sure, jan

[maskormods]

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.

Comments

[janebond]

[ 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?

[thephix]

[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.]

[janebond]

[ 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. ]

[thephix]

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.]

[janebond]

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.

[thephix]

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.]

[janebond]

[ 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. ]

[thephix]

[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.]

[janebond]

[ 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. ]

[thephix]

[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.]

[janebond]

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. ]

[thephix]

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.]

[janebond]

[ 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. ]

[thephix]

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.]

[janebond]

[ Nikita smiles at her, genuinely warm. ]

The name's being called into service again.

[ To help her blend in; it's more suspicious not to have a callsign. It's no surprise that Max doesn't offer a real name, but names are just another mask, one that's easily shed. Nikita knows her face and voice; she just needs something to call her by. ]

[thephix]

[That earns a quiet huff, something like a laugh, because she knows when a question is being avoided.]

Something tells me we could speak for months and we'd walk away knowing nothing.

[Since they're both just - talking around any real answers or information.]

[janebond]

[ Wryly, ] You can blame me; it's an old habit.

[ There's no reward without risk, and she'd rather stay on this woman's good side. ]

You know what our world is like.

[ It's a stab in the dark; thieves and vigilantes are a spy's kissing cousins. They overlap enough. If Max is for the other side — well Nikita would like to think she isn't playing the long game, but trust is another weakness she's not willing to show this soon. ]

[thephix]

A month ago, I may have said that I do, but now I'm less inclined to make assumptions.

[Since she, you know, got tossed into some kind of alternate Earth where the cold war is still happening and superheroes aren't terrible people.]

[janebond]

[ She makes an agreeable noise. ]

What do you make of the capes?

[ She's curious. They don't exist back home, they create all kinds of variables and problems that she's going to deal with at some point. ]

[thephix]

I'm surprised that they seem to have some integrity, here.

[Max knows how much that's giving away about her own world, but that's fine, it's information she's willing to share.]

[janebond]

[ It sparks a small lightbulb; she files it away for later perusal. ]

We don't have them, but we do have heroes.

[ She's thinking about Ryan as she says it. He's no fighter, he had a cushy desk job and a well-lit office, and he was willing to go to great lengths for her. Michael does the same and always has, next to her with his boots on the ground, but it takes a man of extraordinary courage to keep Division open the way he has. ]

[thephix]

I suppose most worlds must have at least a few of those.

[Max thinks her world only has one; she's no real hero, but Atlas is, even if the longer she spends with him the more she twists him into something for her own use.

Or maybe that's just Asteria talking.]

[janebond]

I'd like to think we've still got hope no matter where we are.

[ Maybe that tells a little too much. She shrugs. ]

Even that has to be taken sometimes.

[thephix]

[Hope isn't something that Max believes in, but saying that would definitely be admitting too much.]

I can't say you struck me as an optimist.

[Considering they met about fifteen minutes ago, it isn't as though Max could form a full opinion of her.]

[janebond]

I surprise even myself.

[ A wry smile. And on that note they pull up in a part of town that's quiet this time of night. It's a respectable neighbourhood - Nikita has no doubt Max knows her way around those but she'd stand out too much at this time of night. So Safehouse C it is: a small two room apartment. She opens the door for Max. ]

Here, up the stairs, right at the end of the corridor.

[ It's a defensible position: corner, with nearby buildings and a well-maintained fire escape. ]