As expected, the soldier kneels down, grabbing for the papers the lawyer was carrying. Spoiler: Combat Rolls D100: Vanessa: 46+10 (Uncollared Demi-Goddess)+10 (Element of Surprise)=66 Soldier: 95+10 (Untrained Opponent)=105 (Crit) Physical Damage: 39+10 (Crit)=49 Vanessa's HP: 51 As Vanessa strikes, the soldier reacts with lightning fast reflexes. If he'd met strength with strength, he'd likely have lost, but instead he grabs Vanessa's arm, using her strength against her as she tries to throw a wild haymaker. Showing off his combat training, the man pivots, and soon the superheroine is flying through the air, slamming against the window and cracking the glass, before falling upside down, in a world of hurt. The soldier stoops and grabs the documents, shooting a glance Vanessa's direction before he leaves. "Stick to yoga, rich girl. Boxing isn't your thing." He chuckles to himself, before running out the door, shouting "Package acquired!"
Soon, she's back at the Clocktower - her team's base, seeing her husband approach her as she arrives, limping on his crutches. "Are you sure about this, honey? The people in that place are perverts, and you're so beautiful... I worry about you. But I suppose Infinity didn't choose you for nothing. If he's got faith in you, I should too." He frowns, as she browses the available attire - an arrangement of various hero costumes and civilian disguises, each team member getting a wardrobe to themselves.
"Gghh!" Vanessa groans, slowly getting up as the soldier left. "Damn it!" She cursed, standing back up, she tries to get a glimpse of who those soldiers were. "Bastards, were they Oscar's contingency?" She pondered, What was in that will. The heiress thought to herself, as she looks out the window, hoping to see anything that could help her track the soldiers down.
Spoiler: Sorceress' Strength Roll D100: 22 (Fail) "Ugh... Invitation? Why would I want to go anywhere that you'd be inviting me?" Unable to use her spells due to being bound, the blonde has to rely on sheer brute strength to try and muscle her way out of his trap - something she's clearly not skilled at. She groans, as she feels his slime begin to cover her chest, and her legs being pulled apart. "Get your damn tentacles off me! What are you, some kind of perv?" Spoiler: Pheromone Roll D100: Squidlock: 4+20=24 Sorceress: 34-20 (Fatigue) Sorceress' Willpower: 100-20=80 The former human feels the blonde growing warmer in his 'arms', and hears her grunts starting to turn to moans - his slime is starting to have an effect, but she's staying strong.
Interesting. She had her lead. Pursuing him wasn't important and she didn't want to do anything that would especially make him panic or feel the need to relocate. She knew what she wanted. He likely had sensors around the area in case people got too close. But.... Bringing the van to stop, she took a moment to get out. Finding some soil on the ground, she focused her efforts to bring life to the soil. The message wasn't for the Finch and she wasn't sure if he'd even notice it, after all. But Ryota would know exactly what he's looking for in trying to trace her. The saplings began to sprout and glisten, impossibly vibrant and way too lifelike to be achievable in this kind of run down environment naturally. She had to assume this tech based hero most likely had surveillance equipment looking for electronics or things that would send out signals. Flowers would only be noticeable by eyesight and it seemed like he was too fond of secret entrances to pay much attention to the little patch. Ryota would know what it means. And be led to believe that Malady made it as a taunt. While he'd be right about that, she was heavily relying on him jumping to the wrong conclusions. He always did love running off without thinking about the whole picture, after all. With her babies planted into the ground, she stepped back into the van. She had left her mark. Now the next step of the process would be getting Ryota to think to search here. It would also likely alert this C-list hero to things happening in his area, but he had never dealt with Malady before, so he wouldn't likely draw much for conclusions. If they both happened to respond to the same scene, she'd still work with it. For now, what she ruled on her next step was to make a big enough commotion. There had to be some kind of restaurant or diner still open in the area. She reasoned the next step was finding a location dense enough and close enough to both their search areas to put them on alert near each other.
Jenny gave her husband a placating smile and rested a hand gently on his chest. "I'm sure, and thank you for trusting me." she said and levitated up to give him a quick kiss before she turned to her wardrobe. "Call me a cab would you? I don't want to draw attention to myself by flying down there" She didn't feel like running through the area in her superhero attire, while she and her team were becoming quite famous she wanted to attract as little attention as possible. But she also wanted to blend into the area; as such there was really only one item in her wardrobe that would probably work. She stripped naked and donned an extremely revealing purple dress with an obscenely plunging neckline, and scandalously short hemline. She'd contemplated wearing panties, but decided against it as the outline would have been plainly visible under the thin material of the dress. With a pair of platform pumps, and a gaudy gold bracelet to complete the attire she turned to her husband and asked "What do you think? Suitable?" When the cab arrived Jenny kissed her husband and got in. She gave the driver directions and sat back in the seat. "Wish me luck, I love you." she sent to her husband telepathically
Unfortunately, there's no insignia or sign of identity on the soldiers that could help her narrow it down - at least not in this room. Still, from the hurried footsteps she hears, the heiress judges that they're not so far ahead of her that she couldn't catch up.
"And their enemies end up o the streets or in strange acidents?" She finished with raised eyebrow. There were rumours... nothing but rumours, but where there was a smoke- What was unerving, was how the man spoke her products were out of this world. Did he know? He certainly suspected something... gold and aliens were too much close to comfort suggestion to be safe. He surely suspected... but he had no proof. And even if he did, it did not matter. What was he excepting with this? To fuck her? A treacherous part of her mind, supplied her with image of her naked tits and cheek being pressed against the window as the man fucked her, pushing her head against the glass as the golden necklace was strapped around her neck. She ingored the image. The man was a sponsor behind a hero... so he deserved a chance. "Sounds intriguing." She said easily, as she got up and walked to the bar. "I imagine you have some conditions, that come with the proposition?" She soon returned with two glasses and a bottle of liquir. "Let's hear them."
Luckily, Malady finds that her assumption isn't incorrect. As she feels her plants begin to sprout up from the ground, rising and unfolding inexplicably despite the lack of sunlight, water and time, she sees the lights of a diner beyond the chainlink fence seperating the abandoned depot from the rest of the area - only a block or so away.
"W-Wow..." The injured man's jaw drops as he sees her in the skimpy dress. "Y-Yeah... I think so." As she gets into the car, her husband returns her message, focusing his loving thoughts to her in a way he knows she'll be able to pick up - the man not telepathic in the least, but familiar enough with her powers by now. After a few minutes of being ogled in the mirror by the cab driver, the car stops, and Jenny steps out into the streets of the red light district. As she walks around, seeing the various people moving to and fro through the streets, Jenny feels eyes on her body - a lot of eyes, and she hardly needs her powers to know what they're thinking. The red light district is split more or less evenly between the triad and Duke's gang, with the makeup of the criminal element here reflecting that. The gangs operate openly here, with the tattooed Triads and the mostly dark skinned men of Duke's syndicate patrolling the area, watching over their establishments and staying out of each other's way.
That was the place she needed. It was pretty close to the hideout, but that might work to her advantage. Now, the bait just needed to be set. After the short drive over and having found a place to park, she took a look at the diner and the outside. It was still fairly late, so it wasn't quite the crowd she wanted for this, but probably could still be used to good effect. What that did leave her was with less prying eyes as she looked for a spot to grow another group of flowers, using a few cracks in the payment. It would be out of place, but that was the point. With that taken care of, instead of going through the front door, she began to make her way to the back doors where the kitchen would be.
Strangely, as the alien imagines Arch shoving her against the wall, the billionaire begins to smile. "No, no, I'm not threatening you - just telling you that things in my city are easier when you have my help." He looks her up and down as she turns to pour drinks. Spoiler: Awareness Roll D100:78 It's hard to get a read on what the man wants exactly. She can feel his eyes on his ass, and she can tell that he'd almost certainly fuck her if he could, but that's not why he's here. Likewise, his story about a partnership doesn't sound like a lie, but it too isn't the real reason for this meeting. "Well..." Arch takes the glass, tapping it against hers, but not drinking just yet. "Not conditions as such, but I'd love to have a look at your tech - the real tech, not the watered down version you put on shelves."
Jenny had the cab paid for electronically, but made sure to tip the driver generously. She had it to spare and the more money people could earn legitimately in this part of town the better. As she got out of the cab, Jennifer could sense the eyes of everyone ogling her, even with so many other accommodating women around. It was flattering, and she put a little extra sway in her hips as she walked, partly to sell the image, and partly to reward the people who looked. But now that she was actually here, Jenny paused, uncertain of what to do. She couldn't just walk up to people and ask about Duke, any sort of questions would likely put everyone on the defensive. No, she had to bring Duke's people to her; and that meant making herself appear approachable. She stood on the street corner for a minute or two before she moved to enter an establishment she guessed was operated by Dylan Duke. As she walked she made sure to give all the men she passed flirtatious glances.
Greenery isn't all that common in a run down industrial area, but Malady finds enough soil to raise some plants like the ones before. Looking through the diner's window, she sees a few people inside - mainly truck driver types, and a few waitresses. Heading around back, she finds that the rear entry door is open - from the smell of smoke in the air, she guesses that the staff take cigarette breaks too often for locking it to be feasible. Heading around into the kitchen, she sees a lone woman holding a tray of food - a waitress. The chef is nowhere to be seen. "Err, can I help you?" The haggard looking woman asks.
Picking a run down looking place with the name Loretta's above it in neon letters, Jenny is surprised to see that inside, the place is actually pretty impressive. As she walks around the strip joint, giving flirty looks to the patrons, it isn't long before Jenny finds a half dozen men approaching her, but before they can say their pick up lines, or just try to grope her, they shy away, eyes going wide as they see something behind her. Turning, Jenny's eyes go wide as well, as she comes face to face with Hammer, a notorious supervillain, sitting at one of the booths. Eyes invisible behind his dark glasses, he lifts a mechanical finger and curls it in his direction - his message obvious: Get over here. Now.
Didn’t seem like there was too many on staff which was good. Being spotted was to be expected anyway. But it still could hurt things if her presence was too notable. “I thought I saw smoke when I was walking down the- Half start with an excuse, she mostly just kept it until she was relatively close enough to touch and then took the fast approach of place a hand over the waitress’s mouth, Maladay’s palm spraying a controlled venom into her mouth. The approach was to try and disorient her temporarily so she wouldn’t remember much of this, but be able to get back to work soon enough. Trying to use the right dosage of effective and too much was a bit tricky, but she saw this as her best option.
Spoiler: Toxin Roll D100: 66+20 (Toxin Skill) The waitress looks like the wizened sort, but Malady is clearly not the kind of person she thinks of when she thinks the word 'threat'. By the time she realises that Malady has hostile intent, the woman's eyes are going wide, pupils dialating, before she collapses to the floor - chest rising and falling steadily.
Vanessa does just that as she tries to follow the soldiers, hoping to eavesdrop on their conversation. Khh, as much as I hate to admit it. They're highly trained, without the collar, I'd just be asking to get shot if I engage them again. She thinks to herself begrudgingly as she heads out of the room, not even bothering to check on Oscar as she did.
Despite her self confidence, Jenny felt a lump in her throat and her heart race, but ignored her nervousness. She was a superhero, she could handle Hammer. She hoped. Swallowing hard, she eyed the huge man up and sauntered over to him. "Well hello there." she said in the sultriest voice she could manage. The man was HUGE and conventional wisdom told her she should be repulsed by his massive hulking physique, but there was something about the raw power that emanated from the sitting man that made her pussy grow moist.
A bit of a risk needing to resort to this, but the woman went down pretty easily. Things would likely work out for her. But she wasn’t here to run things. She needed to get the job done before anyone else noticed something wrong, so she made her move to hurry, and begin the process of spreading Medusa venom on just about every available stock of ingredient and customer plates waiting. She didn’t need to be super careful here. The strain she planned to use would increase aggression, along with being hallucengic. Not her usual combination, but for her purposes this was what she would need. At least this wouldn’t need to be fast reacting. Spread the poison. Leave. Watch from a distance at the response by her two pawns as civilians start to go crazy and turn on each other. It would be difficult for them to deal with trying to subdue regular people acting insane without risking hurting them, so they’d have their hands full.
