Meander

"Any idea who's behind this? Any particular organization out for your head, or...?"

Followup: "Any particular reason why they want you dead?"

"S...sorry about your everything."


"...So, where am I sleeping? Because I'm pretty sure it's not gonna be on the bed at this point."

SpoilerShow

WOO UPDATE

Or at least maybe half of one. Because exposition.

>"What the hell is going on?"

She stops to consider your question for a moment.









"You need a history lesson."



"My father was a Music executive for Redria¦Emcorp. I wouldn't be in Music without him."



"In a world without pen and paper, a place where you can ban paint and outlaw clay...you can't stop someone making up a song."



"Redria brass have a motto: 'If you can't stop it, regulate it.' And that's what Music is. If you own the talent, then the talent works for you..."



"But that's why we know everything! That's why we get told everything-"



"-because they know we have everything to lose if we tell."



"To have our instruments destroyed, our archives deleted...to never so much as hum - ever again..."



You detect that this isn't such a great topic of conversation.

"Any idea who's behind this? Any particular organization out for your head, or...?"

"Oh, one of the easier ones. Well, I know AP3X has had me under surveillance. Could also be KEILDI, or maybe WILCO."

Followup: "Any particular reason why they want you dead?"

You inquire as to why these fine corporations would possibly want you dead. Her face falls.



"Hell, don't you know anything about this city?"

Hey, hey, lady! Sometimes asking the obvious questions gives the most incriminating answers! Who's the detective here, again? Yeah, 'swhat I thought.

Besides, sometimes you need a motive beyond Business As Usual. Like, something you personally did? A grudge? Anything?

Basically, who would want to kill you, rather than, who would want to kill a Super, or an Emcorp employee. Option Three is pretty much every rival company, option two is, uh, most everyone, at some point or another. Option one is the only real choice that actually narrows shit down.

Of course I do, I've been living here all my life!

What's this city called, again?

We need SECURITY. Let's go buy some guns.

Prepare yourself for another history lesson.

Is it because of the precious ambergris that can be found in the base of every Super's skull?

Hey, hey, lady! Sometimes asking the obvious questions gives the most incriminating answers! Who's the detective here, again? Yeah, 'swhat I thought.

You lay down some IMPRESSIVE DETECTIVE BANTER, without much effect.

Besides, sometimes you need a motive beyond Business As Usual. Like, something you personally did? A grudge? Anything?

Basically, who would want to kill you, rather than, who would want to kill a Super, or an Emcorp employee. Option Three is pretty much every rival company, option two is, uh, most everyone, at some point or another. Option one is the only real choice that actually narrows shit down.

So you lay out some more banter, plus some incisive questioning with just a tiny hint of patronization, just like the chief taught you. You're so proud of yourself.



"Did you not get what I just said. As a Music exec, I know things. Things that some people might not want being spread around."



"And in this city - hell, in this fucking mess of a country - you don't ever need a motive other than Business As Usual. The city runs on Business As Usual."

"Everything, when you get right down to it, can be brought down to Business-As-Fucking-Usual."



She sighs, and ponders a bit.



"Fine. If we're talking why anyone would be after me specifically, I've been in contact with Keildi operatives. Specifically, we're trying to uncover something...big. I can't risk telling you any more than that."

We need SECURITY. Let's go buy some guns.

You proclaim that we need SECURITY if we are to sleep comfortably tonight, and propose that guns be bought.









"Got you covered. Keep that. You'll probably need it-"



Oh no, you meant a gun for her. You've already got your TRUSTY SERVICE REVOLVER. You call it VERA.

And why does she have a gun stored in this uncannily well-stocked motel room, anyway?



And what does she mean, you'll probably need it?



"Oh, you're a wanted man, Smith." She shoves the TOILET GUN into your hands, having in the intervening time also changed into her MUSIC-THEMED PJS. She pushes past you to the bed. "Good night."



She crawls into bed, suggesting in a very definite way that 1) the interview is over, and 2) if you so much as try to climb into these sheets, so help her she will stab you to death and then beyond.





click

----



You are now LAVENDER DEVIN. You are lying in wreckage and a pool of what appears to be melting ROCKY ROAD ICE CREAM. You know this even though your eyes are tightly shut. The reason you know is why you're keeping them that way.





"It didn't go so well?" Montgomerine's voice is not welcome. At all. But at least that means that ice-cream man went and scarpered.

"Shut the fuck up, Manwood. What're you doing out of your office anyhow?"



"Just checking up on the job - on that note, Rockenzie survived."



"Fuck you. Where're my glasses."



"Somewhere. The Redria cavalry will be here soon, Lavender. You need to be gone when they get here."

Do you need those glasses for cyclops-beam reasons or for horatio-caine-just-thought-of-a-great-pun reasons?

Y'know, it's always bothered me - how do people who shoot lasers from their eyes see things? Even with glasses on, your eyes are still shooting beams that emit (if not composed of) light which by all rights probably ought blind you anyway. And how come the lasers don't burn through your eyelids - the thinnest flap of exposed skin on a body - when they have no problem with anyone else's flesh?

But

Uh

Glasses. Right. Way your luck's going, bottom of the ice-cream pile.

Steal his glasses!

He will know what it feels like to be glasses-less.

>Jesus Christ how you are going to get away.

quoted text

BECAUSE THE SAME MAGICAL POWERS THAt give the laser vision also allows you to see through them and also have eyelids that are immune to them
......(required secondary powers? i mean... ....duh? sorry...)

>ASK him to healp you look for the glassessss


(ooo this adventure turned super serious really quick. was that the plan from the start? I really love it a lot!)

Do you need those glasses for cyclops-beam reasons or for horatio-caine-just-thought-of-a-great-pun reasons?

\



Neither. Ever since a CERTAIN INCIDENT IN YOUR PAST, you have been 'blessed' with the power of UNFILTERED PERCEPTION: You see everything. Normal people have a filtering mechanism that stops them from perceiving every detail and iteration of what their eyes feed them, whereas you... You can't not see everything about what you see.



Which is where the glasses come in. They are, much like normal sunglasses, a filter - but they filter information as opposed to light, preventing out unneeded data from reaching your precious retinas. Which is all for the best, since the psychic blowout from seeing everything tends to affect other minds too.



Adversely.

In any case, you had better find them.

>ASK him to healp you look for the glassessss

Glasses. Right. Way your luck's going, bottom of the ice-cream pile.

"Instead of standing around like a stuffed shirt, Manwood-"



"Here."

Oh. Okay.





You put on your glasses, which for a moment go black as they refuse to believe that Montgomerine has actually gotten his hands dirty to get them back for you.



"Manwood."



"Yes?" His voice dares you to challenge him.

"Did you-"

>Jesus Christ how you are going to get away.

*neee-naaaa* *neee-naaaa*



Both of you turn towards the window at the sound of sirens. Shouts fill the air.



"They're here. Someone must have discovered the security guard!"



With surprising strength, Montgomerine manages to push you out the door. "Get out! Don't get spotted. You were never here, understand?"





You are LAVENDER DEVIN. You are on the 15TH FLOOR of the CRUMMY BROWNSTONE. The MAIN HALLWAY has several doors, but they are for the most part unimportant, barred shut or stuck.

The IMPORTANT DOORS at the moment are the ELEVATOR DOORS (e), the FIRE STAIRS DOORS (f) and the apartment door to ROCKENZIE'S APARTMENT®.

>_

SpoilerShow

Time to engage your brains a little bit :3

Force open the Elevator Door and climb down the chute Die Hard style.

No, you need to hide on top of the lift so that people looking for you come up in it and then as soon as they have disembarked you climb down that little door in the roof and descend to the ground floor, pulling faces at them as the door closes and it is too late for them to interrupt it.

Okay you gotta go to the apartment. Look for clues!

Is it easier to look for clues with glasses filtering out information or harder because they don't know what is/isn't useful?

run to the fire stair doors!

Force open the Elevator Door and climb down the chute Die Hard style.

Dude. Being a super doesn't automatically mean super strength. Tropes notwithstanding.



You have a go anyway. No dice.

No, you need to hide on top of the lift so that people looking for you come up in it and then as soon as they have disembarked you climb down that little door in the roof and descend to the ground floor, pulling faces at them as the door closes and it is too late for them to interrupt it.

As entertaining as that is, you remind yourself that that would be silly. And Montgomerine specifically said not to be seen. As much as you would like to tell his orders to go fuck themselves, it's probably TERRIBLY IMPORTANT that you follow them.



Besides, these doors aren't going to open any time soon.



OH FUCK

run to the fire stair doors!

You duck behind the FIRE STAIRS DOOR as the ELEVATOR DOORS open.

Okay you gotta go to the apartment. Look for clues!

Yeah, that's not your job.



Also there are Redria corps out there that you'd rather not face. You don't have anything you could use as a weapon.



Oh, and it sounds like people are coming up the FIRE STAIRS.



You are currently in the FIRE ESCAPE SYSTEM of the CRUMMY BROWNSTONE (16F). There are two sets of stairs, one going up to the roof and one going downstairs. There is also the door going back into the main hallway, but there are enforcers out there.

>_

well i guess you better run to the roof!

ROOF TIME! ROOF TIME!

Go downstairs.

> Go down the stairs and look for a place to hide.

well i guess you better run to the roof!

ROOF TIME! ROOF TIME!

You burst through the ROOF ACCESS DOOR. It makes a soft 'thwap' as it buries itself in the SNOW. (You briefly considered going DOWNSTAIRS, but the PEOPLE SOUNDS were definitely too close for comfort.)




what does it say in the windows? vh...4...KEX...?






Oh. Oh hell. Your glasses are going haywire. It could have been because they were buried in ice cream, or maybe because of the ridiculous amount of detail up here. They're focusing on the stupidest...things...



You can't let that hinder your escape. Forward!





Or, you know, not.



God dammit! You thump the snow in defiance: you're going to get out of here if it kills y-



?!



...







Your EXCAVATION uncovers a FROZEN CORPSE. Due to its FROZEN state, it's not easy to tell the time of death. The cause is pretty obvious, though; blood has trickled down from a wound on his head, then frozen onto the flesh.





You're about to investigate further when an interruption takes up your attentions.

----



You are now TOM SMITH. You have spent the night in a BATHTUB. You are about to wake up.





Jammroll's nowhere to be seen. The room seems emptier without her.











"So you're awake. But not informed. By the time you see this, I'll have gone home - if you're going to be involved in this, we have a lot to do."



"First of all, I'm going to need you to meet with my contact with KEILDI. They're located at the recommissioned city power plant. You know where it is. Ask for Arkadiy."



"Secondly, take this LIST OF NAMES. You need to deliver that information to Arkadiy, as soon as you can. You can have a look at it, but don't let anyone else read it!"



"And one last thing..."



"...be careful."



**this message will self destruct in three seconds**



>_

awwwwwwwwwwww

also you should never sleep with your head under the faucet
cause when you wake up and lift your head up- OUCH!

I guess you better get going then~