etcelsior | sure, jan

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sure, jan

TEST DRIVE MEME

Considering apping into MASK OR MENACE? Want to dip your toes into the setting and get a feel of whether your character will fit into it? Or maybe you're just cruising and want to play around? Then you've come to the right place!

Pick any of the following scenarios below or feel free to make up your own, but don't be afraid to throw yourself at anyone's thread, either!

And remember to have fun!

01. Your memory is hazy and you might feel increasingly frustrated or anxious, or maybe you're excited as soldiers march past, barely glimpsing you. One second you're somewhere underground, the next you're enveloped in blue light, and suddenly you find yourself directly under Flordia sun's bright and burning glare. A female soldier steps toward you with a wide smile on her face and directs you to a car, ready to debrief you. You realize you are not the only one, surrounded by equally confused or eager faces... and you're all sporting a digital tattoo on your wrist.

02. Welcome to Cape Canaveral, where the smell of the ocean is in the air and locals are more than pleased to see new imPorts roaming their streets. They wave, they cheer, they ask for pictures as politely as they can. The more inhuman you look, or if you're wearing a costume, the more likely locals are to approach. Hey, enjoy the moment! The popular malt shop is offering you a free drink if you need it.

03. The technology in this world is certainly something. The cars are clearly modeled after popular 50s cars, but they hover several feet above the ground as they drive down the street. There are digital jukeboxes in restaurants, motorcycles also hover through traffic, advertisements can be seen on a digital projector on the taller buildings. Even kids on skateboards appear to drift a safe ten feet off the ground while playing!

04. Wherever you are, you can hear the loud revving of an engine, distance at first before you finally see it: a hovercar bursting around the corner, going beyond the maximum speed limit and just barely making its sharp turn. It doesn't appear to be slowing down any time soon, not with two police cars trailing it... and uh oh. Those skateboarding kids don't have much time to get out of the way as the car comes speeding down the road. You've been brought here for a reason Hero — so you better act fast.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Max doesn't like to rely on weapons; she carries a handgun and a knife because she isn't stupid, but guns run out of bullets, knives can be taken or lost, so she prefers to rely on her hands, her teeth, the poison she can brew in her blood.

But that doesn't mean she likes other people having weapons, and even if she isn't the Sphinx here, that doesn't mean she can stand by and do nothing.

So Nikita might be watching from above, but Max is walking into the thick of it below; the two men at the door are already dead from poison, and Max's heels click lightly on the concrete floor, drawing more attention to herself. Three men approach and Max draws a gun, but rather than shoot them, she aims at the lights above, shooting them out.

It goes dark, which is perfect for someone with a cat's night vision. Max knows it won't take her long to dispose of them all.]

[ She can count on one hand the women of her acquaintance who'd be so brazen, and she can't help a small, darkly amused smile. Note to self: don't piss off this blonde. It's down to six minutes in and out: if she's got time she'll check the bodies of the outside guards to see what really killed them. Either a heart attack or a fast acting poison transmitted by touch. ]

[ The front door's clear but she still takes a side entrance, heading for the storage room to ransack the crates. There's only so many ways to disguise a massacre (even of thugs) and she's not giving the blonde time to set the place on fire. ]

[Max has no intentions of hiding this massacre; the cops won't care enough to look too hard, not in a city full of people with strange powers, but it will send a message to anyone else in the business.

There's someone in this world who isn't going to look the other way.

The men who attack her die quickly, of poison or of blood drawn by sharp claws, and Max moves through the building to check the rest of the rooms. She plans to take a gun or two with her, just for protection's sake, but what she hasn't planned is coming upon a woman in the storage room.

Her heels don't click now, but she does politely clear her throat. She won't kill another woman unless she absolutely has to, and something tells her this woman isn't associated with the arms dealers.]

[ She's about done disassembling a rifle and shoving it into a duffel bag. She's always taken risks, pushed her luck, relied on her skill to get her out of a tough bind. Nikita's not afraid of other killers. Like all Known Quantities there's usually a reason and a pattern, and there's always delay, distract, and run like hell if it all goes south. ]

Just shopping, [ she says, with a wry smile, every line of her subtly tense, watching Max for sudden movements. She can kill with a touch and move silently. What else is there in her arsenal? ] Can I interest you in the fall collection?

Mm, I've always preferred Russian guns.

[Not cheap European shit, smuggled into America with half the pieces all mixed up.

She doesn't make any sudden moves, but she does lean against the doorway, effectively blocking one of Nikita's exits.]

They were selling, you know, I'm sure stealing wasn't necessary.

[It's a comment designed to get answers; there's a reason for stealing versus buying, and Max wants to know what it is.]

[ Her English is too refined and not many preferred Russian knives or guns: probably Bratva in America. She doesn't need to glance towards the room's window to know it'll take three seconds to get there and out. Besides, why make an enemy when you can make an ally. ]

They wouldn't give me a discount.

[ Let's play a game of questions and sort of answers, Max. ]

[Max cocks her head to the side, looking Nikita up and down.]

They would have.

[The thinly veiled disgust in her tone makes it clear why they would have, because Nikita is gorgeous and they would've asked for payment that wasn't cash.]

[ She makes a softly amused noise, following Max's train of thought with ease. ]

I don't pay that way.

[ 'Anymore.' Would be Division might've used the protocol for a few particularly difficult targets (God knows they did with Brandt, and he'd sickened her to her core). But let's give this woman a piece of the truth, perhaps something that might need protecting, and see what she does. ]

[Max tries to imagine a world where she could say that, and comes up with nothing but an ache in her chest.]

Probably for the best.

[Probably, as if she doesn't know how that sort of thing eats away at a person's soul.

But she doesn't feel like playing games anymore, not now.]

What do you want these guns for?

[ The shift is subtle; a glaring neon sign for anyone who knows how to look. Nikita slings the duffel bag on her shoulder, and pulls out a Beretta from one of the other crates, checks the clip, and hands it to Max. Gesture of good faith. ]

Not everyone can kill with a touch.

[Max goes on edge as soon as Nikita moves, but she doesn't respond until she's sure of what is happening, and then there's a gun being offered and she nods, simply, before tucking the gun into the back of her jeans.]

Not everyone needs to kill.

[ There's a brief flicker of regret - she wishes she could agree with Max. They didn't need to cancel Martin, but he gave them no choice. If this was going to be the case with all the Dirty Thirty — well that bridge would be burnt when it came. ]

We do what we have to. [ a beat, and she's back to business, ] Are you going to blow up the place?

[We do what we have to doesn't strike her as something a criminal would say; sometimes they'll come up with excuses for themselves, but most know that they're the bad guys.

This woman doesn't seem like the bad guy.]

I had no plans to, blowing it up doesn't send the message I want.

[It's too showy.]

[ She's said she was following orders before, but that's all it is: an excuse and not an explanation. Not everyone has Division or Gogol's training to resist. She should have done something before meeting Ramon. ]

[ The bodies will be found by the ring before the police get here. The superheroes she's observed aid the system, and would've left the men unconscious and called the police, not do something like this. ]

Do I need to persuade you to let me leave?

[ She punctuates with a self-deprecating smile. She has no illusions about who Max might be or what she's capable of; she figures the only reason Nikita's still standing is because Max is letting her. ]

That depends, will you allow me to walk you home?

[It isn't a threat, more an expression of curiosity; it reminds her of her first meeting with Adonis, although the circumstances are completely different. Still, this woman is interesting, and Max would like to know more, not just because she's concerned about what might be done with those guns.]

My knight in shining armour.

[ She smiles, 70% genuine. Home in this case means one of the newly set-up safehouse, and those can be abandoned at a moment's notice. There's no visible pattern for anyone but ex-Division to spot, and if they're here, she'll know how to find them too. ]

The car's outside. I'll drive.

I've never been called that before.

[But she seems amused, even as she fishes a gold business card from her pocket and drops it on the floor. The outline of a Sphinx might be visible to a keen eye, but Max pays no attention to it once it's on the ground, simply turning and heading towards the exit.

She's showing a lot of faith, by turning her back on an armed woman.]

[ Nikita glances at it out of the corner of her eye as she catches up and keeps in step with Max, walking neither ahead nor behind. They slip out through one of the best exits Nikita had marked out during her earlier survey: one that shields them from any possible snipers and bottlenecks anyone following in the alley. The car is about a block down, a dark green sedan. She opens the front passenger door for Max. ]

[There's something almost natural about the way Max accepts the door being opened for her, as if it's something she's used to, and she climbs in with a small smile of thanks.]

I do hope you're smart enough not to require any warnings.

[Max thinks so, but it always helps to make sure.]

[ She huffs a laugh and puts the duffel bag in the backseat, out of view on the floor, answering as she sits in the driver's seat. ]

I think you'd need a damn good reason to hurt me.

[ It's more of a curious observation. Max has had ample chance, even turned her own back on Nikita. ]

Let's not give you one.

[ She'd like to stay breathing, k. ]

[Max hums, amused by that observation, but it isn't wrong.]

I don't hurt women.

[There's no reason to keep that a secret; everyone at home knew that the Sphinx was more lenient with women, that only the men who crossed her path would die. Some people might think it's a weakness, but Max doesn't care about their opinion.]

Some people would call that weakness.

[ Women are just as - if not more - dangerous. But Nikita approves. A soft touch explains a lot about this woman. She's been hurt, she survived something, it's in the click of her heels and that calm smile. She's a pillar of steel. Those are made. ]

Then I'm weak.

[So she doesn't care, because it doesn't matter to her. She knows women are just as dangerous as men, but she'd rather be weak and stick by what little morals she has left, than be strong and hurt the people she's sworn to protect.

In all this, Asteria doesn't count; Max will tear that woman's throat out, but Asteria is a monster.]

[ The spy in her notes exploitable weakness and locks it away never to use it. She is kinder than the woman Division made: she's Carla's daughter and not Amanda's. ]

Wildflower. Nice to meet you.

[ No names. Not yet. ]

The Sphinx, and the pleasure is all mine.

[Which she does mean; she likes strong women, and interesting women, and Nikita is both those things.]

Is the name new, or did you do this type of thing back home?

[Curiosity killed the mythical cat.]

wildcards your wildcard

such a rebel

u love it

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