of something he could do. Fighting a giant turtle crocodile had not been in the training he had taken. The best he could come up with was to keep everyone out of its way. So roads were blocked and people were cleared out as fast as possible with the limited manpower he had as the giant marched toward the heart of town. Weston got a cup of coffee before clapping on his vest and checking the loads for his rifle. Too bad Minnesota didn't have a hero around to help out. The town could use one. They really needed someone like the Leaguer right now. Weston checked on the small amount of arrangements he could do with his dispatcher before walking out to his cruiser and throwing his bag in the seat. He might as well see the beast for himself. Maybe a good look would suggest a place to shoot it to do the most damage. As the lake monster and sheriff's department started to move into squaring off positions, neither side realized that a third party would enter the picture. The party itself didn't know until Quin Martin, the Question Man, answered the question his host, Odd Dorfman said out loud without realizing it. "What the heck is that?" Odd froze in the act of passing salad dressing to his vegetarian friend as a roar filled the air in his living quarters at the back of his store. "It's the roar of a giant monster." Quin took the bottle and covered his salad lightly. "Have you got any croutons?" "You're kidding." Oz Mike Michaelson stood up. "What's going to happen?" "We're going to stop it." Quin ate a bite of his salad. "I just need to figure out how."

Re: In the Company of Strangers (story) 6 Chad Reilly, the coach of the Mighty Maroons, brushed his short gray hair with a blocky hand as he stepped into the office he shared with three other coaches. He still had papers to grade for the next day. Reilly sat down at his desk, looking at the door. He thought he had heard someone outside in the hall. The janitorial staff had gone home right after he had gotten there with the team bus. The sun had already decided to take to its bed. No one else should be in the building. Then knuckles rapped on the door. "Who is it?" Reilly stood up. It had been a long time since any burglar had scared him. The door opened. A woman with features so bland they could belong to anyone stepped in the office with a tug of the tie she wore. Her black suit absorbed the light, making it appear at first just a head and hands floated in the air across the room from the coach. "Aylwin." Reilly sat down. "Don't tell me it's that time again already." "I'm a little early." The woman pulled a chair from one of the other desks and sat down in front of him with crossed legs. "I was in the area on other business and decided to look in on you before I head back." "That's considerate of you." Reilly didn't try to hide the sarcasm. Being forced into retirement had soured his mood permanently. "I'm fine. You can head back to the project with a clear conscience." "I'm sorry, Enforcer." Aylwin shrugged. "You're on the reserve list. You know that I have to make sure that you are still capable." "No problem." Reilly presented his right thumb. His examiner placed the thumb on a palmtop and pressed the button. A spark shot into the coach's digit as the device did its job. "Anything else?" "This should be fine." Aylwin watched the readout until it said done. Then she read the results with a shake of her head. "You're still declining in output. Tests could show how much, but I expect your powers to start fading in and out pretty soon." "I'm retired from active duty." Reilly stood to indicate the interview was over as far as he was concerned. "It's not as big a deal now." Aylwin nodded at the lie as she stood. She concealed the tester under her jacket with a shrug. "I'll see you next year then." Aylwin paused at the door. "I saw the game today. You have an amazing pitcher for your team." "Bucket?" Reilly sat back down, wary of the implied question in the statement. "He might be a pro if he can get his grades up. The school has a policy so I have to keep my eye on what my kids are doing. His algebra needs to come up if he wants to stay on the field." Aylwin nodded, keeping any more interest out of her bland features. She stepped outside with a quiet closing of the door. Reilly knew exactly what had sparked Aylwin's interest in Tim Bucket. His pitching skill was on the edge of getting him posted to a watch list. Smashing that bat had been a dramatic display of throwing power. The project would mark him if they thought he was over the line. They still might do it just to see if he displayed potential for recruiting down the road. Reilly ignored the call of his papers, sitting in the deserted school. The project had been his home for half his adult life. Now that he was out, he should be looking forward to something more normal, something that didn't involve flying around after ninja monkey brains in a jar. Still the urge was there. And he didn't need Aylwin to know his powers were fading. Flying took as much effort as running now. It was a major task to lift his car. The tough armor that had been his skin barely deflected a paper cut. A year or two and he would not even be able to do that much seemed like a death sentence to him as he sat in his chair wondering what he was going to do. "I'm not going to mope about it." Reilly put the papers away. He could grade them tomorrow. He got up, left his maroon Maroon hat on the desk, and headed for the door. Tomorrow he would be teaching, tonight he would take some time to think about things and live it up a little. Not seeing Aylwin for another year was reason enough for a party right there. Reilly locked the school up before heading out to his truck parked by itself in the school lot. He got behind the wheel, and pulled out on the street. He decided to hit his favorite place for dinner, then maybe a drink at a bar, then a movie at home. Maybe he could even get in a bar fight before heading home. That would really make him feel young again. Reilly felt a tingle and looked toward the lake that most of the town spent their time on at one point or the other. He could have sworn he saw a flash of lightning out there. He put it out of mind, instead focusing on how to ask Tim Bucket to watch his pitching in the future. The kid wouldn't want Uncle Sam watching him like a bug under a microscope for the rest of his life.

Re: Challengers game: The Ferriman Institute It's cool, Log. Stomach virus has been going around the last month. CES

Re: In the Company of Strangers (story) 5 Alice the Owl drifted from her perch, looking out over the rooftops of Marlowe as the sun went down. She spotted Squirrel sitting on the roof, counting money, surrounded by a horde of furry namesakes. She wondered what he had done for the cash. "What's going on, Squirrel?" Alice folded her wings around her, large eyes glowing gold in the light of the setting sun. "Did you get a job?" "Super Squirrel." The man-sized rodent straightened for a second. "And yes, I got a job." "Doing what?" Alice found it hard to believe that anyone would hire someone that looked like an anthropomorphic character. "Bounty hunting." Super Squirrel chattered to his horde. They dispersed with salutes. They bounded to artificial trees he had set up inside the warehouse they were squatting in. "I got a couple bail jumpers while you were sleeping and earned some real money for a change." "I can't believe it." Alice smiled. "We can get real food for a change." "I was thinking of pizza." Super Squirrel straightened his hunched posture, tail wagging a little. "We can have it delivered." "How did you find this job?" Alice's round face frowned. "Who would hire you?" "I was zipping along with my boys, looking around for some money, some food. I stumbled across this guy getting his face kicked in. I had to step in." The Squirrel handed over all but a twenty to Alice. "The guys doing the kicking had money posted on them, so I got half what they were worth. They were beating up the guy who was supposed to take them back to jail." "Only half?" Alice flipped through the money, counting it with the edges of her fingertips. "Even a man as bad as I am isn't going to walk into a police station where the cops will shoot first and ask questions later." Squirrel scratched a round ear before walking over to the edge of the roof. "I'll be right back." Squirrel jumped from the roof, catching hold of a drain pipe. He scrambled down with his bare hands and feet grabbing handholds with surety. He bounded across the empty lot, then hopped the fence in three grab and pulls. He bounded to the corner, keeping to the shadows. Alice shook her head, and placed the money in a treasure box they had liberated from a Goodwill. They had spent a while in Marlowe. Sooner or later, they would have to move on like they always did. Until then, she wanted to enjoy whatever happiness she could. They hadn't always looked like monsters, and she didn't mind flying and being able to see in the dark, but it would be nice not to hide out and run if someone decided to try and lynch them. Squirrel had already bitten one man in self defense. Squirrel came back in a few minutes. He climbed up to join her in the small cabin they had built over the warehouse roof. He checked the toy watch he wore. "Thirty minutes or its free." He settled on his haunches, looking out over the small city fading to shadow. "Where do you want to go to next?" "I'd like to stay for a while." Alice studied his face, seeing the boy he had been before they took up their vagabond life. "I found a couple places that I can raid for clothing, furniture, and things." "Books?" Squirrel hunched down. "I think so." Alice smiled. "I'll look tonight on my rounds." "That would be great." Super Squirrel yawned. "I have to go out and look for this guy tomorrow. I'm hoping to get another couple thousand. We might be able to get a place to live instead of just living in a place." "Would you like that?" Alice reached out with thin fingers, almost touching his face. "I'd like anything you like." Squirrel smiled. "You're the brains and heart of this operation. I just carry you around on my back." "Don't spoil a tender moment." Alice laughed. "Let me go down and check on our pizza." Squirrel yawned again. "Then we'll have dinner, then I'm going to crash." "I'll do my rounds and bring back anything we can use." Alice always staked several places out when they hit a new town to see if there was anything she could scrounge for them. "I'll get you a book to read." "That will be good." Squirrel headed down to ground level. A few minutes later the smell of pizza proceeded him back to the roof. He handed one of the boxes to Alice, and took the other to his chair. "Meat lovers for you, vegetarian for me." They ate in silence, lost in thought. Squirrel put some feed out for his boys when they woke up in the morning before he wrapped himself in a circle and went to sleep. Alice smiled at his sleeping form and placed the boxes in the trash bag she would dump later. She walked to the edge of the roof, spreading her wings. She leaped into the sky, soaring over Marlowe. Alice's circle started the furthest away from their nest, and worked backward to the empty warehouse. Minnesota was mild at the moment, but they would need warmer clothes if they stayed. Right now she had two sets of clothing which was a short sleeved shirt, pants, underwear, and socks. Squirrel had one shirt with a big s on it, and cargo pants. They would need a better wardrobe than that. They would also need to think about heating and feed so the squirrels would be happy. Hibernation was their natural state in the winter, but they would throw that off for their leader as long as he could give them a warm place to live and food to go with it.

Re: Metagaming Question On Universe Building the second if I read your question right. CES

Re: In the Company of Strangers (story) 4 Tim ‘Trebuchet' Bucket stood on the pitcher's mound, tossing the ball in his hand up and down as he checked the runner on first base. It had been a no hitter until the relief pitcher had botched a couple of throws. That put Tim back in the game. Trebuchet readied his stance. His arm tingled as he drew back his hand. More and more it did that, and Tim took it to mean he was going to throw a strike when he released. His arm swept forward, hurling the baseball. The batter swung and connected. The wooden bat broke into two pieces, popping the ball straight up from the impact. Donnie Dubois, the catcher, threw his face mask down as he got under the ball. He held up his glove. The ball fell gently into the webbing. Donnie slung the ball to second base. Rich Handler snagged it out of the air, slapping the runner out with a call from the umpire. Tim shook his arm out. It felt like something was in his pitching arm, moving on its own. He flexed his throwing hand, the sensation riding up to his shoulder. Could something be wrong with his arm? He caught the throw from second, dropping the ball in his right hand. He bounced the leather globe in the air. The spring in his arm wound tight as he prepared to throw. He could definitely feel it now. The next batter came up, taking a couple of practice swings before settling in his stance. The pitcher drew back and released. The ball crossed the diamond before the batter could swing. "Strike!" The umpire made the signal for those who couldn't hear him. Tim caught the throw from Dub, getting ready to pitch again before the catcher could give him a signal. He blasted another one out. The batter saw it coming. He just couldn't swing his bat fast enough to stop it. "Strike two!" The umpire settled behind Dub and the batter. Tim threw again, letting his arm unwind. The ball rolled dust off the ground as it cut across the infield. The batter chopped at it, trying for a grounder. The ball hopped over the wood, dropping into Dub's glove with a gentle slap. "Strike three! You're out." The umpire stood up, taking his mask off as players ran out on the field. Tim Bucket's Mighty Maroons had won the day. The Screaming Eagles would have to go home crying. "Good job, Tim." Coach Reilly smiled. "Good job, everyone. Shake hands and let's start packing our gear." The teams exchanged handshakes under the watchful eyes of their coaches before returning to their dug outs to collect their equipment. Tim hated this part. No one wanted to shake the hand of the boys who won. "Hey, Tim!" Herb Bucket waved his hand. "Good job. Your mom is waiting for us." Tim nodded. Coach Reilly waved him on. No need to ride the bus back home if someone was there to pick you up. He wouldn't if he had driven his car instead of riding with the team. The pitcher tucked his glove under his arm and headed up to the parking lot where his dad looked down on the Eagle field. "Your pitching is excellent." Herb headed for the family Focus. "I still think you need to work on your batting." "I am, Dad." Tim got in the passenger side. "I'm getting good." "You'll be in college, then playing for the Majors with an arm like that." Herb cranked the engine. "Tim Bucket pitches no hitter for the Yankees." "I have to graduate first, Dad." Tim tossed his glove into the back seat. "I might not be good enough to make any team. High school is nothing like the pros." "You have an excellent arm, Timmy." Herb dodged around a van in the way. "Much better than mine ever was. Scouts will knock down the doors to take you." "I doubt that, Dad." Tim smiled. "There are better pitchers than me out there." "I don't think so, Timmy." Herb took a left and headed for the North Road, a four lane highway across Marlowe. "You're better than anyone I have seen. You could pitch for the Cubs right now." "Anyone could pitch for the Cubs, Dad." Tim settled in his chair, working his arm. He definitely wasn't going to tell his dad about his arm, and the curious feeling it had started to give him. He didn't want to spend half the night in the emergency room. Any kind of injury to his arm would have his father doing everything to make sure it was still usable. Tim would rather live with it until it got worse than be poked and prodded. He sometimes wondered if it would be better just to quit the team. He didn't know how his father felt about him anymore. Did he love him for being his son, or for the golden arm he carried around with him? Tim was afraid to ask. The Buckets rode north along the highway, looking at other people trying to get to where they had to be. Tim thought about talking his problems over with someone. He knew he couldn't with his parents. He needed to talk to the coach about this. Coach Reilly seemed to think about more than baseball and sports. Maybe he could give some advice that Tim would find useful. At the moment the boy felt torn by two opposite forces. He wanted to play, but not to let his Dad relive his own dreams that he couldn't pursue. Tim didn't know his father's dream would end in fire and death.

Re: In the Company of Strangers (story) Probably. CES

Re: In the Company of Strangers (story) That's the very first thing I thought of. CES

Re: In the Company of Strangers (story) I did. I hope you like it. CES

Re: Notes from NSU Day Eight Ashlee Summer met up with her sweetie, Jake, while Simon went home alone. A box arrived at Jake's door. A ransom note was inside requesting a meeting. Ash decided to go alone. Steve James called Simon and told him about the meeting after he was told. Simon made it to the park in time to hook up with Ash as she talked to Gate and three of Parsons's minions which included Psi Ice and Scorpion. They were shown that Bonnie the victim had been sucked dry. After a battle, they were placed in a life drain chamber. They busted out and fought their way clear. They returned to Earth from the astral plane. They joined the watch at the beach to wait on the TROLL to surface. Nathan Fellowes woke in his alley with a paper describing what had happened at the hospital. He went by and found out the doctor had been killed while cutting his head open. He went back to the alley and asked around, but found nothing out. He decided to look at the various genetic companies in town. Nathan stumbled over one of Dr. Moto's hideouts while looking at the companies listed in the phone book. He was captured, and sampled. He escaped with the help of a swarm of miniature Colonies who had also been in the doctor's clutches. Nathan had been injected with a formula from the Dr.'s lab, but thought nothing of it while he was escaping. Nathan researched Dr. Moto at the library before returning to Kendo's house. He discovered Kendo's kidnaping. He investigated everything Kendo had done before finally deciding to break in to the house. A squad of cops took him in. He escaped from custody after his body started sprouting arms and fur, and growing his legs together. Nathan returned to Moto's lair. He found it destroyed with a note from Control thanking him. Nathan salvaged some of the doctor's equipment and secured a cure to reverse his monsterization. Jui-Shen and George were trapped like rats when the arsonist came to burn down the shelter. The ninja weasel broke out, saving the homeless with him. He chased the arsonist to the man's car, boarding it. He finally caught a grenade and blew the man up. The police came and shot Jui-Shen while he was trying to make his escape. After everything was sorted out, Jui-Shen was offered a place in the service.

Re: xialin showdown Page 20- Jade rushed over and helped Jonny up. She asked, "Are you okay?" "I'm fine." Jonny reloaded. "So we're going into the basement? Why?" Dr. Gadd let the fan push him along, holding the sensory instrument in front of him. It beeped a few times before turning green. "It's clean down here also." He swept the flashlight around to look the place over. "That is good. So what do we do now?," asked Jade. "My job is done." Jonny Woo held out his hand. "Time to pay up." "I'm going to put this ghost where it belongs." Dr. Gadd dropped the machine to the floor. "My work seems to be done also without the proper equipment." "Oh, sure thing and thank you very much Mr. Woo, and Dr. Gadd. So how much do I owe you both for your help?," said Jade. "Ten K." Jonny Woo brushed off his suit. "No checks, no credit." "Ten K?" Dr. Gadd looked astounded. "Sure thing Mr. Woo. But you know I don't carry that kind of money around with me. So I will have to give it to you when I get to my place. Okay? And as for you, Dr. Gadd, how much do I owe you?," asked Jade. "Nothing." Dr. Gadd smiled. "Your restaurant should be ready to reopen anytime." Jade smiled and bowed and said, "Thank you kindly, Dr. Gadd, but please at least come in when we reopen and be our honored guest." "I will be glad to do that." Dr. Gadd waddled off with his vacuum cleaner. "Are you sure you can pay?" Jonny Woo made a finger and thumb rubbing gesture. "I thought your dad had you on a short lease." "Yes, I'm sure but it may take a little time because I don't have that kind of money just laying around, so you may need to wait for me to get all of the money. Don't worry I can give you what I have now and the rest later. Oh, and if I were you I would kindly watch what I say Mr. Woo," said Jade in a cold voice and with a hard look on her face. "I say what I mean and mean what I say." Mr. Woo gestured for her to go ahead. "The job's done, and a deal is a deal."