AndyC

MARVELS: Streets of New York

<Snipped quote by AndyC>

*heavy breathing*

(I jest. Perfectly happy with my Living Weapon.)

@Eddie Brock

You have no idea how hard it's been for me to stick to the "No GMs playing the A-listers" rule. That said, I'm having fun with Mr Cage, so I'm all good.

MARVELS: Streets of New York

Much as it pains me to do so, it's time to make some cuts. The following have been removed from the roster for inactivity:

Daredevil
Hawkeye
Spider-Man
Winter Soldier

All four characters are available to apply for.

@Master Bruce, @udonoodles, @Supermaxx, and @Hillan are of course welcome to re-apply.

MARVELS: Streets of New York

Hello folks!

Is this game still accepting players or is there a waiting list?

With thanks,
-C

@Courtaud

We're pretty much always open to accept new players.

MARVELS: Streets of New York

Answering my own question, Luke Cage hasn't really had what I'd call a "definitive" solo run, but he's got a few great outings as a support/team player. Bendis has two solid runs using him in Alias and again in New Avengers, and while I've kinda come to loathe a lot of the silly-billy heckin' quirk-chungus style of comedy in a lot of modern comics, the 2016 Power Man and Iron Fist run was a lot of fun.

And while it's not about Luke Cage, I've been using TJ Combo's theme song from Killer Instinct to get the right mood going.

Which, I guess, can segue into another chat topic: your character's theme song/fight music.

MARVELS: Streets of New York

On the subject of chatter and activity in the OOC:

What's everyone's favorite take on their respective character? Any particular runs in the comics you'd consider required reading, or a version from the cartoons or movies that inspired you?

MARVELS: Streets of New York

"Come on out, Mister Mittens," I say, calling out to the big-ass pet tarantula of the little girl on the first floor. Getting the girl and her folks to safety was easy enough, but in the middle of all the excitement, a piece of debris knocked the tarantula's terrarium out of my hands, and it broke open on the floor. I've cleared out everyone on the first floor now, except for that damn bug.

I was gonna leave it at that, but the girl started crying, and well, here I am, back in the towering inferno. Maybe raising Danielle has made me go a little soft, but I can't stand to see kids cry if I can help it.

"Niiiice, tarantula," I say gently, picking through the rubble to get to the next floor. "Gooood tarantu--oh jeezus!"

Out of nowhere, the big furry hand-like body of Mister Mittens drops down from the ceiling right onto my shoulder. My reflex is to swat the damn thing, but I stop myself just shy of splatting it, then it skitters down my back and I start to squirm. God, I hate bugs.

Before I can grab him, the tarantula scrambles off to where I can't see it.

"Get back here, you eight-legged freaky--"

There's a scream from upstairs, and I sigh.

"This ain't over, Mister Mittens," I call out. "I'm gettin' your ass before this is done."

Bounding up the stairs, I grumble to himself, wishing Spider-Man was here so he could control that thing with his spider-telepathy. He can do that, right? Or am I thinking about Ant-Man? One of the bug guys, I know that.

There's a buzz on my hip, and I see it's a text from Jessica. Not a lot of time to sit here chatting, but I always check when it's from the Missus in case it's important.

"Hey, on a case atm. Unsure how long it will be. I'll try to get home at a reasonable hour, but no promises.

And sidenote: heard of any animals demonstrating superpowers? Indulge me

Love you

PatientBean

I tap a button to go talk-to-text as I run up the stairs. "We talking like Lockjaw? You might wanna ask the Thing about something like that. Dealing with a fire right now, call you back when I'm done. Love you too."

Making it to the upper floor, the damage from the fire's a lot worse. Flames lick up the walls, the ceilings are blackened with soot and smoke...

...and speaking of smoke, why haven't I heard any smoke alarms? I told the super here that this place wasn't up to code, that they were gonna need to renovate if they wanted H4H to keep their current rates. "Second time today some cheap-ass landlord is causin' me trouble," I mutter to myself.

Going floor by floor, I kick in doors, clear the way for the FDNY to put out the blaze, and get as many people as I can to safety. Working my way to the top, I know there's only a few places I haven't checked.

"Okay, folks," I call out, "Things are gonna be okay, just stay calm and--"

Part of a wall gives way, and I see something in the blaze.

"...oh, sweet Christmas..."

The flames cast monstrous shadows against the walls, distorting his silhouette into something other. Something inhuman. To anyone watching from the street, it was a nightmare unfolding before their eyes. A fire made worse by the addition of the Vampyre.

And if any so-called hero had come to play savior tonight, they would only see one thing:

A monster in the fire.

For Michael Morbius his good deed might not have gone to waste, but it definitely wasn't going to go unpunished.

@Half Pint

As if blood-sucking landlords weren't bad enough. Now I gotta deal with an actual damn vampire.

"Hey gruesome!" I shout out, cracking my knuckles. "You best take your hands off that lady. Or I'm gonna send your ass back to Transylvania in a bucket!"

MARVELS: Streets of New York

We've got a lot of folks well past the two-week deadline, and several who seem to have gone AWOL. So as a check-up to see who's still here:

On the Chopping Block: over 2 weeks with no activity, have received a call-out already and haven't responded.

@Master Bruce
@udonoodles
@Supermaxx
@Hillan

First Call-Out: last post was over two weeks ago.
@Half Pint: 16 Days (that one is partially on me for not jumping into collaboration sooner)
@PatientBean: 20 days
@Mao Mao: 20 days
@Hound55: 20 days
@Ezekiel: 22 days

Those on the chopping block have 24 hours to respond or they'll be dropped- a post would be great, some signs of life at the minimum. Everyone else, sound off so we know you're here.

MARVELS: Streets of New York

@AndyC Am I right in thinking that the fire Luke is responding to is the same as the one Morbius is responding to? I was setting things up at the end of my last one for Morbius to cross paths with any other heroes who were at the fire to see him and assume he had been feeding on the fainted woman. I'm happy to write another one in the fire either way, but I'm not sure how much I could write that isn't fluff if he's alone.

@Half Pint

Yes, he's at the same event, just hasn't encountered the fainted woman yet. That can be Luke's next post.

MARVELS: Streets of New York

Finding my way to the apartment fire isn't hard. For one thing, H4H keeps records of any business--or in this case, residential block- that hires us, meaning we've got the building's location in our GPS. And for another thing, even if I didn't have its exact location on my phone, it's simple enough to follow the sound of sirens and the big-ass cloud of smoke billowing over the Brooklyn skyline.

The place is called Spring Water Flats-- hell of an ironic name right now-- an old five-story apartment building in Red Hook. Anyone's guess how it caught fire: crossed wire somewhere, oily rags left out, a gas leak, who knows. Old buildings like this, half the shit in it isn't up to code anymore, if it ever was in the first place. Last time I patrolled this place, I told the landlord he needed to get it back in shape. Once I'm done earning my pay, I'll be sure to serve him up a plate of told-you-sos.

When I pull up to the scene, the NYPD has already got the streets blocked off, and the FDNY's got a truck parked out front, with a crew hooking a hose up to the nearest hydrant. Most of us in the cape-and-tights crowd like to swoop in all dramatic, save the day, and split before the authorities can ask any questions. When you're a professional, though, you've gotta at least pretend to follow due process.

"Luke Cage, Hero for Hire," I say as I step out of the car, showing the cops the little ID card Danny had made for us as credentials. "The people in that building are paying clients, an' I'm here to help."

One of the cops sneers. "Sorry, pal, we've already got this under control, and we don't need some spandex-wearing freak interfering in--"

The flames roar higher, and while the firefighters struggle with the blaze, I hear screams from inside.

"....ah, maybe we can let you through," a second cop says, nudging his buddy aside.

Striding past, I give the first cop a side-eye. "'Spandex-wearing freak,' my ass. This is silk, man."

Speaking of, I unbutton my nice shirt and jacket and set it down by the fire truck-- it's gonna get dirty, sure, but dirty's better than burnt.

"Hey," I call out to the fire captain. "Here to help, I'm--"

"Luke Cage, thank God," the fire captain says. Nice to see every once in a while there's someone in uniform who's happy to see me. "We could use your help. There's a couple dozen people trapped inside, and the main passageway's blocked by heavy rubble."

"Got it, move the heavy stuff," I nod. I may not have the most out-there powers, but it does at least mean I get to keep things nice and simple. "Got a map of the place? If I'm gonna start knockin' down walls, I wanna make sure I don't hit anything load-bearing."

"The walls around the elevator are reinforced concrete," he says. "Other than that, just don't hit the main corners."

"Cool," I say, taking off my shoes so I don't get them scuffed. Can't do much about the pants, though, without causing a scene. "You got a spare oxygen mask in there?"

The fire captain raises an eyebrow. "Aren't you supposed to be, like, indestructible?"

"From the outside, yeah," I say, "But a lung-full of smoke is gonna be just as bad for me as the next guy."

He nods, and gestures to the other members of his crew, who are quick to hook me up with a mask and a tank of O2.

"Here goes," I say as I tighten the oxygen mask over my face, crack my knuckles, and charge into the burning building.

Crashing through the front door, a wave of unbelievable heat washes over me. "Gahh!" I shout. Thanks to my steel-hard skin, I don't burn, but just because I don't burn doesn't mean I don't feel it. I still gotta have nerve endings and pain receptors like normal so I can do things like open a door without crushing the knob, or shake someone's hand without ripping their arm off. Which means that being on fire still feels like being on fire.

Still, ain't like I've never been on fire before. If I couldn't handle a little pain, I'd never have gotten into this hero business.

"Is anyone in here?" I call out. "We're gonna get you out!"

"Help! Helllp us!" comes a cry from what sounds like a little girl on the first floor. "We can't get out!"

"On my way," I say, shoving flaming debris aside as I make my way to the apartment door. "Take a step back from the door, sweetie, cause I'm comin' through!"

I loudly count to three, then kick the door down. Inside, there's a family of four--a girl who looks about seven, a mom and dad in their forties or so, and a grandma--but the girl is the only one still conscious. All around the little apartment, flames close in.

"Hey there," I say gently, putting on what Danny calls my 'big teddy bear' voice, trying to make sure the girl doesn't freak out at the sight of a guy my size crashing through the door, "My name's Luke. I'm a superhero, an' I'm here to get you to safety, okay?"

Wide-eyed and scared half to death, she nods.

"Okay, we're going to get you out first, then your grandma, then mom and dad," I say, holding out a hand.

"...and Mister Mittens?" she asks, pointing to the far wall.

I start to nod, thinking she means a little kitten or a puppy, or maybe her favorite stuffed animal.

But no.

On the far wall, they've got a terrarium. And inside that terrarium is the biggest damn pet tarantula I've ever seen. 'Mister Mittens' must've got his name because he looks like two grown-ass human hands wearing furry gloves.

"Oh, sweet Christmas," I mutter.

I can do fires, I can do gangsters, I can do terrorists and super-villains any day of the week.

But spiders? No. Helllll no.

"Pleeeease," she pleads, "you've gotta save Mister Mittens too!"

She looks up at me, her eyes welling up with tears, and I sigh.

"This building doesn't pay us near enough," I say as I pick up the girl in one arm, the terrarium in the other, and get to work.

Two down, about twenty more to go. And not much time left to get the rest of them....

MARVELS: Streets of New York

Might as well throw my hat in the ring.

Leave Them To Khonshu

M O O N K N I G H T

---

^{_{Marc Spector/Steven Grant/Jake Lockley ♦ Vigilante/Entrepeneur/Cab Driver ♦ Murray Hill, Manhattan ♦ N/A}}

C H A R A C T E R C O N C E P T:

---

^{"Welcome to the Midnight Mission. My name is Mr. Knight. How can I help?"}

What do you do when your god has you try to take over the world only for both of you to end up flat on your asses beaten by the Avengers?

You open a mission.

Moon Knight has been operating for ten years in New York City and all over the globe. Now, he's focusing himself on keeping his neighborhood safe. He runs the Midnight Mission, a place where the downtrodden can find aid with any problems they face. Especially the ones that need punching. Khonshu has been imprisoned by the Aesir in Asgard, but even still he is able to reach Marc and communicate with his fist, though he can't do much more than talk.

C H A R A C T E R M O T I V A T I O N S & G O A L S:

---

Marc's intent in starting the Midnight Mission is to atone for his role in Khonshu's attempt to take over the world. By going back to his roots as a vigilante in the Big Apple and opening a mission for the people to come straight to him with their problems, he hopes to slowly but surely make the streets safer. He does still venture out beyond his neighborhood a lot of nights, tackling anything from petty street crime to mob meetings.

My intent with this roleplay is to have fun and interact with other characters. I might tell a solo story here or there but for the most part I'm here to do crossovers and collaborative posts. I'm down for any and all kinds of plots.

C H A R A C T E R N O T E S:

---

Moon Knight doesn't have much at all in the way of powers, but he does employ a grappling hook, a pair of batons, and a near endless supply of crescent darts in his crusades. His cape also doubles as a glider, allowing him to soar from rooftop to rooftop.

He has two allies who work for his Midnight Mission: Reese, a young woman turned into a vampire who was rescued by Moon Knight, and Soldier, a former client turned friend who was also turned into a vampire in order to save his life. He also has an ally and rival in Yehya Badr, AKA Hunter's Moon, the other Fist of Khonshu.

S A M P L E P O S T:

---

"Welcome to the Midnight Mission. My name is Mr. Knight. How can I help?" The words come out of my mouth in a practiced cadence as I tug at my cufflinks.

The old man before me doesn't seem very impressed. "You're that Moon Guy? Thought you'd be wearin' spandex."

"An assumption many make about those in my line of work."

"Hmph. Well, I came here 'cause there's a real nasty son of a bitch who's been working over everyone in my apartment block. Comes by and threatens to stab ya dead unless you give him all the cash you got on ya."

"Say no more."

And that was how I found myself crouched on top of an apartment building a few blocks from my Mission, watching the parking lot for any movement. It's just getting dark. A car pulls in and takes the nearest open spot, the driver stepping out and grabbing her purse. I hear footsteps in an alley below me. A guy in a leather jacket and a ski mask makes a b-line right for the woman.

He grabs her by the wrist with one hand and flicks open a knife in his other. "Hurry up and give me that purse, bitch. I'll slice you open if you try anything." That's my cue to drop down right behind him.

I wrap an arm around his neck and pull him away from the woman. She screams and runs away, hastily unlocking her apartment door and slamming it shut. The man in my chokehold is whimpering. I twist him around and push him to the ground, letting him fall on his ass. "Oh fuck! You're Moon Knight! I heard you cut off people's faces!"

"Haven't done that in a while, but hey, might be nice to get back to it." I stalk forward, looming over him as I crack my knuckles. "There's two ways this can end: you put up a fight and I break a few bones, or you listen to what I tell you and walk away unscathed. Which will it be?"

"What do you want?!"

"I want you to stop harassing the people in this apartment complex. Instead of robbing people, you go get a job and become a nice, upstanding member of society. And if I hear tell of someone threatening to stab the residents of some other apartment block, then I come back for you. And maybe that time I will take your face."

"Okay! Okay! I won't do it ever again!"

"Good. Now run."

With that, he gets up and runs away. I sigh and shake my head, then pull out my grappling gun to pull myself back onto the roof. The night is still young. The hunt has just begun.

@Simple Unicycle

Upon GM review and a unanimous decision, Moon Knight is APPROVED.

Going to get things moving with the apartment fire event this evening.