Subaru — The Narrows

The boat seemed to be sinking quickly. No time to swim down and rescue the captain that way.

Subaru leapt off her Wing Road and onto the capsizing boat's deck.

"Absorb grip," Mach Caliber declared, and the rollerblades' mana-covered wheels gripped the deck tightly. Subaru increased her speed, drawing her arm back.

"Load cartridge." The small port on top of Revolver Knuckle opened, ejecting a small, spent cartridge, and its Knuckle Spinners wound up, gathering mana around them.

Subaru struck the side of the cabin fist first. "Revolver Shoot!!" she shouted, and the gathered energy ruptured the wall inwards. Quickly, she grabbed the captain and about-faced, water lapping at Mach Caliber's wheels. "You did great," she told the captain. "I'll take you to a safe place now."

The Belkan triangle appeared beneath her once again, and another Wing Road snaked its way through the sky.

Soon enough, Subaru left the captain with the Coast Guard and returned to the area of operations, looking for more civilians in distress.

The voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground

An Apartment Somewhere in New York City (Where The Hospitality Is Like Magic!)

Red tried and probably failed to hide how her face fell as Kikko attempted to let them down gently, followed by swiftly concealing the disappointed sag in her shoulders by stiffly getting to her feet, grabbing the strange weapon by the hilt, and hefting it—with an ease that Kikko might note was strange, considering the weapon’s size—so that it was propped up on the chair across from Red, such that its giant red eye could clearly look at both of them. “Don’t beat yourself up about it.” Blue reassured Kikko as soon as the weapon was settled, its mechanical pupil shifting to behold her with as much sympathy as a mechanical blade could muster. “We had a feeling that it wasn’t going to be that easy.”

Finding it hard to hold out against her stomach any longer, and perhaps trying to drown out the momentary disappointment with food, Red began unpackaging her leftovers, drawing out the greasy wax paper to serve as makeshift plates on Kikko’s dining room table. Blue’s pupil briefly lingered on Red as she did so, before moving back over to face Kikko directly. “I’ve always thought that media name was a little goofy, to be honest. You can call me Auden.” Blue, or rather Auden said, as Red began the process of painstakingly assembling the makeshift fish sandwich. “Red hired me for protection a couple of years ago, after a fight broke out at one of her concerts. So we were together when someone jumped her during a late-night rehearsal at the Empty Set. The cops only got there in time to see me getting pulled out of… me.”

We thought about turning ourselves in. Red showed Kikko, as she finished swallowing a bite of the sandwich, accompanied by a low, pleased hum. But if they take him away the way he is now, I might never see him again.

“You ever been halfway between a murder weapon and a suspect? I don’t recommend it.” Auden chimed in.

Not to mention if whoever was behind this ‘acquires’ him from police lockup.

“So as you can see, we’re just a little bit… stuck, right now.” Auden finished. “If you’ve got any ideas, or any magical buddies from your Hogwarts graduating class who can do that soul-transfer thing, I’m all ears. Despite, you know, not having ears anymore.”

Red reflexively threw a balled-up napkin at Auden’s body, a teasing smile on her face, before settling back in her seat, and looking to Kikko for her response.

If I had that kind of power, I'd have dropped a meteor on your house ages ago~

Captain Mako-Brooklyn Museum

One of the Crab Spiders was hit by the surge of electricity from Echoes. While shaken up, the super soldier augmentations Crab Spider are injected with, along with their power armor, helped them absorb the surge of electricity, even if he was somewhat wounded. "Who the hell was that?! I'll rip your spine apart!" The wounded Crab Spider snarled in anger, which caused Mako's expression to shift to a frown. Great. Seems like they got a invisible assailant. Guess the distraction Lord Recluse didn't got the attention of most capes here.

Now if only Mu'Gadro only hauled ass faster and brought the backup immediately. Damn mages and not teleporting here instantly. He slowly glared at Yin, then at the four Crab Spiders by his side. A toothy grin formed on his face.

"...Boys. Light this place up."

That was all the Crab Spiders needed to hear, as two of the large super soldiers would focus towards Yin, as the one who stayed at range fired a barrage of bullets from his crab-pack's limbs, meanwhile, the other Crab Spider that was damaged would rush towards Yin with speeds that are surprisingly fast despite the large size and heavy armor he wore, ready to get to melee range and attempt to slice her with not only the blades attached to his gauntlets, but the limbs of his crab-pack too.

"Ey, girlie! I'll bring your skull to Lord Recluse himself!"

Meanwhile, the other two Crab Spiders, while they couldn't see the Stand or where it was, definetely knew they were dealing with a invisible assailant. Their only response? As their boss said, light this place up. Both of their crab packs limbs glowed brightly, as then it began to unleash a barrage of plasma and lasers around the place, the plasma bolts ruining and destroying most exhibitions in here, but the soldiers didn't cared. They only cared for trying to get a hit on the invisible assailant.

Taking advantage of the chaos his troops brought, Mako quickly bolted away towards the hallway at high speeds, knowing he needed all the time he needed before backup arrived. That, and making sure HE was the one who extracts the crystal.

Meanwhile in the Lobby, Adam while cloaked would see that the few Wolf Spiders that weren't K Oed by Yin's psychic attack were desperately trying to keep order and guard, pointing guns at the civilians with a clear lack of weapon safety, as they were left to 6 men standing compared to the 20 when breaching the museum initially. From the way they carried themselves, these Wolf Spiders were clearly amateurs and not as grizzled as Mako and the Crab Spiders by his side. If Adam played his cards right, this would definetely be easy.

Roxanne Wolf, Freddy Fazbear's Mega Pizzaplex - Build Me Up, Tear Me Down Like A Skyscraper

Roxy, though her rage clouded her mind and her speech/thoughts reduced to simple words, weighed her options carefully. On the one hand, she could just tear through the machines and men like she was planning on doing anyway. It would be a good test of her powers. But on the other-

"KILLKILLKILLRAGERAGERAGEHATEHATEHATEHATE" the ring interrupted her thoughts for just a brief moment, growing ever so tired that Roxy was not killing much of anything. But Roxy did not like being interrupted.

"SHUT UP NOW!" Roxy mentally roared. "ROXY THINKING!" The ring, surprisingly, complied. Roxy looked to Phone Gal.

"Hijack. Get Roxy and Roxy friends to wherever demolition men get orders." she stated. She made her way closer to the men and slumped roughly to the ground, in a spot where she could be seen. Her ring hid her uniform - and the corrosive fluids spewing from every hole in her body - so that she gave off the appearance of just a simple animatronic, damaged and rusted from months of neglect.

Koichi Hirose, In The Middle of Bullet Hell (Brooklyn Museum)

Oh, that's not good... Koichi thought to himself as he saw the Crab Spider survive the electrical attack from Echoes Act 2. Then, the soldiers began firing around wildly, and Koichi couldn't help but let out a small yelp of panic as he desperately tried to maneuver his Stand out of the way of the storm of projectiles. He managed to get it to a safe spot behind an exhibit, but not before one of the lasers collided with the Stand's right shoulder, causing a burn to appear in the same place on Koichi's body, making him wince and groan in pain.

"Agh!" he grunted. Darn it, that's really not good... I've got to do something about these guys right now, before anyone else gets hurt!

He waited a few seconds until he spotted a safe pathway in the hailstorm of lasers, then had Echoes Act 2 dash towards the Crab Spiders and tried to trip both of them with its tail.

Edited by SushiKraken6414 on Aug 13th 2023 at 2:47:36 AM

Something's Fishy Here...

Optimus Prime: Roll Out!

Optimus would step gingerly over the barrier that allowed vehicles to head into the docks, checking to see if anyone else was around. Satisfied that there is in fact no-one around, Optimus would start changing his form into his vehicle mode, a blocky six-wheeled vehicle that resembled similar vehicles Optimus had noticed were parked around the docks.

As he drives down the roads leading into the city, he can see the Robeast's silhouette in the distance. But before he can comment on it, his sensors pick up a familiar signal: an Autobot life signal.

Turning a corner at an intersection before transforming back into robot mode, his arm quickly unfolds and rearranges itself into a rifle-like form, attempting to gauge the situation, while tapping into his Comms.

"This is Optimus Prime, calling any Autobots in the area. If you can hear me, I am nearby and will provide assistance against the adversary antagonising the local population. I will not allow any innocents to get hurt."

Optimus would then move out of cover and carefully aim his rifle before letting out a couple of blasts, intending to get the beast's attention more than anything. However, he does catch a familiar flash of pink in his vision as he opens fire.

"Arcee...?"

Edited by G2BattleConvoy on Aug 13th 2023 at 12:16:22 PM

Spelunking through a Halo Ring is something else...

The opportunity seemed almost perfect, still, had to be careful. Jensen approached, had to be quick, a moment's hesitation would make things worse.

First one, hit with the Zenith-Zap and stun him. Next two, quicksilver strike and clonk them together at high speeds. Last three, he'd activated his inbuilt P.E.P.S and send them flying with a concussive blast.

The timing had to be just right.

An Apartment Somewhere in New York City (Where The Hospitality Is Like Magic!)

"Hog... warts...?" Kikko cocked her head uncertainly at Auden's vessel, before a spark of realization lit her irises. "Oh, that's some pop culture reference I'm not getting, isn't it? Okay!" She nodded in understanding, unperturbed, then briefly closed her eyes as she scoured her memory, before opening them and nodding again, this time happily.

"I would need some time to, ah, pull some strings, so to speak, and they wouldn't do it for free, but I do know a few people!" the witch affirmed, clasping her hands on her lap. "It's just... they're all contract workers who do magic for a fee, but they're both lazy and greedy, so they'll try to nickel and dime you for all you're worth and still give you a shoddy product if you leave any loopholes that let them, meaning you have to make sure your legalese is airtight or they'll pretty much scam you. You know, basic magic capitalism at work, haha... You can sue them in magic court if they don't follow the agreed-upon terms, but the law only says they have to abide by the letter of their agreements, not the spirit. So basically, I'd just have to work hard to make certain there was no wiggle-room in the contract, or else they might take Mr. Auden out of this... sword-y thingy and just leave him floating there without putting him in his new body."

"Anyway," Kikko segued in what she hoped was a smooth manner, "like I said, both that and making the new body will take quite a while, even if it wouldn't take nearly as long as me learning consciousness transfer on my own! What are you two going to do in the meantime? I know you need to clear your name, too, so... do you have any ideas on who the real culprit is?"

"Oh, and do you have a place to sleep and such?" the crimson-eyed woman added, bending down to pick up the fallen napkin-ball and stepping over to the corner to drop it in the trash, which left her facing away from the guests. "If not, you could always crash here! I wouldn't mind; in fact, I'd love to have roommates! Coming and going in secret shouldn't be a problem, since I can open portals like the one that brought us here, and it's not like groceries are going to be a concern when I can just conjure our food and beverages!"

"Star Child, are you certain this is wise?" a quiet voice murmured near the waitress' chest.

"Shhhhh! It'll be fine!" she hissed just as furtively, then turned back to face the pair of loverbirds once more with a hopeful smile.

Edited by darksidevoid on Aug 13th 2023 at 10:28:30 AM

GM of AGOG S4: Frontiers RP; Sub-GM of TABA, SOTR, & UUA RPs

Governor's Island (Handsome Jack & Badass Loader)

"That's what the Loaders are for, kiddo. 'Badniks,' I dunno what kinda cheap tech they've got in your neck of the woods, but Hyperion's designs are advanced enough to keep everyone safe even in this dicey of a situation. It falls, the Loaders break the fall. They fall, the Loaders catch 'em. The Loaders get busted up-"

He raises the arm with his control device on it.

"-I'm rich. I can get dozens more down here in seconds for - proportionally speaking, accounting for your likely income - less than you're gonna spend on lunch later. We cool now? Can we focus on the hero stuff and not the 'two heroes meet, they gotta fight each other first' cliché? Not a fan."

Freddy Fazbear's Mega Pizzaplex > Hyperion HQ (Phone Gal)

The leader of the demolition crew checks a notification on tablet computer he'd been carrying.

"Huh? Eh, that's weird...new orders from Blake's office! Says we gotta recover some tech from inside the building before we start knockin' it down!"

"But sir, that's not what they told us when we-"

"Shut up and go grab the robots, Leeroy."

Several members of the crew move towards Roxy, loading her into the back of a large vehicle...

---

Some Time Later...

It's dark. However long it's been since Roxy's removal from the Pizzaplex is difficult to discern. Outside the cramped confines she's been placed in, she can hear voices. Similar noises to outside the Pizzaplex, as well...machines. The men accompanying them are talking about various topics, strange words reach Roxy's ears with zero context. "Giant monster attack," "eridium," "Sirens," "Crimson Raiders," "Vault"...

..."Jack."

Amongst all of them, another voice comes through crystal clear.

"Are you alright, friend? This is where things may get trickier for you. Welcome to Hyperion HQ - your friends are safe for now, but getting out of here will require...at least a little luck. Can you move?"

This post is sponsored by Amalgam Comics.

Bunnie

He was right. She didn't want to admit it, but every second spent squabbling was a second wasted. She scowled, but soon turned her frown upside down.

"Oh, don't worry sugah! I understand ya perfectly."

And then she punched him in the groin.

It was possible Jack dodged the blow or she somehow missed, but that was her intention.

"Now unless you wanna flout more of yer fancy-shmancy wealth, I'd best mosey on back over there fore someone gets hurt. Take care now!"

She blasted off, rocketing up in a blazing burst. She wasn't sure what to do, but she didn't need to be. She thought of her friends. If they were here, what would they have done?

After strolling down memory lane, she knew exactly what Sally would have done. She'd have told her to do what she was about to do now. She floated towards the monkey's lower half, putting her thrusters into overdrive, pushing against the monkey's underbelly and hopefully propping it up. Maybe she didn't need to do this, but its legs were about to crumble and she trusted those bucketbrains as far as she could stomp them. She nearly forgot about the missiles, but if they came her way, she could throw up her barrier at a moment's notice.

Edited by kkhohoho on Aug 14th 2023 at 10:40:36 AM

Roxy, Hyperion HQ - ...That Is Your Fate!

Roxy felt herself coming back to life, or perhaps whatever passed for life in her case. She was relieved to hear the voice of Phone Gal, but that relief was cut short by the realization that she couldn't move, at least not very much. And even then that was overtaken by the mention of Jack's name.

Jack. The man who had attempted to tear down the Pizzaplex. The man who had attempted to put Roxy, Chica, and Monty in danger.

The man who was her current target of vengeance for the moment. Roxy shrieked, a horribly distorted, static-filled noise as she felt the Red Lantern ring activate and the now-familiar plasma begin to corrode through the box she was in.

And presumably just made what could've been a simple escape attempt much, much more difficult if the men outside heard her.

Hyperion HQ (Phone Gal)

The crate Roxy was stored in puts up little resistance as her ring punches straight through it. As she does so, an alarm begins sounding throughout the building. She is in some kind of storage room, almost a warehouse of some kind, surrounded by now-panicking Hyperion workers.

"Security breach!"

"Someone call Jack!"

"I don't wanna die!"

"You're in one of the storage rooms, ground floor. Fortunately, they're not very well-defended compared to the rest of the complex. You should be fine, so long as Jack doesn't send-"

Governor's Island (Handsome Jack & Badass Loader)

Jack winces at the punch, but doesn't seem to be bothered as much as one would expect...as a transparent, bluish energy field materializes around him at the moment of Bunnie's kick.

"Nice try, Carrots. Hyperion engineering, finest in-"

He's mid-sentence when Bunnie flies away.

"...Did she just fly away in the middle of me being smug? That's rude-"

An alert sounds from his wrist device.

"Oh, what now? ...Storage room security breach? Gah, no time for that. Screw it."

He presses a large, red button on the device's display.

"I'll just send-"

Hyperion HQ - Storage Room (Phone Gal...And A Big Problem)

A metal blast door on the far end of the warehouse practically explodes off its hinges. When Phone Gal next speaks, it's the first time Roxy has heard anything in her voice that even remotely resembles...fear.

"...Wilhelm."

A hulking cyborg◊ stands in the doorway, hefting a large weapon that most men likely wouldn't be able to lift. Flanking him in the air are a pair of drones, all three with their sights trained on Roxy.

"Systems online. Don't slow me down."

With that, Wilhelm opens fire on the animatronic, a barrage of blue laser bursts streaking through the air towards her. At the same time, Wilhelm breaks into a full sprint at her, the man's accuracy seeming none the worse despite his running full-tilt at the target.

Edited by ZodanTheUnbounceable on Aug 14th 2023 at 7:54:14 AM

This post is sponsored by Amalgam Comics.

The Brooklyn Museum

Meanwhile, the Psychonaut sisters had made it to the very heart of the museum, to find a grand entryway that'd be impossible to miss even if they didn't have a proverbial third eye. Lizzie couldn't help but smirk to herself, her weird little theory about the air conditioning having been proved right. See, Norms doesn't have, like, a monopoly on nerd stuff!

With how they were launching themselves down the halls, they were lucky that they were completely empty - all the staff and museum-goers that weren't in the lobby had apparently screwed right out the nearest exit the moment the guns started firing. Which, like, fair enough. Most dudes can't block bullets just by thinking 'I don't wanna be shot'.

The huge set of double doors were currently closed, though the poor bastards that had fled in the wake of the attack had obviously not cared about closing it all the way as it was still open a crack. Above it was a huge banner with a picture of their target, along with the words 'THE CRYSTAL OF SERAFINA - A STONE OF WISHES. COMING SOON!'

Psh, I've seen a real stone'a grantin' wishes an' it didn't look anythin' like that.

Slipping inside, the room was only dimly-lit by floodlights in the corners, and the tiled floor glistened slightly in the darkness, the little light reflecting off of the plastic sheeting laid out to catch dirt. Apparently the room was closed for renovations, going from the sheeting, plus the ladders and paint pots scattered around the room. Oh yeah, and the giant piss-off scaffold right next to them. That was a pretty big clue.

Just as she suspected, the room was filled with a chilly breeze that made Norma visibly shiver when she followed in, but didn't bother Lizzie at all. Perks of being a Cryo.

The floodlights were aimed in various directions, most of them at scaffolds and patches of unpainted wall, but there was one at the far end of the room aimed right at their target: the Crystal of Serafina itself. A giant, cherry-red orb housed inside a tall glass cabinet. Now they were up close, they could sense waves of... something emanating off of it. This thing had to be the real deal.

"That's uh... problematic..." she heard Norma say. Turning to face her, she'd got out that pamphlet again and had her fingers pressed against her temple, apparently having just finished another Clairvoyant look-see. "Their leader, the shark? Looks like he's on his way. Unless there's still a slim chance he's here for something else..."

Almost right on cue, the sisters heard thumping echoing down the hall. They spun around to greet the source, ready to make a quick getaway, but there was nothing... yet.

"Nah, preeeetty sure he's comin' at us."

"Shit!" Norma spat, stomping a foot. Lizzie shuddered, because you knew a situation was getting bad when Norma of all people broke out the swears. But then, as if she'd hit a switch in her mind, she snapped to a standing position. "Well, better make this quick. Find a way to stall him! I'll handle the package!"

It didn't take long for Lizzie to get over that mood whiplash - Norms always did do the whole mental compartmentalization thing better than her, and could go straight to 'mission mode' in seconds once the danger struck.

She followed her sister's pointed finger at the door, then glanced at the especially tall scaffolding flanking it. "On it."

Norma rushed over to the Crystal, leaving Lizzie to handle the door. Stepping back, she pressed her own fingers against her temple and thought about how much that door really shouldn't be open like that. With a few gestures, a deep purple telekinetic hand came into view and swept the doors closed with a loud 'clong'.

She promptly turned her attention to the scaffold, reaching up and latching onto it with her metaphysical third arm. She tugged as hard as she could think, feeling that 'phantom strain' spread across her body, that weird feeling of experiencing physical exertion despite not moving a single muscle. She stepped back, like some kinda... TK version of those hooks on the ends of tow trucks.

Feeling the cogs in her mind click into place, she gave it one big ol' tug and sent the whole thing tumbling down, crashing right in front of the doorway, the deafening sounds of metal scraping and clanging against the floor with notes of dropped paint cans and splattered... well, paint from those cans flying everywhere. She was lucky she didn't get any on her jacket, wouldn't that just be typical?

But Lizzie wasn't done yet; nah, she was just getting started. She raised her now-free hand and felt the cold air all around her, and it felt... soft, yet kinda stimulating, like she was under her blanket as a kid, laughing quietly to herself, waiting to burst out and scare the crap out of Norma. She wasn't laughing now, of course, but the grin she broke into whenever she felt the cold was a call-back to those days, for sure. Her expression turning serious, she directed the cold towards the scaffold, now conveniently covered in paints, paste and dirty used water. It was invisible to the naked eye, but she could sense it rushing past. The swirling cold all congregated around her and ganged up on the little barricade she'd created, rapidly freezing the liquids, and then the liquid molecules within everything else, and then just for good measure condensing itself down to liquid form and freezing that, too.

Within a matter of seconds, she'd created a mass of ice almost six feet thick and as tall as the door, using the scaffold as a framework. That was antarctic ice right there; you'd need an ice pick and at least an hour to dig your way through that. Of course, she figured the shark and his goons probably had access to that and more, but not before Norma did her thing... whatever it was.

Edited by PresidentStalkeyes on Aug 14th 2023 at 6:45:15 PM

"If you think like a child, you will do a child's work."

Kanae's Place

Kanae was currently in a blissful dream, in which she was currently being praised by the masses for taking down King Ghidorah with her incredibly skillful and, quite frankly, absurdly beautiful Bruce Lee inspired martial arts moves. But her slumber ended when the mayor offered her the key to the city and a meal for her troubles.

"Here, Kanae. The best hamburger in the city for a job well done."

…That was clearly a fucking rice ball in his hands. The sheer unreality of this moment caused her to wake up with a start, grumbling that yet another one of her battles was mere fantasy.

"Son of a bitch…"

Putting that aside, there was a serious question in her mind about whether or not the three headed bastard dragon, or Godzilla, or Biollante, Destoroyah, Gigan, etc, would show their ugly faces again. She had lived in Japan at one point before she and her parents moved to the Big Apple™, and this cast of characters were an established fact of life during her youth. Her country of birth fought the beasts with their own herd of superheroes like Ultraman, other oddly tall girls like her, JSDF superweapons such as mecha or laser cannons, and even strange human-kaiju hybrids that were aligned on the side of humankind. Sometimes, she gets nostalgic thinking about Japan. The idol industry was brutal and she hated all the rich bastards pulling the string behind it, but that didn't mean she disliked everything about living there. Still, she was adjusting well enough to life in New York.

But going back to the kaiju, it was becoming more common for them to appear as far away from Japan as New York itself. Were their migration patterns changing because of climate change? Did kaiju even have migration patterns? There was still so much people didn't know about these creatures. And deep down, she wanted to know how she'd fare in battle against one, and more importantly, how awesome everyone would think she was if she took one down. They'd probably think she was pretty poggers, right?

Kanae rolled out of bed and used her shapeshifting powers to turn her pajamas into her typical outfit of a maid dress with a prominent tie and black lace-up boots. One nice thing about her size changing ability was that she never really had to buy new clothes anymore, which helped save her a lot of money. Nor did she have to bother with laundry now, since whatever outfit she changed into was always immaculately clean. It wasn't as flashy as gigantification or sonic wave attacks, but it was always useful on a practical level. She turned on the tv, wondering if anything interesting was on right now. Then she saw something most interesting on the news.

A kaiju was attacking, for real this time. Shit, was that Mechani-kong? Kanae supposed it could be another giant robot ape, but how many of those were there in the world? Well, whatever, it didn't really matter who they were. This was an opportunity.

"Time to kick some ass!"

Governor's Island -> The Narrows

Without giving it much of a second thought, Kanae rushed out the door and towards adventure as fast as she could. And considering she was using her powers to lengthen her legs and greatly increase her stride, that was pretty fast. After a while, she just hopped onto a building and jumped from rooftop to rooftop to avoid the busy streets below. Eventually, she managed to reach her destination. The Robeast was in her sights!

She uses her power to grow to her full height of 20 feet tall and gets in a fighting stance, ready for battle. But as she looks around, she notices something rather obvious - she doesn't just have to deal with the Robeast right now, there are a lot of other people in the mix as well. Everyone is here!

You had four uh… were those turtle mutants? Yeah, that's what they appeared to be. One of them even used nunchaku - nice. There was a red and blue robot that appeared to be the same height as her, along with a more feminine pink and white one that was a bit shorter. They kind of resembled the designs of some of the mecha she'd read about existing in Japan, but these guys could talk and had actual facial expressions. She was clearly dealing with something she was unfamiliar with. There was also a cyborg bunny mutant, a small girl with white eyes, an armed woman who appeared somehow out of time, and… Lex Luthor but with hair. Or Tony Stark: The Sequel? Either way, it is best to steer clear of those types, as you don't come into money without stepping on a lot of people along the way. Unless you're looking to leverage your powers to obtain fame and fortune as a superhero, in which case that's a girlboss moment and it's fine, actually.

Lastly, there were three literal kindergartners in the mix as well. Out of context, this was really goddamn weird. But thinking about it, there were mahou shoujo that were also probably too young to be doing this sorta thing, and these were supers who seemed capable of handling themselves, so Kanae didn't give this much thought.

It was apparent, however, that fighting this ape was going to be far too difficult to be practical with so much potential for friendly fire. So many people crawling all over this guy, so many people in her way. And while she wanted attention, the last way she wanted to get it was to be canceled for accidentally punching a child.

"Dammit, I can't work with this kind of chaos. Time for Plan B."

She wades into the water, finding some cyborg lady already on the job. She goes to help right whatever ships are currently capsized, grabbing as many drowning civilians as her giant hands will allow and bringing them to safety.

"Have no fear! Your giant hero is here~!"

One of these days, she'd need an actual title…

Edited by HilarityEnsues on Aug 14th 2023 at 2:53:33 PM

An Apartment Somewhere in New York City (Where The Hospitality Is Like Magic!)

Despite the unbelievably dire nature of the situation and the seriousness of the matter being discussed, Red couldn’t help but feel her eyes glaze over just a tad as Kikko laid out the nooks and crannies of navigating the legal pitfalls of magical society, the experience a bit like one of her lawyers was reading off a recording contract at a mile a minute. So once Kikko finally finished her explanation, it was Auden who was ultimately in the frame of mind to scoff. “It figures that magical society would be just as messed up as normal society.” He said, and Red couldn’t help but nod her head to the side in a conceding fashion.

But when the topic of cohabitation came up, there was an almost-immediate split.

“That would be great, actually.”

We couldn’t possibly.

Red and Auden had a stare-down after that, Red’s outstretched arm holding her phone defiantly forwards towards the other two in a stark mirror of her position.

I suppose we could consider it.

“I’m just saying, this place has a rat-to-person density that I like a lot better than where you were hanging out before.”

Red just flicked up her eyebrows up in an unamused fashion, then grabbed her now-empty wax paper and threw it into the container. Then she got to her feet, walked over to the kitchenette’s nearby sink, and began to wash her hands.

Auden’s eye carefully watched her as she left, holding silent until the running water provided light audio cover. The eye then swiftly rotated back to Kikko, and Auden began to speak, his synthetic voice coming out in a low, hushed tone. “Red doesn’t want to hear it, but someone has to say it. There were only three of us who knew that she was going to be practicing at the Empty Set that night. Her, me, and one of her friends—a party planner, socialite-type. Her name is Sybil Reisz. She—”

Auden was abruptly cut off, as Red came up from the side and aggressively bumped her hip against the chair that Auden was situated in, causing his blade-like body to shift. Then, she rapidly began typing out a response, which she then showed off to both Kikko and Auden by thrusting the phone screen in their directions individually.

Sybil arranges benefit concerts for orphans the way Kikko packages up greasy french fries. She can’t possibly be behind this, period.

“I don’t know why you can’t see it. She’s a self-serving snake who’s only in it for herself, and she’s always been jealous because you have talent where she just has money. Who else would go through all of the trouble of stealing your voice?”

You get like this with all of my friends from work. Just because they’re wealthy, doesn’t mean that they’re shallow!

“Sometimes, yeah, it kind of does!”

This bickering would continue on, the two partners falling into what appeared to be a familiar rhythm, albeit with the added wrinkle of Red having to furiously type out each of her increasingly-indignant responses. Shortly, Red started to forget to show Kikko her phone screen entirely, leaving the young magician privy to an increasingly one-sided argument that she may or may not feel the need to interrupt.

If I had that kind of power, I'd have dropped a meteor on your house ages ago~

An Apartment Somewhere in New York City (Where The Hospitality Is Like Magic!)

Kikko began to beam as she heard Auden's response to her offer, but her smile dimmed a bit as he and Red came to loggerheads on the issue. Walking back over to her chair and sitting down just as Red got up, the purple-haired woman listened intently to the trapped man's one-person suspect list, and twitched slightly as Red returned to her seat with a stern typed retort. With the use of her given name, the waitress squirmed a bit, though without her voicing the reason for her discomfort, the impetus for the movement might not be obvious. Eyes moving between the songstress and the sword-thing as they got increasingly deep into arguing and soon seemed to forget about her own presence entirely, Kikko had the feeling that she should probably intervene sooner rather than later, lest either of the lovebirds say something they might regret later.

"Ah-hem!" the hostess cleared her throat as a pointed reminder that she was still present, then held her hands up placatingly. "Now, now, I think it's fair to say that you both have good points, but you're talking past each other. Mr. Auden, I know that a lot of people with wealth and privilege don't act in a way that's becoming of someone with that kind of power, but some of them do conduct themselves properly. Why, I know of a royal princess of Makai, the Realm of Magic, who's on Earth as part of a quest to do good deeds as we speak!

"At the same time, Ms. Red, when you're close with someone, sometimes you need a second perspective on them to see matters clearly. If it is, in fact, true both that you were targeted on purpose and that Ms. Reisz was the only person who knew you would be at the Empty Set other than you two, then as I see it, there are two possibilities: Either Ms. Reisz orchestrated a hit on you, or there was an information leak on her side of things, and the fact that you would be at the venue reached a third party who wanted you out of the picture. For example, maybe someone with a grudge against you eavesdropped on your communications, or hacked Ms. Reisz's calendar, or maybe Ms. Reisz accidentally let slip to someone that you would be there.

"In any case, it seems like looking into Ms. Reisz and her affairs is the best lead we have right now, whether she was behind it or not," Kikko concluded, resting her hands on her knees and looking from Red to Auden and back. "What more can you tell me about her? Where can she be found, who does she associate with, what's her daily life like? That sort of thing."

GM of AGOG S4: Frontiers RP; Sub-GM of TABA, SOTR, & UUA RPs

An Apartment Somewhere in New York City (Where The Hospitality Is Like Magic!)

“Well to start, every morning she eats a live mouse whole.” Auden rattled off, before Red had a chance to interrupt him by simply placing her body in-between Kikko and the chair where he’d been arranged.

We met at an event for up-and-coming artists that she helped to organize. I was a third-stringer back then, no one with any real name recognition, but Sybil was one of the people who put in a good word for me when I was just starting out.

“She has a penthouse apartment on the south side of town, in a building that they just call Highrise.” Auden chimed in, reading Red’s message over her shoulder.

She has get-togethers there pretty often, but I haven’t been in a few weeks. It’s probably too early in the day for her to have anything going on, though.

“Unless the party’s still happening from the previous night. From what I hear, it wouldn’t be the first time.”

Red slapped her hands against her thighs in exasperation, then turned and jutted a message in Auden’s direction that Kikko couldn’t see. Auden promptly responded with: “Red, I already know that you know that I’m right about her. Because at this very moment, we’re shacked up in the apartment of a virtual stranger, without you ever once suggesting that we go anywhere near her.”

From behind, Kikko could see Red’s shoulders tense up, forming a stiff, unbroken line of frustration, before sweeping off to the side, and angrily grabbing the Styrofoam left behind from her meal. She then stalked up to the bathroom door, forcibly slammed the debris into a nearby trashcan, and then disappeared into the room beyond, the bathroom door closing behind her with a definitive slam.

The echo rang out through the apartment for a few moments, before the gentle sound of running water filtered through the space once more, accompanied by a light splashing against someone’s face. Auden then managed a somewhat-impressive feat, and let out a sigh without actually having any lungs to sigh with. “I like to think that I’m a pretty good judge of character, and I know that Red is too. But she compromises on it, sometimes, because of the kinds of people that she has to hang out with to make it as part of her job. Getting rich is overrated, trust me. Everyone just wants a piece of you.” His eye then jumped from the closed bathroom door to Kikko herself, with the unspoken implication, Except for you, it seems.

As the bathroom door remained closed and Auden found himself trapped in what felt like an increasingly awkward situation, he pulled off another small marvel, and made the sound of clearing his throat to break up any potential tension. “So… you said that one of your specialties is transformation, right? Is there any way that you might be able to make me less conspicuous, like a bracelet, or maybe a necklace? For when Red has to carry me around, I mean.”

Edited by Uncandescent on Aug 17th 2023 at 10:11:21 AM

If I had that kind of power, I'd have dropped a meteor on your house ages ago~

The Brooklyn Museum

Okay this was going to be trickier. Emet's 'hiding spot' had just been invaded by a couple of teens who iced up the only escape route. But whatever, he could finesse this.

"Are you... Supers? Heroes?"

Meekness, well practiced performance from the man in the slightly shabby casualwear now poking his head from behind a sheet-covered ladder.

"I ran in here when the alarms went off. I thought they wouldn't be interested in a construction site but uh."

A quick and worried glance towards the centerpiece of this room.

"I suppose they're building this room around it..?"

It's clearly a case of backroom political albumizing.

An Apartment Somewhere in New York City (Where The Hospitality Is Like Magic!)

Kikko looked on Red storming off to the bathroom with dismay, and returned her attention to Auden with a sad frown as he continued talking. "That should be possible, yes!" she affirmed with a nod. "Necklace is probably better than bracelet, since it's harder to steal or remove by accident. I have a spare that I hardly ever wear, so I can just use the chain from that and buy a new chain later! Be right back!"

Getting up, she quickly paced over to the bathroom door, and lightly rapped it with the back of her hand. "Just wanted to let you know that you're free to take a bath or shower and use the soap and shampoo if you want! Towels are under the sink!" she called through the door, then quickly added, "Uh, not that I'm saying you smell, or anything! Just figure you might not have gotten the chance while you've been out and about. I can re-dye your hair later with magic if you need it!"

That done, Kikko moved into her bedroom and pulled a jewelry box from the bottom drawer of her dresser, took out a certain necklace, unhooked the clasp and dropped the symbol on the end off the chain, then rejoined the ends of the chain and put the box back in its place. Humming faintly, she headed back for the kitchen.

"Alright! This should work nicely!" the witch declared with a smile, grabbing the Transistor's hilt and leaning it with a "Hmmmmmgh!" of exertion until it was standing up, then dropping the chain on, tying a knot on the narrow part of the handle, and pulling it until it was tight and secure.

"And now..." she continued, stepping around to stand behind Auden, where he couldn't possibly see what she was doing. Summoning her wand to her hand, she pointed it at the bizarre object he was inhabiting, shut her eyes, and focused on the image of what she wanted to do.

"Meteor Tail!" she whispered, diamond shapes of various colors flowing out of the scepter and enveloping the Transistor and chain until it was quickly covered, whereupon the shape enveloped by quadrilaterals compressed and grew smaller, stopping as it took its finished form and the magical diamond motes disappeared. What lay on the chair in the aftermath, face-down, was the Transistor on the end of a golden chain necklace, complete with all its features, just miniaturized.

"How's this?" Kikko asked after she dismissed her wand back to the ether, picking up the new necklace-shaped object hosting Auden and holding it up so the 'eye' could see her face. "Are you doing alright? I mean, the world is probably bigger than usual now, but aside from that...?"

Edited by darksidevoid on Aug 18th 2023 at 6:55:49 AM

GM of AGOG S4: Frontiers RP; Sub-GM of TABA, SOTR, & UUA RPs

New York City-Five Months Ago

He'd found himself in an alley. The Bowery, it was called. New York City. He'd been here before, just a moment and a hundred years ago. The rush of sight, sound, and smells almost overwhelmed him. Thankfully he'd still been chewing a bit of gum, and he concentrated on that and the deck of cards in his hand. The force of habit to pull them out and shuffle. Around the corner and down a block will be a place you can wait. That's what Degaton said. He hadn't been the only one sent forward. Or back. Others had been floating in the...time river? But that didn't matter, and he didn't want to think about it. So Steven Sharpe stepped out onto the sidewalk and started walking, taking quick glances at the world. It was...a great deal, but the press of humanity somehow soothed him. Still full of marks, no doubt. And he had no trouble until he slipped into the dark barroom that had been suggested. What was it called? Steven couldn't remember, only that it was familiar to people in costumes that preferred to take their fortunes rather than make them. Criminals. He found a table, ordered a drink, and spread his cards before him."Anyone for a game?"

New York City-Today

Hugo Travisi had the smug, self-satisfied look of a man with all the answers and a world full of people willing to pay for them. He was wrapped in an amazingly ugly brown suit and gray shirt. The other men in the room were likewise arrogant and soft-except their eyes. They had the blank little marbles of a shark. Except just now, where they were bulging with amazement because three people had just stepped off of a hot-air balloon to the balcony of the penthouse of Le Tris, the most expensive hotel in the city.

Steven bowed to the befuddled bankers. "How do you do, fellows? Now, I'm known as the Gambler, and these two are my associates, and we're about to get into wake snakes. Anton, and Laralie, please search these good citizens. And if I don't find, say, your hotel room keys, phones, and a good amount of money in your wallets, I will be unhappy. Let's not have that, yes? We'll all get what we want and you'll all be put somewhere out of mischief. Simple, yes? A Lally-cooler for us all. Any bad eggs learn to fly, get it?"

Anton and Lauralie, both heavily muscled and dressed in snappy suits of their own, began shoving the men towards the balcony, frisking them in a professional manner as they did so. One tried to resist them, and Anton calmly punched him in the gut, then checked his pants pockets. Plucking out a hotel key, he darted out the hotel room door, only to return a few moments later with four more people, also in suits and Gambler hats.

"Excellent timing! Now, go loot their rooms full chisel. Lauralie, please start copying their phones." He glanced out the doors, where the formerly pompous men were stuffed uncomfortably into the basket of the balloon. "I'll wait here for the first sign that the police have arrived. Once that happens....well, once I tell a thumper that we're about to escape with hostages, I'll bet seven to two that they'll be chasing these fine members of the Shoddyocracy into the sky while we escape."

Edited by Booky on Aug 20th 2023 at 2:35:59 AM

An Apartment Somewhere in New York City (Where The Hospitality Is Like Magic!)

Ever since this latest ordeal first began, Auden had felt like he was a submarine the bottom of the ocean; a limbless form in a dark expanse, peering up at the world from a peephole the size of a periscope. So when Kikko chirped in the affirmative and then sped off, for just a moment he was adrift once more, as if in a lightless void—only instead of the ocean’s inky depths, he was staring at the amateur magician’s kitchen wall, the paint marred by a small patch where the paint had started to peel off. It was in these moments, when the interaction stopped and the weight of his transformation began to close in, that he began to feel less like he was swimming through the ocean, and more that he was drowning in it.

These thoughts and more were already plaguing him when Kikko moved him into place, and proceeded to settle behind him in order to mumble words of a presumably-magical nature. Then, for the second time in twenty-four hours, his perspective abruptly and overwhelmingly changed. The peeled section of paint began to retreat into the far distance, while something long, flat, and slightly uneven loomed up in the foreground. Auden realized with a start that it was the seat of the chair itself, becoming larger as he became smaller, the imperfections in its wood-grain surface turning a once-banal landscape into an exotic, expansive wonderland.

Then, Auden fell onto his front, and just about had a panic attack as everything finally went dark.

At the sensation of being lifted—dangled, really—Auden had to frantically flick his pupil back and forth to get his bearings, as while he could no longer blink or lose focus in his new body, his all-too-human mind could still be overwhelmed by what was going on around him. Eventually, he fixated squarely on the face of Kikko, looming large before him like the face of the almighty kraken itself, and he became keenly aware of everything from the length of her nose to her suddenly-visible pores.

Very suddenly, he gained an intense and unyielding sympathy for everything that he’d ever dropped down a floor vent.

“This… might take some getting used to.” Auden finally got out, fighting off the peculiar sense of vertigo he received from swinging gently on the chain’s end. “Also, if you could, please don’t drop me.”

“Is there any kind of safe…” Don’t say word. “…phrase, that I can use to turn myself back?”

Whatever Kikko’s answer, Auden’s gaze would then be drawn to the side at the sound of the bathroom door squeaking open, revealing Red leaning against the threshold with her arms crossed, a thin, apologetic smile playing out across her lips. After a moment, she withdrew her phone and typed out a short message, before showing it to the both of them. Auden did whatever his new body’s equivalent of squinting was, and just managed to make it out: To think, this is all it took for you to get me jewelry. Red would then make her way over to Kikko in order to gently take the chain from her, before carefully widening it to fit around her head, and then draping it around her neck so that Auden’s form lay snugly just under the hollow of her throat.

It was in that moment that Auden felt what he thought that he might never feel again; the gentle, rhythmic, and unmistakable beating of Red’s heart. Just like that, Auden was back where he belonged, no longer submerged in the ocean, but swimming through her veins.

Red would then type out another message, but instead of showing it to Kikko, she merely held it up to where Auden lay draped around her neck. Taking the hint, Auden began to read out: “I have an idea. Can you use your magic again, but instead make a life-sized replica of what Auden looks like now?” Red made sure to tap her fingernail against Auden’s body for emphasis. “Then, we can pay Sybil a visit, and see if she reacts to it, or tries to take it. If she does… then we’ll have our answer. Whether we like it or not.”

If I had that kind of power, I'd have dropped a meteor on your house ages ago~

Hyperion HQ (Phone Gal)

"I'm going to look for a way out for you, you just have to stay alive. You cannot beat Wilhelm - you have to leave this place immediately. I'll be right back."

...Phone Gal's gone, Roxy. You're on your own for now.

The Brooklyn Museum (The Contact)

The Sisters' phone rings. The caller ID doesn't have a name or even a full phone number, but instead reads "4N631." Should they answer...

"Hello? Can you hear me? I'm...in the middle of something else but I thought I'd still call if you're looking for help."

Edited by ZodanTheUnbounceable on Aug 21st 2023 at 5:43:05 AM

This post is sponsored by Amalgam Comics.

Hyperion HQ - Storage Room (Roxanne vs. Wilhelm)

Roxy barely had time to register what Phone Gal had said at first, before she had felt her ring form a barrier around her to shield her from the laser blasts.

The ring began to scan Wilhelm's mind for any signs of anger or rage.

...Nothing. Absolutely nothing. And then, for the first time, the Red Lantern ring felt fear. "Run, you stupid machine!", it warned, the same fear that had been in Phone Gal's voice now very visible.

Unfortunately that did not serve to hinder Roxy, in fact it only made her ANGRIER, and she charged at Wilhelm, her rage severe enough for her to start firing plasma bolts at the cyborg to no avail.

"DID YOU NOT HEAR ME, YOU USELESS SCRAPHEAP!?" the ring repeated; as much as it wanted to relish a battle that would prove Roxy's worth as a Red Lantern, it knew when it could not be beat. "FALL BACK, SOLDIER! THAT IS AN ORDER!"

But Roxy wasn't listening - instead she was shrieking garbled obscenities at Wilhelm as she kept uselessly blasting, and unknowingly wasting her ring's energy.

The Brooklyn Museum - Lizzie

Lizzie barely had a few moments to admire her handiwork before she heard a voice suddenly butt in, like, basically right next to her.

"GYAH, SHIT SHIT URI GELLER FUCK!" she reflexively blurted out, jumping so hard she almost thought she'd been sprayed with super sneezing powder and her brain had just left her body.

Spinning on her heel, she turned to face a covered-up ladder in a really dark corner of the room - like, the 'could-you-have-picked-a-creepier-place-to-hide-in' dark - and saw some old-ish guy emerge from behind the ladder, completely non-reacting to the psychic who'd jumped into a ready stance the moment he opened his mouth. She looked to her side and saw Norma - already halfway to the Crystal - in the exact same stance.

Who the hell is this and how did we not notice him? Norma telepathically broadcasted at her. She replied quickly.

How the fuck should I know?!

Coming from someone who can read minds, that's quite a question.

Hey, there's a shark dude comin' to turn us into fuckin' enchiladas, remember?

Norma paused. Yes. You're right. Let's not waste time on him. We'll think about the fact you probably just BLEW OUR COVER later.

And with that, Norma continued her beeline for the Crystal, leaving Lizzie to handle the old-ish dude. Lizzie just rolled her eyes - even in a situation like this, Norma just couldn't help herself. She had to act like she was the biggest brain boss chick, second only to Ford Cruller himself. You'd think what happened last year might have beaten that shit out of her...

It was around this time that the old-ish dude stepped further out and started speaking again, asking if they were superheroes.

Lizzie, allowing her stance to relax, did a sort of uncertain grimace and a 'flip-flop' gesture with her hand. "Ehh... supers, sure. Heroes? Kinda, sorta? Depends on who you ask? We're just here to make sure that thing don't fall into the wrong hands an' junk."

She looked around at the room as the old-ish dude - who, now that she got a better look, seemed to have two-toned hair (huh, he's got style, at least) - said some stuff about it being a construction site. She just shrugged. "I dunno man, I figure they're just redecoratin' or some shit. 'Cuz a giant red rock ain't red enough?"

The Brooklyn Museum - Norma

Meanwhile, Norma had finally made it to the glass cabinet, with the centrepiece of the exhibit itself housed inside, still pulsating with... something. She wasn't paying attention to that, she was almost hopping on her feet as it was trying to stay warm in this unreasonably cold room, and her sister's little ice act hadn't helped. Finding a witness that somehow evaded their psychic senses was just the icing on the disaster cake! (Pun not intended)

But, whatever, none of that mattered right now. What mattered was getting that accursed Crystal out of the cabinet and away from Arachnos' grubby little hands. Yet she wasn't going to rush this, that would just make it easier for those brainwashers to track them down after they'd left. They'd need to cover their tracks somehow.

...Which might include doing something about that witness- no no no you're getting distracted, stop it.

Focusing her attention on a small lock on the side of the cabinet, she felt her forehead - already slightly flush from frustration - beginning to heat up, except this heat soon flowed right through it and beyond her, even as the heat got more and more intense. She couldn't see it with the naked eye, but she could feel the heat enter the lock like it was part of her, and it wasn't long before a little bit of smoke emerged from inside, the tumblers beginning to melt down...

...And then suddenly her phone rang.

Oh, come ON! she lamented in her head. Without even thinking, she pulled the phone out and answered the call, which judging from the odd caller ID was their contact. So now they decide to call, great, just great.

"I can hear you loud and clear, Four-En-Six, but I'm just a tad busy right now! If you had called us on time we wouldn't be having this-"

As she felt a fireache coming on, her control over the heat... may have slipped a bit. And in a few seconds the lock she'd been focusing on turned red-hot and melted, collaping in on itself and prompting the door it had kept shut to pop open and shatter against the floor - so this stupid cabinet wasn't even made of strong glass and she could have just PSI-Punched it and saved them the trouble!

And then the fire alarms went off and sprinkers all over the museum began spraying the halls down with water.

Norma took a deep, sharp breath.

"...Hookay... I'll call you back later."

Edited by PresidentStalkeyes on Aug 22nd 2023 at 12:24:51 PM

"If you think like a child, you will do a child's work."

An Apartment Somewhere in New York City (Where The Hospitality Is Like Magic!)

"Either Miss Red can tap the end of the hilt three times, or you can say 'It's Morphin' Time!'" Auden's new friend explained, imitating his voice in response to his question. Then Red emerged, seeming much calmed, and Kikko chuckled at her jewelry quip, then listened to her suggestion.

"Oh, sure!" she agreed readily to the songstress' idea with a bob of her head. "Just, uh, close your eyes and keep them closed until I say, okay? Some things about magic are supposed to be secret!"

Waiting until they complied (or did his best to comply, in Auden's case), the witch turned away from the couple and summoned her wand in front of herself again, imagining what she intended and whispering, "Meteor Tail!"

With a POP! and a small puff of smoke, a replica of Auden's current 'body' materialized standing upright on the floor, along with a shower of diamond-shaped rainbow confetti. Dismissing the scepter-wand once more, Kikko hefted up the fake sword-thing and offered it to Red.

"Okay, you can open your eyes now!" she announced proudly. "Here you go! I made it a bit lighter than the real thing! Otherwise, I'd barely be able to lift it, eheh!"

"...Oh, if we're going right away, I should probably text my boss..." the waitress realized after the fake was securely in Red's hands, pulling out her phone.

"Hey Boss! My relative was in a bad accident and can't move his arms or legs, so I need take a sick day to take care of him. Sorry!" she muttered as she typed and then hit send.

"Okay! Ready to go whenever you are!" Kikko said with a faux salute, then paused and studied her phone. "...Right, I forgot I need to know either the relative location or what it looks like..."

After some more typing on her Maps app, she nodded to herself, asked Red and Auden to close their eyes again briefly, brought out Meteor Tail and quietly summoned another stage curtain portal for a secluded location near their target and changed her own appearance again◊, then sent her wand back to the aether and let out a breath.

"Alright! Sorry for the wait! Now I'm ready to go!" she declared.

Edited by darksidevoid on Aug 23rd 2023 at 4:39:16 AM

GM of AGOG S4: Frontiers RP; Sub-GM of TABA, SOTR, & UUA RPs