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Before you do anything else, you have to address the elephant in the room here. You try your best to give them a disarming smile. "Just watch. It's easier to explain that way." It's cryptic but you don't have it in you to try explaining it further. You kneel down in front of the barely 'alive' corpse Quentin is in. You knock on the body's head before pointing a finger at Lilith's body.

"Go there, please. I think that's a good option." You whisper at Quentin.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Lex gives you an incredulous look. "Shouldn't you be patching 'im up with somethin'? The fuck are you whispering for?"

Ashley slowly backs away. She keeps a calm and collected tone in her voice but it's clear she's concerned where this is going. "Lex. I think she knows what she's doing and that's scaring me. Back away."

"O-okay? Nicky, I hope you're not having an episode or somethin'." He backs up alongside Ashley to have a solid five foot gap between them and you. "Y-you know what you're doing, right?"

"Right. Come on out, Quentin." You look down at the body that has long since stopped moving. Something squirms underneath the decaying face of the soon to be discarded meat puppet. It's long and thin, wrapping around the head with ease. Small limbs all over the long and thin body prod and poke away at the rotten meat it is trapped in. Eventually, the centipede makes a big enough hole to pop its head out of.

"WHAT THE FUCK?!" Lex gags upon seeing it, covering his mouth with his hands. Ashley is watching on with morbid curiosity and dread. "Holy shit. Is that a bug...?"

You hold out your hand to the centipede. It crawls onto your hand. Its many legs tickle at your palm and god, holding it is making you retch. The seven inch centipede scuttles around your hand. It is clearly waiting for you to carry it over. With some hesitation, you head over to Lilith's corpse. The centipede leaps out of your hand to cling onto the corpse's face.

It makes a beeline towards Lilith's ear. A sickening crunching of flesh and cartilage is the only sound you can make out over your beating heart. Lilith's body begins to convulse and twitch as unnatural life begins to force itself back into the lifeless husk. It almost reminds you of the thug you tased except it's more controlled, focused. Groans and unintelligible moans ooze out of its mouth. Its eyes blink wildly. Its breathing is hitched and forced.

[UNSTABLE] It's like watching someone test drive a new car. Figuring out all of the unique quirks and flaws of it. Every vehicle is unique. It simply picked a new one.

'Lilith' gets up on one foot. Her second leg stops being dead weight and gets up as well. She straightens her back with a spine chilling crack. She opens and closes her mouth, testing various sounds with it. Soon, it speaks.

"Thank you for keeping it somewhat intact." It's her voice. There's still emotion in it but it has dampened, lost its spark. It is not her anymore. "This one is usable. For now."

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Perhaps it is the combat high. Maybe you were more fascinated by the resurrection. Maybe it is because it's a freak just like you but...your head feels fine after watching it. Sure, you physically feel sick but you're otherwise calm about the situation.

You turn to look at the others.

Lex has finished voiding his stomach of everything that was in it. His sweat soaked body is shaking violently. "WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK, NICK? T-THAT THING, IT- IT'S A ZOMBIE? ZOMBIE BUG?" He has his back pressed against the wall. "W-WE HAD THAT THING FOLLOWING US? W-WHAT IF IT ATTACKS US NEXT? W-WE SHOULD KILL IT!"

Ashley is more reserved in her reaction. She's sweating just like Lex but she's able to keep herself from vomiting or screeching. "I think we should go. Now. We're fine with three people, not four." Her knuckles has turned white from how tight her grip around her bat is.

You let out a small sigh. You can't deny the simple fact of what you saw was disgusting. Without really thinking about it, you hand over your cigarettes to the two. "Take a break outside. Smoke these. Get some fresh air."

They don't hesitate at all to follow your instructions. The two dip out of the house without saying anything. It doesn't take more than five seconds for you to hear the distinctive sound of a lighter flicking on.

Quentin looks at you. It's hard to call him that mentally when Lilith is staring right at you but somehow, calling 'her' 'Lilith' is deeply wrong to you. "I do believe that could've gone over better." Quentin mutters. "This new body is usable, however. They will understand."

>FRESH BODY: +1 MAX FLESH
>LILITH'S BODY: +2 TALENT, +2 CHARM
>The body will decay over time. You will be informed when these boosts start to decay.

You simply shrug. You make your way back to the Handler's office with Quentin trailing behind you. You sit down at the desk to look at where the image file of the desktop wallpaper is. It doesn't take long to find it. After some fiddling with the computer, you start the process of printing it out. As you wait for it to finish printing, you look back at Quentin.

If it wasn't for what you witnessed first hand and the bloodstained hole still in Lilith's chest, it's almost like she never died. She's still breathing like a human, blinking like a human, she looks normal. Unlike the barely functioning husk that was Quentin's previous body. It is fascinating to see.

[UNSTABLE] You swear you still see the centipede crawling underneath his new face.

The picture soon gets printed out. You put it in your pocket and exit out of the office. You pass by the now fully decaying and rotting body that used to be Quentin's host body. It somehow fully decayed and rotted in seconds. You try not to question it as you step outside.

Lex and Ashley are chatting with each other. They are already half way through each's last cigarette. They look up at you. The presence of Quentin kills the conversation. There's an awkward silence now.

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"...Feh." Lex finishes his cigarette. He drops the butt on the ground and grinds it with his boot. "I don't like him. I don't know what you fucking see in this thing. I don't like how he's in some hot chick's body."

"But I think we can both agree it's better if we tolerate his presence. For the sake of the mission." Ashley snuffs her cigarette in the same way as Lex. "Thanks for the cigs. That helped. A lot."

"Yeah. Some fresh air helped. I dunno, I guess he's more helpful as a dude helpin' us instead of fuckin'...invading my head and turning me into a meat puppet. How the hell does a centipede even do that? Aren't they just bugs?" If it wasn't for you seeing something like this first hand yesterday, you would believe him. You would think it was your mind playing tricks.

"I don't know. I don't care. He's helping us." That's all you can respond with. The two seem to tolerate this for now. "We got a picture. We'll ask some people. After a bit of patching up." You pull out your trauma kit.

It doesn't take long to cover Lex's bruises with the appropriate creams and bandages to treat them. They weren't super awful to begin with and this kit is oddly user friendly with the supplies it gives you. He's right as rain once you're done.
>-1 CHARGE on TRAUMA KIT
>-MALTRO CIGGIES
>+1 FLESH on LEX, ASHLEY and LEX will regenerate RESTRAINT over the mission.

"Damn. High quality shit. You got that from that Z-Corp fag?" He takes a moment to check the quick patchjob you gave him.

"Bought it from a store back in District 7. Not important. We got a picture. We'll ask around. Sound good?" It's best to keep yourself focused on a goal to prevent your voices from distracting you too much. You show the three of them the picture you printed out.

"Sounds good enough." "Yeah, I'm fine with that." "I believe it's a satisfying option to pick."
The two grimace at Quentin's new voice but whatever discomfort they felt is automatically washed away by the nicotine high they're on. That's one less issue to worry about.

Without further ado, the four of you leave the house and the MANY corpses rotting there for someone else to find. The orange haze of District 8 has only gotten worse since you last saw it a hour or so ago. The grinding of gears. The horrid stench of sulfur and smoke. It's impressive how anyone can work, let alone live, here.

[SEEKER OF THE CITY] Simply put, sometimes there is no other option for people. This is where you go when there's no other options.
[SEEKER OF THE CITY] They are willing to do anything to get something better.

Most of the people you're walking past are looking on at your outfits in fear. You didn't exactly have time to remove them in between your bluffing attempt and the swarm of combat. Oh well. You can always clarify that later. You just need to find someone desperate enough to answer your questions.

You eventually stumble across two exhausted, bone tired workers sitting at a street corner.

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Their face masks are stuffed to the brim with scented candle wax and long since wilted flowers. A poor attempt to keep the horrid smell of the District away from them. They narrow their eyes when you approach them.

"Excuse us, sirs." Quentin steps forward. He points a thin finger at the picture you have in your hands. "Do you happen to recognize this man in a jacket? We are attempting to find him."

The taller of the two workers lets out an exhausted sigh. "Don't you have. The same jacket? You should know. Where." His speaking is slow, half finished. He's barely there. The shorter one narrows his eyes at the picture and the four of you.

"You aints ones of thems, rights?" He hisses with obvious strain in his voice. "I can tells. Ya aints like thems." He keeps slurring his words with so many "s"s.

"It seems. So. I know how. It is." The taller one groans in agony. "Young lady. One. Two. And Three. I know. Where his type may. Be?"

"Well? Go on." Lex taps his foot. "We don't got all day."

"Yeah, yeahs. I recognize the jacketed guy. He keeps going to this dell I eats at. Latelys, he's beens sending some young punk with a similar jacket in his stead instead, since his head-"

"Please shut the fuck up and finish the story, please." Ashley snaps at him, clearly impatient with what's going on. The smaller one shrugs with indifference.

"Down the street. Take two lefts and a right. It's LambLambBamBam. Big building with yellows and pinks and other girly colors. Owner said it's because of his daughter. Weird but the meat's good."

Good. You have a solid lead now. The four of you quickly head down the street according to his instructions. Luckily, most people are giving you a lot of distance, so passing by them isn't a real issue here. Soon enough, you stumble upon the building you think the main was describing.

https://youtu.be/2wEpcwDefkQ - LambLambBamBam

In a sea of grey and brutalist buildings, a small deli with a buncha bright and flashy colors stands out like a sore thumb. A horde of cardboard cutouts of cartoonish anthropomorphic sheeps in deli worker outfits stand at the front of the building. Various goofy posters offering deals like "SUGARED HAMS", "PICKLED CHICKEN EYES", and "HARVESTER APPROVED SPECIALS" line the windows; You can't make out much of the actual building from here.

"Can we go back to killing people." Lex blankly states. "I don't want to be anywhere near here."
"This is...something?" Ashley is bemused. "Harvesters, huh? Working in a deli? Fitting, I guess?"
"..." Quentin pouts. "This is an insult to all known marketing and professionalism standards. I would like a word with the owner. Preferably with a weapon."

"No, wait, we can do something here. The gang boss supposedly sends a trusted lackey here." You snap your fingers. "We can do something with that. Lemme think."

The others wait for your plan. What do you suggest to your three expecting allies? You got a decent amount of options here...

>You bought an aerial drone for a reason. Hide somewhere, have the drone observe at a safe distance. Watch for your target. (-1 CHARGE on your AERIAL DRONE. You'll likely find the location of where the gangboss is but not a lot of extra info. A safe option.)
>[LILITH BODY] Quentin's new body probably has some decent history here if Strikers visit regularly. Tell him to go inside and pretend to be Lilith. (CHARM DC: 11 with Quentin's CHARM. Pass and you'll get some useful information on the Strikers, their base, and how Quentin should 'act' as Lilith in the future. Failure and you're liable to make the owner suspicious and clam up.)
>Take off your jackets and enter in there as regular customers. Watch and observe what goes on there. (Each ally rolls a DC 6 RESTRAINT check to keep their cool. The more successes, the more information about the various quirks of the Strikers and their base you can exploit you learn about.)
>[UNSTABLE] Puppeteer his body when he shows up, drag him into an alley, and have your bruisers beat him into submission. (-2 RESTRAINT, you'll get a lot of valuable information out of him and he'll reluctantly assist you to save his own skin.)
>[CHECKERED JACKETS + MEMBERSHIP CARDS] Might as well use your disguises while you can. Go in, pretend to be Strikers, get whatever special treatment you can get there. (FREE ACTION. Liable to raise suspicion but you'll get a decent amount of supplies for free.)
>[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] Steal the Striker's wallet with your telekinesis when he leaves before following him. When he spots you, give it back. You can't be mad if someone was just trying to return a wallet. (-1 RESTRAINT, TALENT DC: 8. Pass and you'll both get the location of where the base is AND favor with the Strikers, lowering their guard massively around you. Fail and they'll probably notice the psychic pickpocketing them, causing a fight.)
>Write in.

Welcome back. Sorry for the late update but turns out, my house had a fucked up roof. Had to get that sorted. It's all good now.

>>5850172
>>[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] Steal the Striker's wallet with your telekinesis when he leaves before following him. When he spots you, give it back. You can't be mad if someone was just trying to return a wallet. (-1 RESTRAINT, TALENT DC: 8. Pass and you'll both get the location of where the base is AND favor with the Strikers, lowering their guard massively around you. Fail and they'll probably notice the psychic pickpocketing them, causing a fight.)

>>5850166
Centipede Quentin crawling around in your hand and patiently waiting for you to take him to the next meat puppet for him to grotesquely ressurect and pilot like a putrid, decaying mech is honestly fucking adorable

>>5850172
>[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] Steal the Striker's wallet with your telekinesis when he leaves before following him. When he spots you, give it back. You can't be mad if someone was just trying to return a wallet. (-1 RESTRAINT, TALENT DC: 8. Pass and you'll both get the location of where the base is AND favor with the Strikers, lowering their guard massively around you. Fail and they'll probably notice the psychic pickpocketing them, causing a fight.)
If this goes wrong, we just kill him, which which was on the itinerary anyway. In which case we just do one of our other plans from earlier, if we get absolutely nothing out of it.

>>5850172
>[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] Steal the Striker's wallet with your telekinesis when he leaves before following him. When he spots you, give it back. You can't be mad if someone was just trying to return a wallet. (-1 RESTRAINT, TALENT DC: 8. Pass and you'll both get the location of where the base is AND favor with the Strikers, lowering their guard massively around you. Fail and they'll probably notice the psychic pickpocketing them, causing a fight.)

>>5850172
>[LILITH BODY] Quentin's new body probably has some decent history here if Strikers visit regularly. Tell him to go inside and pretend to be Lilith. (CHARM DC: 11 with Quentin's CHARM. Pass and you'll get some useful information on the Strikers, their base, and how Quentin should 'act' as Lilith in the future. Failure and you're liable to make the owner suspicious and clam up.)
How grindy is Limbus Company for someone who doesn't spend money? I love PM, but gachas scare me.

>>5850172
>>[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] Steal the Striker's wallet with your telekinesis when he leaves before following him. When he spots you, give it back. You can't be mad if someone was just trying to return a wallet. (-1 RESTRAINT, TALENT DC: 8. Pass and you'll both get the location of where the base is AND favor with the Strikers, lowering their guard massively around you. Fail and they'll probably notice the psychic pickpocketing them, causing a fight.)

>>5850172
>>[CHECKERED JACKETS + MEMBERSHIP CARDS] Might as well use your disguises while you can. Go in, pretend to be Strikers, get whatever special treatment you can get there. (FREE ACTION. Liable to raise suspicion but you'll get a decent amount of supplies for free.)
>>[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] Steal the Striker's wallet with your telekinesis when he leaves before following him. When he spots you, give it back. You can't be mad if someone was just trying to return a wallet. (-1 RESTRAINT, TALENT DC: 8. Pass and you'll both get the location of where the base is AND favor with the Strikers, lowering their guard massively around you. Fail and they'll probably notice the psychic pickpocketing them, causing a fight.)

>>5850172
>[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] Steal the Striker's wallet with your telekinesis when he leaves before following him. When he spots you, give it back. You can't be mad if someone was just trying to return a wallet. (-1 RESTRAINT, TALENT DC: 8. Pass and you'll both get the location of where the base is AND favor with the Strikers, lowering their guard massively around you. Fail and they'll probably notice the psychic pickpocketing them, causing a fight.)
I wanna save the jackets and IDs for the base infiltration. They'll help us blend in stronger there

>>5850172
>[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] Steal the Striker's wallet with your telekinesis when he leaves before following him. When he spots you, give it back. You can't be mad if someone was just trying to return a wallet. (-1 RESTRAINT, TALENT DC: 8. Pass and you'll both get the location of where the base is AND favor with the Strikers, lowering their guard massively around you. Fail and they'll probably notice the psychic pickpocketing them, causing a fight.)

>>5850172
>>You bought an aerial drone for a reason. Hide somewhere, have the drone observe at a safe distance. Watch for your target. (-1 CHARGE on your AERIAL DRONE. You'll likely find the location of where the gangboss is but not a lot of extra info. A safe option.)

>>5850172
>[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] Steal the Striker's wallet with your telekinesis when he leaves before following him. When he spots you, give it back. You can't be mad if someone was just trying to return a wallet. (-1 RESTRAINT, TALENT DC: 8. Pass and you'll both get the location of where the base is AND favor with the Strikers, lowering their guard massively around you. Fail and they'll probably notice the psychic pickpocketing them, causing a fight.)
>>5850246
Base Heathcliff/Hong Lu/Outis will carry you a long way. You can reroll account on mobile if necessary then link to steam to get a good guaranteed 3 star on the f2p pull, N Sinclair / Rabbit Heathcliff are the big ones. Save up your lunacy for Walpurgisnacht when it comes around since you can't shard units there (though even that is unlocked after a few months), use shards instead for units, never pull on an EGO banner, always ten pull for guaranteed 00 if you can.
You can pretty much just grind Mirror Dungeon Hard from there to slowly get meta units by shard extraction and you'll be fine. Faust Fluid Sac is a must have for lategame so make sure to extract that EGO and have a decent Faust identity (any are fine except base, LC Faust is cheap and strong). The seasonal Battle Pass is very good for its value though if you care enough to do dailies and a weekly mirror dungeon since it triples shard gain once maxxed (doesn't take that long) and comes with a fuckton of EGO/boxes

>>5850172
>>[LILITH BODY] Quentin's new body probably has some decent history here if Strikers visit regularly. Tell him to go inside and pretend to be Lilith. (CHARM DC: 11 with Quentin's CHARM. Pass and you'll get some useful information on the Strikers, their base, and how Quentin should 'act' as Lilith in the future. Failure and you're liable to make the owner suspicious and clam up.)

Alright, closing the vote. Stealing the wallet via telekinesis is the winning action. Two anons, roll 2d6. If the total of both adds up to 8, it passes.
>>5850246
It's ultimately still a gacha at the end of the day but you won't really hit any major brickwalls until Canto IV and V. Most of the game has been tweaked and nerfed from when I first played it ages ago.

Rolled 3, 5 = 8 (2d6)

>>5851001
Rollan

Rolled 1, 6 = 7 (2d6)

>>5851001

>15
Nice. Passed. Writing.

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The benefit of your, to be quite frank, not all there mental state is having powers. This is a perfect time to use one of them. You nod towards your three allies. "We'll wait for him to arrive. Then we'll follow him. Simple." Quentin and Lex merely shrug at the idea, accepting it.

Ashley seems a bit more hesitant on it. "If he spots us, he's going to get all antsy. Four people trailing after you is gonna do that. I don't think staring a fight in public is a good idea either."

"Trust me, it'll work out. You'll see!" Lex and Ashley both flinch at that. Right, the last time you told them something along that...oh well. They'll actually see this time. The four of you wait nearby the deli, pretending to do something other than waiting for one specific person to arrive.

It doesn't take long for him to arrive. A boy who can't be any older than sixteen with short, blonde hair starts to approach the deli. He has the checkered jacket you've seen all of the other Strikers wear so you know he's the one. He enters the deli without any of you doing anything yet. You wait.

After ten or so minutes, he exits the deli with a plastic bag. He has his wallet in his hand. Good. You take a deep breath in and clear your mind. You focus on the wallet and tug on it with your mind. The strain of forcing your thoughts to overpower the grip of his hand BURNS. It never gets easier.
>5/7 RESTRAINT LEFT

The important thing is that his hand loses grip on it remarkably fast. Before you know it, you already have the wallet in your hand. Understandably, your three allies are bewildered at seeing a wallet flying from his hand to yours. You start to follow after the non-walletless Striker. You can tell your pals have some questions on what they say but they're saving it for later.

The streets begin to shift and change as you follow him. The industrial and brutalist buildings around you begin to decay and twist in on themselves. A clear sign of no one having bothered to maintain whatever part of the District you're in now. The stench of burning plastic and smog fills your noise. The sidewalk you're walking on is caked with a thick layer of garbage and waste.

It doesn't take long for him to notice the four of you trailing after him. Ashley was right in that regard but this is part of your plan. He looks at the four of you, narrowing his eyes in suspicion. "The fuck do you want?" He reaches a hand towards his belt. You hold out his wallet.

"You dropped this. Didn't take nothing from it. You can check."

He narrows his eyes even more until he looks like a character from a racist cartoon. He grabs the wallet and opens it to check what is inside of it. The four of you wait there awkwardly while he sees if you were telling the truth. With a huff, he puts the wallet back in his pocket.

"Thanks. My boss would've killed me if I lost that." He unnarrows his eyes before glancing around. You do as well. The two of you realize that you're at the base he was heading back to.

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https://youtu.be/clX4YQwnpL0 - THEIR BASE

It can barely be called a 'base', actually. The thing in front of you is a barely held together pile of concrete, rebar, brick and wood in a poor facsimile of a building. What could be generously described as window frames have long since been boarded up with welded on sheet metal.

Three guards stand around the front entrance of the building. Unlike the other thugs you've seen, they're in some pretty thick and bulky outfits made out of some sort of thick fabric, sorta like a fireman's outfit. Thick gas masks and helmets shield their faces as well.

They have leashes made out of the same thick fireproof(?) fabric in their hands. They're connected to collars that are wrapped around big, stick-bug like creatures. Their limbs are sharp and jagged and their black carapace has several dark-red cracks on them. You recognize them. Firecrackers, you saw them when you found the warehouse they kidnapped Benjamin at.

Seems like they learnt their lessons from your previous trick given how they're wrapped in as much fireproof stuff as possible. Lex seems to recognize what's going on to and lets out a small groan.

Your attention is snapped back to the young boy you handed the wallet back to. He's already talking to the three guards standing outside of the base. You can't make out much from here but it seems to involve your group somehow. The young boy enters after finishing whatever he was saying to them.

The three guards look back at you, seemingly trying to analyze you...but they shrug with disinterest. They start looking at anywhere and anyone passing by BESIDES the four of you. Whatever the boy said to them seems to have made them not even want to acknowledge your presence. Interesting.
>DCs for the next vote have been lowered.

"I think we can just walk in if we wanted to." Lex crosses his arms. "That little favor Nicky earnt us is probably enough for them."

"I don't know." Ashley scratches her neck with an agitated look on her face. "I don't think it's that easy. We got the right stuff to blend in but we'll be in the lion's den if we go that way."

"So? Apparently we have a fucking psychic here." Lex places a head on your head. "I bet she has some wild bullshit she can pull off." He nervously glances at Quentin. "...and we do have a meatshield."

"No offense taken." Quentin chirps. "I believe your own shells and layers of skin should be focused on over me. I believe they're quite fragile compared to my intended ones."

"What the fuck is that supposed to me?" Lex is absolutely bewildered by the comment. Ashley rubs her arm with obvious discomfort.

"Psychics predict the future and read minds, Lex. I can't do that." Not yet, anyways. "Look, I'll think of something, alright?" You ARE at the base in question. You're probably close to the goal of crippling the gang enough to satisfy the Handler if you can pull off a decent plan.

What to do, Nicole?

>Just go in through the front door? There's nothing stopping you this time. Show them the stuff they want to see and go in like normal people. (The guards might be a problem later but you'll get in without any hassle.)
>Going through the front door is what they EXPECT. Take a moment to search around the outside of the building for any sneaky ways in. (COGNIZANCE DC: 18, rolling 7d6 with your allies' assistance. Pass and you'll find a hidden way in to try launching an ambush from or to try stealing them blind. Fail and you'll probably raise some alarms.)
>[LILITH BODY] Have Quentin talk to the guards and spin a story about what happened at the Handler's house. (FREE ACTION, CHARM DC: 10 with Quentin's CHARM. Pass and they'll reward him, and by proxy you, with some supplies and cash. Fail and while they don't do anything yet, they'll be suspicious of your party.)
>[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] You rather not have the guards around to annoy your party if shit goes south. As you go in, loosen their grips on the leashes with your telekinesis and watch those Firecrackers run. (-1 RESTRAINT, WILLPOWER DC: 12. Pass and the guards will be too busy trying to recontain them to stop you in case you need to retreat or you kill the other Strikers. Fail and you'll just waste a RESTRAINT point.)
>[CHECKERED JACKETS] [MEMBERSHIP CARDS] Go up to the guards and ask them some questions. Pretend to be some clueless newbies that just joined. (FREE ACTION. Write up to three questions to ask them. They'll try their best to answer them.)
>You got another plan. (Write in.)

>>5851159
>>[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] You rather not have the guards around to annoy your party if shit goes south. As you go in, loosen their grips on the leashes with your telekinesis and watch those Firecrackers run. (-1 RESTRAINT, WILLPOWER DC: 12. Pass and the guards will be too busy trying to recontain them to stop you in case you need to retreat or you kill the other Strikers. Fail and you'll just waste a RESTRAINT point.)
We are on a mission to destroy these people, lets get rid of the potential future problem here. We might wanna take it easy next mission and try and regen our restraint though.

>>5851159
>>>[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] You rather not have the guards around to annoy your party if shit goes south. As you go in, loosen their grips on the leashes with your telekinesis and watch those Firecrackers run. (-1 RESTRAINT, WILLPOWER DC: 12. Pass and the guards will be too busy trying to recontain them to stop you in case you need to retreat or you kill the other Strikers. Fail and you'll just waste a RESTRAINT point.)

>>5851168
What happened after we destroyed Striker? We can end up creating a power vacuum. We may replace strikers with even worse gangs after the power vacuum fills up.

>>5851195
We are cleaners, that means more money for us.

Should we investigate other gangs first to find out if they are worse than strikers, or maybe less worse than strikers, or potentially find a goodish gang to fill the power vacuum?

>>5851198
It's the City.
Whatever we do, things will only get worse.

>>5851195
Change
>>5851159
>You got another plan. (Write in.)

>Investigate other rival gang to find out if them are worse than strikers or less worse than strikers.

Question QM.

Is this quest a nobledark or a grimdark?

>>5851201
I'm not a fun misery porn or grimdark for grimdark sake.

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>>5851214
Nobledark, if I had to slap a label. You are not liable to make massive sweeping changes to the world from your small position of "glorified mercenary/gig economy cuck" but you can make changes that positively benefit the people and world around you.
You helped prevent a man from distorting into a horrid monster and you saved someone who was kidnapped. You have people who would stick their neck out for you. The City sucks but you do have the power to change it in small ways. It's not gonna be misery porn. That's simply not fun to write for me and it's not fun to read lest you go full Warhammer 40k with it.
>>5851210
You can absolutely go out of your way to try finding a gang who could fill the power vacuum. The Handler only cares that the Strikers get fucked. Anything else is fair game.

>>5851221
>Nobledark
>Illustrated with a W-Corp reference

>>5851227
Fair, W-Corp was a bad example, I just wanted to post a Don image.
Again, I don't like slapping labels on things, but shit isn't going to be doom and gloom for the sake of it. That's my general point I was trying to put across. I don't particularly like using terms like Grimdark and Nobledark anyways.

>>5851210
edit
> Investigate other rival gangs to find out if they are worse than strikers or less worse than strikers. And try to find the least bad, or maybe goodish, gang to fill the power vacuum after dismantling or completely destroying the striker gang.

>>5851159
>>[LILITH BODY] Have Quentin talk to the guards and spin a story about what happened at the Handler's house. (FREE ACTION, CHARM DC: 10 with Quentin's CHARM. Pass and they'll reward him, and by proxy you, with some supplies and cash. Fail and while they don't do anything yet, they'll be suspicious of your party.)
>>[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] You rather not have the guards around to annoy your party if shit goes south. As you go in, loosen their grips on the leashes with your telekinesis and watch those Firecrackers run. (-1 RESTRAINT, WILLPOWER DC: 12. Pass and the guards will be too busy trying to recontain them to stop you in case you need to retreat or you kill the other Strikers.

>>5851159
>[LILITH BODY] Have Quentin talk to the guards and spin a story about what happened at the Handler's house. (FREE ACTION, CHARM DC: 10 with Quentin's CHARM. Pass and they'll reward him, and by proxy you, with some supplies and cash. Fail and while they don't do anything yet, they'll be suspicious of your party.)
>[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] You rather not have the guards around to annoy your party if shit goes south. As you go in, loosen their grips on the leashes with your telekinesis and watch those Firecrackers run. (-1 RESTRAINT, WILLPOWER DC: 12. Pass and the guards will be too busy trying to recontain them to stop you in case you need to retreat or you kill the other Strikers. Fail and you'll just waste a RESTRAINT point.)

>>5851334
+1, I like this. If Quentin does fail, well we're getting the gaurds off our backs anyways.

>>5851198
From my understanding, our job here is to just crush this gang at our Handler's behest because they trashed one of his houses. At the end of the day, we're simply just trying to get paid, and just trying to stay alive. But I guess who knows if opportunity will rear its head and if it'll be beneficial. We may be a bit out of our depth trying to intermingle with this district's gang politics, but having another gang's backing might just help us succeed here. Though it also may also give us some more unwanted attention

>>5851301
Change
>>5851159
>[LILITH BODY] Have Quentin talk to the guards and spin a story about what happened at the Handler's house. (FREE ACTION, CHARM DC: 10 with Quentin's CHARM. Pass and they'll reward him, and by proxy you, with some supplies and cash. Fail and while they don't do anything yet, they'll be suspicious of your party.)
>[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] You rather not have the guards around to annoy your party if shit goes south. As you go in, loosen their grips on the leashes with your telekinesis and watch those Firecrackers run. (-1 RESTRAINT, WILLPOWER DC: 12. Pass and the guards will be too busy trying to recontain them to stop you in case you need to retreat or you kill the other Strikers. Fail and you'll just waste a RESTRAINT point.)

>>5851159
>>[LILITH BODY] Have Quentin talk to the guards and spin a story about what happened at the Handler's house. (FREE ACTION, CHARM DC: 10 with Quentin's CHARM. Pass and they'll reward him, and by proxy you, with some supplies and cash. Fail and while they don't do anything yet, they'll be suspicious of your party.)
>>[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] You rather not have the guards around to annoy your party if shit goes south. As you go in, loosen their grips on the leashes with your telekinesis and watch those Firecrackers run. (-1 RESTRAINT, WILLPOWER DC: 12. Pass and the guards will be too busy trying to recontain them to stop you in case you need to retreat or you kill the other Strikers. Fail and you'll just waste a RESTRAINT point.)

Alright, seems like it's pretty set in stone what people want. Two anons, roll the following
>4d6 for Quentin's charm check
>4d6 for your Willpower check

Rolled 6, 5, 4, 1 = 16 (4d6)

>>5852197

Rolled 2, 6, 4, 3 = 15 (4d6)

>>5852197

>>5852203
>>5852206
Decent rolls, passed. Writing.

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"Okay, we'll go in, they're outright allowing us to. First, Quentin, uh...talk to the guards? You do have that whole Lilith...body. Thing." You're not really sure how to describe it in words but he gets the general idea well enough. He nods his head.

"I'll try. That is all I can promise." With every second he speaks with her body, the voice loses more and more emotion. You're not quite sure how this is going to work but you hope it will. He barks out at the guards when he starts walking over to them.

You can't quite make the conversation they're having from over here so to burn the time, you look over at Lex and Ashley. "So. I'm not exactly that well versed with gangs but...if we get rid of them, wouldn't it cause a power vacuum? Maybe we'll make things worse?"

Ashley actually seems impressed you brought this up. "Oh, it probably will-" She promptly gets interrupted by Lex before she can say anything else. "So what? It's not like that's a problem we have to worry about. We're here to kill them. That's all we should worry on."

"No, no." Ashley snaps her fingers. "She has a point. It would be something to worry about but I've seen my fair share of gangs rising and fallin'. If four of us can make a sizable enough dent in 'em to throw them out of power, they were on the chopping block anyways."

"So, we're just speeding up the process if we're successful?"

"If we don't get our brains splattered, that is." A low and snide giggle trickles out of her throat.

"Maybe we can try finding a g-good gang to take up the power vacuum?" Even if you're more set on the mission than anything, you rather ask than not. Lex simply snorts at the comment.

"A good gang? A good Syndicate? You have better luck finding a flower growing out of a dumpster than that." He pats you on the back. "I get the sentiment, Nicky, I do. But I think we should worry about ourselves first."

[UNSTABLE] Perhaps we can take over the gang. Make them our bitch. Get our allies in high positions of power, even? It'll be WONDERF-
[PERSON OF INTEREST] They make too much of a mess. Too much attention drawn to them. They would rat us out and sell us to the ones in silver.

You're a bit disappointed at the lackluster reception of your concerns but you can hardly fault them. You wouldn't really know where to start either. You know a lot on the City when you put your mind to it but only in a general scale, not on the micro-level like this. Before you get too invested in your own thoughts, you see Quentin coming back to the three of you.

"You three. Were the one at the house. Previous body ambushed them, he was heavily armed. We killed him. They believed it. Assume the part."

The three of you exchange glances with each other. Well then. When you turn back to look at him, you notice he's carrying a small briefcase in his hands. He opens it up to show you what's inside. Wow, you didn't quite expect a haul like that with this idea.

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A few wads of cold, hard cash would obviously be impressive but the thing that stands out to you are the various hard drugs just casually thrown in there. You're not even sure what expression to make. Ashley seems...almost insulted by the carelessness of handing out this stuff while Lex stares at you with puppet dog eyes.

"We gotta try some of this shit out later."

LOOT ACQUIRED
>$150
>RASPBERRY SINSU x4 (A low-quality knockoff of a well known Z-Corp product. Lowers all FLESH damage taken by 1 for a short period of time when consumed.)
>ARCADY DUST x2 (Powder from a lethally poisonous plant. Safe to consume in small doses. Heals 3 RESTRAINT and temporarily raises WILLPOWER by 1. Also temporarily lowers COGZINANCE, CHARM, and TALENT by 1 until you rest.)
>BROWN VIAL x3 (A brown fluid in a glass vial. Formerly supplied to J and X-Company soldiers. Now sold as a street drug. When consumed, you roll d8s instead of d6s on the next skill check or attack you make.)
>PISTOL ROUND x4 (Usable by your HANDMADE GUNS)
>SHOTGUN SLUG x3 (Not useful currently but can be traded or sold at shops or saved for when you do find a shotgun.)

"They really don't care who they give shit to, huh." Ashley almost sounds as dead inside as Quentin does with how deadpan she was. "Let's just go inside already. They frankly deserve to die."

"Agreed." Lex simply nods his head. Quentin doesn't bother responding.

You lead the way forward after you're done checking all of the stuff you kinda tricked out of the Strikers. The Firecrackers snarl and crackle when you approach the front door. The guards silently pull on the leashes until it's taut, shutting the stick bugs up. The guard closest to you nods his head. With his left hand, he gestures at you to go inside.

You wait for your three allies to walk in ahead of you before you follow after. While feigning interest in the strange stick bug, you start focusing on the leashes the three guards are holding. It takes a lot more energy to force it out of their hands given they have a damn tight hold on the leashes.

>4/7 RESTRAINT LEFT

A light purple glow only you can see surrounds their leashes. The guards can clearly feel the odd pull trying to loosen their hold on their leashes. It becomes a game of tug of war between them and your thoughts. After some struggle, you get a clever idea. You simply stop using your ability for a short bit when the guards pull HARD against your telekinesis.

This results in them pulling hard enough on their leashes to make small tears all across it. You take a moment to rip at the tears with your mind. Sure enough, now that they're without their leashes, they take this chance to start running around like crazy. You take this moment to enter inside while they're busy with that. They'll probably be real busy handling that for a while.

"GOD FUCKING DAMNIT NOT AGAIN!!!" You hear a faintly familiar voice from one of the guards as you disappear into the base. Oh well.

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Your head throbs in agony. You're not quite sure how much more of your powers you can use before your mind starts acting out. Oh well, you rather have some intense headaches over dying.

You're quite shocked when you step fully inside the base and you see how active it actually is inside. The four of you blend in easily with the hordes of fellow checkered jackets roaming the hallways of the building. It only takes a few steps past the front door to spill out into what looks like a dance floor in a club.

Wait.

https://youtu.be/rsrmDs1LkP4 - PARTY

No, yeah, it is a dance floor. Dozens of men and women in checkered jackets are dancing around on the dance floor while several DJs are trying their best to keep the music going. It's nearly pitch black in here if it wasn't for the massive disco ball lighting the place up. A swarm of people are busy drinking themselves retarded at the two separate bars at either end of the room.

Your face twists into a grimace when you see how touchy grabby some of the people on the dance floor are. You're just glad that they still have their clothes on. Doesn't make the fact you saw two people basically trying to devour each other's mouths any less repulsive to you.

Lex and Ashley are in their element right now. They instantly go to get the attention off of you and Quentin by socializing with the various Strikers around the place. You take this moment to try exploring the place further to get more information on what to do. With their help, no one is bothering the two of you.

[SEEKER OF THE CITY] It's been a while since you've been in a club like this. Last time you were at one, you blacked out and woke back at your dad's house. He never told you how you got back home.
[UNSTABLE] Where are the drugs? There has to be some hard shit in here. Something to open your mind's eye, man! To remove this SHITTY SHELL YOU'RE IN!

Most of the things you see are typical club stuff. The stage where the DJs and musicians are having fun, the bars, the bathrooms you KNOW smell like absolute dogshit. There's a few things that do catch your attention. There's a staircase between the bar to the east and the stage at the back. You can make out some windows at the second floor that show off some sort of office room. Sitting at the chair is a man with stark blonde hair and a familiar frame.

You check the picture you printed out. Quentin takes a look at it before looking back at the man in the office. He nods his head. "I believe that is the target."

He seems to be busy with two androids? You grimace when you realize they're wearing skimpy outfits that barely cover anything. He couldn't even be normal when it comes to this kind of stuff? Whatever the case, he seems far too busy with them to be paying attention to his surroundings.

Though you do note how you can just barely make out two armed guards in his office. They're armed to the teeth with shotguns. That's both promising and a problem.

What's your plan now, Nicole? You're close to the goal at hand.
>[LILITH BODY] You can probably just waltz up in there given the body Quentin is wearing. Go up to the office with you and your allies to meet the Boss face to face. (You might be able to get some information out of him this way.)
>[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] Try to rile up a fight at the dance floor with some body puppeteering. A place filled with drunk thugs is a powder keg ready to blow. (-2 RESTRAINT, the massive fight that'll break out will absolutely get the boss's attention and throw the whole place into chaos. It could be the perfect chance to kill him while he and his guards are thrown off guard.)
>[UNSTABLE] Go to the bathroom. Place the nerve gas canister you got in one of the stalls. Put your gas mask on. Open it. Watch the bodies drop. (-HAPPY HAPPY FUN GAS. The nerve gas is likely to wipe out or severely cripple most of the thugs here. You and Quentin will be unaffected for different reasons but Ashley and Lex will have to stay outside, which may bite you if there's any survivors.)
>Perhaps you can sow a bit of discord in here with some bribery. Toss a few bills here and you'll have some 'friends'. (FREE ACTION. -$300 but you'll gain some temporary thug allies to help you out for this mission.)
>[MEMBERSHIP CARDS] [CHECKERED JACKETS] You know, why not just act like one of the thugs for a bit. Drink a little. Dance. Socialize with your allies. Wait for the boss to come out and see how he does things. (+2 RESTRAINT from relaxing and you have a chance to improve RAPPORT with your allies while you wait for him to come out.)
>[ECM JAMMER] [NIGHT VISION GOGGLES] Knock the power out to the whole place with your ECM jammer. Use the chaos this causes to try ambushing the boss in his office with your allies. (-ECM JAMMER, TALENT DC: 15. You'll knock the place into darkness either way but you'll get a solid sneak attack on the guards, leaving the Boss all alone for you to deal with Failure will result in your party making too much noise, causing you to enter a COMBAT ENCOUNTER.)
>Consume some drugs. You might need them in case shit goes south. (FREE ACTION. Write in what consumables you want to use.)
>Write in (Leave the club to do something else? Use another one of your abilities? Tell your allies to do something? Something else?)

>>5852407
>>[MEMBERSHIP CARDS] [CHECKERED JACKETS] You know, why not just act like one of the thugs for a bit. Drink a little. Dance. Socialize with your allies. Wait for the boss to come out and see how he does things. (+2 RESTRAINT from relaxing and you have a chance to improve RAPPORT with your allies while you wait for him to come out.)
I feel like we aren't in much of a rush, the most we lose is the guards managing to get the firecrackers under control. And even if that happens we'll be at a net even for restraint loss with a plus in rapport. Better to scope this out a bit before we get a plan going,

>>5852411
>>[MEMBERSHIP CARDS] [CHECKERED JACKETS] You know, why not just act like one of the thugs for a bit. Drink a little. Dance. Socialize with your allies. Wait for the boss to come out and see how he does things. (+2 RESTRAINT from relaxing and you have a chance to improve RAPPORT with your allies while you wait for him to come out.)

>>5852411
>[UNSTABLE] Go to the bathroom. Place the nerve gas canister you got in one of the stalls. Put your gas mask on. Open it. Watch the bodies drop. (-HAPPY HAPPY FUN GAS. The nerve gas is likely to wipe out or severely cripple most of the thugs here. You and Quentin will be unaffected for different reasons but Ashley and Lex will have to stay outside, which may bite you if there's any survivors.)
I mean, what else would we use it for?

>>5852411
>[MEMBERSHIP CARDS] [CHECKERED JACKETS] You know, why not just act like one of the thugs for a bit. Drink a little. Dance. Socialize with your allies. Wait for the boss to come out and see how he does things. (+2 RESTRAINT from relaxing and you have a chance to improve RAPPORT with your allies while you wait for him to come out.)

>>5852411
>[MEMBERSHIP CARDS] [CHECKERED JACKETS] You know, why not just act like one of the thugs for a bit. Drink a little. Dance. Socialize with your allies. Wait for the boss to come out and see how he does things. (+2 RESTRAINT from relaxing and you have a chance to improve RAPPORT with your allies while you wait for him to come out.)
We're never going to use these things again once we behead this gang for good.

>>5852501
I want to do this after, once we know the boss is here. We can locate the air supply or AC control, and hook the gas up to that, then stay outside and kill whoever leaves

>>5852411
>>[LILITH BODY] You can probably just waltz up in there given the body Quentin is wearing. Go up to the office with you and your allies to meet the Boss face to face. (You might be able to get some information out of him this way.)

>>5852411
>>[ECM JAMMER] [NIGHT VISION GOGGLES] Knock the power out to the whole place with your ECM jammer. Use the chaos this causes to try ambushing the boss in his office with your allies. (-ECM JAMMER, TALENT DC: 15. You'll knock the place into darkness either way but you'll get a solid sneak attack on the guards, leaving the Boss all alone for you to deal with Failure will result in your party making too much noise, causing you to enter a COMBAT ENCOUNTER.)

>>5852411
>[MEMBERSHIP CARDS] [CHECKERED JACKETS] You know, why not just act like one of the thugs for a bit. Drink a little. Dance. Socialize with your allies. Wait for the boss to come out and see how he does things. (+2 RESTRAINT from relaxing and you have a chance to improve RAPPORT with your allies while you wait for him to come out.)

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There's no need to rush into things quite yet. You sit down at one of the bars inside of the base and, well, you try to get a drink. You're not going to get wasted during a mission but it never hurts to get some booze in your system. Your allies quickly join you the moment they spot you drinking at the bar.

An old man covered head to toe in faintly glowing tattoos stare at the four of you. "Cards?" The four of you show him your cards. He barely even looks at them and you know that; Otherwise, he would be questioning why the pictures look wrong. "What drink?"

"Rum and cola." Lex nods his head.
"Whiskey." Ashley places her bat against the stool.
"Gin." Quentin blankly responds.
"Whatever." You shrug. You don't particularly care that much.

"Soon." And he disappears to get your drinks after that. Ashley turns to you. "So, what exactly is the plan now?"

"Look, we're never going to get value out of this things once we behead this gang. We might as well enjoy being a 'part' of it." You tap your fingers against the bartop. "That and we can scope things out."

"Ah. I can respect that. No one seems to care anyways. They just give random drugs and shit to whoever these days." Ashley mutters. She's still raw about that? You raise an eyebrow at her continued seething about this. She seems to take this as a cue to continue.

"We almost got away without killing them until you kept talking, they barely look at these stupid cards, it's like they don't give a shit! They're not taking this seriously! Most of them don't even have any proof of loyalty! No tattoos or anything! It's a fucking amateur's act here!" She huffs after ranting about the seeming lack of...what, professionalism? You don't get what she's rambling about.

"They're probably lax about the rules to get away from the world. Their base is a dance club. I don't think they care THAT much." Lex points towards the dance floor. Frankly, if it wasn't for everyone wearing the same checkered jackets, it would look like any other. "Sometimes, people just wanna hang out with other people like 'em. I can get it."

Quentin scratches at his cheek. Tiny bits of flesh cling to his fingernails. "I do not get the issue here. Is that something required for a syndicate?"

"It just insults me. It's a buncha stupid kids who don't know what it actually takes to struggle in this world. I bet most of them have mommies and daddies hidden away in the Nests around here." Ashley nearly goes to pick up her bat but she stops, letting out a sight. "Sorry, sorry. Don't know what came over me."

"I mean, I guess I get it?" You shrug. "I'm guessing you were in a gang with some close knit friends or somethin'."

"Yeah. Used to." There's suddenly no emotion in her voice or face.

[UNSTABLE] "Pfft, hopefully we don't suck as much as those dudes." Your brain spits out something before you can even process it. Before you even know what's going on, her hands around your throat. She squeezes hard.

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Thankfully, Lex pries them off with his retard gorilla strength before she can actually hurt you. The bartender returns with your four drinks and quickly turns around to leave. You guess he saw whatever just happened.

"Okay, okay, calm down. Nicky, the fuck was that about?" Lex narrows his eyes at you. "That was kinda fucked up to say."

"I." You're not really sure why you said that. It just sorta came out of you. "I don't know. I guess I was trying to lighten things up? Look, it's been stressful lately."

Ashley is trying to break free of Lex's grasp but he simply overpowers her in that department. He lets go after she stops struggling. She grabs her small glass of whiskey and chugs it down in one gulp. "Sorry. Sore spot. It wasn't long ago. That's all."

"No, no. It was my fault for saying that." You try to brush off her apology. You don't really feel like you deserve it after what you said. You try your best to ignore the throbbing pain in your head as you nurse your own drink. It was some fruit flavored beer. It tastes okay but not really that great.

Quentin and Lex begin to chug away at their drinks. Quentin is the first one to speak up to break the awkward silence that started. He places his now empty glass of gin on the table. "What is it like?"

"Well, that's vague." Lex snorts. "Mind being less spooky about it?"

"Human. What is it like?" He stares at the empty glass. "My intended shells were made to look like humans. I use human bodies. I do not know what it means to be one, however. Why is that?"

"Fuck, man. I ain't good at this thinking stuff." Lex half-shrugs. "I mean, it just comes naturally to us. We do what we do because...it feels good? We like doing it?"

"The things that make me feel good do not make humans feel good. Humans complain about working. I like working. The humans complain about the Companies. I like the Companies. Why is that?"

"You sound like one of those Q-Corp drones. I guess those weird bug things are inside all of you?" Ashley is busy staring at her empty glass. Well, since the subject is being brought up, might as well bring it up.

"Yes." You speak up. "Yes, they are. I don't know how or why he's possessing human bodies instead of drone one but I saw something like that."

"Wild." Ashley flashes a weird smile. "I guess being human requires, I dunno, creativity? We make art. Music, paintings, shit like that. A mental image you spill out. Like a band. Like one I used to work for. Strands of Silver."

Lex's eyes almost immediately light up when he hears that. "Wait, hold on. I think I recognize ya. Isn't that the weird punk band with names like 'My Dad Fucked A Zeta Class Abnormality And Got AIDs' and-"

"Yep, yep. And for the record, I fucking hate the names. You can blame the drummer for thinking up of them."

"Holy shit! I've been listening to your stuff for ages! BARTENDER! GOT A PENCIL?" He waves his hands wildly in an attempt to get his attention.

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Ashley tries her best to keep a straight face as Lex has his sperg out. Quentin looks down at his hands.

"Creativity? Interesting. That's one of the many answers I've heard. I also heard that 'friends' are another part of it. Is that true?" He's staring right at you.

"I wouldn't know. I know that having friends and allies is better than not having them. I had people call me friends before. That's all, really." If you can call your allies friends, that is.

"Hm. I do not like this...looseness of the definition. It is weird. I do not like thinking these thoughts but I feel obligated to think them. Is that...weird?"

"Is it any weirder than being a centipede?" You remark. Quentin clicks his tongue. "Touche."

The bartender comes back to refill your empty drinks and to hand Lex a pencil. You sip away at your watered down while watching Lex dig around for something of his to sign. Ashley steals some napkins nearby before taking Lex's pencil. She scribbles on a swirly mass of letters before doodling some wings around it. She tosses it over to Lex.

"There you go, you fucking dweeb." The amount of amusement in her voice could kill a lesser man but Lex is too much in his fanboy zone to give a shit. "Hey. Maybe I can give you a teaser of my next mixtape soon."

"Holy shit, could I???"

"Pft." "Pft." You and Quentin fail to hold in your laughter at the same time. A dusting of red coats Lex's cheeks. "S-shut up."

"Hey, it's glad you're enjoying yourself." You take a second to clear your throat. "When's the last time you played, Ash?"

"Ah. It's been a bit. A year or so? Bandmates are busy with stupid shit these days. I'm just glad none of them are six feet under. The last song we recorded was..." She sighs. "'VerseWorseCurseHorse.' Sold well." You can barely hold your amusement at how retarded that name is.

"Wow. I could make a better name than that." You can't even hide the disgust on your face.

"Shut up! Their names are cool! They match the songs well!" Lex overdramatically huffs. There's a hint of a smile cracking on his face.

"No they don't." Ashley tries her best to respond with a deadpan tone but she's almost about to bust a gut just like Lex is. The four of you empty your glasses again before you even know. Then again. Quentin is the one who manages to stop you guys from getting TOO blasted on the mission by taking your glasses away.

There's a gentle haze of drunk relaxation between the non-corpse piloting members of this party. Even Quentin is looking a bit messed up. You do wonder how much of the body he controls he can feel.

"Feh. Maybe I can play a song for you guys if we get outta here alive." Ashley smiles softly. "It might be nice." This feels nice. Your head is no longer throbbing in agony like before.

>+1 RAPPORT WITH ALLIES
>6/7 RESTRAINT LEFT

"Shit, we should go on the dance floor." You snap your fingers as you get up. Your allies nearly follow your order but your eyes catch something. You raise a hand to stop them.

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You catch a glimpse of the man upstairs coming down to the first floor. His two shotgun wielding bodyguards follow right behind him. They're built like brick shithouses and, thanks to the masks covering their face, barely even look human.

https://youtu.be/8AQFFvUhRTA - GANG BOSS

In comparison, the Boss looks like a lot less threatening by comparison. His baby blue eyes, messy blonde hair, and overall youthful physique hardly help him sell the image of a gang boss. Sure, he has the red and black checkered jacket and the general 'punk' attire but he's not really selling it to you. It's more like cosplay than an outfit he picked for himself.

He gets up onto the stage. The performers playing up there instantly turn off the music when they do, causing the dance floor to shut up as well. The only sound anyone can hear is the Boss' leather boots stomping on the stage he's standing on. He taps at the microphone to get everyone's attention.

"Hello." His voice is calm and collected. Polite, almost. "I would like to do a small little announcement. I believe all of you recall that little story about my brother, yes?"

A sea of murmurs pour out of the captive audience of thugs watching him.

"Great. I just heard that some of them got whacked by one man, if Lilith was right in her story." He instantly turns to look at the bar the four of you are sitting at. You try your best to play it cool. Your allies try their best to not look at him aside from Quentin, who stares right back at him.

He turns his gaze away from your bar. "Now. I know who sent them. And I know he was supposed to train you guys to be able to handle ONE man. I don't care how armed he is, you have numbers for a reason." He snaps his fingers. Another masked guard comes up the stage with a short red-haired man in tow. He has ropes binding his hands together.

"I believe I told you guys that I can't let my lil shitstain of a brother think he has a chance of getting back at me. If one of his stupid lil' homeless Cleaners can wipe out FOUR of my guys? Well, that's not right. The math doesn't add up."

"W-wait, boss, m-maybe Li-lilith was just spinning a story! Maybe she fucked up! Ever considered THAT?!" The bound man tries his best to get out of this situation. The Boss clicks his tongue with a disappointed look on his face.

"Her? Lie? Why, do you think one of my oldest associates would lie to my face?"

"I-It can't be me! S-she has to be-" He instantly shuts up when he feels the cold barrel of a shotgun placed at the back of his head.

"Tsk, tsk. Throwing someone under the bus to evade blame. How distasteful." He snaps his fingers again. You hear two sounds one after another. A loud BOOM followed by blood and clumps of brain matter splattering against the floor.

"Fuck." Lex covers his mouth, dryheaving as the body drops. Quentin stares on in silent horror. Ashley simply flinches but otherwise doesn't react.
>-1 RESTRAINT TO LEX AND QUENTIN

"Disappointing." The Boss simply kicks the body off of the stage. It limply hits the ground without any real resistance. "Okaaaay then"

The crowd instantly erupts into a fervent cheer at the sight of blood being shed. "Nooowww. I would like to talk about what I plan to do next to that sonuvabitch." The cheers only get louder. You were expecting SOMEONE in the crowd to freak out but no, they're all in it.

"All of us. We're going over to his shithole in District 17 and we're going to 'talk' to him. I don't care how many of us it's going to take but we'll drop that motherfucker DEAD!" The cheers get even louder. The crowd is hungry for blood and it shows.

[SEEKER OF THE CITY] The likelihood of you getting another Handler to give you missions is low.
[PERSON OF INTEREST] The men in silver will take this chance to grab you while you're weak.
[UNSTABLE] WE SHOULD BE THE ONES TO KILL HIM ANYWAYS.

Ashley turns to you. "...I don't like where this is going. I think we should do something. Quick."

What do you do, Nicole?
>Split up to try to find where the AC or air supply is while everyone's busy. Pump this place FULL of nerve gas. Deal with any survivors after. (-HAPPY HAPPY FUN GAS, COGNIZANCE DC: ??. The higher your party rolls, the faster you find it and the less people manage to wise up and get out before it's too late. You might not have any survivors if your party rolls well enough.)
>[UNSTABLE] Puppeteer one of his armed guards and have him unload his gun. Staring with the boss. No gang without a leader. (-2 RESTRAINT. The Boss and a lot of thugs will be dead, just like that, but the resulting riot and panic will get your party in a COMBAT ENCOUNTER.)
>Take this time to sneak into his office. You bet the Handler would pay extra for whatever information you can get there. (FREE ACTION. TALENT DC: 10, COGNIZANCE DC: 13. Pass the first to get in, pass the second to get valuable information to sell for a better payout. Fail the first and you're liable to be caught, fail the second and you'll waste your time, increasing the DCs of the other actions.)
>[ECM JAMMER] [NIGHT VISION GOOGLES] Black this place out and sneak up to the stage in the veil of night. Unload your gun. Get out. (-ECM JAMMER, TALENT DC: 15. Pass and you'll be out before anyone realizing what happened. Fail and while you might kill them still, you'll probably get hit hard by some returning fire, injuring you and slowing your escape to the point where someone might spot you and start a COMBAT ENCOUNTER.)
>[LILITH BODY] If he's willing to blow out someone's brains thanks to the story Quentin spun, what if you got him to do more of that? (CHARM DC: 16, with Quentin's dice. Pass and by the time he wises up to your lies, he'll already have a pissed off crowd ready to rip him apart for you. Fail and Quentin will lose his body in the process. You can guess how.)
>Write in. (Use some items before doing anything? Do another plan? Use another ability? Tell your allies to do something?)

Lex has 3 RESTRAINT now after that Yoga Training boost he got offscreen. Quentin has 2 RESTRAINT by default.
>Martlo Cigarettes (6 charges). Calms your nerves. Adds a +1d6 to a WILLPOWER or RESTRAINT roll per charge spent. Can spend 3 charges to gain minor RESTRAINT regeneration for a mission.
We used up all 6 charges on Lex and Ashley after Quentin did his thing. Ashley is OK and Lex can regen it off. What I'm worried about right now is Quentin. I hope he can hang on through this.

>>5853801
>Split up to try to find where the AC or air supply is while everyone's busy. Pump this place FULL of nerve gas. Deal with any survivors after. (-HAPPY HAPPY FUN GAS, COGNIZANCE DC: ??. The higher your party rolls, the faster you find it and the less people manage to wise up and get out before it's too late. You might not have any survivors if your party rolls well enough.)
The good thing is once everybody here is fucking dead from nerve gas, we can gasmask up and stroll into the boss' office to loot the place. Lex and Ashley can blow off steam killing off any living stragglers, and Quentin has plenty of fresh undamaged bodies to take his pick from, thanks to liberal amounts of nerve gas usage! Surely that'll get his RESTRAINT back up too! WIN/WIN/WIN/WIN!!!
Now those two sex androids in the office might be an issue...

>>5853801
>>[UNSTABLE] Puppeteer one of his armed guards and have him unload his gun. Staring with the boss. No gang without a leader. (-2 RESTRAINT. The Boss and a lot of thugs will be dead, just like that, but the resulting riot and panic will get your party in a COMBAT ENCOUNTER.)
We can loot his office later

>>5853810
There'll always be a replacement head as long as there's other members

>>5853801
>Split up to try to find where the AC or air supply is while everyone's busy. Pump this place FULL of nerve gas. Deal with any survivors after. (-HAPPY HAPPY FUN GAS, COGNIZANCE DC: ??. The higher your party rolls, the faster you find it and the less people manage to wise up and get out before it's too late. You might not have any survivors if your party rolls well enough.)

>>5853801
>Split up to try to find where the AC or air supply is while everyone's busy. Pump this place FULL of nerve gas. Deal with any survivors after. (-HAPPY HAPPY FUN GAS, COGNIZANCE DC: ??. The higher your party rolls, the faster you find it and the less people manage to wise up and get out before it's too late. You might not have any survivors if your party rolls well enough.)

>>5853801
>>[ECM JAMMER] [NIGHT VISION GOOGLES] Black this place out and sneak up to the stage in the veil of night. Unload your gun. Get out. (-ECM JAMMER, TALENT DC: 15. Pass and you'll be out before anyone realizing what happened. Fail and while you might kill them still, you'll probably get hit hard by some returning fire, injuring you and slowing your escape to the point where someone might spot you and start a COMBAT ENCOUNTER.)

>>5853801
>>[LILITH BODY] If he's willing to blow out someone's brains thanks to the story Quentin spun, what if you got him to do more of that? (CHARM DC: 16, with Quentin's dice. Pass and by the time he wises up to your lies, he'll already have a pissed off crowd ready to rip him apart for you. Fail and Quentin will lose his body in the process. You can guess how.)

>>5853805
+1 to this, this is gonna be a bit messy and might get some heat down on us. So lets try and keep any witnesses to a minimum.

Alright, so I need four anons to roll the following.
>4d6 (You)
>2d6 (Ashley)
>2d6 (Lex)
>2d6 (Quentin)
To determine how fast you find it. The higher, the better.

Rolled 3, 7, 3, 7 = 20 (4d8)

>>5854906

Rolled 3, 3, 6, 1 = 13 (4d6)

>>5854909
Wrong dice

Rolled 6, 6 = 12 (2d6)

>>5854906

Rolled 6, 5 = 11 (2d6)

>>5854906
Rolling

Rolled 2, 1 = 3 (2d6)

>>5854906

TOTAL: 39
Duly noted. Writing.

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"Right. No time, we gotta act. Split up. We need to find the air supply here." You snap your fingers to get everyone's attention. They rightfully give you a weird look when you realize you haven't told them what your plan is and how.

"The fuck are you going to do? Throw something rotten inside to stink up the place? I don't get how that works." Lex is clearly confused.

"Ah. An attempt at biological warfare through attempting to spread your germs through it? Quite an inventive strategy." Quentin misses the mark completely. Your nose scrunches up at his implication.

Ashley's eyes light up the moment her brain clicks the pieces together. "Oh no. Oh no no no." There's no mirth in the smile she's giving you, only sheer outrage. "Okay. How do you plan on gassing the place. Is that some other bullshit power you have?"

"..." You pull out the small canister of nerve gas you have. Ashley can't even dignify you with a coherent response; she sputters to a stop at the sight of the canister. Lex and Quentin in the meanwhile are busy processing what they're seeing.

"That's why. I think it'll work. Do you guys have a better plan?"

"I-I guess not?" Lex is still reeling from what he saw. "I r-rather just punch them but, uh, I guess we'll deal with any survivors that way."

"It is functional. The causalities will be heavy. That is the point of the mission." Quentin barely pretends to care about the loss of human life. "Additionally, more bodies. That is useful to me. Hopefully without holes in the head." Seems like the shotgun thing rattled his mind still, huh?

"Well, let's split up. Try to find where we can pump this stuff into so we can dip out and deal with the stragglers. Alright?"

Your three allies nod in unison before splitting away from you, each hiding in a different direction. Now, here's the thing. You don't really know where it would be in this...abandoned building turned nightclub. For all you know there isn't one. That would be a real punch to the tit. No point sitting around and hoping the others find it for you, though.

If you had to guess, it would have to be somewhere in a closet or basement? Though it might be different considering what they turned the place into. So you start by trying to find a basement in question. You saw some stairs leading UP to a second floor, surely there's some below.

Yet when you get to the staircase you saw in the back, there's nothing leading down that you can see. That's weird, you would've thought you were rig- and Quentin bumps right into you.

"I did not find anything. The lights were too dazzling. Mind if I assist?" Wow, he gave up quick. You simply shrug as you continue to look. You eventually manage to stumble into a weird looking closet door. You open it up to reveal a staircase leading to the basement.

"Excellent." Quentin marks as the two of you travel down the stairs. It's a mess down here from what you can only assume is the previous junk from when this building wasn't abandoned.

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Great.

Crates, chairs, boxes, other junk. It's a mess of garbage down here. Given the...various fluids and stains down here, you doubt anyone has checked here in a while. You would use your UV Flashlight to try finding a trail but you rather not after seeing how filthy it is here.

You start making your way through all of the garbage down here. There has to some sort of system down here connected to the air vents or something, right?

It takes you a while to get through everything but you eventually manage to find what you were looking for. In the back of the room is a massive, ancient piece of equipment that reminds you of something from a shitty sci-fi horror movie. Turns out, you weren't the only one who found it.

Ashley is standing right in front of it, fiddling with the machinery. "I'm not a mechanic but I know enough about bars. They probably got some shitty vent outside pumping in fresh air. Lex is out back plugging it up."

"How long have you been here?"

"Eh, ten minutes, why?" Well now you feel sorta lacking in how long it took you to get here. You approach the machinery and after some fiddling, you plug a tube from it into the nozzle of the canister. Quentin sits near the canister, ready for your orders to start pumping it out.

Ashley squints at some readings she's getting. "Alright. Should be good enough. We got about ten minutes before people notice. We should leave."

"I will follow after you once I know you two have left. It will be on in. One minute. I would hurry." Quentin grips onto the canister.

The two of you do not diddle daddle and without further ado. It takes a bit too much time for your liking to push through the crowds of people but you're outside before you can start smelling whatever foul mess that's being pumped into the system. The guards are not paying attention to what's going on at all; they're still occupied by trying to calm down the Firecrackers.

Quentin follows after a minute later. Lex turns around the corner of the building to show he's caked in soot and dust. He's noticeably missing his checkered jacket disguise. He winks at you. Ah. You can guess how he plugged it up easily.

The four of you make some distance from the building to avoid getting gassed yourself and now, you wait. None of you want to say anything to break the silence because at any moment, something could happen. It doesn't take long for Ashley's body to tense up, as if she's expecting something.

"Get ready." She murmurs.

A handful of people try to push their way out of the narrow doorway of the front entrance. Blood is leaking out of their nose and their bodies are trembling like they're freezing cold. The guards try their best to keep the chaos organized but the crowd pushes through.

For every member who stumbles back onto the streets alive, about two or three fall to the ground dead. The guards quickly rush into the building to check out what's going on. A small smile crosses your face. Excellent.

Due to their gas masks, you know they'll probably survive but that doesn't matter. What matters is that most of the people there are killed stone dead. The minutes pass by as you watch more and more people try to squirm out of the building. And that isn't even factoring in who might still be inside!

From the amount of bodies on the floor ten or fifteen feet away, you had to guess this was a 75% fatality rate. The gang MIGHT be able to recover from this given time but you're pretty sure high exposure to nerve agents is gonna cripple whoever's left.

Five men in gas masks slowly escort a very familiar man out of the building. The Boss has a gas mask stuffed into his face haphazardly, as if he barely managed to get it on before the gas could kill him. It's clear he's already getting fucked by the effects given the trembling and intense, rapid breathing that's muffled by his gas mask.

"F-fu-f-ffucukkk..." You can barely make out what he's saying through the slurring in his mask. The guards are half-carrying him away from the building since his legs are loose and barely responding to his attempts to walk.

"Fuck, where did you get that stuff from?" Lex turns to look at you. Your other allies follow suit. You simply tell him the truth, why lie here? "Found it in a cache of mine. Don't know where I got it from but I had it. K-Corp stuff. Guess it worked well."

"You really are a bag of tricks, huh?" Lex lets out a sigh. "Well. What should we do about him? I don't think it's a good idea to keep him around." He jabs a finger at the direction of the Boss and his guards. "He could rebuild, couldn't he? This might only be a setback for them. We should kill them."

"I'm sorry, there's a mountain of fucking bodies outside and his brain is getting fried." Ashley retorts. Your eyes glaze over the mountain of convulsing, barely alive people outside of the house. "I don't think they can recover. We should be happy with the damage we did and go."

The five guards and the Boss suddenly notice the four of you watching the scene unfold. You don't think the Boss is aware of your group fully...yet.

You're on the edge of the mission being complete. What to do?
>[UNSTABLE] No survivors. Kill them. Now. (Starts a COMBAT ENCOUNTER. If you win, Lex will be pleased at the blood spilt and the Handler will reward you extra for completely obliterating the gang.)
>Just leave. The gang's fucked, no need to stick around. (A safe option. Lex will be disappointed at the lack of personal bloodshed and you might need to try convincing the Handler on why you left the Boss alive.)
>[GAS MASK] Rush back inside with Quentin in tow while the others distract. You're going to take this chance to loot his place before the gas clears. (TALENT DC: 18, rolling 5d6 with Quentin's help. Pass and you'll get enough stuff to keep everyone, including the Handler, happy. Fail and the guards will catch you and Quentin in an unfavorable COMBAT ENCOUNTER)
>Write in.

>>5855187
>>[UNSTABLE] No survivors. Kill them. Now. (Starts a COMBAT ENCOUNTER. If you win, Lex will be pleased at the blood spilt and the Handler will reward you extra for completely obliterating the gang.)
KILL KILL KILL KILL KILL KILL KILL

>>5855187
>[UNSTABLE] No survivors. Kill them. Now. (Starts a COMBAT ENCOUNTER. If you win, Lex will be pleased at the blood spilt and the Handler will reward you extra for completely obliterating the gang.)

>>5855187
>[UNSTABLE] No survivors. Kill them. Now. (Starts a COMBAT ENCOUNTER. If you win, Lex will be pleased at the blood spilt and the Handler will reward you extra for completely obliterating the gang.)
FINISH THE JOB

>>5855187
>[UNSTABLE] No survivors. Kill them. Now. (Starts a COMBAT ENCOUNTER. If you win, Lex will be pleased at the blood spilt and the Handler will reward you extra for completely obliterating the gang.)
Half dead cripples? No problem. Also loot

>>5855187
>>[UNSTABLE] No survivors. Kill them. Now. (Starts a COMBAT ENCOUNTER. If you win, Lex will be pleased at the blood spilt and the Handler will reward you extra for completely obliterating the gang.)
Now its time to mop up

>>5855187
>[UNSTABLE] No survivors. Kill them. Now. (Starts a COMBAT ENCOUNTER. If you win, Lex will be pleased at the blood spilt and the Handler will reward you extra for completely obliterating the gang.)

>>5855187
>[UNSTABLE] No survivors. Kill them. Now. (Starts a COMBAT ENCOUNTER. If you win, Lex will be pleased at the blood spilt and the Handler will reward you extra for completely obliterating the gang.)
We have a buncha pills that can help here. Plus, better to snuff this out before it has a chance to bite us or our Handler in the ass later, if any amount of this guy's brain is still working.

>>5855187
>>[UNSTABLE] No survivors. Kill them. Now. (Starts a COMBAT ENCOUNTER. If you win, Lex will be pleased at the blood spilt and the Handler will reward you extra for completely obliterating the gang.)

>>5855187
>>[UNSTABLE] No survivors. Kill them. Now. (Starts a COMBAT ENCOUNTER. If you win, Lex will be pleased at the blood spilt and the Handler will reward you extra for completely obliterating the gang.)

A unanimous call for VIOLENCE. Closing. Writing.

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Your vision tints red. You're not leaving this mission up to chance. You were tasked with killing the gang and you are NOT stopping now. Not after what you did. The cold iron of your pistol's grip sends shivers down your spine. Who cares if they have shotguns? You are better than them. They are half dead FREAKS. You can do this.

"Face the bloodshed." Your legs move without you consciously thinking. Lex and Quentin join you immediately while Ashley hesitates for a moment. She glances at the double barreled shotguns the guards have, then at the wimpy pistols you guys have.

"You sure ab- Of course you are. Why do I even ask." Ashley trails behind you three with a inscrutable look on her face. "Face the bloodshed." She's rolling with it at this point, already getting used to whatever nonsense you decide to do.

"FACE THE BLOODSHED!" Lex yells out with a bit too much energy in his voice. Quentin follows up with a completely dead inside "Face the bloodshed" in an attempt to be like the others. You would go 'awww' if you weren't going to kill someone in like...the next minute?

It takes effort to walk past the amount of half dead (and fully dead) bodies laying outside of the abandoned house. A mountain of frowning, groaning bodies between you and the targets. You kick one of the more twitchy ones to make sure they stay dead. You manage to get over to the six survivors after what felt like hours of pushing through bodies (even if it was a minute at most).

One of the shotgun guards raises his hand up when you get within four or five feet of them. "Leave the premises. This place has been attacked by an unknown party who has used a biological or chemical weapon. This place is not safe." Huh, they still don't know you were the ones who did it. Good. Must've been a chaotic mess in there.

One of the unarmed guards- Wait, didn't they have those Firecracker beasts before?

You turn to notice that the Firecrackers they had have their leashes tied to a pole far away from the building. Huh. They decided to keep their guard bugs safe at the cost of being unarmed. Weird.

Regardless, you turn back to the guard. He's staring right in your direction with an intense look. "How did you manage to get out unscathed?"

Ashley and Lex decide this is enough talking and quickly shut him up with striking first. He manages to avoid Lex obliterating his head with his gorilla fists but he falls to his knees when Ashley smashes her bat into their leg.

The other guards move into position. The three unarmed ones surround the Boss, who's barely able to stand up straight. The two shotgun wielding guards step forward with their barrels raised at you.

BANG!

Something slams HARD into your chest. You stumble back from the impact but thankfully, your suit managed to block it from actually damaging you.

The Boss has a revolver with smoke leaking out of the barrel in his hand. "T-t-too sl-slow! T-t-too s-slow!" He cackles with twisted glee.

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https://youtu.be/SJ_9DfTrbQU - INTENSE BATTLE

YOUR PARTY VS THE BOSS AND HIS GUARDS...BEGIN!
SPECIAL CONDITION: ARMED TO THE TEETH (The enemies will do more FLESH damage to your allies regardless of success or failure.)

SHOTGUN GUARD A: 6d6 VIOLENCE, 4 FLESH
SHOTGUN GUARD B: 6d6 VIOLENCE, 4 FLESH
UNARMED GUARD A: 3d6 VIOLENCE, 3 FLESH
UNARMED GUARD B: 3d6 VIOLENCE, 3 FLESH
UNARMED GUARD C: 3d6 VIOLENCE, 2 FLESH
THE BOSS (PROTECTED): 7d6 TALENT, 1 FLESH

ASHLEY: 5d6 VIOLENCE, 4 FLESH
QUENTIN: 6d6 TALENT, 2 FLESH
NICOLE: 6d6 TALENT, 3 FLESH
LEX: 7d6 VIOLENCE, 5 FLESH

He's still an amazing shot even after getting nerve gassed? God, you don't want to imagine what he could've done if you hadn't gassed his brains out. Your party is sweating bullets from what they saw. Quentin is barely able to keep his corpse puppet body from twitching out of control from fear.

You only got a few seconds to do something. How do you try to turn the tides of battle?
>[UNSTABLE] "Die for me." Puppeteer one of the shotgun guards. Blow the other shotgun guard's brains out. (-2 RESTRAINT, WILLPOWER DC 16. Succeed and on top of the guard dying instantly, the other guards will roll one less on their attacks this turn. Failure and you'll only do 2 FLESH damage, weakening his future attacks.)
>[ANOMALOUS ABILTIES] Rip one of the shotguns out of the guard's hands and send it flying as far away as possible. (-1 RESTRAINT, WILLPOWER DC 13. Succeed and a Shotgun Guard will have his dice lowered to 3d6 for the rest of combat. Failure and you only distract him enough to gain the ability to reroll two dice you roll.)
>Have Quentin stand in the way of any gunfire as your team goes to town. (FREE ACTION. Quentin will only roll 2d6 on his attack roll and will lose his body, needing a turn to revive a new one but a Shotgun Guard's dice will be ignored this turn.)
>[SEARCHED THE HANDLER'S OFFICE] "Oh, the stories I'll tell to your brother when he knows you're a fucking cripple now." Try to get under the Boss' skin as much as you can. (CHARM DC: 14. Pass and the enraged Boss will be too busy seething to attack this turn. Fail and you'll only waver his aim to a 5d6.)
>[TASER] The power of a taser always works. Tase one of those fuckers stone dead. (-1 TASER CHARGE, TALENT DC: 13. Pass and you'll knock out a guard for two turns. Failure and you'll waste a change and time, rolling -2d6 on your TALENT attack when they counter attack.)
>Why overthink things? Hand Lex and Ashley your Booster Pills and go to town. (-2 BOOSTER PILLS. Skips to the ROLLING PHASE. Lex and Ashley will gain 2 VIOLENCE, +1 FLESH and +1 MAX FLESH, and can reroll one dice on their VIOLENCE checks this combat.)
>You have a plan... (Write in. Use your powers in a unique way? Use another item? Something else? You'll be rewarded if you write a detailed enough plan.)

>>5856280
>>Have Quentin stand in the way of any gunfire as your team goes to town. (FREE ACTION. Quentin will only roll 2d6 on his attack roll and will lose his body, needing a turn to revive a new one but a Shotgun Guard's dice will be ignored this turn.)
He's gonna have plenty of picks of new bodies pretty soon
>[TASER] The power of a taser always works. Tase one of those fuckers stone dead. (-1 TASER CHARGE, TALENT DC: 13. Pass and you'll knock out a guard for two turns. Failure and you'll waste a change and time, rolling -2d6 on your TALENT attack when they counter attack.)
Lets take out one of the shotgun guards

>>5856280
>Have Quentin stand in the way of any gunfire as your team goes to town. (FREE ACTION. Quentin will only roll 2d6 on his attack roll and will lose his body, needing a turn to revive a new one but a Shotgun Guard's dice will be ignored this turn.)
>[UNSTABLE] "Die for me." Puppeteer one of the shotgun guards. Blow the other shotgun guard's brains out. (-2 RESTRAINT, WILLPOWER DC 16. Succeed and on top of the guard dying instantly, the other guards will roll one less on their attacks this turn. Failure and you'll only do 2 FLESH damage, weakening his future attacks.)

>>5856283
+1

>>5856280
>>Have Quentin stand in the way of any gunfire as your team goes to town. (FREE ACTION. Quentin will only roll 2d6 on his attack roll and will lose his body, needing a turn to revive a new one but a Shotgun Guard's dice will be ignored this turn.)
>>[UNSTABLE] "Die for me." Puppeteer one of the shotgun guards. Blow the other shotgun guard's brains out. (-2 RESTRAINT, WILLPOWER DC 16. Succeed and on top of the guard dying instantly, the other guards will roll one less on their attacks this turn. Failure and you'll only do 2 FLESH damage, weakening his future attacks.)
Do we have willpower boosting drug?

>>5856296
You do still have one dose of it. It boosts WILLPOWER and CHARM by 2, if you're willing to handle the hallucinations that come after.

>>5856288
Change
>>5856280
>Have Quentin stand in the way of any gunfire as your team goes to town. (FREE ACTION. Quentin will only roll 2d6 on his attack roll and will lose his body, needing a turn to revive a new one but a Shotgun Guard's dice will be ignored this turn.)
>[UNSTABLE] "Die for me." Puppeteer one of the shotgun guards. Blow the other shotgun guard's brains out. (-2 RESTRAINT, WILLPOWER DC 16. Succeed and on top of the guard dying instantly, the other guards will roll one less on their attacks this turn. Failure and you'll only do 2 FLESH damage, weakening his future attacks.)

>>5856280
>Have Quentin stand in the way of any gunfire as your team goes to town. (FREE ACTION. Quentin will only roll 2d6 on his attack roll and will lose his body, needing a turn to revive a new one but a Shotgun Guard's dice will be ignored this turn.)
You'll get your new body reall soon Quint, just hang in there. We need those shotties GONE
>[UNSTABLE] "Die for me." Puppeteer one of the shotgun guards. Blow the other shotgun guard's brains out. (-2 RESTRAINT, WILLPOWER DC 16. Succeed and on top of the guard dying instantly, the other guards will roll one less on their attacks this turn. Failure and you'll only do 2 FLESH damage, weakening his future attacks.)
The COOL option
>[SEARCHED THE HANDLER'S OFFICE] "Oh, the stories I'll tell to your brother when he knows you're a fucking cripple now." Try to get under the Boss' skin as much as you can. (CHARM DC: 14. Pass and the enraged Boss will be too busy seething to attack this turn. Fail and you'll only waver his aim to a 5d6.)
I want to piss him off HARD.

>>5856280
>[UNSTABLE] "Die for me." Puppeteer one of the shotgun guards. Blow the other shotgun guard's brains out. (-2 RESTRAINT, WILLPOWER DC 16. Succeed and on top of the guard dying instantly, the other guards will roll one less on their attacks this turn. Failure and you'll only do 2 FLESH damage, weakening his future attacks.)
>Have Quentin stand in the way of any gunfire as your team goes to town. (FREE ACTION. Quentin will only roll 2d6 on his attack roll and will lose his body, needing a turn to revive a new one but a Shotgun Guard's dice will be ignored this turn.)
>POP OUT THE DRUGS. KILL THEM ALL

>>5856280
>[TASER] The power of a taser always works. Tase one of those fuckers stone dead. (-1 TASER CHARGE, TALENT DC: 13. Pass and you'll knock out a guard for two turns. Failure and you'll waste a change and time, rolling -2d6 on your TALENT attack when they counter attack.)
>Have Quentin stand in the way of any gunfire as your team goes to town. (FREE ACTION. Quentin will only roll 2d6 on his attack roll and will lose his body, needing a turn to revive a new one but a Shotgun Guard's dice will be ignored this turn.)

>>5856280
>[TASER] The power of a taser always works. Tase one of those fuckers stone dead. (-1 TASER CHARGE, TALENT DC: 13. Pass and you'll knock out a guard for two turns. Failure and you'll waste a change and time, rolling -2d6 on your TALENT attack when they counter attack.)
>Have Quentin stand in the way of any gunfire as your team goes to town. (FREE ACTION. Quentin will only roll 2d6 on his attack roll and will lose his body, needing a turn to revive a new one but a Shotgun Guard's dice will be ignored this turn.)

TASER: BM4, wcy, XrB
UNSTABLE: 5xC, fYk, Int, y4I, /S8
QUENTIN, EAT THE BULLETS MEANT FOR US AIE AIE AIE: Everyone.

Alright, so first things first, two anons roll 2d6 for the WILLPOWER check. If it doesn't add up to 16, another anon rolls an extra 2d6 but you consume your WILLPOWER drug.

Rolled 2, 3 = 5 (2d6)

>>5857312

Rolled 2, 4 = 6 (2d6)

>>5857312
!AAAAAAAAAA

>>5857312

Rolled 1, 6 = 7 (2d6)

>>5857312

Rolled 4, 2, 6, 6, 1, 4, 2, 1, 2, 4, 3, 6, 6 = 47 (13d6)

You consumed your drug and you're probably going on a trip but at least that shotgunner is dead!
Rolling the dice for the enemies this time around. 6 from the unarmed guards who are now flipping the fuck out, 7 from the Boss. The second Shotgun Dude is having his bullets eaten by Quentin's fat face.

Four 6s: 4 successes
Three 4s and one 3: 2 successes.
You have to beat six successes. Four anons, roll the following

>6d6 (for your attack)
>2d6 (for Quentin)
>7d6 (for Lex)
>5d6 (For Ashley)
As a reminder, Lex can reroll all dice 3 or below he rolls in a VIOLENCE check twice per mission, and Ashley can reroll two VIOLENCE dice with each attack.

Rolled 4, 5, 5, 2, 5, 4 = 25 (6d6)

>>5857408

Rolled 2, 5 = 7 (2d6)

>>5857408
Quentin

Rolled 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 2, 3 = 22 (7d6)

>>5857408
Lex

Rolled 1, 1, 4, 4, 3 = 13 (5d6)

>>5857514
Rerolling for Lex

Rolled 3, 1, 3, 5, 3 = 15 (5d6)

Since you already beat six successes (4 on yours, 1 on Quentin, 3 on Lex with the reroll), I'll just roll Ashley's dice.

Rolled 3, 2 = 5 (2d6)

>>5857561
Rerolling her 1 and 3 just in case, and I'll start writing the update now.

File: MEATMONSTERS.jpg (538 KB, 800x597)

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You reach your hand out to start puppeteering one of the shotgun guards. Thin, translucent purple strings launch out of the tips of your fingers. They latch onto the arms and legs of the first shotgun guard. Your fingers begin to ache and bleed when you try to move his arms. He's struggling hard against your influence, barely moving his gun with your attempts.

You decide to go 'fuck it' and pop your SOMTOIN ALPHA pill in your mouth. Almost immediately your vision begins to twist and distort in on itself. The people around you twist and warp into something almost unrecognizable. Thick grey scales and silted eyes grow all over Ashley's body. Lex's skin peels off to reveal bleeding muscle and gore. The guards become a mess of misshapen limbs and boney protrusions in the vague shape of barrels.

...Quentin looks the same.

You try your best to ignore your body twisting and turning, fingers merging into hooves and fur coating your body, as you yank your hand to control your puppet. BANG!

Blood and gore splatters the floor. It squirms in delight when its host falls back to meet it. One of the guards is now DEAD. Dead-dead-DEAD!
>4/7 RESTRAINT LEFT
>-SOMOTION ALPHA, WILLPOWER IS NOW 6 AND CHARM IS AT 5. THE DRUG HAS LONG SINCE KICKED IN.

The horrifying monsters in front of you screech in horror at seeing one of their comrades die. The one you puppeteered quickly stuffs a hunk of something down the barrel of his arm and aims it at you. Quentin jumps in the way. BANG! Quentin's head is blown clean off by the powerful blast.

Yet he doesn't drop. His body continues to stomp forward to the absolute horror of the monsters and your 'allies'. There's no room for hesitation so your lizard and bleeding friends move in to capitalize on the distraction. The shotgun monster blasts another shell into Quentin's chest, knocking him down. With his last bit of control, Quentin wildly fires a round at the crowd before going limp.

It rips right across the shotgun monster's cheek, ripping through the latex-like material of its face. A surface level but PAINFUL wound. The monster screeches in agony and holds a hand to its cheek. It is distracted now. Good. You blast a round into one of its many legs. It falls to the ground in a kneeling position or whatever rough approximation its twisted body can do.

Ashley and Lex (you think? it's hard to tell anymore) are ripping into the horde of flesh and limbs guarding their precious leader. The shock of seeing one of their comrades die has clearly thrown the protectors off.

For every punch or kick they land, Ashley and Lex land two of their own. Blood coats Lex's brass knuckles as he knocks more and more teeth out of the protectors. You swear that Ashley's bat begins to crack underneath the strain of her breaking another person's arm.

Nasty if superficial bruises cover your allies-

A ear-shattering BANG erupts out of nowhere. A hole is torn right into Ashley's shoulder.

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She stumbles back, clutching a hand over the mountain of greyish-red blood gushing out of her shoulder. She grits her teeth in a vain attempt to hold back the pain. Sweat soaks her incredibly long red hair as her body begins to freak out.

The Boss slides back to hide within his protectors after he lands his shot. Damnit, you wish you could just kill that fucker!

"K-KILL THEM! K-K-KILL THEM NOW!" The Boss yells out to his monsters. "RIP THEIR THROATS OUT! I'LL PAY ALL OF YOU $7000 FOR EACH HEAD YOU GET!!!" The injured and battered monsters pick themselves back up, motivated by what they were told.

>MONSTERS gain MOTIVATION, boosting their VIOLENCE!

SHOTGUN MONSTER: 7d6 VIOLENCE, 2 FLESH
UNARMED MONSTER A: 4d6 VIOLENCE, 2 FLESH
UNARMED MONSTER B: 4d6 VIOLENCE, 2 FLESH
UNARMED MONSTER C: 2d6 VIOLENCE, 1 FLESH
THE BOSS (PROTECTED): 7d6 TALENT, 1 FLESH

ASHLEY: 5d6 VIOLENCE, 2 FLESH (VIOLENCE PENALTY NEGATED BY HER BOON)
NICOLE: 6d6 TALENT, 3 FLESH
LEX: 7d6 VIOLENCE, 4 FLESH
QUENTIN: (REVIVES NEXT TURN)

The fight is still going strong. How do you want to proceed? Choose one unless it is a FREE ACTION.
>[SEEKER OF THE CITY] You know something more valuable than money to them. "If you let us kill him, we'll get you out of this district." Offer them a way out of here. (CHARM DC: 16. The monsters will hesitate and the Boss will struggle to regain control, lowering all their rolls by 1. Fail and the monsters will just ignore you.)
>[UNSTABLE] "YOU SAW HER KEEP MOVING AFTER HER HEAD GOT BLOWN OFF. WE'RE JUST LIKE THAT." Shake them to their core with FEAR. (VIOLENCE DC: 40, rolling 10d6 with your allies' help. Succeed and the unarmed guards will run, leaving the boss unprotected. Fail and while you will shake them enough to lower their rolls by 1, you're likely to get shot by the Boss while you're distracted, heavily injuring you.)
>[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] Wait for the Boss to stick his head out to fire at someone. Disarm him with your telekinesis. He's nothing without his gun. (-1 RESTRAINT, WILLPOWER DC: 18. Pass and the Boss will be unable to attack for the rest of combat. Failure and you'll only be able to knock his aim off enough to lower his roll to a 4d6.)
>Taser it up, bitch. (TALENT DC: 13. Same success and failure as last time.)
>Quickly hand Lex and Ashley the BOOSTERS with your telekinesis! No time to waste! (-1 RESTRAINT, -2 BOOSTERS, FREE ACTION. Ashley and Lex will gain 2 VIOLENCE, +1 FLESH and +1 MAX FLESH and you can still do another plan.)
>Use up a COMBAT DRUG on yourself. (FREE ACTION. Brown Vial to roll d8s with your next attack or skill check? ARCADY DUST to regain your sanity at any cost? RASPBERRY SINSU to tank more damage?)
>You have a plan... (Write in. Use your powers in a unique way? Use another item? Something else? You'll be rewarded if you write a detailed enough plan.)
Due to the nature of Ally assistance, if you used a Brown Vial to gain d8s on a skill check, you'll roll 3d8+7d6 on the UNSTABLE check.

>>5857621
>>[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] Wait for the Boss to stick his head out to fire at someone. Disarm him with your telekinesis. He's nothing without his gun. (-1 RESTRAINT, WILLPOWER DC: 18. Pass and the Boss will be unable to attack for the rest of combat. Failure and you'll only be able to knock his aim off enough to lower his roll to a 4d6.)
Those shots are annoying the fuck outta me

>>5857630
+1, we have willpower boosted for a reason. The only things left to stop us are the second shottie guy and the boss

>>5857621
>Quickly hand Lex and Ashley the BOOSTERS with your telekinesis! No time to waste! (-1 RESTRAINT, -2 BOOSTERS, FREE ACTION. Ashley and Lex will gain 2 VIOLENCE, +1 FLESH and +1 MAX FLESH and you can still do another plan.)
>[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] Wait for the Boss to stick his head out to fire at someone. Disarm him with your telekinesis. He's nothing without his gun. (-1 RESTRAINT, WILLPOWER DC: 18. Pass and the Boss will be unable to attack for the rest of combat. Failure and you'll only be able to knock his aim off enough to lower his roll to a 4d6.)

>>5857621
>Quickly hand Lex and Ashley the BOOSTERS with your telekinesis! No time to waste! (-1 RESTRAINT, -2 BOOSTERS, FREE ACTION. Ashley and Lex will gain 2 VIOLENCE, +1 FLESH and +1 MAX FLESH and you can still do another plan.)
>[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] Wait for the Boss to stick his head out to fire at someone. Disarm him with your telekinesis. He's nothing without his gun. (-1 RESTRAINT, WILLPOWER DC: 18. Pass and the Boss will be unable to attack for the rest of combat. Failure and you'll only be able to knock his aim off enough to lower his roll to a 4d6.)

>>5857621
>[SEEKER OF THE CITY] You know something more valuable than money to them. "If you let us kill him, we'll get you out of this district." Offer them a way out of here. (CHARM DC: 16. The monsters will hesitate and the Boss will struggle to regain control, lowering all their rolls by 1. Fail and the monsters will just ignore you.)
>Quickly hand Lex and Ashley the BOOSTERS with your telekinesis! No time to waste! (-1 RESTRAINT, -2 BOOSTERS, FREE ACTION. Ashley and Lex will gain 2 VIOLENCE, +1 FLESH and +1 MAX FLESH and you can still do another plan.)

>>5857621
>[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] Wait for the Boss to stick his head out to fire at someone. Disarm him with your telekinesis. He's nothing without his gun. (-1 RESTRAINT, WILLPOWER DC: 18. Pass and the Boss will be unable to attack for the rest of combat. Failure and you'll only be able to knock his aim off enough to lower his roll to a 4d6.)

>>5857621
>[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] Wait for the Boss to stick his head out to fire at someone. Disarm him with your telekinesis. He's nothing without his gun. (-1 RESTRAINT, WILLPOWER DC: 18. Pass and the Boss will be unable to attack for the rest of combat. Failure and you'll only be able to knock his aim off enough to lower his roll to a 4d6.)

Alright, seems pretty uniform in what people want to do. Two anons, roll 3d6 to try passing the Willpower check.

Rolled 1, 2, 4 = 7 (3d6)

>>5858447

Rolled 3, 1, 5 = 9 (3d6)

>>5858447

Rolled 1, 5, 6, 3, 1, 4, 6, 5, 6, 5, 4, 4, 3, 5, 1, 2, 4, 6, 3, 5, 4 = 83 (21d6)

16. Failure. At least you reduced his roll a bit. I'll say you consume the drugs to try counteracting that failure. So, let's see what the enemies roll.

4 6s(4 successes)
5 5s (5 more successes)
5 4s (2.5 successes)
3 3s (1.5 successes)

You need to beat 13 successes with the following rolls

>6d6 (You)
>9d6 (Lex)
>7d6 (Ashley)
Lex can reroll all dice below 3 once more time this mission and Ashley can reroll two VIOLENCE dice of her own whenever.

Rolled 5, 4, 4, 6, 3, 3 = 25 (6d6)

>>5858465

Rolled 2, 2, 6, 5, 4, 6, 1, 4, 4 = 34 (9d6)

>>5858465

Rolled 4, 3, 6, 5, 4, 2, 1 = 25 (7d6)

>>5858465

Rolled 1, 4 = 5 (2d6)

>>5858476
>>5858465
Rerolling the 2 and the 1

NICOLE: 4 SUCCESSES (6 and 5 = 2, two 4s and 2 3s = 2)
LEX (STILL HAS A REROLL) 4.5 SUCCESSES (two 6s and one 5 = 3, three 4s = 1.5)
ASHLEY: 4 SUCCESSES (6 and 5 = 2, three 4s and a 3 = 2)

One anon besides BM4, roll 3d6 for Lex to replace his 2s and 1s, I doubt you want to just eat the loss when you're 12.5 vs 13.

Rolled 1, 4, 2 = 7 (3d6)

>>5858484
Rerolling

13 v 13. A tie. That's going to be fun to write. Writing.

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Those GOD DAMN shots are annoying the shit out of you. First, though, you need to help your 'allies'. If you could take it slow and steady, you could do this without hurting your mind, but there IS no time. You fling the pills to your friends with your telekinetic might.
>-1 RESTRAINT

They pop the pills in their mouth before immediately going to town on the monsters. You turn your focus onto the main threat, though, instead of seeing how they're doing. The Boss. You wait for a moment where he can pop out of the monsters he's hiding behind.

THERE! He pokes his head out just enough to aim his gun at you. You instantly begin focusing on the gun in his hands, desperately trying to yank it out of his grasp. Your brain is screeching inside of your skull from the back-to-back usage of your powers but you have to keep going. You can tolerate a headache over dying.

He seems to notice the weird pull on his gun and quickly adjusts his aim. You yank on it as hard as you can with your throats. You only manage to fuck up his aim instead of disarming him. The shot grazes your side instead of obliterating your stomach or shoulder. Still hurts like a bitch.
>-1 FLESH. -1 RESTRAINT
>2/7 RESTRAINT LEFT. YOUR HEAD HURTS!

https://youtu.be/AMIvMdCL2H4 - ???

Your world begins to twist in on itself even more. The monsters and allies before you twist into indistinct blurs of noises and color. The City disappears into a grey haze. The only thing you can make out about your surroundings is yourself. At least you think it's you. There's only a blur of static where your hands and legs should be.

Something is wrong. Your head is hurting even after you finished using your ability. You can't make out anything around you. The only sounds you can make out is the BANG of firearms and meat being tenderized. Everything else disappears into a haze of static and something banging at your head.

[UNSTABLE PSYCHE] You are seeing the world how it is. Reach your hand out and pop one of those colored blurs. It'll be FUN.
[UNSTABLE PSYCHE] You are a GOD, Nicole. Remember that. These faggots, these worms. They can't DO ANYTHING to you.

You follow your thought without hesitation. You snap your fingers at an indistinct blur with some sort of long tube with holes in it. It pops like a balloon of gore and blood. Bright red coats the blurry floors and walls of wherever you're at. A smile crosses your face. It's A LOVELY DAY TODAY.

That's when you hear the screaming. Your vision suddenly returns. Lex and Ashley are covered in bruises and scratches from the brawl they had. Lex has a nasty looking black eye and you swear Ashley has a broken nose. The fighting has seemingly stopped for a moment though. Why?

You turn to look. Where there was once a shotgun monster is simply a pair of legs. Everything above the thighs has been blown clean off. It's like everything about was erased from existence, never there. The legs soon fall down.

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Both of your allies are fucking horrified at what they saw. Ashley vomits up whatever was left in her stomach, spilling down her outfit and onto the ground. Lex just stands there, motionless. He's not even sure what's going on.
>-1 RESTRAINT TO ASHLEY, -2 TO LEX.
>LEX REGAINS 1 FROM THE CIGARETTES, LEAVING HIM AT 1/3. ASHLEY IS AT 2/3

The unarmed monsters are covered in bruises and scratches from the assault but they still stand tall, if only physically. They are scared SHITLESS of what you just did to the guard. You look down at your fingers. Did you..do that? How? You...don't have that as an ability.

Your head throbs again.
>UNSTABLE PSYCHE will start manifesting physically in the world now that your RESTRAINT is low. Be wary.

Thankfully (at much as you say that), the distraction gives Quentin enough time to get back up without horrifying your allies even more. This time he picked a body of a big, burly thug with glowing tattoos coating all over his body and face. In his hand in a metal pipe. He cracks his neck before moving over to the others.
>THUG BODY: +2 FLESH, +2 VIOLENCE. HE NOW HAS 4 VIOLENCE and 5 FLESH due to it being a fresh body still.
>-LILITH BODY

The horrified monsters are quickly snapped back into reality when the Boss yells at them to keep fighting. You can tell that they're on the verge of running for their lives. Your allies (sans Quentin) are beaten and bruised, clearly expecting this fight to have already ended by now. The throbbing pain in your side keeps calling for your attention.

[UNSTABLE] A GOD DOES NOT CARE ABOUT THE PAIN. KEEP PUSHING FORWARD, NICOLE. NOW.

You grit your teeth. You force yourself to ignore the pain for now.

The Boss screeches out at his minions. "D-D-D-DoN'T D-DiE! K-k-KILL TH-THEM!!!" There's obvious fear in his voice but it keeps his missions pushing forward. They take in deep breaths and surround the boss even more, trying to protect him with their own bodies.

>MONSTERS are DESPERATELY MOTIVATED, increasing their VIOLENCE further!

UNARMED MONSTER A: 4d6 VIOLENCE, 1/3 FLESH
UNARMED MONSTER B: 4d6 VIOLENCE, 1/3 FLESH
UNARMED MONSTER C: 4d6 VIOLENCE, 1/3 FLESH
THE BOSS (PROTECTED) (AFRAID): 6d6 TALENT, 1/1 FLESH

ASHLEY: 7d6 VIOLENCE, 3/5 FLESH
NICOLE: 6d6 TALENT, 2/3 FLESH
LEX: 9d6 VIOLENCE, 3/6 FLESH
QUENTIN: 5d6 VIOLENCE, 5/5 FLESH

No one is willing to make a move yet. What do you want to do, Nicole?

>Dogpile onto the monsters and rip them to shreds. NOW! No more wasting time! (Everyone will take light to moderate FLESH damage but the boss will be unprotected afterwards. He'll be easy to kill afterwards.)
>[UNSTABLE] "Flee." Use what you did to mess with the monsters. Get into their psyches. (VIOLENCE DC: 8, rolling only your 3d6. Succeed and the boss will be left unguarded, letting you beat him up without anyone getting hurt. Failure will do the same thing but your allies will also take RESTRAINT damage.)
>[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] Enough playing around. Pick up the shotguns laying around with your telekinesis and blow your way through the monsters. (WILLPOWER DC: 14. Pass and at the cost of expending what ammo is left in the guns, you'll kill the monsters and boss easily. Failure and you'll kill a random monster but you'll take 1 RESTRAINT damage, hurting your mind more.)
>Taser it up, bitch. (TALENT DC: 13. Same success and failure as last time.)
>You have an advantage over them in terms of how healthy your group is and your weapons. Just kill them. (Skips to the ROLLING PHASE.)
>Use up a COMBAT DRUG on yourself. (FREE ACTION. Brown Vial to roll d8s with your next attack or skill check? ARCADY DUST to regain your sanity at any cost? RASPBERRY SINSU to tank more damage?)
>You have a plan... (Write in. Use your powers in a unique way? Use another item? Something else? You'll be rewarded if you write a detailed enough plan.)

>>5858588
>>Dogpile onto the monsters and rip them to shreds. NOW! No more wasting time! (Everyone will take light to moderate FLESH damage but the boss will be unprotected afterwards. He'll be easy to kill afterwards.)
We have a medkit, we can fix ourselves up afterwards.

>>5858588
>Taser it up, bitch. (TALENT DC: 13. Same success and failure as last time.)

>use one ARCADY DUST

>>5858588
>You have an advantage over them in terms of how healthy your group is and your weapons. Just kill them. (Skips to the ROLLING PHASE.)

>>5858588
>>[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] Enough playing around. Pick up the shotguns laying around with your telekinesis and blow your way through the monsters. (WILLPOWER DC: 14. Pass and at the cost of expending what ammo is left in the guns, you'll kill the monsters and boss easily. Failure and you'll kill a random monster but you'll take 1 RESTRAINT damage, hurting your mind more.)
+Arcady Dust

>>5858588
>Taser it up, bitch. (TALENT DC: 13. Same success and failure as last time.)
I wonder if we can get his bro to him alive, and have Handler kill him himself? One last confrontation before the lights go out? Or he might hate us for nerve gassing his bro, who he WANTED us to kill anyway. Fuck it, let's go for it
>Use up a COMBAT DRUG on yourself. (FREE ACTION. Brown Vial to roll d8s with your next attack or skill check? ARCADY DUST to regain your sanity at any cost? RASPBERRY SINSU to tank more damage?)
ARCADY DUST. We need to get back sanity NOW

>>5858588
>[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] Enough playing around. Pick up the shotguns laying around with your telekinesis and blow your way through the monsters. (WILLPOWER DC: 14. Pass and at the cost of expending what ammo is left in the guns, you'll kill the monsters and boss easily. Failure and you'll kill a random monster but you'll take 1 RESTRAINT damage, hurting your mind more.)
>Use up a COMBAT DRUG on yourself. (FREE ACTION. Brown Vial to roll d8s with your next attack or skill check? ARCADY DUST to regain your sanity at any cost? RASPBERRY SINSU to tank more damage?)
Arcady Dust

>>5858856
Supporting

>>5858652
Change
>>5858856
+1

>>5858588
>Taser it up, bitch. (TALENT DC: 13. Same success and failure as last time.)

Alright, Anomalous Abilities + using the dust to recover your sanity. Thanks to the Willpower boost of the dust, you're rolling 7d6 now.

One anon, roll 4d6. Another, roll 3d6.

Rolled 6, 3, 2, 5 = 16 (4d6)

>>5859327

Rolled 6, 5, 2 = 13 (3d6)

>>5859327

The power of psychoactive drugs wins. Writing.

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You pull out the bag of dust from your pocket and instantly snort it right then and there while everyone is watching. The pain in your head disappears almost immediately. A pleasant, dull fuzz floods every inch of your mind. You feel good now.
>5/7 RESTRAINT
>+1 WILLPOWER, -1 TALENT/COGNIZANCE/CHARM

"JUST?" One of the unarmed monsters growls incoherently. You decide the only path forward is to blow its fucking head off. You strain your mind a bit to pick up the two shotguns laying on the floor with your telekinesis. The monsters screech and wail when they see the UNTAPPED POWER OF YOUR MIND!

The lizard-humanoid and bleeding pile of muscle that you still recognize as Ashley and Lex respectively step back from the impending carnage. Quentin seems confused at what's going on.

You pull the triggers. BANG! BANG! Eruptions of red burst out of the monsters. Blood and gore splatter all around them from the slugs tearing right through them. You jab your finger. "KILL THEM!" Your allies quickly move in, whether out of a desire to finish the fight or being afraid of what's going on.

Flesh and scales and bone and metal and blood. That's all you can make out of the fight through your vision. A metal bat smashing through someone's arm. Brass knuckles caving someone's head in. Screaming. Yelling. Oozing, leaking blood. It's almost mesmerizing. A whirlpool of violence that draws you closer and closer. Pulling you-

You move to the side as a revolver bullet nearly rips into your side. The wall of flesh that once hid the Boss away has now disappeared. He is surrounded and he plans on unloading everything he has into you. You quickly move to the side again as he tries to fire at you again. You fling the spent shotguns at his hands. They collide, sending his revolver flying through the air.

He tries to run now that the monsters guarding him were dealt with. Despite the nerve and brain damage he received, the motherfucker is still fast. He sprints over to where his revolver was launched to. Like a man possessed. You quickly begin to chase after him...

But you don't have to. Quentin quickly smashes his knee in with the metal pipe he has. When he falls to his knees in agony, Lex and Ashley quickly knock him out with a punch to the gut and a bonk to the head. He's now on the ground, face first. If it wasn't for the slightest movement of his chest, you would think you killed him then and there.

The only noise you can hear is the heavy, labored breathing coming from you and your allies. A mountain of gore surrounds the four of you. A proof of your domination. A proof of your victory. You can't help but to smile. You did it!

>MISSION COMPLETE!
>REWARDS: $666, Your handler respects you even more, you'll find out about the underworld once you search his office.
>TOTAL CASH SO FAR: $1316

You fall down to your knees. So do Ashley and Lex. All of you are in some pretty rough shape after what happened. You take stock of everyone...

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It's hard to accurately tell since you know your sense of perception is fucked up by the drug but wow, they've seen better days. Blood and vomit coats Ashley's jacket and crop top in a thin film of filth. Her snout is bent in an awkward angle and nasty purple bruises cover her scaly bodies, mostly around the arms and exposed stomach. There's also still the bullet stuck in her shoulder.

It's somehow impressive how an already skinned man can look even worse. Lex's left eye has swollen up completely and chunks of flesh has been blasted away around his torso from slugs grazing his sides. There's even a small hole stuck in his abdomen from where a bullet hit.

You think if it wasn't for the Boosters in their system, they would be screaming out in agony. They're clearly hurting but they're able to stop themselves from going into shock now.

"...$175." Ashley croaks out. The drugs coursing through your brain must've made you look retarded since she repeats herself. "I need $175. Extra payment. For what just happened."

"WHAT ABOUT HIM?" Lex squeaks with a voice in such a high pitched falsetto, you immediately know that's the drugs fucking with you. He points a bleeding finger at the passed out boss. "SHOULD WE JUST KILL HIM?"

You process on what to do with the question and the request...

WHAT TO DO WITH BOSS?
>Just kick him until he stops moving. You don't need him anymore. (You won't lose any free time but you won't get any extra rewards.)
>Keep him alive so the Handler can have his piece. (You'll probably have to wait for the Handler to arrive, burning up a free time slot. You will probably get rewarded extra for this.)
WHAT TO DO WITH ASHLEY?
>Pay her the extra $175. You can understand where she's coming from. (-$175, she'll stay in your party until you go to sleep and she won't cost extra to hire later.)
>Don't pay her. She can handle it, she's seen worse, right? (Saves money but she leaves your party immediately. She might cost more to hire later as well.)

While you dwell on what to do, you decide to start digging through the bodies. Your allies help you loot the pile of dead bodies for anything worth keeping.

>CHECKERED JACKETS + MEMEBRSHIP CARDS x6 (Worthless to you now. Could be sold at a pawn shop or rival gang members for profit?)
>DOUBLE BARRELED SHOTGUN x2 (Highly illegal firearms without a license. Not that you care. Attacks made with it roll VIOLENCE+TALENT+2 and extra FLESH damage compared to other guns.)
>.357 REVOLVER AND THREE REVOLVER BULLETS. (The Boss' favorite gun. Feels insanely satisfying to use and has a small chance of healing RESTRAINT when fired. Attacks made with it roll TALENT+3.)
>GAS MASKS x3 (Protects you from viruses and toxic gases. Comes with three filters.)
>$125. It's shocking how little they had on them.
>UNMARKED VIAL (A glass vial with a bright glowing yellowish-green fluid in it. It feels like it would do SOMETHING positive if you used it. That's all you know.)

You quickly skim through the guns you and Quentin used for how much ammo you spent to take mental note of how many bullets you have for them...
>-2 PISTOL ROUNDS, 9 LEFT

You look back at the building you just nerve gassed. You're going in there to look for stuff, no questions asked, but what are your plans AFTER looting it? Choose THREE (or two if you kept the BOSS alive for profit.) free time actions.

>Take a moment to patch everyone up. (FREE ACTION. You have four charges on your trauma kit, two gauze rolls, and Ashley heals 1 more from healing items. Write in how much you want to use and on who.)
>[SEEKER OF THE CITY] Explore around District 8. Take in the sights and sounds. Learn what you can. See who you'll meet. (You might encounter potential allies, learn more about the world, or gets glimpses at the abnormal. Due to District H's nature, you are more likely to find useful shops to visit later.)
>You really don't want to become UNSTABLE again. Take some of your anti psychotics and chill the FUCK out. (FREE ACTION, -1 dose of VIRITOXAP BRANDED ANTI-PSYCHOTICS. You'll be able to think and see the world like a normal human for a short while. Disables UNSTABLE choices, for better and worse. Usually better.)
>[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] You are as high as a fucking kite on psychoactive drugs. Maybe you can try unlocking a new power while you're here? Focus! (WILLPOWER DC: 24. Pass and you may unlock a new ability. Failure and you'll earn nothing of value from the time spent but the future DC of unlocking new abilities will be lower.)
>[UNSTABLE] The blood puddles on the ground in front of you has a familiar face in it. TV MAN, YOU'RE HERE? TALK TO ME! TELL ME YOUR SECRETS! (You may learn some things you're not meant to know if you pick this.)
>Try to find a pawn shop to unload some of the useless garbage you have. These jackets especially. (Write in what you want to sell from your inventory. You'll lose them but get a tidy profit from getting rid of the junk.)
>Suggest to the party you should go to a bar and unwind after what happened? Maybe explain why you exploded someone in a mental episode? (Some unwinding will help your party recover RESTRAINT and you might find more people to hire at a bar. You'll also learn more about your allies.)
>You got a fuck ton of extra money, why not use it? There was that one weird ANOMALOUS STORE Adam recommended you to go to. Maybe buy something there? (You know it'll sell some niche but powerful and mildly anomalous items.)
>Pick up your phone and call someone. (One of the allies you haven't hired? Your HANDLER? Someone else you know? Write in what you want to say to or ask of them.)
>Try to ask your allies some questions while they're here. (Write in up to three questions to ask your allies. They'll try to answer them as best you can.)
>Maybe you should go back home and get some rest. (Heals 1 RESTRAINT and 1 FLESH from the extra sleep. Skips to the Handler calling you about the next MISSION.)
>Write in.

>>5859422
>Keep him alive so the Handler can have his piece.
He deserves this. This is HIS brother. It's his story to end, not ours.
>Pay her the extra $175. You can understand where she's coming from.
We can easily spare this right now
>$125
Let's give this to Ashley on the spot so she knows we're serious about her. The $50 can come from the junk selling
>GAS MASKS
We can use these to enter the building and loot the place! Though anything in there to do with the Handler, that's for us to hand over to him when he gets here and AFTER we check everything ourselves.
>Shotguns
>Revolver
Keeping
>Jackets/Cards
Selling
>Unmarked Vial
Wait, this isn't A-Energy? Why the fuck does this boss have this on him?

>>5859429
>Choose THREE (or two if you kept the BOSS alive for profit.) free time actions.
I take it calling the Handler and reporting in, plus getting him to show up is one whole action in and of itself. That's why.

>PATCH THE CREW UP
Ashley is -2 FLESH
Lex is -3 FLESH
Nicole is -1 FLESH
Quentin's FRESH AS HELL
So we Trauma Kit Ashley with 1 charge so she heals 1+1 back up to max. This leaves us with 3 charges left for that emergency "Can heal near lethal damage with 3 charges." later. Then we use both gauze on Lex to heal him 1+1 so he's only -1 FLESH. He can get some drinks and patch himself up the rest of the way later on, plus we already used the Trauma Kit on him once earlier today. Nicole needs the rest badly no matter what, so no need to patch up herself here.
>GO 2 BAR
Action 1. This is an absolute must after that fierce shitshow and the action-packed mission.
>CONSUME CHILL PILLS (1 dose, duh!)
Do this in front of the three so they can be more assured. Do NOT throw the bottle away, as we can give that to Benjamin so he knows THIS is what we seriously need. That gives him the opportunity to work towards making more for us
>PWN SHP SLLNG
Action 2.
Sell these:
>BAT
>PIPE
>3 KNIVES (leaves 2 for us)
>ALL THE JACKETS
>ALL THE MEMBER CARDS
I want to save some knives to train TK with so we can eventually do DIO style knife attacks. I like the reroll on the bat plus the stun on the pipe though, don't get me wrong. We don't need these jackets or cards anymore either.

We good? Anybody got better ideas? I'm going for the sanity this after-mission comedown, but we could just as well go for the UNSTABLE and ANOMALOUS POWER training...

>>5859429
>>5859441
Wait, throw in
>1 SHOTGUN
as a selling item. We don't need 2 shotties if we can't barely have enough ammo for 1 of them.

>>5859429
>>5859441
If we have enough money on hand to the point we don't have to wait, I want to immediately pay Ashley's $175 on the fucking spot, zero hesitation.

>>5859441
+1

>>5859446
Think the bar will let us borrow ice packs while we're there?
>nasty purple bruises cover her scaly bodies
>bullet stuck in her shoulder
>Lex's left eye has swollen up completely and chunks of flesh has been blasted away around his torso from slugs grazing his sides. There's even a small hole stuck in his abdomen from where a bullet hit.
They all fucking need that ice. Those descriptions are brutal

>>5859422
>Keep him alive so the Handler can have his piece. (You'll probably have to wait for the Handler to arrive, burning up a free time slot. You will probably get rewarded extra for this.)
>Pay her the extra $175. You can understand where she's coming from. (-$175, she'll stay in your party until you go to sleep and she won't cost extra to hire later.)
>[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] You are as high as a fucking kite on psychoactive drugs. Maybe you can try unlocking a new power while you're here? Focus! (WILLPOWER DC: 24. Pass and you may unlock a new ability. Failure and you'll earn nothing of value from the time spent but the future DC of unlocking new abilities will be lower.)
>You got a fuck ton of extra money, why not use it? There was that one weird ANOMALOUS STORE Adam recommended you to go to. Maybe buy something there? (You know it'll sell some niche but powerful and mildly anomalous items.)

>>5859422
>>Keep him alive so the Handler can have his piece. (You'll probably have to wait for the Handler to arrive, burning up a free time slot. You will probably get rewarded extra for this.)
>>Pay her the extra $175. You can understand where she's coming from. (-$175, she'll stay in your party until you go to sleep and she won't cost extra to hire later.)

>>5859429
>[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] You are as high as a fucking kite on psychoactive drugs. Maybe you can try unlocking a new power while you're here? Focus! (WILLPOWER DC: 24. Pass and you may unlock a new ability. Failure and you'll earn nothing of value from the time spent but the future DC of unlocking new abilities will be lower.)
>Suggest to the party you should go to a bar and unwind after what happened? Maybe explain why you exploded someone in a mental episode? (Some unwinding will help your party recover RESTRAINT and you might find more people to hire at a bar. You'll also learn more about your allies.)

>>5859429
>Keep him alive so the Handler can have his piece. (You'll probably have to wait for the Handler to arrive, burning up a free time slot. You will probably get rewarded extra for this.)
>Pay her the extra $175. You can understand where she's coming from. (-$175, she'll stay in your party until you go to sleep and she won't cost extra to hire later.)

>[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] You are as high as a fucking kite on psychoactive drugs. Maybe you can try unlocking a new power while you're here? Focus! (WILLPOWER DC: 24. Pass and you may unlock a new ability. Failure and you'll earn nothing of value from the time spent but the future DC of unlocking new abilities will be lower.)
>Maybe you should go back home and get some rest. (Heals 1 RESTRAINT and 1 FLESH from the extra sleep. Skips to the Handler calling you about the next MISSION.)
Avoid murder and dangerous missions and we're all set

>>5859429
>[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] You are as high as a fucking kite on psychoactive drugs. Maybe you can try unlocking a new power while you're here? Focus! (WILLPOWER DC: 24. Pass and you may unlock a new ability. Failure and you'll earn nothing of value from the time spent but the future DC of unlocking new abilities will be lower.)
>Suggest to the party you should go to a bar and unwind after what happened? Maybe explain why you exploded someone in a mental episode? (Some unwinding will help your party recover RESTRAINT and you might find more people to hire at a bar. You'll also learn more about your allies.)

>>5859446
Change
>>5859429
>Keep him alive so the Handler can have his piece. (You'll probably have to wait for the Handler to arrive, burning up a free time slot. You will probably get rewarded extra for this.)
>You really don't want to become UNSTABLE again. Take some of your anti psychotics and chill the FUCK out. (FREE ACTION, -1 dose of VIRITOXAP BRANDED ANTI-PSYCHOTICS. You'll be able to think and see the world like a normal human for a short while. Disables UNSTABLE choices, for better and worse. Usually better.)
>[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] You are as high as a fucking kite on psychoactive drugs. Maybe you can try unlocking a new power while you're here? Focus! (WILLPOWER DC: 24. Pass and you may unlock a new ability. Failure and you'll earn nothing of value from the time spent but the future DC of unlocking new abilities will be lower.)
>Suggest to the party you should go to a bar and unwind after what happened? Maybe explain why you exploded someone in a mental episode? (Some unwinding will help your party recover RESTRAINT and you might find more people to hire at a bar. You'll also learn more about your allies.)

>>5859429
>Keep him alive so the Handler can have his piece. (You'll probably have to wait for the Handler to arrive, burning up a free time slot. You will probably get rewarded extra for this.)
>Pay her the extra $175. You can understand where she's coming from. (-$175, she'll stay in your party until you go to sleep and she won't cost extra to hire later.)

>[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] You are as high as a fucking kite on psychoactive drugs. Maybe you can try unlocking a new power while you're here? Focus! (WILLPOWER DC: 24. Pass and you may unlock a new ability. Failure and you'll earn nothing of value from the time spent but the future DC of unlocking new abilities will be lower.)
>[UNSTABLE] The blood puddles on the ground in front of you has a familiar face in it. TV MAN, YOU'RE HERE? TALK TO ME! TELL ME YOUR SECRETS! (You may learn some things you're not meant to know if you pick this.)

>>5859429
>Suggest to the party you should go to a bar and unwind after what happened? Maybe explain why you exploded someone in a mental episode? (Some unwinding will help your party recover RESTRAINT and you might find more people to hire at a bar. You'll also learn more about your allies.)
>Maybe you should go back home and get some rest. (Heals 1 RESTRAINT and 1 FLESH from the extra sleep. Skips to the Handler calling you about the next MISSION.)

>KEEP HIM ALIVE
>PAY HER THE EXTRA CASH
Unanimous, from what I see.
>FREE TIME
PATCH PEOPLE UP: 6y6
TAKE PILLS: 6y6, Int
ANOMALOUS POWER TRAINING: 5xC, qZ6, /S86, 3Zj, Int, 8UH
UNSTABLE: 8UH
PAWN SHOP: 6y6
ANOMALOUS STORE: 5xc
BAR TIME: 6y6, qZ6, 3Zj, Int, 5mA
EXTRA REST: /S8, 5mA

Overall, people seem to just want to do anomalous training + hanging out at the bar without bothering with free actions much, alongside trying to appease Ashley and Handler.

Let's start rolling for those anomalous powers. Two anons, roll 3d6. Another anon, roll 1d6.

Rolled 6, 6, 6 = 18 (3d6)

>>5860573
Rollan

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>>5860574
SADISTIC!

Rolled 4, 3, 5 = 12 (3d6)

>>5860573

Rolled 5 (1d6)

>>5860573

>>5860574
Jesus lmao

>>5860573
We should still patch up without using medkits. Don't want to look bloody and disgusting!

35/42, with three 6s in one roll. I might give you a special treat for that luck. Success. Writing now.
>>5860574
Horrifying. Really, it is.
>>5860588
Of course, your allies are going to patch themselves up with whatever they got, but it's not gonna be as efficient as using your trauma kit. They're not gonna limp around with bullet holes.
Well, lest they're Quentin, but you know what his deal is.

>>5860588
I say we DON'T go for Lex and Ashley for a while. I want to give them time to recover after that brutal double fight. A less action-y mission would be nice for next time, and bringing Quentin a second time too.

>>5860591
Oh and did we get an extra rapport with Lex for all that bloodshed?

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>>5860601
You'll see.

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"Yeah, alright, fair." You pull out $175 from your overly full wallet and toss it over to Ashley. She stuffs it into her pocket without saying another word to you but her posture is a bit less tense now. Good.
>TOTAL CASH: $1266.

Ashley and Lex begin to self treat their own wounds. You're not sure if digging a bullet out of your shoulder with a knife on the floor is a great idea but you rather not bother Ashley much now. She cuts some pieces off of her stolen jacket and wraps the now bleeding wound with them. Lex is doing much the same with his own wounds, using the jackets as makeshift bandaging.

As Quentin goes to help your allies treat their wounds you pull out your phone. You keep a close eye on the barely alive Boss while you dial his phone number. It takes a solid second for him to answer the call. There's party poppers and bottles of champagne being popped in the background.

"I'm a bit busy. Did you kill them yet?" He mutters to someone talking to him in the background. "Oh, I meant kill in the metaphorical sense. Don't worry."

"Yes? If I had to guess-" You look back at the mountain of bodies outside. "...a few dozen or maybe a hundred are dead?" You lose count after the fiftieth body. "The gang won't be a problem. I even got you a special treat."

"Finally. Those cocksuckers have been a pain in my ASS for a while n- Wait, what do you mean 'special'? Maybe it's you~?"

Your voice goes monotone. "No. Ew." You shake your head. "No, no, I have...your brother. He's alive. Barely."

There's silence on the line. When he bothers to answer, his tone is laced with an unusual excitement. "You managed to capture that piece of shit? How?"

"Secret. Let's just say he's not moving any time soon. Come down to..." You ramble off the location of the base. "We'll be looting it anyways so, take your time."

"I'll be there immediately. Do not let him out of sight." He hangs up immediately. You look back at the barely alive Boss. He hasn't moved an inch since you last checked. He is glaring daggers at you. He coughs up blood-laced spittle alongside a tooth.

[SEEKER OF THE CITY] Internal bleeding is likely. If not for the gas ruining his lungs, the beating did it. He's going to die soon, he can't make it anywhere.

You decide to let him stay there mostly unguarded. You frankly doubt he can stand up, let alone run. You head over to check on your allies and, for the most part, they look a bit less awful than before. Not great but Ashley has tried her best to clean up her attire and both have patched themselves up.

You can already feel the drug beginning to wear off because you're starting to see less of their skinned and lizard forms. Before you go inside to loot, you kneel down on the ground and close your eyes. You begin to focus on clearing your thoughts.

The lingering effects of the drugs you took are flooding your vision with a blur of pinks, oranges, blues, reds, greens, purples, every possible color in the rainbow.

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You reach your hand out to parse through the spiral of madness. Swarms of nonsensical equations, numbers, and symbols flash through your mind. You can't quite make sense of it logically but you let your subconscious do the heavy lifting.

>35: SUCCESS
>SPECIAL SIXES: BONUS!

You pick a path that seems a bit more familiar to you. It's all subconscious, instinctual feelings. You don't know where you're going in your mind's palace, you only know your destination. You push past a particularly dense field of symbols and numbers to find your destination.

A flood of information rushes into your head before an intense pressure builds deep, deep inside your brain matter. A wispy, feminine yet not voice whispers into your ear again as the colors get brighter and brighter in your vision.

You've heard this voice before today, while meditating for this mission. You don't know who it is or how you can hear them...

"This world is governed by universal laws. My world. But I shall allow you to bend my rules. I love you. You will keep me safe." Your mind begins to bloom like a beautiful flower as you listen to its voi-

Your eyes snap open. Ashley, Lex, and Quentin are staring at you with mixed looks of worry, confusion, and curiosity. There's no weird features to them and the world has lost all of the blurred, drug-fueled splendor. You're back to a grey, boring alleyway caked in a thick orange haze. Still in District 8.
>SOMTOIN ALPHA has worn off.

You get off the floor as you hand the three the gas masks you looted. "We're going inside to check the office and to loot whatever's still in there." You glance back at the Boss. He hasn't moved at all. Good. Your allies quickly put on their gas masks. Quentin raises a finger. "We should wrap up our bodies in as much cloth as possible. It may still burn our skin if exposed."

You and your allies proceed to do that, wrapping as many extra layers of jackets, shirts, and jeans as you can get off the corpses. You'll throw them away given they'll probably be contaminated anyways, so no need to look presentable. You head back inside the gas-filled base to see what you can find there.

https://youtu.be/wMLknPRq5rI - WHAT REMAINS

It's a bloodbath in here, from what little you can see through the thick yellow gas that floods the base. The disco ball is the only light still on. Everything else has been smashed or knocked over in the mad rush to get out of here. You can hardly count how many bodies there are but it has to be a hundred at minimum.

"Fuck." Lex shakes his head. "You really did a number, huh?" He tries his best to lighten the mood. No one, including him, feels like laughing. The four of you trudge along over to the office. You doubt anything on the first floor is worth collecting given how contaminated it is.

The four of you go up the stairs and burst into the office, only to be met with high pitch screaming. What, no one should be here, who the hell could even be-

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Two android girls in skimpy outfits are huddled at the back of the office; Fear has drenched every inch of their metallic bodies. One has a knife pointed in your direction but the pitiful display just makes you feel bad.

"Right. Robots." Ashley remarks. "Go. We got what we came here for. Leave."

The taller one with green eyes nods, dragging the shorter one with blue eyes out of the office. You completely forgot about those two but...it seems like they won't be a problem. You start looking around the office.

Due to the gas being denser than air, the office is mostly free of serious contamination. It's a rather gaudy looking place with tacky paintings, sculptures, and (probably faux) gold plated junk everywhere. An expensive wine cabinet and several pictures of him with various associates and...android girls. Does he have a fetish for them or what? Fuck.

What catches your attention the most is the file cabinet at the back and the safe hidden behind his desk. You gesture at the others to loot the place and they begin doing so. You head over to the file cabinet and begin to comb through all of them.

You immediately find the safe password in there. You're starting to question if he had brain damage BEFORE you gassed him. You toss it onto the desk while looking for more valuable information there. There's a few worthless files you throw out before you notice some Company logos on the folders.

A shattered light bulb that's shining light. A bright red "Z" with a Rod of Asclepius in between the three lines. A furnace with a chimney constantly spewing smoke.

[SEEKER OF THE CITY] P-Company, Z-Company, and H-Company respectively. All companies you vaguely recognize.

There's also a few files about various gang activities he was doing. You skim through all of the information you can from here. Here's what relevant information you managed to piece together.

P-COMPANY FILE - "Thank you for your recent supply of assets to one of our facilities. Due to one of our most energy producing facilities shutting down due to various reasons, your workers will be useful for our continued existence. Please use the supplied A-Energy well. Continue to send us more resources whenever possible."
Z-COMPANY FILE - "It is disappointing how you tried to take an asset of ours without approval. However, you do allow us to make 'products' that 'certain eyes in the sky' don't want us to make. If you keep that new chemist safe and make the products we want, we'll keep this a secret. Understood?"
H-COMPANY FILE - "One of our highest quality incinerators will be supplied to you shortly. Make well use of it. You'll be doing us both a service. Burn this file when possible, please."
GANG FILE #1 - "We've heard rumors of a new gang that has been spotted in District 4 and 14. We do not know much about them but we heard rumors most of the members have anomalous properties. Be wary of anyone with a bright blue scar visible on their body."

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GANG FILE #2 - "I don't care what it takes. I don't care who I need to send. I want Ashton dead at any cost. He already destroyed the Ranger, Scrapper Squad, and X-Company vet I sent him. I will pay $10000 for anyone who can find his head NOW!"
GANG FILE #3 - "The talk between the Companies and the Head is about to happen soon. We need to contact our allies up there to keep operations working. Send as much as you can to Z, H, V, G, and P-Company. Now. They need us as much as we need them."

[SEEKER OF THE CITY] "The Head" is a slang term for the main operating government behind the City itself. While the Head may have one or two companies operating on its behalf, it is a separate entity all together.

You put down the files and stew on what you read. They were in cahoots with several alphabet companies? And they were on good terms with them for the most part? You're starting to worry if there are other corporate sponsored gangs...and if this was just one of the weakest ones you could've fought.

Food for thought. Lex inputs the password to the safe. You open it with your telekinesis in case there's any traps as you begin to scout out what loot you managed to get there.

SAFE LOOT:
>A-ENERGY BOX x3 (Liquid gold. Not literally. Very valuable as a barter item and you believe the ANOMALOUS STORE will trade you something good for it.)
>H-COMPANY BUSINESS CARD (A sign of corporate approval. Can be used to access exclusive H-Company products from shops around the City.)
>DIGITAL CAMERA (A highly valued E-Company product. Has enough charge to take up to 30 pictures.)
>BOTTLE OF HIGH QUALITY WHISKEY x7 (You're absolutely drinking this at the bar later.)

Excellent shit. You have your allies carry the stuff out the heavier stuff while you exit back out of the building. That's when you hear the screaming.

Standing above a battered and barely alive Boss is him. The burgundy red jacket with light pink swirls, now stained in blood. Light charcoal pants. Short bronze brown hair soaked in sweat. The Handler.

He is currently beating the ever-loving shit out of the Boss. An ear to ear grin stretches across his face as he continues to wail mercilessly on him

"THAT'S WHAT YOU FUCKING GET FOR NOT GOING TO THE FUNERAL!" He smashes his fist into the pulverized meat that was once the Boss' face. "THAT'S FOR STEALING MY GIRLFRIEND!" Another punch. "THAT'S FOR ALWAYS BEING A PAIN IN MY GOD DAMN ASS SINCE WE WERE KIDS!" Another punch.

"F-fuck Y-you...f-faggot. I-I-I didn't need...d-daddy's money, unlike YO-"

"THAT'S WHAT YOU GET FOR NEVER!" PUNCH. "BEING THERE!" PUNCH. "FOR OUR GOD DAMN FAMILY!" CRACK!

The Boss stops moving. Or fighting back. Or breathing.

The Handler gets up off of the body with sweat and blood clinging to him. He looks at the four of you with a wild look in his eyes. "Thanks for keeping him alive. He deserved it. Fucking cunt."

Lex is the only one to break the silence with some clapping and a smile..

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He dusts his suit off before ripping the A-Energy boxes out of your hands. The four of you are about to complain but he shuts you up. "You're not getting away with carrying this much in public. I'll deliver it, alongside your bonus cut, later."

He glances at your three allies. He tosses a handful of 20s for each of them. "Here. Buy yourself something good." He leaves the four of you in the dust. Just taking one look at the shredded meat that was once the Handler makes you realize...even in his weakened state, the Boss' face should NOT have caved in like that. It was like the Handler's fists were lead blocks.

"...Bar?" You cough to get everyone's attention.

"I thought you would never ask."
"Fuck yeah!"
"If the others want."

That's enough for you. The four of you head down the smog-filled streets of District 8. It doesn't take long for you to end up at a small, rink-a-dink bar. It's barely big enough to hold a hundred people and you can tell it's already has double of that but the four of you find a somewhat empty table to sit down at.

https://youtu.be/g4Y8SXxWLHA - RUNDOWN BAR

You sink into your chair. Now without the threat of death keeping the four of you moving, the rest of your allies soon decompress and slump over in their chairs, beyond exhausted. A waiter comes to take your orders before heading away to get them. You made sure to ask for extra ice. She seemed to get the hint.

Ashley lets out a shuddering sigh, the pain of the fight hitting now that the combat high is off. "...Ah. Reid is going to kill me later when he sees me like this. I have to do practice later this week."

"Fuck, man, you're worried about your band still?" Lex scratches an itch on his neck. "I like it, don't get me wrong. But you got beat up to hell. So did I."

"I can understand the desire to continue a pursuit." Quentin leans his arms on the table. "Without a pursuit, there's no purpose to the things you do. Everything has a reason for being, no?"

"Exactly. Fuck, I can't believe I'm agreeing with a Drone here." Ashley snidely laughs at the seeming absurdity.

"I ain't much for that thinking shit. All I need is a good fight and a good drink." Lex turns to smile at you. "And, sure, you gave me a real big scare there, but you gave me both. Thanks."

You sated Lex's bloodlust. You have gained +1 RAPPORT with him.

"Yeah, what the actual fuck was that about?" Ashley snorts. "Sure, Patricia sometimes gets in those moods back at the band, but...not with the exploding bits. Do you want to talk about it?"

"I'm sorry. I don't really know what happened. It worked out in the end, though, right?"

"I guess?" Ashley leans back in her chair. The waiter returns with your drinks and ice bags for Lex and Ashley. They quickly go to place them on their sorest spot while drinking at the cocktails.

"Instability like that does not work well in prolonged contexts. That's what they said to me, you know." Quentin leans forward.

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Quentin leans over in his chair. "They did not like...this ability of mine. Not this way, at least. A taboo of sorts."

"I mean, fuck man. It's freaky as hell. I gotta admit, it's useful." Lex snaps his fingers. "You're not as awful as I thought you were when we first met."

"...Giant Centipede Keeps Raising The Dead. Hm. Good song name."

While your allies talk among each other, you take a moment to decompress and focus on yourself. As you look around the bar to see what interesting faces there are, you do wonder. What is your purpose? Sure, you want to eventually GET out of this gig, but what's your end game here?

What is your purpose? What is the goal that will drive you forward from here?
>[SEEKER OF THE CITY] You want to learn the secrets of secrets in the City. You want to know how everything ticks. This job is just an excuse to get you closer. (MAIN GOAL: SECRETKEEPER. You seek to find out the biggest secrets the Companies and City hold at any cost. You'll be sated when you learn the biggest Secret of all 26 Alphabet Companies.)
>[UNSTABLE] You want to break out of the yoke of your human form. To become something BETTER. This body, your mind, it RESTRAINS you. Weakens you. (MAIN GOAL: ABERRATION. You seek to become better than humanity. You'll be sated when you have untapped the full potential of your mind and body.)
>[ANOMALOUS POWERS] You want to learn as much about the anomalous as you can. You want to know how they tick, why they exist. Not to mention the voice you hear. (MAIN GOAL: RESEARCHER. You want to pursuit as much of the anomalous world as you can and the limits of your powers. You will be sated when you can fully understand how you got powers, why anomalies are the way they are, and who the voice is.)
>[PERSON OF INTEREST] The men in silver, why do they follow you? Why did they try to turn someone into an anomaly? What is their end goal? You want to know more. They clearly have friends in high places. (MAIN GOAL: MUCKRACKER. You want to expose the secrets of the men following you and to stop their operations at any cost. You'll be sated when they're forever disbanded.)
>Who said you had any other reason? You just want to get out of the gig. (MAIN GOAL: GRINDSET. You seek to be free from everything that can hold you do. You'll be sated when you're rich enough to never work a day in your life.)
>Write in.

As you stew this, you look back at your allies. They seem to be busy talking amongst themselves so you turn to look around at the bar. While you do plan on asking them questions about themselves and going home after this, your eyes glaze over to the people at the bar. To be honest?

You're a bit worried about hiring them for a while and, who knows if you'll get close to them only for them to die on a mission? It's wise to keep your options open. That and it gives you some time to unfurl your brain and your new powers...

"And that's when I told dad that, no, I don't want to pet the Mermaid." Lex spurts out.

You glance around at the people at the bar. Who do you want to talk to and try to get as an ally? Pick up to two.
>[SEEKER OF THE CITY] The masquerade mask he's wearing catches your eye first before you notice large tusks poking out his mouth. The hell is he?
>A man in full tactical gear is slumped over in the booth he's in. He's constantly arguing with a man over a walkie talkie he's holding.
>An incredibly untrustworthy salesman is going around table to table, desperately trying to sell his products to people. He's somehow selling them?
>A young painter with an apron on is busy painting portraits of the people nearby. Her movements are precise and collected, despite the distractions around her.
>A bespectacled nerd is peering through a dozen botany textbooks while tinkering with some mixture at her table. She has vials of swirling, colored liquids hanging off her belt.
>An older lady who could pass as your grandma sips at her drink with a toothless smile. Her wrinkled skin is caked in scars and tattoos.
>None of them. Let them be.
>Write in. (Feel free to describe the person you're looking for.)

Your brain begins to unfurl and bloom a lot more than you expected. Something inside you must've snapped since there's a lot more potential here. You have more options to choose from.

Pick one new power to add to your roster.
>For a split second, the world seems to slow down to a halt. The threads of time feels malleable to you. (Gain BORROWED TIME. Spend 3 RESTRAINT to slow time to a crawl for a limited duration, allowing you to do actions or set up traps without your enemies realizing what you're doing.)
>You can hear voices in your head that aren't your own. It takes you a moment to realize how you're hearing them. (Gain MIND READ. You passively sense the true emotions of people nearby and you can spend 1 RESTRAINT to detect if anyone or anything sentient is nearby. Strong willed people may need a WILLPOWER check to mind read.)
>As you hold onto your drink, you realize it's a lot colder than you thought it was. Then you realize it has turned into ice! (Gain CRYOKINESIS. For 1 RESTRAINT, you can rapidly freeze an object or create a small construct made out of ice. For 2 RESTRAINT, you can attempt to rapidly lower the temperature in a small area around you to slow down enemies or to help you escape.)
>You look at your injured allies. They're so fragile. Everything is so fragile. You all ROT in the end. (Gain ROT. You can freely decay small items made out of organic material. For 1 RESTRAINT, you can rapidly rot a large amount of material to break through walls, doors, or to hurt people.)
>Your mind and your body are one in the same. There's power in the blood you spill. (Gain BLOOD SACRIFICE. You may sacrifice 1 FLESH or gain 2 RESTRAINT or temporarily boost WILLPOWER by 1. You may sacrifice 2 FLESH to temporarily unlock a more powerful version of the abilities you currently have.)
(1/2 for powers.)

>You saw the potential of your own madness. What if you inflicted that onto others? (Gain MINDBREAKER. You may spend 2 RESTRAINT to inflict a target with a far more potent version of your UNSTABLE bane. They will ignore the world around them and will blindly trust you as long as you feed their delusions. This will wear off quickly, however.)

And lastly, is there anything specific you want to ask your allies?
>No. Just talk to them and they bring up naturally.
>Yes, you do. (Write in up to three questions to ask your allies.)

Sorry for the delayed update. And the massive wall of text. There was just a lot to write. Due to the importance of your powers and picking a goal, the vote will be open for a day and a half OR until there's been no votes for a WHILE.

>>5860807
>Who said you had any other reason? You just want to get out of the gig. (MAIN GOAL: GRINDSET. You seek to be free from everything that can hold you do. You'll be sated when you're rich enough to never work a day in your life.)

>An older lady who could pass as your grandma sips at her drink with a toothless smile. Her wrinkled skin is caked in scars and tattoos.

>You can hear voices in your head that aren't your own. It takes you a moment to realize how you're hearing them. (Gain MIND READ. You passively sense the true emotions of people nearby and you can spend 1 RESTRAINT to detect if anyone or anything sentient is nearby. Strong willed people may need a WILLPOWER check to mind read.)

>No. Just talk to them and they bring up naturally.

Bleh. Noticed some typos. Meant to write "hear what they bring up naturally" for the last vote and "hold you down" for GRINDSET. Too late to delete, just clarifying

>>5860807
>>Who said you had any other reason? You just want to get out of the gig. (MAIN GOAL: GRINDSET. You seek to be free from everything that can hold you do. You'll be sated when you're rich enough to never work a day in your life.)

>A man in full tactical gear is slumped over in the booth he's in. He's constantly arguing with a man over a walkie talkie he's holding.

>An older lady who could pass as your grandma sips at her drink with a toothless smile. Her wrinkled skin is caked in scars and tattoos.
Retired veteran gangster? Or a retired gang ex-boss?

>You can hear voices in your head that aren't your own. It takes you a moment to realize how you're hearing them. (Gain MIND READ. You passively sense the true emotions of people nearby and you can spend 1 RESTRAINT to detect if anyone or anything sentient is nearby. Strong willed people may need a WILLPOWER check to mind read.)

>>5860918
>Who said you had any other reason? You just want to get out of the gig. (MAIN GOAL: GRINDSET. You seek to be free from everything that can hold you do. You'll be sated when you're rich enough to never work a day in your life.)

>A man in full tactical gear is slumped over in the booth he's in. He's constantly arguing with a man over a walkie talkie he's holding.

>An older lady who could pass as your grandma sips at her drink with a toothless smile. Her wrinkled skin is caked in scars and tattoos.
Retired veteran gangster? Or a retired gang ex-boss?

>No. Just talk to them and they bring up naturally.

>>5860930
>Who said you had any other reason? You just want to get out of the gig. (MAIN GOAL: GRINDSET. You seek to be free from everything that can hold you do. You'll be sated when you're rich enough to never work a day in your life.)

>A man in full tactical gear is slumped over in the booth he's in. He's constantly arguing with a man over a walkie talkie he's holding.

>An older lady who could pass as your grandma sips at her drink with a toothless smile. Her wrinkled skin is caked in scars and tattoos.
Retired veteran gangster? Or a retired gang ex-boss?

>You can hear voices in your head that aren't your own. It takes you a moment to realize how you're hearing them. (Gain MIND READ. You passively sense the true emotions of people nearby and you can spend 1 RESTRAINT to detect if anyone or anything sentient is nearby. Strong willed people may need a WILLPOWER check to mind read.)

>No. Just talk to them and they bring up naturally.

>>5860807
>Write in
MAIN GOAL: FAMILY. You seek to be secure enough to start a family. Boring I know, but every girl dreams of walking down the aisle in white.

>A man in full tactical gear is slumped over in the booth he's in. He's constantly arguing with a man over a walkie talkie he's holding.
>An older lady who could pass as your grandma sips at her drink with a toothless smile. Her wrinkled skin is caked in scars and tattoos.

>You can hear voices in your head that aren't your own. It takes you a moment to realize how you're hearing them. (Gain MIND READ. You passively sense the true emotions of people nearby and you can spend 1 RESTRAINT to detect if anyone or anything sentient is nearby. Strong willed people may need a WILLPOWER check to mind read.)

>No. Just talk to them and they bring up naturally

>>5860799
>Due to one of our most energy producing facilities shutting down due to various reasons
I hope Admin got his girl and nobody died before P Corp said pool's closed on them ;_; Humanity wins in the end, right?

>>5860938
The current year is 2255. That quest happened in 2261. Make of that what you will.

>>5860941
There's still hope in this City after all.
>>5860807
>[PERSON OF INTEREST] The men in silver, why do they follow you? Why did they try to turn someone into an anomaly? What is their end goal? You want to know more. They clearly have friends in high places. (MAIN GOAL: MUCKRACKER. You want to expose the secrets of the men following you and to stop their operations at any cost. You'll be sated when they're forever disbanded.)
WAR AGAINST THE SILVER GLOWIES

>>5860808
>An older lady who could pass as your grandma sips at her drink with a toothless smile. Her wrinkled skin is caked in scars and tattoos
Old woman war criminal, a classic ProjectMoon staple
>[SEEKER OF THE CITY] The masquerade mask he's wearing catches your eye first before you notice large tusks poking out his mouth. The hell is he?
Somebody new?

>You can hear voices in your head that aren't your own. It takes you a moment to realize how you're hearing them. (Gain MIND READ. You passively sense the true emotions of people nearby and you can spend 1 RESTRAINT to detect if anyone or anything sentient is nearby. Strong willed people may need a WILLPOWER check to mind read.)
Emotion reading, even passively, is too valuable to pass up in our line of work. I hope it stays that way

>>5860844
>No. Just talk to them and they bring up naturally
After a mission like that with body and mind spent, I want to just let things happen normally

>>5860808
>MAIN GOAL: FAMILY

>An incredibly untrustworthy salesman is going around table to table, desperately trying to sell his products to people. He's somehow selling them?
>A young painter with an apron on is busy painting portraits of the people nearby. Her movements are precise and collected, despite the distractions around her.

>For a split second, the world seems to slow down to a halt. The threads of time feels malleable to you. (Gain BORROWED TIME. Spend 3 RESTRAINT to slow time to a crawl for a limited duration, allowing you to do actions or set up traps without your enemies realizing what you're doing.)

>Yes, you do. (Write in up to three questions to ask your allies.)
I'd like to learn about our allies past and where they came from, especially Quentin.

>>5860918
>>5860930
>>5860932
What are you doing anon?

>>5860807
>MAIN GOAL: MUCKRACKER. You want to expose the secrets of the men following you and to stop their operations at any cost. You'll be sated when they're forever disbanded.

>>5860810
>You saw the potential of your own madness. What if you inflicted that onto others? (Gain MINDBREAKER. You may spend 2 RESTRAINT to inflict a target with a far more potent version of your UNSTABLE bane.
We Malkavin' now

>>5860808
>[SEEKER OF THE CITY] The masquerade mask he's wearing catches your eye first before you notice large tusks poking out his mouth. The hell is he?
>A man in full tactical gear is slumped over in the booth he's in. He's constantly arguing with a man over a walkie talkie he's holding.

>>5860972
Edit

Edit
>>5860932
>Write in
Main Goal: Light in Darkness. You seek to make people's lives in the city a bit better by doing whatever you can while not being naive and fully aware of the dark, grim reality of the city, but you do it anyway to make people's lives better, comfortable, and happy. Evening If you fail and are powerless to change the city, it is still a worthy goal to fight for, regardless of failure. You can still do it in a small way or even by planting seeds of change in the future for others to take the torch for a better future. (Nobledark antihero or hero story)
>A man in full tactical gear is slumped over in the booth he's in. He's constantly arguing with a man over a walkie talkie he's holding.

>An older lady who could pass as your grandma sips at her drink with a toothless smile. Her wrinkled skin is caked in scars and tattoos.
Retired veteran gangster? Or a retired gang ex-boss?

>You can hear voices in your head that aren't your own. It takes you a moment to realize how you're hearing them. (Gain MIND READ. You passively sense the true emotions of people nearby and you can spend 1 RESTRAINT to detect if anyone or anything sentient is nearby. Strong willed people may need a WILLPOWER check to mind read.)

>No. Just talk to them and they bring up naturally.

>>5860807
>Write in
MAIN GOAL: FAMILY. You seek to be secure enough to start a family. Boring I know, but every girl dreams of walking down the aisle in white.

>>5860808
>A man in full tactical gear is slumped over in the booth he's in. He's constantly arguing with a man over a walkie talkie he's holding.
>A bespectacled nerd is peering through a dozen botany textbooks while tinkering with some mixture at her table. She has vials of swirling, colored liquids hanging off her belt.

>You can hear voices in your head that aren't your own. It takes you a moment to realize how you're hearing them. (Gain MIND READ. You passively sense the true emotions of people nearby and you can spend 1 RESTRAINT to detect if anyone or anything sentient is nearby. Strong willed people may need a WILLPOWER check to mind read.)

>>5860810
>No. Just talk to them and they bring up naturally.

>>5860807
>[ANOMALOUS POWERS] You want to learn as much about the anomalous as you can. You want to know how they tick, why they exist. Not to mention the voice you hear. (MAIN GOAL: RESEARCHER. You want to pursuit as much of the anomalous world as you can and the limits of your powers. You will be sated when you can fully understand how you got powers, why anomalies are the way they are, and who the voice is.)

>>5860808
>[SEEKER OF THE CITY] The masquerade mask he's wearing catches your eye first before you notice large tusks poking out his mouth. The hell is he?
>A man in full tactical gear is slumped over in the booth he's in. He's constantly arguing with a man over a walkie talkie he's holding.

>You can hear voices in your head that aren't your own. It takes you a moment to realize how you're hearing them. (Gain MIND READ. You passively sense the true emotions of people nearby and you can spend 1 RESTRAINT to detect if anyone or anything sentient is nearby. Strong willed people may need a WILLPOWER check to mind read.)

>No. Just talk to them and they bring up naturally

>>5860807
>Write in.
Family

>>5860808
>A young painter with an apron on is busy painting portraits of the people nearby. Her movements are precise and collected, despite the distractions around her.
>An older lady who could pass as your grandma sips at her drink with a toothless smile. Her wrinkled skin is caked in scars and tattoos.

>>5860810
>You saw the potential of your own madness. What if you inflicted that onto others? (Gain MINDBREAKER. You may spend 2 RESTRAINT to inflict a target with a far more potent version of your UNSTABLE bane. They will ignore the world around them and will blindly trust you as long as you feed their delusions. This will wear off quickly, however.)
>No. Just talk to them and they bring up naturally.

>>5860807
>[UNSTABLE] You want to break out of the yoke of your human form. To become something BETTER. This body, your mind, it RESTRAINS you. Weakens you. (MAIN GOAL: ABERRATION. You seek to become better than humanity. You'll be sated when you have untapped the full potential of your mind and body.)

>>5860808
>A man in full tactical gear is slumped over in the booth he's in. He's constantly arguing with a man over a walkie talkie he's holding.
>An older lady who could pass as your grandma sips at her drink with a toothless smile. Her wrinkled skin is caked in scars and tattoos.

>You look at your injured allies. They're so fragile. Everything is so fragile. You all ROT in the end. (Gain ROT. You can freely decay small items made out of organic material. For 1 RESTRAINT, you can rapidly rot a large amount of material to break through walls, doors, or to hurt people.)

>MAIN GOAL
GRINDSET: 5xC
LIGHT IN DARKNESS: By0
FAMILY: 8UH, qZ6, /S8, XrB
MUCKRACKER: pvg, 6y6
RESEARCHER: 5mA
ABERRATION: FA6
Seems like we're going with a write in this time, interesting. I'll take the other votes into minor consideration but seems like FAMILY is what matters the most.
>WHO TO TALK TO
OLD LADY: 5xC, By0, 8UH. 6y6, XrB, FA6
TACTICAL GEAR: By0, 8uH, /S86, 5mA, FA6
SALESMAN: qZ6
PAINTER: qZ6, XrB
BOTANIST: /S86
SEEKER OF THE CITY: pvg, 6y6, 5mA
Old Lady and Tactical Gear wins out.
>WHAT IS YOUR POWER?
MIND READ: 5xC, By0, 8UH, 6y6, /S8, 5mA
BORROWED TIME: qZ6
MINDBREAKER: pvg, XrB
ROT: FA6
Mind Read wins in a landside.
>ANY QUESTIONS
Most people just want to listen to whatever they ramble off naturally. Fair.

Closing. Writing.

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Really, the money is only half of the reason you're doing it. It's a means to an end to get security, safety, certainty. For what reason? To have a family. Something to take care of, to protect.

That doesn't necessarily mean you're going to settle down with a dude for the sake of it. It could be found family. A group of friends and associates you trust and respect. A group you want to protect. You do ultimately want to foster a family of some kind however, no matter the cost. Who knows why you have this thought but it's something that drives you.

>MAIN GOAL: THICKER THAN WATER. You will be sated when you can settle down and there's nothing left that can threaten those you love. If there's even a hint of anyone hurting someone you care about, there will be hell to raise.

You shake yourself out of your thoughts when you start hearing voices flooding your head. It took you far too long to realize it isn't UNSTABLE screeching at you again. It's your allies whispering into your head. You tune your ear in to listen.

<"I look like a wreck, don't I? Fuck me. Patricia is going to FLIP if I can't perform at Moe's later.">
<"I wonder if she's okay? Nicole been staring at me for a while now. I get she gets in a zone sometimes but it worries me.">
<"'A happy worker is a worker who produces. A sad worker is one who doesn't meet his quotas. Don't you want to be a happy worker?' It's weird how this slogan used to give me joy.">

Huh. Holy shit, you can read minds now. That's a new one. You take your mind off this by chugging the watery beer you were handed. "So. What's your plans after all of this? Hopefully you, uh, take a break for a while?"

"Oh, shit, you're still here?" Lex nearly jumps out of his seat from sheer shock. <"Woo. Okay. Thank fuck she's okay.">

"Yeah?" You raise an eyebrow. "Calm down. I was just thinking about, I dunno, why I was doing this Cleaner stuff. It's fine now."

"Fair?" Lex makes a weird half shrug gesture that's more like an involuntary twitch than anything. "I dunno. I was thinking on trying to get some gifts for my ma and pa."

"Wait, you have parents you're on speaking terms with?" Ashley butts into the conversation. "What a lucky bastard you are. Haven't been able to talk to them in years."

"...Family." Quentin is far more interested in the drink than the conversation going on. You read his mind. <"I miss Mother. Mother of a Thousand Legs. I need to get back to her."> He takes a swig of the gin in his glass. "I suppose it's better to have it than not."

"Oh, right, you're some fucked up centipede. How does that work?" Lex says with as much tact as you expect from him. "How do they, uh. Do the thing."

The deadpan look on Quentin's face evades your ability to read his thoughts. You can make an educated guess he didn't like the question. "...Eggs. Human females make them, right? You ape." He goes back to sipping his drink with a mildly upset expression.

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You can't help but to scrunch up your face. Ashley doesn't have a much better reaction to it. Lex is eyeing you and Ashley with a weird look.

"NO. WE DO NOT." Ashley pours her drink down her gullet in one fell swoop. After hissing through the bitterness of the booze, she starts speaking again. "Look, let's not question how bugs fuck. Thanks. Horrid mental image."

"Pft, sorry, sorry." Lex slumps into his chair. "I apologize to all of the humans and weird bug people at the table. But seriously, what IS your deal, Quinny?"

"Don't call me that." Quentin sighs. "To be quite honest, I do not fully remember. I was stuck in that rotten old body for so long, my memories of before are hazy. Not a lot to feed on." He peers down at his half empty glass. "I remember Mother watching me. I remember trying to find a shell. I did not have the proper compatibility with my provided shell."

"Something something weird skin suits?" Ashley snaps her fingers. "The ones with no faces and shit? Those things?"

"Correct. Then it was cold. Then I found that man's body. Then I found out I was compatible with him. Then I used him. I never had a true goal past that. I was lost." There's a tinge of some emotion you can't quite make out. Disappointment? Self hatred? <"I wish I could've been a useful Drone.">

Ashley's expression softens when she hears the story. "I can relate. To the being lost part. Shit, I hardly remember my home district. I've been hopping around this fuckin' City to find...somethin'. I guess the band is the only thing I got besides this new job." She takes another swig of her drink. "Better than being with dad. Fuckin' J-Corp bootlicker."

[SEEKER OF THE CITY] J-Corp, an associate of the Head, is tasked with maintaining PEACE and ORDER in the City. They're the closest thing to an organized police force you can get.

"What, your dad was a police officer? That's kinda cool!" You try your best to lighten up the situation. Ashley gives you a nasty looking scowl in response.

"He was a cock. Simple as. I don't get why Nadir looked up to him." <"...Maybe I should call them soon? It couldn't hurt.">

"Sob stories and daddy issues? Yeesh." Lex grunts. "My life was boring as fuck until now. Wake up. Go to school. Go home. Study. All of that boring shit. This? This is the LIFE! Money, drinks, beating bitches up?" A half-laugh escapes him. "What else could you need?" <"I guess friends are nice too. I wonder how that Alexis chick is doing?">

"A routine is something a man needs to stay sane." Quentin drones (heh) on. "All of us are slaves to it in some way."

"Says the fucking Drone." Lex dismissively responds. Quentin takes a moment to process the statement before nodding his head. "Fair enough. I am biased here. I will not deny that. Is it wrong, however?"

"Fuck, am I any different? I'm on a routine too." You muse. Though it's not like you have any better ideas on how to handle your life. How else do you make money?

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"Sweetie." Lex shakes his head in mock disappointment. "That's called a 'job'. You're doing something called a 'job'. Do you need your meds?"

You pull out your antipsychotics. "I do."

This instantly shuts the table up. Ashley is utterly bewildered at the fact that, yes, you do have medication. "Well then. Maybe you should remember to take those." <"Rather not get scared shitless again, thanks!">

The conversation soon dies down from there. Your allies finish their drinks before proceeding to leave the table. You say your goodbyes to them. The three drunkards stumbled out, clearly in better spirits than before. You feel better as well.
>+2 RESTRAINT to you and your party! 7/7 RESTRAINT!

You mull over the stories they told you while your legs move automatically to the people who caught your attention at the bar. The first one you decide to bother is the old lady. You sit down at the seat across from her that's luckily unoccupied.

She barely even looks up from her tea when she decides to speak. "I do believe an introduction is well due, stranger. It is impolite to simply stumble into a stranger's life without such common courtesy." You are impressed how clear and understandable her speaking is despite her lack of teeth.

"Well?" She coughs to get your attention. You take a moment to get a better look at her. Her outfit is a simple dull grey military-style jumpsuit alongside some old combat boots. Her skin is caked in what appears to be burn scars and deep scratches, with only her left eye being mostly unfucked.

There's hardly any grey hair clinging onto her head. The tattoos are the most eye catching part. A swirl of bizarre symbols and patterns that look like they would belong on some sort of old tribal warrior covers her arms and face.

"Nicole! I, uh, just wanted to chat with you. About stuff." You're not super sure on how to bridge the subject. "Nice to meet you.

"A chat. Quite a unique thing to ask for." <"Alas. Even during my breaks, I can't avoid having the youngens call for help."> "You can call me...Naomi. Better than telling you my codename. No one would enjoy knowing that."

"Codename?" That's interesting. That, the scars, and the military outfit is painting an interesting story on how experienced she is.

"Ah. What does that matter? It's not like I've done that job in a while." <"Not like she needs to know."> She takes another sip of her tea. "Let's cut it to brass tacks, youngen. You came here for assistance. I could tell your friends were in a fight. A nasty one, I believe."

"You would be right to assume that." You decide to drop all pretense now. "To be honest, I'm always looking for new allies. I'm a Cleaner, you see. I do...missions."

Naomi slaps her knee before bursting out into a cackle. When she manages to calm down enough to make coherent speech, she flashes a toothless smile at you. "Ah. It's been a while since I've done this. I believe I can humor you."

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<"Poor girl is going to get herself killed."> "I believe we can come to an...agreement on this. What sort of jobs do you tend to do?" She puts her hands on her knees. Her eyes seem to stare past you and into something deeper. Like she's trying to judge every bit of you she can see. Like an arbiter or adjudicator.

<"She might be a good replacement for my title, if given the right push."> "Yes, yes. This will work. Go on, tell me."

"Well, I do a little bit of everything. I did a hit not too long ago on a gang, I did some investigation work, I saved someone who was kidnapped? Stuff like that."

"What gang?" This instantly catches her interest for some reason.

"...Ace Strikers?"

She's silent at first. She offers you a handshake almost immediately. "Thank you. I told them that one day, karma would rest on top of their head. Even if you only killed a few, that is enough for me." You return the handshake. Her skin is dry, cracked, and frankly threatening to fall apart at any second. Old age and a lifetime of scars has pushed her body well past the limits.

"Eugh." You pull back your hand when you feel how fucked her skin is. A gentle laugh drifts out of Naomi. "Fair enough. I usually have my bandages on but I wanted to feel the fresh air today."

"Tell you what. I shall come along on any mission you desire for a simple price of $195. I believe that is fair enough for my presence." She pauses. "I will try my best to teach you and any other friends you have all I know if you do bring me along."

"Duly noted. Do you have any contact info?" You get handed a small napkin with a number written on it. You assume this is her number, so you stuff it in your pocket. "Thank you. See you later."

"See you. Now, back to my tea." She goes back to enjoying her black tea. No sugar, no cream, nothing. Pitch black. Absolutely psychopathic. Eh, you half kid. You decide to check up on the other person you were interested in-

"LISTEN HERE YOU FUCKING COCKSUCKER!" The man in the tactical gear yells at the top of his lungs into the tinny speaker of his walkie talkie. The rest of the patrons in the small bar are looking at him with equal parts fear and annoyance. "I fucking told you, we can't do this shit on the GOD DAMN fly! Everything has a PLAN to it and you can't just FUCK THAT AROUND WILLY NILLY!"

He damn near cracks the table with his left hand with how hard he's gripping it. "I don't care what Bennett says. You listen to MY orders when you're doing MY jobs for me. If I hear one more fuck up from you, I'm cutting your GOD DAMN nuts off. Alright?"

There's silence on the line, followed by a half hearted apology from whoever's on the other side. Then it goes fully quiet. The man huffs, slapping the walkie talkie onto his chest. <"Oh great, some schizo bitch is approaching me. Get the pepper spray ready, Frank...">

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You raise your hands up in mock surrender. "I took my pills today. I don't hear any voices, nor do I think the government is chasing after me." Both of which are lies and you can tell Frank is half aware of this. He sighs, gesturing at you to sit down.

You sit down next to him. He's a tall, somewhat skinny man with messy brown hair and some mild muscle in his arms. He's glaring at you like you're a piece of actual dogshit he stepped on. It's halting any attempt at you from starting a conversation. "Sorry. Didn't mean to intrude, sir."

"Save the asskissing for someone else. Tell me what you want so I can tell you to fuck off." Well, he gets right to the point. You try your best to get enough courage to speak up.

"I'm, uh, looking for allies. People to help me out. You seem like you're...good at your job? Mr...?"

"Frank. Frank Smith. Though I suppose the actual title is ETF Kappa. I think that's retarded, do I look like some sort of fuckin' fish to you?" Frank chuckles at some sort of bizarre 'joke' he was making. "And you, schizo bitch?"

"Nicole. Nicole Smith."

"Huh, wack, same last name. Who would've thunk?" An ETF agent, huh? Explains the uniform. Very likely to be vastly superior in resources and experience, combat or otherwise.

"I guess so! I'm not exactly an Agent per se but I'm close! I'm a Cleaner. You know, a bit below the later?"

"Oh. The dead meat that are sent to do the jobs we don't want. Excellent. Why would I help you?" He really isn't holding his punches back. He won't lie to you or your allies. For good and ill.

"You get an extra paycheck? You don't have to yell at the walkie talkie so much? I dunno, I got a lot of money and an associate in some high places."

"Hm. Money is good. I can dig that. Respect it. The grind, the hustle." Frank taps his foot to an imaginary beat. "$275. No more, no less."

"That's a bit hi-" "Do you want me to humor your nonsense or not?" "Fair, I guess." You don't really have a high enough CHARM to try lowering his price any.

"Great. Here's my card." Frank tosses a small business card at you. You catch it. "I'll tell you this, Nicky Wicky. If you ever meet a man named Bennett? Punch him in the fucking face for me." He mutters to himself. <"Fucking bunny mask wearing asshole.">

"Riiight." You decide it's probably wise to get the fuck out of here before he feels like he wants to beat you up. You begin your walk back to the train station so you can get back home and get some fucking sleep. It's been a long day today, frankly.

You will NOT miss the constant smell of sulfur and the constant orange tint of this district. Once you get to the train station, you show the business card you got so you can get on the next train immediately. Soon enough, you're back home in your frozen winter wonderland of a District.

You stumble back into your room and fall face first into your pillow without a second thought. Everything goes black.

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When you manage to wake up, it's pretty early in the morning. Probably seven to eight AM give or take. You notice your head feels a bit different now.
>STAT PENALTY FROM ARCADY DUST REMOVED.
>RESTRAINT RETURNS TO 6/6.

You rise up from your bed like a zombie before heading to the bathroom. You check yourself in the mirror.

Pink eyes. Reddish-orange hair. A wiry body. An outfit consisting of black shorts, a t-shirt, and some boots from your last mission that are caked in blood. You remove your shirt and bodysuit to check at where the bullet grazed you. It looks like it's not infected but it's swollen and hurts like a bitch when you poke it.

Oh well. You take a quick shower to try freshening yourself up after the bloodbath you were a part of. You make sure to use cold water since you think that might help more than warm water? The shower is quick and as you wrap yourself in a towel and head out of the bathroom, you notice a large package on the desk next to your bed.

You quickly rip it apart with your telekinesis. Inside are the three A-Energy boxes that the Handler took from you earlier. Besides that, you note the following;
-A business card with a number and note labeled "CALL IN CASE OF SERIOUS FUCK UP"
-$40 (Cheap much, Handler?)
-Two shotgun slugs, three revolver bullets, and five pistol bullets.

You pick it up and lo and behold, there's the Handler. "Hey, freakshit. Long time no see, huh?" He sounds pretty chill on the other line. Weird. "Again. Thanks for the assist kill. Don't expect us to be bwest fwiends but that made you less of a shitball to me."

"You got the card, right? Call that whenever shit is completely FUBAR and I will arrive as soon as I can to assist. You're a useful asset to me with what you've done for me. You're too in deep to get out now, you fucking dyke bitch."

Hm. You wish you could read his thoughts over the phone. Seems like there's a proximity requirement to your new power. Oh well.

>You now have GET OUT OF JAIL FREE CARD. Calling the number on this phone will attract the attention of the Handler to assist you in an emergency to the best of his ability.
"Enough buddy buddy shit. Let's cut the bullshit. Mission time."

CHOOSE YOUR NEXT MISSION, NICOLE
>[ANOMALOUS] "You remember that P-Company facility I mentioned before? They're STILL whining about not having enough employees. They're desperate, all you gotta do is work a few hours with them and you'll make BANK!" REWARD: $1350, improved relations with P-Company, the experience will help improve your and your allies stats and abilities. RISK: VERY HIGH.
>"We tried to send some poor bastards to scout out an R-Corp building that went radio silent. None of them have returned. Go in there and try to recover them if you can. See what happened to them and the former operators of the building" REWARD: $550, 'finder keeps on any loot you find', eight revolver bullets 'to recoup costs'. RISK: MEDIUM
(1/2 for MISSIONS)

>"We need someone to scout out an old section of District 1 for us. A film director friend of mine wants to know how useful it might be for a new movie he's shooting. Scout and clear it out, report your findings to us." REWARD: $435, two movie tickets (can be given to allies to boost RAPPORT by 1), the Director will put you as an extra in the film (permanently boosting your CHARM). RISK LEVEL: LOW.
>[ANOMALOUS] "We got reports of a certain anomaly that's been terrorizing District 14. Some sort of big crash test dummy thing called APEX PREDATOR? Whatever it is, it's been killing a lot of people. Recontain or weaken it enough for the ETF to get." REWARD: $1200, improved favor with P-Corp, 5 A-Energy packets for recovering a high valued anomaly for P-Corp. RISK LEVEL: HIGH.
>"An E-Company representative has reported that several rogue and unstable Androids were accidently released into the market. I don't care how you do it but make track them down and make sure they're not a problem anymore." REWARD: $500, improved relationships with E-Company, access to various cybernetics to improve yourself. RISK LEVEL: MEDIUM.
>[ANOMALOUS] "I'm not sure how, I'm not sure WHY, but they had the bright idea to start opening a containment facility ala P-Corp. It went to shit. A buncha high value individuals were there for the opening. Get as many survivors out as possible." REWARD: $1100, improved favor with D-Company, saving high-ranking officials will permanently boost your CONNECTION stat and permanent access to D-Corp's exclusive catalogs. RISK LEVEL: VERY HIGH.
>[BONUS MISSION] "This is a bit of a snorefest for everyone involved but I have a gut feeling that a rival office that works for L-Corp has been doing some incredibly shady shit with their paperwork. Get evidence of their wrong doings and file them to L-Corp." REWARD: $545, improved favor with L-Corp, L-Corp will reward you with a small residue drip feed of resources for the next three missions. RISK LEVEL: MEDIUM.
>Write in. (Describe the mission and I'll assign the rewards and risk level.)

Who do you want to bring along? Hire as many as you're willing to afford. AVAILABLE CASH: $1306
>LEX. Your easily pleased muscle who has a bloodlust you need to sate. ($110 due to high RAPPORT. Probably still recovering...)
>ALEXIS. A supplier of equipment and connections. Somewhat flaky and liable to draw attention. (Will ask for a 21% cut of the reward money.)
>QUENTIN. Incredibly loyal ally who has a hard time staying dead. Poor stats and tends to freak others out. (Free if brought alone. Allies besides Adam, Benjamin, and Lex will ask for an extra cut (30% for Alexis, +$25 for the others) to hire.)
>BENJAMIN. Fully licensed as a pharmacist and is Open Minded to the supernatural. Delusional, credulous, and naive. ($60)
>MARUYAMA. Resilient body used to physical strain and blends in easily with a crowd. High CONNECTIONS. Emotionally and mentally spent. ($120 to hire.)
(1/2 on Allies.)

>KIARA. Fellow explorer of the City. Artificial physiology lacks the same limits as flesh and bone. Prone to making rash decisions. ($50 if you pick a mission tagged [ANOMALOUS]. $150 otherwise.)
>ADAM. A man who owes a favor to you. You don't know much else about his potential. (Free. No catches, he owes you.)
>MAX, an Aristocrat. High in demand with the Companies and has extensive access to corporate assets. Held in contempt by other Cleaners, very sheltered. ($175 if hired without Benjamin, $95 otherwise.)
>ASHLEY. Living on the streets has instilled a powerful intuition. Has an athletic frame, with all of its benefits that brings. Desensitized and numb to violence and bloodshed. ($110, probably still recovering...)
>NAOMI. She has gathered a lot of experience and knowledge over the years. More than willing to teach you and your allies her tricks. Has a knack for analyzing the quirks and potential of people around her. Old age and scars have ruined her body. ($195)
>FRANK. His main job as an ETF agent grants incredible combat and non-combat experience. Has access to resources you could never hope to get by yourself. Incredibly blunt and crass, liable to piss other people off (including you). ($275)
>No one. Solo time.
Sorry for the delay. Meant to push it out sooner but I got distracted with making dinner. I'll update the pastebins whenever I wake up tomorrow since I'm crashing HARD

>>5862602
>>5862608
>>5862612
>"We need someone to scout out an old section of District 1 for us. A film director friend of mine wants to know how useful it might be for a new movie he's shooting. Scout and clear it out, report your findings to us." REWARD: $435, two movie tickets (can be given to allies to boost RAPPORT by 1), the Director will put you as an extra in the film (permanently boosting your CHARM). RISK LEVEL: LOW.
Something low-stress and low-stakes for the time being. Sounds like a good use of our camera drone and various intel gear. A very nice SEEKER OF THE CITY style job

As for the crew
>MARUYAMA. Resilient body used to physical strain and blends in easily with a crowd. High CONNECTIONS. Emotionally and mentally spent. ($120 to hire.)
I wanna learn more about this suicide salaryman. His CONNECTIONS might give us something interesting with this film director friend of the Handler's too.
>KIARA. Fellow explorer of the City. Artificial physiology lacks the same limits as flesh and bone. Prone to making rash decisions. ($50 if you pick a mission tagged [ANOMALOUS]. $150 otherwise.)
Yeah this isn't an ANOMALOUS mission, which sucks, but this is a scout-and-explore mission. Kiara is a fellow City explorer. There might be good synergy there.
I want to let Lex, Ashley, and Quentin recover. Quentin doesn't really need to recover with how he is, but you get the idea. Maruyama and Kiara are the muscle, Kiara and Nicole are the scopers. 120+150 means we spend 270 on these two, and with the $435 reward that's $165 that goes to us.

>>5862691
+1

>>5862608
>"We need someone to scout out an old section of District 1 for us. A film director friend of mine wants to know how useful it might be for a new movie he's shooting. Scout and clear it out, report your findings to us." REWARD: $435, two movie tickets (can be given to allies to boost RAPPORT by 1), the Director will put you as an extra in the film (permanently boosting your CHARM). RISK LEVEL: LOW.

>>5862612
>ADAM. A man who owes a favor to you. You don't know much else about his potential. (Free. No catches, he owes you.)
>MARUYAMA. Resilient body used to physical strain and blends in easily with a crowd. High CONNECTIONS. Emotionally and mentally spent. ($120 to hire.)

>>5862691
>>5862612
I'll second this

>>5862767
Supporting

>>5862691
+1

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"So, here's the rub of the mission. I got this pal who works with A-Corp. You know, the fucks who make all of the capeshit and other slop entertainment your shitty little TV makes. Seriously, get that replaced. I think those were last made in 2175."

[SEEKER OF THE CITY] He's right on the money with A-Corp's description. All you can recall is that they usually work with P-Company and other anomaly containment facilities for special footage.

"My pal wants to work with them on some movie he was makin'. Trying to remember the name. Somethin' about cement and monkeys. Your goal is to try finding a set for it. You ARE an explorer or something, if your sheet is right."

"Yes, yes, I recall the sheet. Still have it. Do you at least have a general area I should be looking in?" You don't recall any unique weather conditions in District 1. You start to put on your usual outfit of a pink blouse, dress jeans, and flats with your telekinesis. "Do you fucking know how big a section of a District is, let alone the whole one?"

The Handler snorts like a pig. "Yeah, yeah. Trust me. He's not paying me enough to pay YOU enough to make you scout that. We both have better things to do with our time. It's along the border of District 1 and 2." He rattles off with barely any energy, as if explaining it is boring his brains out. "There was some incident back in '75 that left a whole residential block and a buncha buildings nearby completely abandoned. Used to be called Avalon or somethin'?"

"Alright. Is there any other details I should know about? Any specific instructions?" You finish sliding your shoes on. "Rather not get blindsided if I can."

The Handler pauses for a moment. You hear him chewing on something. "Mmh. Tell you what." A snap echoes across the line. "I like ya, so I'll give you an optional bonus mission." Oh fucking great, more work? What could this motherfucker want? "I've heard an old rumor that there was a reason why that place got abandoned."

"An anomaly."

Oh god, you hoped for a relaxing mission. "Do you have any descriptions of it?" You try your best to hold your dread. At least he said it was optional.

"We don't have a proper title for it but there's apparently some sort of highly advanced biomechanical thing roaming around there. Phases through walls and shit. You'll probably avoid if you keep an eye out BUT!" He snaps his fingers over the line again. "If you can get some great footage of that thing, we could use it in the movie."

"You want me to get footage of an anomaly. An anomaly that might've made a place a ghost town. For a movie?"

"Yes!"

"...What's the bonus?"

"$200." Mmh, it's something to consider if you want to bother dealing with. You're not exactly keen on getting into a fight, after all. "Anyways, get ready or something. Buh bye." You get hung up on. Well then. You start dialing the people to bring. You were tempted to call Adam but...

Not this time. Maybe next time.

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You first ring up Maruyama. You still have that small business card he gave you three days ago. You tap your foot while you wait for the call to connect. A tired sounding man picks up the line.

"moshi moshi. donata desu ka?" You have no fucking clue what that means but you'd assume he's asking who you are.

"It's me, Nicole. We met a few days back. Pink eyes, orange hair."

"Oh, you. I honestly didn't expect you to call." You hear some sheets being shuffled through in the background. "I just got up. I assume you are calling for a job. What are the specifications?" He can barely hold back his yawning while talking.

"It's a low risk one. We'll be exploring around an abandoned section of a district for a movie a director wants to shoot in. You'll get your usual $20 per hours, so about $120? It'll probably take a bit to scout it out."

"Ah, exercise? I'm not exactly as spry as you." He grunts, presumably from doing some stretches. "Is that going to be a problem?"

"Who knows? Maybe we'll just explore musty old buildings." You pause for a moment. For some reason, you're actually a bit worried about his condition. Who knows, maybe some instincts are acting up after last night? "Do you have asthma or anything?"

"Oh, no, no. Besides, over a hundred bucks for THAT? I prefer that over going back to the office. What district do you want to meet at?"

"District 7. My home one. We'll travel to District 1 after. That works?"

"I suppose so. I'll have to call my office to tell them I'm doing a job, so I might lag behind a bit."

"That's fine, that's fine. I have to do some set up anyways. See ya." "See ya." The line hangs up. Well, that was better than you expected when talking to a person you barely even know. You dial the next phone number you got. Kiara, that weird android you met before.

You are tempted to tell her about the anomaly but you're not one hundred percent certain on doing that optional mission. She'd be PISSED if you told her and didn't do it, so it's best to not spill too much right now.

The line picks up. "Sorry I missed your call. Please leave a name, number, and a brief message after the tone a-and I-I'll be SURE to get back as..." For a moment you thought you were actually listening to a prerecorded voice mail.

[UNSTABLE] Who's to say you're not? Do robots even dream of electric sheep?
[UNSTABLE] Hang up. Now. NOW! WE WILL NOT TALK TO THIS AUTOMATON!

You do so. Then after thirty seconds you realized how much of a retard you are and call back. You are greeted with tinny giggling over the line. "Sorry, sorry! I always have to do that! Yeah, yeah, you connected to me the first time. Sorry!"

"Riiight. Don't do that, I have a mission for you. We're going to take some pictures of a place for a certain director friend of mine."

"Oh? Now you got my interest."

"In short, we're supposed to find a good set for him to shoot on. We'll explore an abandoned part of District 1 for that. We find a good location, we get paid."