etcelsior | 30 days has September

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test drive

30 days has September

T E S T D R I V E M E M E

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 someone else's thread, either!

And remember there's only one rule in Test Drive Meme Club: HAVE FUN ON THE TEST DRIVE MEME!

01.The city of Heropa is what one might expect from a small, bright and cheery place, where locals are friendly enough and local shop owners might offer a free drink to welcome you to their fair city.

Everyone’s in preparation for the arrival of Autumn! A small street fair has dedicated itself to welcoming Fall with open arms. Harvest foods have practically taken over— hot pumpkin-themed drinks, warm apple pies, and butternut squash soups are everywhere. One stall in particular has a scarecrow-building class, providing with plenty of patched up clothes and straw.

If you stay late enough at the fair to see the moon rise, you’ll notice it takes on a deep orange glow— pretty normal for a harvest moon. But it’s strange… a few scarecrows also seem to share the same color glow from their eyes. Maybe it’s just a reflection…?

02. De Chima, Virginia, is a large city with a healthy economy, with large numbers of citizens waiting to be awed by your very presence. Look at you! Organic wonder! Synthetic wonder! Whatever you might be, those words have meaning here. Science and technology are the lifeblood of this city, so you're likely to come across a good many locals taking your picture with the newest of devices or recently published PLoS papers. The imPort craze remains high here, and you may find yourself cornered by overzealous imPort fans, media wannabes and opportunists alike, shoving cameras in your face.

If you let yourself get cornered, beware! Anything from personal questions about romantic chances to bedroom habits to dietary queries might be come up!

Although what really seems to be the question of the month for those hardhitting journalists is a little less of the mundane;

"So what do you think about the recent Import mission to Mars? How much did that cost the government, and what will the repercussions be?"

Maybe they're hoping for a psychic Import on these matters...

03. Maurtia Falls, Pennsylvania has carried a reputation for ups and downs ever since imPorts began reappearing again, just those few years prior. Several imPort heroes have put focused efforts into cleaning up the streets of this somewhat infamous city, while a handful of others had swooped in to help the criminal industry thrive. More so here than the streets of any other imPort city, the battle between good and evil looks more like a war of escalation than a heroic tale. Everything from the classic bank heist to brutal bloodbaths can happen around the corner. You have to keep your eyes open and your mind sharp when you live in Maurtia Falls, and hostility against imPorts can spike. The emergence of locals with superpowers is hardly helping... #THANKS TONY STARK, #ya muffin.

Up ahead, it seems like there’s a traffic jam- or rather, a complete deadlock. But strangely, no one’s honking their honks or trying to zoom around other cars. Upon closer inspection, it seems like everyone is stock-still, with blank expressions upon their faces. The only figure moving in the crowd is a woman with a rather strange black and white outfit…

It seems like yet another local with superpowers has emerged from the woodwork- perhaps literally, in this case, given that she’s dressed up like a mushroom.

It seems that Feelia Fungus has taken to telepathically freezing the entire intersection with her mind control “spores” while she helps herself to robbing civilians of their belongings. It’s up to you to stop her!

Remember: September is known for being mushroom hunting season!

04. Nonah, North Carolina, is the liveliest of all cities; loud, busy and there's always some kind of energy in the air that gets everyone buzzing with excitement.

One might think that being such an industrial-based city, Nonah might might leave behind old cultural traditions. But with their motto of “Work Hard, Play Hard,” they certainly wouldn’t forget about a holiday they hold dear: Oktoberfest.  
The germanic celebration is in full force this week, complete with stalls giving away beer, and various snacks like brazen and würstl, along with various cakes. Anyone underage will be given a nice warm cider instead, and some natives may even try to convince you into wearing some classic dress- a dirndl.

For those with a more competitive streak, there’s a crossbow contest for most bull’s eyes hit!

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He can't help the distinct feeling of being watched, as he turned a street corner down a shadowed alleyway. A shortcut to his currently favorite bar. No sense in ordering a car, no need to draw attention to himself...

And yet, as the fading streetlight overhead flicked out, Chilton wondered if perhaps he should have risked the paparazzi for a more comfortable journey.

There is a man that he can follow. A mark. Strolling between the alleys without a care in the world.
Through the shadows, Nathan stalks him. The night surgeon using his newfound power to go undetected. Until he finds the man at the crux of an alley- and springs his trap.

A strong hand shoves forward, grasping for the man's neck, trying to push him up against the wall.

Nathan's grasp holds -- Chilton hits against the wall, his spine shocked with pain, his mouth opened to issue a command.

Nothing comes out but hissing air. His persuasion needs the verbal component, he's trapped, rendered helpless. Attempting to kick out, he grabbed at the arm holding him with both hands, his fingers finding only covered skin.

Standing 6'6", Nathan all but towers over the man. Hand tightening slightly around his throat as he looks him over. He sees, there, the mark of an import- which means that this man has powers. That he will come back if he dies.

Which means Nathan can take his time, if he wishes.

No one else seems to be looking around this particular alley, and Nathan ends up lifting him up off the ground, dragging his back up the rough brick of the building.
"And just what organs should I take out of you?" He growls, his voice rough, tilting his head slightly as if... curious.

"Oh god."

It's all he manages to squirm out from his twisting, horrified lips. Chilton shuddered, closing his eyes against the nightmare that held him. This brutal figure leering out of the shadows, a veritable demon holding him by his throat.

He tried to grab for the face, tried to rip away that mask. He needed bare skin to touch, should he sedate.

There is a seam of flesh, right where his mask and collar should meet. The only exposed flesh that he has without ripping away his helmet. His hands let go of his throat, letting him drop, in order to try and grab his wrists instead.

"You're an imPort. You'll come back from this." He growls. And that means he can't let his face be seen. Not so soon.

"No, no, no -- you don't know that!"

At last, purchase on the slip just below the mask, enough flesh to touch. Exposed flesh, if Chilton could thrust his fingers forcefully enough. And that's what he sought, pressing. Sedative flowing. Enough to make Nathan heavy in the arms.

It's an unusual feeling. Like a shot of barbital, like zydrate injected straight into his neck. His arms start to feel heavy, and the hand that's managed to grab his wrist tries to keep it pushed against the wall, the other yanking his hand away from his neck.

"Interesting power. Perhaps I should show you mine."

"Don't."

He whimpered it, the command more like a plea, his hand easily dislodged by Nathan's strong, defter palm. Chilton squirmed against the hard wall he was pinned to, desperate to escape. Whimpering for his freedom.

"Don't hurt me."

"You will come back from this." He tilts his head, left hand moving to press against his neck again. Trying to find that bare skin to poison him.

"Please, no! I'll -- do anything."

A dangerous bargain to make, but Chilton couldn't be sure that death would return him. He couldn't be sure that he wouldn't be stuck in Baltimore forever more.

Begging. Pleading. It falls on deaf ears. The Night Surgeon doesn't answer to the pitiful cries of his victims, acting as an agent of death and debt collected all in one. The knife in his hand is a blessing, the familiar weapon almost warm in his hand, a living thing as he presses the blade to Chilton's throat.

Not deep enough to cut jugular. No, he wants to see the nanites do their work. To study this man. His aim, instead, is for the vocal chords.

The blade pressed enough to cut skin, even minimally -- that's good enough. That's all he needs. Enough pain to summon his power for one specific breed of request.

"Drop the weapon. Release me."

Speaking quickly, forcefully. Before his chords could be sliced, before he would be rendered truly helpless.

The compulsion takes him by surprise. The urge to loosen his fingers and let the blade slip through them, to let the man slip through them. For a moment, he hesitates- the surgical skill of the blade, his hands not even wobbling as he pauses. And slowly, he pulls away. His fingertips slip from his wrist, and he takes a step back. But he does not drop his blade. Only places it back in its holster, with his many other weapons.

"Good enough," rasped Chilton, his hand immediately to his throat -- his palm soon wet with blood. Wincing, he stuck a fingernail into the cut, provoking another round of battery to surge his ability.

"Drop to your knees, and keep your hands off anything that can hurt me. We're going to have a conversation, you and I."

So that’s how his power works. Pain seems to fuel it. Interesting. Take away the pain.... A shame that his left only produced poison, not an anesthetic.
The right however...

“A little difficult to do.” He growls as he slowly gets to his knees. There are knives in his belts and sleeves, knives in his boots. And the shadows themselves- he is not practiced in it, but he suspects that they could be weaponized.
“I could kill you without any weapons.”

"But why would you?" He hadn't taken his hand away from his own sliced throat -- lucky that the cut was shallow enough that he didn't need emergency assistance. Lucky that it was deep enough to provide a well of pain, when agitated. Chilton stood his ground, watching this strange man rise to his feet again.

"We don't even know each other, why would you target me?"

There was a soft whine to his voice, as if he had some personal stake in the matter beyond wrong place, wrong time.

Were this his old world, he would have a reason. A debt to be called in. Something to take back to Geneco. But as it stands.
“Classified.” He growls, and sounds like an animal trapped in a cage.
He’s already planning on how to get out of this. Maybe if he sneaks into the other man’s shadows.... he so does hate leaving a job unfinished.

"How?"

The bluntness of Nathan's reply, the absurdity in Chilton's eyes, it proved to be stunning. Chilton couldn't remove himself from the moment, his finger hovering at his own bleeding throat, the threat of another command on the tip of his tongue.

And yet it did not come.

"Who are you?"

"Night Surgeon. Repo Man. Claims Medic." He has so many titles. So many things to be called. But his name? He refuses. That identity is a secret. Nathan Wallace is not the man behind the mask.

Slowly, he starts to rise from his knees.

Hand ready, finger digging into his own throat again. The pain sparks, and his words carry compulsive weight.

"Oh, no. Remain on your knees until I ask you to stand." He dared a step closer, readjusting his tie. Keeping his torn throat presentable.

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30 days has September

Maurtia Falls!

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