Chapter Two: Sunday Sermon

[Eanwulf]

Recap
It has been two long days since Kongo and Ghede tried to lay waste to the Excelsior Arms Apartments and its inhabitants. Much has happened since then. The presence of several new and "illegal" tenants to the apartments has been duly noted by the landlord. Speaking of which, a startling revelation about the two people that manage the facility has been made as well. Apparently, they are some kind of "former" superheroes in hiding. Then finally, proof that monsters do really exist in world - in the forms of the apartment's two attackers - was most assuredly noticed by all that witnessed the entire affair.

What more could one ask for!?

Other than perhaps the freedom from an alien captor...

Still however, the past two days have been spent helping Old Man Fowler and Mr. Han to clean up the mess from Friday night's firefight. Thanks to Mr. Han's specialty of magic and cultural background, both Kongo and Ghede have been placed in temporary stasis for the time being. Still however, the notion of stripping them of their powers hangs thickly in the air. In order to do so however, one would first have to know "how" to do so and then in turn, find someone willing to help the other spellcasters out in doing so.

Enter dilemma...

[Eanwulf]

Sunday, April 4th, 2021, Roughly 6:00 p.m.
Excelsior Arms Apartment, Count Tenebrous' Inner Sanctum
Approximately 59 degrees Fahrenheit, Steady Breeze and Partly Overcast

The group of heroes sits inside of Count Tenebrous' "remodeled" apartment. Crytsal and her two boys (Warren and Pearce) marvel at the spacious accommodations Tenebrous has to offer. As they do so, Mr. Han speaks admires the sorcerer's handiwork. Old Man Fowler puffs away on his cigar and looks agitated as always. The large man has had to confess his identity to the others and still rests uneasy.

OOC

Old Man Fowler used to be Special Agent Pommel back in the 50's and 60's. Think Captain America without a shield and a lot more USAgent in nature and brutality. Known for taking a beating and dishing out twice as much (if not more) as he takes, Fowler apparently wanted to try and continue on with the fight against tyranny so he joined alongside Mr. Han and several others to do so.

Post S'kree invasion however, the hero has somehow lost his *Umph* and seems to be content enough in trying to protect those he can within his apartments.

Simply put, he's an old man; kept alive by magic and the last of his Super-Soldier formula.

Still though, who knows what powers he might still possess and besides, one can not help but feel that there is MUCH more to both of the men than meets the eye.

[Muskrat]

"Well," says Pilgrim, "how likely would it be that so many of us with so many unusual gifts would in one apartment building? Perhaps God's hand is behind this in some mysterious way." If the God-talk makes anyone uncomfortable, they needn't worry, because Pilgrim is focused on business now. "So, we have two things we need to concern ourselves with. One is if we can find a way to strip Ghede and Kongo of their devilish powers, the other is we can strike a deal with Esmerelda to keep her gang La Mancha from attacking civilians when they're playing vigilante. I'm not sure how to do the former, but it might be a good time for the latter, now that most of her people are locked up."

[Trogdor]

Nikolai Tenebrous sits in an old leather armchair in one corner of his new sitting room. Given that his apartment has become the local gathering place, he's made a few 'modifications' to it. For all the world it looks as if it's a larger apartment made by breaking down the walls and fitting two apartments together into one. It has a larger sitting room, a larger kitchen, two bathrooms, and four bedrooms. He's also moved in some new furniture, including some more chairs, a larger table, and another couch. The place is still crowded with everyone in it. But at least they all have a place to sit, and most of them could fit around the kitchen table if it came to it.

This new setup would make perfect sense to everyone if they didn't know that the apartment next door was occupied by someone else. So it's impossible that Nikolai has simply added another apartment to his own. Instead, he's somehow managed to make his apartment bigger on the inside than it should be - even though that should be impossible. If asked about this, he explains simply by saying that it's 'magic.' "But don't worry," he assures Fowler, "I have spells of concealment and unnoticablity on the place. Most people who look in will come away with the impression that this is a perfectly normal apartment. It would take someone of uncommon perception or magical ability to see through these spells."

When Pilgrim speaks of God's hand, he nods in agreement. "This may well be the work of the divine," the shadow mage replies. "I've seen far stranger things in my day. But regardless of the reason, we are all together and we should move forward from there. Yes, I agree that dealing with Ghede and Kongo is of primary concern. And you're right that this is a good time to speak to Esmerelda. We definitely want to temper La Mancha's actions. Playing the vigilante is okay." He smiles. "We are in no position to scold her for that. But they should do so with some care for the people they're trying to protect.

As Tenebrous speaks, pots of tea coffee are deposited on the large coffee table by an unseen force. Moments later, a milk jug, a sugar bowl, and a plate of homemade chocolate chip cookies joins the tea and coffee, followed by a mismatched collection of mugs. "There's tea and coffee for everyone," he says. Just ask for what you want." Then to demonstrate, he says, "tea, milk with two sugars." The tea pot rises from the table and fills one mug, as unseen hands move the milk jug and the sugar bowl to fill his order. Once completed, the mug moves over to the table before him, where it is gently set down.

"Mr. Han and I are working on how to accomplish the former issue," he continues. "But there are certain roadblocks we have to overcome first. He picks up his tea and takes a sip. "But there is a matter of equal concern to all of us, and that's keeping a low profile. As Mr. Fowler will likely agree, we've brought too much attention to this place as it is. If this is to be our base of operations, then we have to keep life around here from becoming too strange. Too much odd behavior will bring unwanted attention. And these days, unwanted attention can be extremely dangerous. If there are too many sightings of Cobalt or Ookami around here, or too many odd occurrences that can't be explained, then the next people to come by may be the Skree. And no one wants that."

"I'm not saying that we should hide under a bucket," he quickly adds. "Far from it. But we should try and make sure that any activity we conduct isn't near the Excelsior Arms, and can't be traced back to here. This needs to be a safe place we can rest and recover."

OOC

I figure some of the 'personnel' at Tenebrous's apartment are unseen servants.

Also, FWIW, I'm assuming that Ookami is using one of the spare rooms that Nikolai has. If anyone else needs one, they're welcome to it. I know Cobalt has a place. Does Raging Tiger?

[ardh05]

Ookami grunts at the offer for beverages, "Water, please" He waits while it comes then drinks it. He looks at Nick, "Still don't... get... how this bigger-on-inside thing works, but no argue." Looking at the others, "What we do about about alien things and other pack-threats?"

OOC

I am assuming that he is a resident, and trying to keep him in the wolf-trying-to-understand-humans character...

[veritas]

A mischievous grin spreads across Jack's face before he speaks; "Coffee, black, please. On the topic of anonymity we could always adopt masks and colorful tights like in the old comic books."

He chuckles at the thought of matching spandex outfits for a second as he accepts and takes a sip of his coffee.

"On a more serious note, we might establish a patrol route through problem areas of the city. I'm sure Mr. Fowler's contacts in the local police would be willing to tell us which areas are most in need of super-human attention. This way we can take the attention off the apartment complex as well as making room for the occasional S'kree target when able."

He sips again and then frowns, "But you said there were problems with Ghede and Kongo as well. Is this still the need for a third or has a new issue surfaced?"

[Chanur]

Luke settles into one of The Count's chairs in his strangely spacious apartment. "Nikolai, you don't mind if I call you that do you? I figure since you all know about my little blue secret we are pals now. Think you could make my apartment like this? I could really use the closet space." Placing his empty bottle of the king of beers on the table he sits with the group and listens.

As the unseen force brings items to the table Luke is speechless for a moment, but unfortunately only for a moment. "Nikolai...can you send one of these over on Thursdays to do some cleaning. I had to let the maid go...years ago. Very tragic, my apartment, my life has never been the same." Smiling he orders green tea with honey and takes a sip pleased with the results.

Chuckling quietly at Jack's comments "We could be a hair metal band for our cover. I think Cobalt needs size 100 spandex though!"

Luke listens and seems to be taking this part of the conversation serious. Luke tussles Pearces hair. "You are right, we need to lay low here, otherwise innocent people will get hurt." He gives a quick look at Crystal and her boys as he finishes. A separate base of operations would be ideal, but unless one of you guys are secretly rich, or Nikolai can conjure money we are kind of out of luck there. No one wants to end up in the pits."

Pausing slightly Luke continues "As for the Divine its possible. Mom always said he worked in mysterious ways. I doubt its the same God that would have given Ghede and Kongo their powers. Last thing we need is a local super villain and the Skree to take care of. I think that should be our primary concern after we talk to La Mancha. They could actually be a big help for us. Maybe we can get them to be our eyes and ears out there. Alert us to evil doers and S'kree activity."

[thehitcat]

Xiong Hu is standing outside of the circle leaning against the wall nearest the door out to the hallway. He is wearing a hooded sweatshirt that says "Rutgers" on the front and has clearly seen better days. His face is somewhat hidden in shadow but you can see that he has not removed his mask.

At Jack's comment about masks and tights he shoots the man a hard look but doesn't comment. He doesn't order anything to eat or drink and is still "hiding out" in the basement. If asked he has refused the offer of a place to stay especially if that offer was made in public.

"Esmerelda has just lost face," he rasps out through ruined vocal chords, "we must be careful in our approach. While she is wounded she might be tempted to lash out without heed. Do we know anyone who knows her and can get us a meeting without having to smash our way through the rest of her organization?"

[veritas]

Jack smiles apologetically at the shadowed man in the corner.

"Tiger has a good point, there. She'd likely be less than welcoming if we used her boys' crumpled bodies as door mats."

[Trogdor]

"Please," Tenebrous says to Luke, "my friends all call me Nikolai or Nik. And I count all of you as my friends now. As for the space and the servants," he smiles. "The spells are complicated, but not impossible. But I would have to tie them to you rather than to me, which might be draining to someone not skilled in the magical arts."

OOC

If you want to spend character points to make your apartment a headquarters like I did, I can justify you buying dual size.

"We can operate out of here, if you like," he continues, when Luke mentions a base of operations." He narrows his eyes for a moment as he considers whether he should continue. In the end, he decides he will. "I must admit, I didn't stop with simply giving myself a couple of new bedrooms. While I was expanding the apartment, I went a little farther. There's a hidden door in the hallway that leads to the rest of the rooms. They include the library, the scrying chamber, the gymnasium, the ballroom, the infirmary, my workshop, some spare bedrooms, a larger sitting room, a proper kitchen, and more. I daresay we'll have all the space that we need here."

"As for rich," he shakes his head. "Not here. Not in this dimension. And I can't quite conjure money." He looks a little sheepish. "I can turn base metals into gold. That's what I've been doing to make my rent each month. But I can't do it on a large scale, nor should I. As it stands, a few hundred dollars here and a few hundred dollars there from local pawn shops is nothing anyone will notice. Plenty of people sell the odd bit of jewelry for cash. But if I tried to make real money selling gold, I'd quickly get noticed. And people would start to wonder where I was getting all that gold. That's not attention I'd like to have."

"I agree," he says in response to Xiong and Luke's comments about Esmerelda. "I tried not to harm her gang members as much as I could. But she was still pretty sore about what happened." He looks around. "Anyone have any contacts that might be able to arrange a meeting with Esmerelda? I'm afraid I'm relatively new in these parts, so I can't help with that. Pilgrim? You know a lot of people around here. You think any of them might be able to help?"