Case 1: A Metal Prank

[yxanthymir]

Case 1: A Metal Prank

Lindsay and Mia soon leave the car. They find Kenna and Myrtle arriving from the police station. They discuss a little about their options and separate again, Kenna and Myrtle taking the car.

Lindsay and Mia take a stroll around the building and identify three possible ways to get access to the building. The first one, and more obvious choice, is by the locked front door; the second one, through a small window at the backside of the building; and a third one, climbing the drainage pipe to the top of the building and hoping for an access door there.

The small window is exposed and everyone passing at the street can see the place. The small window also hinders the route as it would need some squeezing to reach the basement. The drainage pipe looks dangerous and unstable, but it is hidden from view at the side of the building away from the street.

They stop to consider their options.

 

---

 

No girl! Thank god! - Adam says in a tone that is part exasperated and relieved. - But if there was no girl what really happened? Why am I here? - He says and let the questions hang in the air, looking attentive to both police officers.

When the answer doesn't arrive fast, he continues. - But you want to know about the girl. I only saw a quick glimpse and it was dark. I believe she had dark hair, and she was young, less than twelve years old. Also she was using a school uniform. - He tries to remember more, but he feels a slight headache and concedes. - Nothing more. I am sorry. I don't even know if she was real now, or just a figment of my imagination.

He shrugs and rests his head at the pillow.

 

Lindsay & Mia

The small window has the Exposed condition and has a -1 to your Sneak Around roll, unless the conditions are changed.

 

The drainage pipe has the Dangerous condition and has a -2 to your Face Danger roll, unless the conditions are changed.

 

Edited March 5 by yxanthymir (see edit history)

[Inquisitor D]

Mori does not answer the question. She just turns to a new page of her notebook. Still, she doesn't dig in for a deeper wound this time.

"You said this was near a school. High school? Elementary? It'd fit if you're used to seeing students there, that could lead to you imagining one. Any chance you could place the street and direction you were going in?"

Giving Levin a second to try and remember, Mori scribbles something on her notebook, before passing it to Kenna. "Boss, think I've got this right?"

The circled section is pretty clear. "Sheriff said 'the kids are the priority now'. Girl appears out of nowhere. Then car teleports. Link?" It might be too soon to jump on that, but if there are missing people in Springfield... that might be what they've ended up looking at here.

 

[dunderklumpen]

"Hmm, that looks about right," Kenna replies after reading her partner's notebook, "Worth following up on for sure."

"We can get out of your hair pretty soon Mr Levine, we just need to get as many details as we can. Especially what you can remember about her age, details of the uniform and anything you might remember as standing out."

[Inquisitor D]

Officer Mori nods along with Kenna, taking down whatever answer Levine gives. But she's still seemingly distracted. The thought of that young girl, appearing on what had to be a terrifying night, only to be greeted by a car. Levine, trying to swerve and ending up driving through space that wasn't even really there. After a few seconds, she pulls herself up from her perch against the wall

"Sorry. I need some air, boss. Just... one second."

The officer doesn't actually wait for permission before stepping outside, glancing both ways. Great. Nobody's looking her way right now. Myrtle Wright closes her eyes, concentrating on the man in the room.

The Elevator Game reveals truth. It shows the faces that scare you. And while he's starting to doubt, Levine was convinced he might have killed this kid.

If he stepped into the Elevator, this is the person who would challenge him. The one who'd torment him. If we're going to win this... that's the set of rules I'm playing by.

So time to play them right.

---

Outside, there's a cry of surprise from Officer Mori. It's followed by a faint thud of something against the wall. Then... a young girl in a school uniform runs into the room. Just a kid, a pre-teen, less than half Mori's height. Blake won't recognize her. But Levine will. He very much will.

The girl looks between the two of them, wide eyed, then bolts back out through the door. In the hallway, Detective Blake will find a dropped phone with a quick selfie of the young woman. One that shows her face clearly, and her uniform.

And somewhere in Springfield, a stranger finds a few little curious words, appearing when they weren't looking. A text from an anonymous number? A post it note they can't remember leaving?

Hospital. She's in the hospital.

OOC

Myrtle's pushing her Perfect Disguise to the limit in order to Change The Game. Her Mythos lets her take specific forms designed for an emotional response, the Close Confidante. While this is an unusual case, Adam's big hang up right now has been this mystery girl, she's a focus of his emotional state. She should qualify. Even if his memories of her are imperfect, the Elevator Game drags it out of you. It's a Truth Left Unspoken.

And she's in a good position to get those truths. These are emotions Myrtle gets. Regret and Longing, 'I wish I'd been able to swerve. I hope I didn't kill her'. She just needs to play the runaway, stay ahead of Kenna. And she's got Fast Reflexes, perfect for doing just that.

Even if this approach is dangerous. After all, it's going to leave her All Alone. That's not something she's fond of.

So, that's four to five power tags, since Close Confidante is a bit arguable, one weakness. So rolling to Change the Game with a +3

Why is this 'Change the Game' if this is something Myrtle's tags let her do anyway? Well, Myrtle's not just targeting Levine. She's trying to fool whatever the girl was running from when she showed up in the middle of the road. We don't know what happened to the girl, (Was she teleporting? Was something else teleporting her?) but the Sheriff implied multiple kids are missing, or at least something's up with them. Thus, on a gut level, 'knowing' that one of those targeted kids is at the hospital should get them to come here and try to deal with Myrtle.

Even if she can't trick the malefactor, she may be able to trick the Mythos. This girl's clearly a rift of some kind, or at least involved in one. Perfect Disguise should hopefully bring whatever she was caught up in towards Myrtle.

A buunch of ways this could backfire. It's a drastic play. But with kids in danger... best to advance our timetable a bit. And of course @yxanthymir, you're free to veto this whole idea if you don't think it works. If this roll fails, or my approach is invalid, Myrtle and Kenna can meet back up by the car to compare notes and where we go from here.

Otherwise... guess Myrtle's off to go play with fire a bit. Catch me if you can, Kenna! :D

 

[Morphling]

Mia considers her options. The window seems promising at first, but leading into the basement could be dangerous or end up at a locked door anyway. Eventually she settles on the pipe leading upwards. "Gonna be just like riding the pole," she murmurs in an attempt to reassure herself, and then begins climbing. "Wait here," she says to Lindsay quietly. "If I can get in, I'll see about opening the door for you."

Thankfully, Mia's job as a stripper left her physically fit, and with Lindsay watching and her love of an audience she could just pretend she was dancing.

Edited March 9 by Morphling (see edit history)

[yxanthymir]

Case 1: A Metal Prank

"You said this was near a school. High school? Elementary? It'd fit if you're used to seeing students there, that could lead to you imagining one. Any chance you could place the street and direction you were going in?"

 

Adam listens to the inquiry and thinks a little before answering. - There is only one school in Springfield. I studied there myself. It covers all grades from kindergarten to the last grade. It is a famous school in the county, even people from other towns bring their kids there. The uniform is a beige blouse with red skirts.

The last thing I remember was driving towards the school. Maybe two miles away when the accident happened. - He says thoughtful.

At this moment a girl appears at the door's threshold and Adam gazes at her for a brief moment while she runs away. Uncontrollable fear appears at this countenance. - AARRGHH! Nurse! - Adam yells before collapsing to the bed with a closed hand over his heart. A pair of nurses rushes into the room and start checking his vital signs, while a third one shoos the visitors away.

Kenna finds the dropped phone at the corridor. A picture is on the screen. One that shows her face clearly blurred, and the characteristic beige and red Springfield's school uniform.

 

Edited March 7 by yxanthymir (see edit history)

[dunderklumpen]

Mori steps out (Kenna has almost completely gotten used to her offsider) and then all hell breaks loose.

A schoolgirl in the uniform he just described appears at the door. A revenant, silently accusing Levine. He screams. Nurses appear.

Kenna is dumbstruck and allows herself to be pushed out of the room. Her brain is racing, trying to catch up with what's happening.

There's a phone on the ground, and the pieces start to fit together.

You're an idiot. You gotta get used to working with a shapeshifter. Some detective you are.

She punches the wall in frustration at her slowness. The punch is hard enough to open a scar on the knuckle and start it bleeding.

She walks outside of the hospital. Confident that Mori-Myrtle-Schoolgirl will find her when she's able and messages Mia.

 

Mia

We've got a solid lead from the hospital. Headed back to the apartment block.

 

[Inquisitor D]

Meanwhile, the girl ducks into an elevator, slamming the button for the ground floor. The hum of the motor gives Myrtle a second to take stock. She curses internally at the memory of Levine's reaction: she'd hoped he wouldn't have a clear enough view to be so certain. The performance had mostly been for Kenna's benefit.

Hers and the... kidnapper's? There's no sign of pursuit just yet, but no sense getting sloppy.

Now she's had a chance to breath, Myrtle withdraws a small pocket mirror from her jacket pocket and starts to inspect her borrowed face. She doesn't know anything more about this girl than Levine did, but his memory should provide a starting point. She's pretty used to dealing with a wide variety of problems at her day job - a good receptionist has to stay one step ahead of people's problems. And with her theatrical training, she's even started to pick up on details of outfits that other people might easily miss.

OOC

Rolling to investigate! Tagging Truths Left Unspoken, A Thousand Whispered Secrets and Costume Design.

 

[yxanthymir]

Case 1: A Metal Prank

Feeling brave and powerful, Mia starts to climb the drainage pipe. Her nimble fingers expertly gripped the cold metal of the drainage pipe, showcasing both strength and dexterity. The same she used during her pole dancing movements.

If that dangerous climb depended only about her, she would have climbed the whole building with elegance. But the rusty and unstable pipe, proved an unworthy opponent, refusing to stay in its place and conceding the fight before the end. The top of the pipe disconnects from the rest and bends under her weight. She falls holding the pipe, like her life depended on that, towards the balcony of an apartment on the second floor. The balustrade stops the descending motion of the pipe and she suddenly releases her grip. She rolls onto the small balcony to absorb the fall with feline elegance, but she cannot stop her ankle twisting more than it should.

The window of the balcony is open, and she hears the faint sound of snoring coming from the adjacent bedroom. This is the room from the guy that Rigobaldo finds obnoxious.

 

---

 

Kenna and Myrtle soon are back on the car to do the trip back to Springfield. They are eager to return and reveal what they discovered, but at this hour the trip back is not so uneventful as the first one. At the late morning, they are honored with an every day problem they face constantly, New Dunkirk's famous traffic jams.

They have to be patient.

 

Mia

Mia suffers the Sprained Ankle condition.

 

Kenna & Myrtle

I will hold Kenna and Myrtle with some mundane problems to let the other team do some stuff before rejoining the crew. Feel free to continue to RP as normal.

 

Edited March 12 by yxanthymir (see edit history)

[dunderklumpen]

Kenna is seething with frustration at the traffic. She clutches the wheel white-knuckled.

Seriously, where is everyone going at this time of day anyway? Goddam suburbs! Who'd live here by choice?

There's no way they continue to sit in the car silently, Kenna discovers that she really doesn't like awkward silences.

"So, that got weird real quick. You can do that? Take on a shape that you drag out of some guy's head? Remind me not to let you into mine."

"How weird is that for you? Does it hurt?"

"Actually, maybe I should let you into my head. All sorts of memories that I can't access rolling around in there. Might help me to find out how I was before I, like, died and got reborn in a fire."

 

[Inquisitor D]

"I don't think that would help."

Myrtle is slumped in the passenger seat. She's still in the kid's form, complete with school clothes, and is looking drained. For her, the traffic delay's a blessing. Still, since Kenna asked, she tries to explain herself a bit. She's still feeling some guilt over how badly Lindsay had taken her power. She owed it to the others to explain what she can.

"The Game... it's like I'm a mirror. It's simple to take a general form like Mori, something useful for a few cutting words. Think of her as a figment, someone you see in the crowd, gone shortly afterwards. That's easy, like throwing on a coat. It's basically a trick. But the heart of the power is based on targeting a specific other person. The Game is about personal confrontation, how we deal with who we are and what we've done. And it uses the people you care about to do it."

"It's useful. I know, instinctively, what the target thinks the person I change into would know. But that information doesn't have to be true. It's a reflection of what the person I 'reflect' believes to be true. The Elevator Game lives to gaslight people."

Myrtle's starting to warm to her theme. She's spent enough time testing the limits of her powers to understand their limits. "You died in a fire. Okay, let's use that as an example. Now that I know that, I could probably become someone else who was there that day. Another detective, some bystander, I don't need more specifics. That's enough of an 'in' for me to find something. But I probably wouldn't know the truth. I'd have enough of the context to act like that person."

"So if you believe that you could've caused the fire, I'd get enough of your memories to argue that the fire was your fault. If you think they could've done it, that some trusted friend was trying to kill you, I'd get that script instead. If you knew the truth, I'd get it, but only if that truth's something that would get an emotional reaction out of you, or something you're asking me because I should know it too. Ask me for something my disguise would know, but you don't?"

She mimes a gun to her head with a dark chuckle. "At that point, I just have to bluff."

The face-thief sighs, looking down at her borrowed body. "This girl's another good example. I don't think Levine saw her face enough to make a proper memory. The uniform I trust, but the rest is what he thinks he saw. The Game takes the version of the truth that hurts the target the most. She probably resembles some kid in his life he cares about"

God, that reaction was... bad. Myrtle curses at herself again for judging that wrong. "Changing like this? It's... less easy. Physically and emotionally. It gets into your gut, your blood, your everything. And I threw a little extra into this one." Hadn't panned out yet, but maybe. For now, Myrtle's focus is on Kenna. "Still, if you want... we can try. I've never used it against someone who was experiencing memory problems before. Maybe if I play along with how the game works, it could help you remember more clearly? We could at least challenge any memory fragments it presents that don't add up."

Edited March 14 by Inquisitor D (see edit history)

[yxanthymir]

Case 1: A Metal Prank

Kenna and Myrtle are having a heart to heart discussion about their abilities while they slowly wait for the traffic jam to move. The surrounding sound the usual, thundering car horns in quick succession, like a bad orchestra, and people swearing at each other.

While they are talking, Mia takes a quick glance by the window. She still feels the pain of the fall, however it is quickly subsiding. The quick glance reveals that the adjacent room has its walls painted in bold, dark colors like deep purples, fiery reds, and jet blacks. There is a skull over a shelf looking with empty eyes to a black leather jacket with iron chains on each shoulder. On the walls, there are posters of iconic heavy metal bands, like Black Sabbath and Iron maiden.

On a bed in the center of the room, there is a person with dark long hair and dark clothes snoring loudly. The sound is very loud, like a defective machine. His head is buried in the pillow and his feet are still with boots. An empty cheap bottle of booze lays at the side of the bed, over the dark carpet.

Mia notices that the window is actually not a mere window, but a sliding glass door. She stops to decide what to do, while a few floors below Lindsay is having the same thought on her mind. What she should do? Follow Mia, climbing the drainage pipe to the second floor or try a different route. Maybe the small window to the basement at the backside of the building.

 

Edited March 14 by yxanthymir (see edit history)

[Morphling]

Mia muffles her cry of pain as she lands gracelessly on the balcony. Her first thought of course, is one of panic. I can't afford to take time off of work. Then she considers her immediate situation and how to get out of it. Looking around the apartment, she figures this guy might be a laid-back sort, so perhaps she could just talk to him and have him let her out? No, that was too risky. Save talking for if stealth failed.

Mia quietly opens the balcony door and tries to sneak through the apartment to the door, carefully opening it and limping out into the hallway.

Edited March 14 by Morphling (see edit history)

[yxanthymir]

Case 1: A Metal Prank

It seems Mia's physically fit and perfectly toned body serves with divine excellence for pole dancing, but certainly not for climbing drainage pipes or sneaking into strangers' apartments. In these situations, she appears more like a wrecking ball of destruction than a diva of pleasure. As soon as she starts her steps into the bedroom, she steps on a partially concealed bottle of booze laying under the bed. She spins on the spot, turning her back to the shelf and collides at full force against the wooden shelf.

The noise is loud, and all the different trinkets onto the shelf shake in place or fall sideways. The man emits a grumble between two snores. Apparently that was not enough to wake him from his drunken stupor. She does not notice that the skull over the shelf, almost one meter above her head, starts slowly to roll towards the edge of the shelf. Dangerously close to fall.

 

Mia

Mia must make a Face Danger roll.

 

Edited March 14 by yxanthymir (see edit history)

[Morphling]

Unaware of the danger, Mia takes a moment to collect herself and assess the man's unconsciousness as she rises.