Kitten! Issue #1 "Cats always land on their feet..."

Kylie looked out the window. She'd been home a few hours now, and was back in her room. Mum was downstairs, still upset, though glad to have her daughter back home. It'd been hard. First her husband, Kylies' father, had been arrested by the Nazis for supposedly being subversive during one of his lectures at University, then Kylie herself had fallen ill. That had been 8 days ago, and she'd been released from hospital yesterday morning having woken from a week long coma none the worse for wear. The doctors were at a loss to explain it, and discharged Kylie after finding nothing wrong with her.

There was more to it than that.

Kylie never felt more right...

She glanced across the street, between buildings, to see rats skulking in the shadows. Her eyesight! So pin sharp, and she missed nothing! She also felt stronger, faster, fitter than before. Something had happened, but what it was...?

Kylie glanced at the television, where news was being read out. Apparently the unseasonal cyclone hitting the country was unprecedented and had caught the weather predictors by surprise, but was no cause for alarm. Anyone causing trouble would be arrested and shot.

Her eyes misted over. Would that be the fate of her father? He was no traitor, nor was he a Nazi, though he kept the latter secret. What would be his fate? Kylie had to do something, but her mother was distraught, her pleas being ignored by the authorities who threatened to arrest her if she created a disturbance! They'd taken her father somewhere, possibly a detention camp, but there were so many! Where could she look, and more importantly, how could she get him out? Her ears picked up a distant siren. There'd been a lot of those lately. What was going on? Whispers had been doing the rounds on campus about several new superhumans defying the state, and foiling even the mighty Majestic, one of the champions of the Nazi regime! "The enemy of my enemy must be my friend..." she muttered, and right now, the state was most definitely her enemy!

Kylie looked out of the window again. There. Half a mile away across the skyline, a tall building, the sector house for the Gestapo. They would have computers, records, a means of locating her father. She would go there, and ask them, plead, to let him go. Or... there might be another way. The way she felt right now, she could take on the whole Nazi Empire! But she had her mother to think of. With a sigh, she sat down on the bed, and glanced at the TV. Masked mystery men had been filmed fighting by a passer by. Masked.

Conceal her identity with a costume? The thought made her cringe, but she had no idea what had happened to her. She was changed, for the better. But would it be enough to defy the state, find, and free her father...?

OOC there's the intro, if you'd like to post Kylies thoughts, actions, hopes, fears, whatever she might be thinking and wanting to do, we'll go from there If the back story doesn't fit in with what you had in mind, holler, we'll rejig it...

Kylie closed her eyes, secretly hoping that this was just some type of cruel dream drawn up by her subconscious fears while she lie semi-aware in an unexplained comatose state in the hospital which would then all disappear and be quickly forgotten after wakening. Opening her eyes again did not change the state of the world. She was still in her childhood bedroom. Instead of being allowed a moment of self-indulgent comfort at being home again, Kylie couldn't feel that secure again without her father being there too.

She sprung from the bed suddenly out of frustration, causing a few of the trophies that she won in the martial-arts competitions organized by the state youth organizations (established to build loyalty to the regime and keep young people with too much time on their hands to find ways of rebelling against it) to rattle upon the shelves on which they were displayed. Kylie never felt more powerful or healthier personally, yet at the same time, never more helpless against the power of the government. Unlike the one-on-one competition that she understood, it was difficult to find that one specific target that she could channel her emotions to combat against.

The young woman walked back to the window, looking down at the street. With her father having been arrested, she knew that their house was probably under surveillance at this very moment with the authorities watching to see who would drop by to offer their sympathies in order to establish a link as being other operatives in the resistance movement to which they suspected him of belonging. She scanned the area to see if they were out there. Although it had been a while since she had been back home, Kylie felt that she still knew the neighborhood well enough to notice someone or something out of place.

With her home starting to feel like a prison, she felt the urge to break free if just for a moment. Visiting her friends would have been comforting, but with several of them being in the resistance themselves, it wasn't a good time to call attention to them especially if they were keeping tabs on her too. Instead, she decided to go by the sector house for the Gestapo and find some way to vent her anger against them for what they had done to her family.

Kitten

The wind and rain, unseasonal for the time of year, drove and whipped about, causing Kylie to pull her coat tighter around her. The inclement weather meant she was taking in more information than she needed - heightened hearing and sight meant she was getting something of an overload! Staying near the walls for cover, she slowed her walking. Only a few blocks to the sector house and... yes. She hadn't been sure, but there was someone following. As she'd expected there would be...

Her heart rate quickened as she continued to walk, waiting whilst a car passed by and crossing a road. Everything was so grey, uniform, about London. Built to the Nazi ideal, like it or be classed an enemy of the state. Like her father! Anger rose suddenly until she glanced at a reflection in the window of the man following her. Hat, trenchcoat, about 6', 200-220lbs, big guy.

He was about 50m behind, and his pace was picking up. All of sudden Kylies' nose twitched. A whiff of cigarettes? Up ahead an alleyway split the pavement up, a small gap between grey concrete buildings. Kylie almost stopped, but remembered the man behind. There were... two... people waiting in the alleyway up ahead! Looking about, the street was near empty - a man shielding against the rain with a protesting umbrella, two men shouting about the din of the wind before separating and heading for cars, a woman staggering under the weight of shopping. Her bag split, and she raced to gather the groceries before they spread out...

And the men in the alley, and one behind, on the street...

Maybe it was due to the recent sensory overload that she was experiencing but Kylie wouldn't have normally been this concerned about the presence of these men. However, with her father having been taken from her, she was perhaps a little bit more alert (or maybe just paranoid) about possible threats to her safety. Being this close to the sector house, she didn't want to do anything that might appear suspicious, especially if she was being followed.

"Oh! Let me help you with that before the wind blows them all across the street," Kylie offered in a friendly manner as she reached down to pick up some of the lighter items that were already starting to drift out of the woman's reach. While this was an act of kindness, it also gave her a chance to see if it might cause the other men to do something out of place and confirm that they were actually following her or had some other motives.

Kitten

Using the womans problem as an effective tool to look about, Kylie saw the two men in the alley pause to look. One tipped his head into his collar, and they made a show of talking. The other, walking from behind Kylie, paused to look in a shop window, angling so he could see her reflection. Professionals then.

And they wanted her.

The woman looked up, grateful "Oh thank you!" she whispered (OOC all of this is in German, by the way, though Kylie speaks English very well too) "This foul weather... and yet... the word is about that the revolution is... oh." she said, stopping herself. "Sorry. I mean, the weather is disgusting. Heil Hitler. Thankyou for your help."

The woman struggled to her feet with the collapsed bags, and leaned into the wind and rain "I can manage. I only live two blocks from here." She had been walking in the opposite direction to Kylie. To go with her might force the mens' hand. A glance across. One in the alleyway was casually looking over, talking quietly into his collar.

The man looking in the shop window suddenly turned and started briskly walking across the street.

Towards Kylie and the woman.

Not wanting to get this innocent woman caught up in her own personal problems with the authorities now that she had all but confirmed that they were indeed after her, Kylie pulled her coat together and began walking away in the opposite direction from her. If these guys were going to follow her, she was going to make them work for it. Kylie should have the advantage of youth on her side along with the fact that one of these guys seemed to be a heavy smoker since she could detect the smell of cigarettes in the air. She'd walk them all over town if she had to until they had to finally stop and rest. Kylie began to pick up her pace, not quite sprinting, but dashing briskly down the sidewalk as if trying to get to her destination in order to get out of this nasty weather.

Kitten

Hurrying along the street, Kylie eventually (after a minute or so, and they are still following) turns a corner. The street continues on, nondescript shops (all closed) and parked cars lining the roads. No one is out, the weather is too foul for that. About 50 metres away an alleyway runs across the road. At a sprint Kylie thinks she might get there before the pursuers round the corner (OOC of course, she may discover her super speed should she make a run for it )

Kylie knew by now at least three men were after her. They'd not tried to arrest her, or apprehend her at least, as yet, so perhaps they were following to see where she was going. Why? Did they think she knew something of her father, or any associates? Kylie was convinced her father had been arrested on trumped up charges, but that was the Nazi state for you. She looked at the sodden swastika flags dangling from the sides of buildings. More and more the flag symbolised all that was wrong, and evil, in the world!

She heard running footsteps slapping on the wet pavement from around the corner! Her increased hearing was handy, but also scared the living daylights out of her when she heard far off things as if they were close!

It doesn't look like these guys are going to give up that easily, Kylie thought. She wondered if she should just return home and possibly try this again on another day, but she decided against that. That would have given them too much power over her. There was an odd sense of satisfaction in making them chase after her like this while trying to fight off the weather.

The young woman headed for the alleyway up ahead. It might provide a place where she could temporarily hide and get away from her pursuers. If not, she might find herself trapped and possibly in danger.

Kitten

Kylie jogged towards the alley... jogged? Her 'jog' would almost outpace the fastest non meta sprinter! Turning down the mouth of the alley, she sidestepped rubbish and bins, and her eyes adjusted, quickly. She was halfway down when she realised it was a dead end! Turning, she heard footsteps... then saw the shadow as three gasping men reached the alley mouth. "Fraulein..." said one (OOC all this translated from German) "...you lead a merry chase... we insist... you... come with us..."

That's when Kylie saw one going for his gun!

OOC You're about 20m away. About 15' up you can see the railing for a fire escape. The ladder is pulled up, but it's a possibility. The alley is around 20' wide.

"Don't...!", Kylie replied nervously as she saw the gun, keeping the conversation in German to ease the situation so that he wouldn't be tempted to use it. "I'll go wherever you want."

I guess I'll be seeing my dad sooner than I expected. This was not the way Kylie had in mind when she allowed herself to dream of getting revenge against the regime. Mum's going to have a heart attack when she finds out that I've been arrested too! That possibility scared Kylie even more than what they might do to her. Kylie was a survivor -- she survived a coma, she could survive this too.

The odds weren't looking to be in her favor. Even though she knew how to defend herself, it would be difficult to do so against three men, one of them being armed. But they were also tired from the chase, which meant that their reactions would be slowed. If she could suprise one of them, that might help to even the odds a little. Until the others pull their guns too...

Kylie walked back to the end of the alley where they were waiting, keeping her hands up in a non-threatening manner. "Did I do something wrong?", she asked innocently.

Kitten



The three were dressed identically, in long plain dark coats and suits. One stepped forward, a bald man, and muttered "Fraulein. You move... swiftly.. for one our records say suffered from an illness recently. You will come with us. We have questions to ask. First though, I must ask - will you come willingly or..." he levelled the gun at Kylie "Must we do it 'the hard way'?"

The other two were watching the street. The man was only a few metres from Kylie with the gun. Point blank range. No way he could miss! Or was there? Kylie knew there was something strange going on. Perhaps these men had answers, and more importantly, could reunite her with her father! Alternately, they could want to torture he, and find out how she'd gotten her strange new talents - that would bear no fruit, as she didn't know!

"Fraulein. I grow tired of asking." he cocked the gun. "Surrender yourself."

He seemed genuinely tense - why not just arrest her if she was a normal girl? Ah.. perhaps they knew something was different about her...

The rain came down as the standoff continued, heartbeats seeming like hours in the tense air...

The unease of these three men having to draw pistols to deal with an unarmed girl was making Kylie nervous. They appeared to be willing to shoot in response to the slightest provocation. She wasn't about to go anywhere with them under those circumstances. It was better to take her chances now while she still had a reasonable chance of defending herself.

The only problem was that they knew who she was, even knowing that she was hospitalized. That suggested that they might be part of the government, even if they didn't identify themselves as such. They could easily find her again. If she fought back, she could be officially making herself an enemy of the state and never have a moment of peace again until the resistance finally drove them out of their country.

I guess this is it, Kylie resolved.

"I'm surrendering! I'm surrendering!", the young woman responded, daring to approach even closer as if to let them take her into custody.

Kylie had no intention of surrendering.

OOC: I guess this is where we enter into combat. You'll need to talk me through the procedure.

Step by excruciating step, Kylie approached the first gunman, expecting at any moment to hear the shot that would signal the end of her existence --which would probably be uncomfortably loud with the way her hearing was acting these days. She was accustomed to fighting, but never for her own survival. This was going to be the true test as to whether all those hours and the resulting aches and pains from training were worth it.

Kylie suddenly lunged forward, trying to strike the nearest man in the jaw and put him down before he had a chance to use his pistol.

OOC: Using Martial Arts

Kitten

With speed clearly not resembling a humans' even one versed and trained in the martial arts to a high level, Kylie lunged forward like a striking cobra.

OOC 1d20+3+3+10=25 Hit, 2d6+6=12 Htc, 1d6=5 Htk, 1d20+3+3+10=27 Hit, 2d6+6=14 Htc, 1d6=6 Htk, 1d20+3+3+10=36 Hit, critical, 2d6+6=10 Htc, 1d6=3 Htk. Ok, all of that means - roll to hit (1d20) with Kittens strike bonus (+3) and Weapon Class (+3) plus the opponents defence class (10). Target number is 18 or over, which all three rolls easily exceeded. Against non supers a superhuman will basically wipe the floor with them. Then come the damage rolls. With a fist/kick thanks to her martial arts, Kitten does a reasonable amount of damage. Ideally a measure of superhuman strength would really boost that up, but it's something to think about in the future. HTC means Hits to coma. These guys have 20 Htc each. When reduced to 4 they become staggered. When reduced to 2, they are stunned. When dropped to zero, they are rendered unconscious. HTK means Hits to Kill. Again, they have 20 HTK. At 2 HTK they are hospitalized. At zero HTK, they are dead. So, here's what happens...

Kylie steps forward, ducks slightly, feints and applies a spin kick to the lead agent. His head flicks to the side, and she follows it up with a palm to the sternum. The man flies, soundless, back six feet to land on the wet sidewalk and slide to a halt in the gutter. He's out for the count.

Moving almost faster than the agents can follow, she steps to the next man, grabs both his ears in her hands, and yanks down hard to pull his head down... into her rising knee (OOC jiu jitsu move if I recall. My wife used to be a brown belt. I don't argue with her much.)

He staggers back, clutching the ruins of his nose. Blood splatters from between his fingers, mingling with the falling rain and spraying across the sidewalk as he stumbles to the side, groping blindly for the gun he's dropped.

OOC I'll make sure everyone knows, I'm using a new system for critical hits. Of course, if you get clobbered by one in turn, you can't complain much Basically the critical reduces any resistance, or damage dividers, they have by 1 (these guys have none anyway) and increases damage by the amount you exceeded the hit roll with, in this case 18.

He continues to stumble, then sags to his knees, clutching his face with both hands. Curling up into a ball he gasps for air from his mouth - his nose is a ruin..

The other agent gapes, eyes wide. Fumbling for the gun he levels and fires! At this range, he can hardly miss!

OOC 1d20+1+6=18 Hit, 1d6+3=4 htc, 2d6+3=11 Htk, 1d20+1+6=10 Miss, 1d6+3=8, 2d6+3=9. The first shot will hit unless Kylie attempts to dodge. Dodging is her best defence, and will use up her next frame from this round. Basically, to dodge, I roll 1d6 + Kylies Dodge modifier (+7) - the weapon class of the attacker (1 in this case). If Kylie decides to dodge she will succeed automatically in this case (against Weapon Class 1 attacks, which are the best for non superhumans). I'll assume she does so.

The agent levelled his gun and fire. At point blank range, he could only imagine the worst case scenario of winging the girl, as she was so fast.

He blinked. A pair of smoking bullet holes in the wall where a heartbeat before the girl had stood confirmed the impossible, but he still couldn't believe it.

He'd missed.

Kylie could barely believe it herself! She'd seen the bullets spit from the gun! Seen them! It had taken all her concentration, but she'd spun to the side and was in one piece, alive!

The Agent gaped again. He couldn't believe it either, but still raised his gun to fire again!

OOC Kylie used 3 of her 4 frames to attack, and the fourth to dodge. That's everyone done for actions, next round and Initiative... 1d10=3 Kitten, 1d10=2 Agent. This gives 1 frame for Kitten to act, then the Agent gets to act, then Kitten has the rest of her frames. I'll assume she strikes the man...

Kylie stepped forward, angled a leg, and thrust it out towards the agents' midriff, ignoring the gun pointing inches from her face!

OOC 1d20+3+3+10=29 Hit, 2d6+6=12 Htc, 1d6=6 Htk

The agent staggers back, clutching his stomach. His face flushed, eyes bulging, he raises the gun and fires desperately at Kitten!

OOC 1d20+1+6=26 Hit, 1d6+3=7 Htc, 2d6+3=8 Htk, 1d20+1+6=20 Hit, 1d6+3=7 Htc, 2d6+3=7 Htk. Both would hit, so I'll assume again Kitten dodges. That will take a frame for each, then she can use her last frame to attack. 1d20+3+3+10=20 Hit, 2d6+6=12 htc, 1d6=6 Htk

What happens next has Kylie wondering who and what she now is. In the blink of an eye, the gun fires twice. She ducks the first, sways left for the second and rams a fist - hard - into the agents face within a heartbeat of the gunshots going off.

And that's it. He's down.

Kylie looks at the agents sprawled in the street. Three armed, well trained men, and she took them out without thinking, in less time than it took to cross the street!

Suddenly she knows she's being watched. She glances up - security cameras - lining every road and street corner, whirr to focus and zoom in on her! Somewhere in the distance, a siren bursts into life, wailing! They would be coming for her! A glance around reveals grey concrete streets, mostly deserted given the foul weather. And cameras on every one. It would be childs' play for them to track her... unless...

Kylie glanced up. The buildings contrasted against the iron grey skyline. The rooftops? They'd be slippy and dangerous, but with the way she felt right now... Plus would it be better to risk those rather than stay on the streets where she could be cornered by more agents?

OOC This combat was really one sided - they are against normal unpowered foes. I assumed you'd dodge, and strike back, so as to polish these guys off in a couple of rounds. There'd have been no other outcome unless Kylie fancied trying to keep one awake and beat the information needed out of them. Don't worry - there will be more agents for Kitten to do that to!

Kylie's mind was still operating in survival mode that she didn't even stop to consider the seemingly impossible feat that she had just somehow accomplished. Desperate to get out of the range of all of the cameras focused on the streets, the young woman ran back to the alley having remembered seeing fire escapes that could get her closer to the rooftops. The ladders were retracted and would be difficult, if not impossible, to reach -- that's how they were designed to be. Because of the surprising amount of athletic skills that she displayed today, Kylie thought she had a fairly good chance to make it. If not, whoever was watching on the other end of the cameras would have a pretty funny scene to record for the comedy program shown at the next holiday party.

Never thought that I'd need to use one of the safe houses. I hope that the nearest one hasn't been discovered yet, Kylie thought as she attempted to go to the rooftops and find the places that the others in the resistance had mentioned in passing.

Kitten

Taking a deep breath, looking at the height above her she needed to reach to get to the fire escape ladder, Kylie glanced back at the street, and the three prone figures. She could do this...

So she did.

Running at the wall, she leapt, sprung off the wall, somersaulting, pushed off the opposite wall, thrust a hand out and spun, using momentum to flick up onto the fire escape! Gaping in disbelief and grinning, the young woman looked up. Plenty of ladders to go up and around in order to get to the roof. So why bother? Using incredible speed and agility, she scaled the outside of the fire escape and was on the roof in moments, looking down at the alleyway, then up, and across the grey concrete jungle of London. The wind and rain drove at her, but couldn't dampen her spirits! Still, her clothes were another matter. Kylie racked her brains for details of one of the rumoured safe houses, then set off...

=========

"Hello?"

Kylies voice echoed through the empty room. Rubble strewn about, the door kicked in, hanging from hinges and bullet holes scattered across the walls told all the story that was needed. The grim tale was confirmed with dark brown stains on the walls and floor. Safe no longer. The place had been raided, those in it had resisted, and in a roar of gunfire, lives had ended. She stood silently watching the motes of dust drift lazily about in the air through beams lancing from the holes in the roof. The rain had died a little, and sun had dared show itself in breaks in the cloud. It didn't lighten Kittens mood.

Suddenly she twitched, and looked up. He'd been quiet, but nothing escaped her notice these days.



"Come to gloat, Nazi? I came back here to set a trap for you scumbags. Didn't expect one of you to be here already. You didn't come past me..." he snarls, gun at the ready. He glances up. There. A tiny gap in the roof where tiles had been shot away, and one big enough for the incredibly agile Kitten to get in, but for anyone else, a near impossibility. "You have..." he raised the gun "...5 seconds to think about your life up till now, and give me a good reason not to blow your head off... 5... 4..."

He was standing in the doorway, about 5m away. There was nothing in the room to hide behind. Then again, with what she'd already done, Kitten probably wouldn't need anything...

"No, wait, I'm not...!!" Kylie shouted back, this time keeping the language limited to English to help break his perception of her being one of the Nazis. She didn't want to attack him, but she definitely didn't want to be shot either if he was trigger-happy or seeking revenge for whatever happened here. With only five seconds, she didn't think that he was necessarily listening to what she had to say anyway. Kylie had to buy herself some more time.

OOC: I'm having difficulty interpreting the narrow gap in the roof. Was this how she entered the room but it's not a possible escape route? If that's the situation, Kylie is going to hope that she's fast enough again to get to the gunman and either force his pistol to point away from her or attempt to take it away from him if that's permitted. If not, she's just going to have to hit him and apologize later.

Kitten

OOC the gap is about big enough for a small child - or someone like Kylie who can contort herself into tight spaces. It can be widened with time and force, but Kylie could be long gone by then if she wished.

"English?" replied the man, in accented English himself. "If this is some kind of trick...?" He narrowed his eyes, frowned, then sighed, lowering the gun. "I'm no killer, though I would to save someones' life. I suppose there's no point in keeping things a secret now. If you're not with the authorities, they'll be along soon enough, I want to give them a parting gift... for destroying the resistance in this city..."

Seeing Kylies' surprised face, he continued "Yes. Destroyed. This was one of a number of safe houses. Nothing out of the ordinary, but we had a meeting of cell leaders here a week ago. We were raided. I was late to the meeting, but in time to see my friends being carried away in body bags. They killed...them... all..." he said, tears welling in his eyes. Sagging to his knees, he lets the gun slide form his hands as he holds his head and quietly sobbed "All along the others had argued that peaceful protest was the way. Changing hearts and minds, they said... I argued that the Nazis would crush them, kill them all...Now they're gone... all... gone..."

He wiped tears away then looked up at Kylie. Scooping the gun up and putting it in a holster, he stood "I can still do something though. I'm heading to the main camp on White Hart Lane. I'm going to use these charges..." he indicated a bag "...to free the prisoners..."

As if realising he was talking to a stranger for the first time, he gaped in surprise, then started reaching for the gun again!

Kylie felt sympathy for this man for having lost all of his close friends in the resistance movement in the Nazi raids on the safe houses, sharing in their loss too since they weren't here to help her when she needed them the most.

"No, it's okay. I understand. I feel the same way," she said. "They took my father," Kylie paused to hold back the feelings that arose as she finally had the chance to reveal this truth to another person. "And now it looks like they're after me."

"I was hoping to find a place to hide out for a while to figure out what I was going to do next," she admitted. "I guess there are no longer any safe places anymore."

"If you want my help to hit their camp, I promise you that I'll do what I can," Kylie declared. "If not, I'll wish you luck and suggest that you get moving as soon as possible. They're out there looking for me right now. If they knew this was a safe house, they'll probably track me down thinking that I would have come here. The least that I can do is go in the opposite direction and lure them away from you."

Kitten

The young man considers Kylies' words, then chooses his own. "Alright... ok." he lowers the gun. "I guess I'm feeling guilt for not being here. I suppose there's a chance some were taken to White Hart Lane. I just saw the blood though. You should know... it's the biggest most secure prison in London though.If your father is anyone of importance, or has information the Nazis want, he'll be there."

He turns to leave "You can come with me then, if you like. More's the merrier I suppose. I wanted to... I don't know, get in touch with those superhumans the authorities are after. They've been all over the news flashes. We don't know who they are, but any enemy of the Nazis must be on our side. Problem is, they disappeared about the same time this awful storm started. Looks like it's just you and me, against an army of hundreds, including killer robots and superhumans." He fished in a satchel on his back, pulling out half a dozen small parcels of plastique. "However explosive this is, I think our best weapon is prayer... like praying for a miracle."

The pair of them made their way down to street level. Driving rain kept the streets empty of normal people, but an armoured car turned the corner and slowly trundled down the street, searchlight flashing through the gloom, looking for resistance stragglers. Waiting until it'd passed, the young man turned "Robbie. Robbie Raymond." he said, offering his hand. "May as well know who I'm going to die alongside, but seriously, this is my fight, my mission. I plan to find the least protected part of the prison wall, set charges elsewhere to create a diversion, then see if I can bring down a portion, see if we can people out. It's a long shot, and they'll be on high alert, but I don't have any other ideas..."

When the car was well out of sight, he pulled up his collar around his jacket, and stepped into the driving rain, then turned and offered his arm "We can catch a tram two streets away. You coming?" he smiled.

Admin wrote:
The pair of them made their way down to street level. Driving rain kept the streets empty of normal people, but an armoured car turned the corner and slowly trundled down the street, searchlight flashing through the gloom, looking for resistance stragglers. Waiting until it'd passed, the young man turned "Robbie. Robbie Raymond." he said, offering his hand. "May as well know who I'm going to die alongside, but seriously, this is my fight, my mission. I plan to find the least protected part of the prison wall, set charges elsewhere to create a diversion, then see if I can bring down a portion, see if we can people out. It's a long shot, and they'll be on high alert, but I don't have any other ideas..."

"Kylie Robertson," she introduced herself, clasping his hand in hers for the customary handshake. "It's as good a plan as any," she said, trying to boost his confidence. "Desperate times call for desperate measures... or something like that."

"If you show me how to use those things, I can help you by setting them up at those other locations. If we're lucky, maybe we can confuse them so that they don't know which way this 'attack' is coming from... even if it's just you and me."

When the car was well out of sight, he pulled up his collar around his jacket, and stepped into the driving rain, then turned and offered his arm "We can catch a tram two streets away. You coming?" he smiled.

"I wouldn't miss it. I want to see them get the payback they deserve!", Kylie declared. She slipped her arm around his and allowed him to lead her where the tram would pick them up.

Kitten

Kylie looked across at Robbie where he sat. He glanced back, then around at the people on the tram. Everyone was looking at anything other than anyone else. The look of defeat, the downtrodden, the trampled, the oppressed. It was here in abundance with workers heading home. No one talked, no one used the telephone. Robbie glanced down the tram. There. In plain clothes, still the Gestapo agent was easy to pick out. He was smarter than everyone else, his raincoat of a better quality. Whilst everyone else dripped onto the floor, his coat beaded the water and kept its occupant dry. The obvious clincher was his scouring those on the tram, their faces, mannerisms. He was looking for the guilty.

Robbie and Kylie had hurried through the rain, though not so fast as to be conspicuous, and queued for the tram with dozens of others. Guards on the street strolled past, machine guns at the ready, but they weren't trained to be proactive, only reactive, and with force.

This man, the one down aisle, studying faces, was the opposite. A 'sniffer'.

Kylie looked out the window. The leaden skies contrasted with the grim grey of modern day London. After 70 years or so of Nazi occupation, much of the population was quelled, crushed. They just wanted to get on with their lives. But for those with the imagination and courage to seek it, there was a hope of a better life, freedom for all. Robbie had explained on the way to the tram how, as a student, he'd found a cache of forbidden books, written before the war. Old newspapers, journals, diaries. His friends had read them, and passed them around. They met in secret, discussing the pros and cons of democracy and a different way of life. A better way of life? Not much could be worse than this one.

Then the news reports of terrorists challenging the 3rd Reich. Superhumans, unaffiliated with the Nazi regime, battling against them. Some said that Majestic, the Nazi Metahuman considered second only to Adjutant, had been killed by the terrorists. The official line was that he'd won, but been injured.

Kylie had come out of her week long coma changed, and she could sense change was in the air. She could taste it, feel it. It would come to her sooner that she thought it would.

"YOU!" bellowed the Gestapo agent, standing and pulling a gun at the front of the tram. Gasps and cries went up, people tucked their heads down. He was referring to someone at the back of the tram. Certainly in the area where Kylie and Robbie were sat opposite each other. Robbie glanced at the girl he'd just met. His hand slipped slowly inside his jacket for the gun.

The click of the gun from the Gestapo agent down the tram suggested he would beat Robbie to it. It was a crowded tram, he could mean anyone of a dozen people around Kylie.

"HANDS ON YOUR HEADS! ALL OF YOU!" ordered the Agent. He started to walk towards the rear of the tram as people at the front complied with his wishes in the face of a brandished gun in his hands!

OOC the agent is only moments away, coming into melee range. His gun is out and ready. Your move...

Don't do it, Robbie, Kylie thought as if she could somehow mentally communicate with her new partner in crime. With all of the other strange things that she had been able to do today, she couldn't rule out being able to do that too. If Robbie did try something now, it was likely that several innocent people could get hit in the crossfire.

Seated opposite of each other, they were in a good position. If the Gestapo agent was coming back for Robbie, she would be able to strike him from behind. If the agent was coming back for her, then hopefully Robbie was going to defend her unless he felt that his mission to destroy the camp wasn't worth sacrificing for someone that he barely knew.

Kylie compliantly put her hands over her head, trying to look as frightened as everyone else on the tram and not make eye contact, but using her other seemingly heightened senses to figure out the whereabouts of the Gestapo agent for when she needed to act.

Kitten

The Agent paused for a moment, pulling out a small headpiece with integrated ear piece and throat mike, and what looked to be a tiny camera on the side. "This is Agent VonStein. I have the fugitive designation... 854219F in my sights. You have my location. Send backup."

Robbie glanced at Kylie, seeing her hands go up on her head. His eyes widened, then he sighed, resigned to his fate.

Beside Robbie, a bald headed man with spectacles rose. He was wearing a bedraggled suit and holding a case.

"I said hands on head!" bellowed the agent. The man looked terrified. He put the case up in front of him "Don't... don't shoot! Do you know what will..."

BANG!!!!

The bullet blasted a hole through the case and the man behind, punching him from his feet. Screams broke out, but Kylie could only gasp in horror at what she was seeing! The case, punctured, had spewed some kind of glowing green liquid, and it sprayed all over Robbie! He screamed, grasping his throat, and his skin glowed luminous green where the stuff had touched. And was spreading!

The Agent, with people getting up and trying to make their way back, and away from whatever had been in the case, tried to push people aside for another shot. Kylie looked down. The man, scientist, whoever he was, was dead. Blood pooled under his body. There'd be no getting answers there. Robbie was on his knees, gripping his throat, then going into some kind of spasm! She glanced to the side. Through the crowd of people on the tram she could see the agent getting closer!