Poor Holtman

## Vodka Aunt10/25/2018

Completely unaware of her private guilt, Anastasia reaches the bottle towards her to clink it against her glass.
"What? Oh, yeah. We kicked ass today. Kyle *fucked up* that Dee Dee guy." The liquor was warming up her cheeks and loosening her already lax inhibitions. She dances around the doctor to start a pot of coffee. "Kyle and Leo are snuggling without me upstairs and Holtman..." She pauses, beginning to rifle through the bags left on the counter,"he's old? He just sort of drools and mumbles, he didn't tell me to get off his lawn even when I was dragging him down that flight of stairs or-- ooh my orange fries!" Her entire train of thought was derailed when she discovered the sweet potato fries she had asked for. "I LOVE YOU LILAH!" She screams to the house, cracking the seal of the vodka and taking a long swig.

## Elysium | Vindaya | al-Fasis10/25/2018

*Living room/kitchen*
Vindaya watched Annie impassively, trying to discern the most useful and relevant information from her stream of consciousness before it was completely derailed. The good news was, it sounded like that Dee Dee needed more medical attention than any of her allies. The bad news was that it left her unsure of what to do next, if she wasn't urgently needed for anything. Actually, wait.
"Did you say you dragged him down a flight of stairs?" Vindaya had to wonder who was more likely to have brain damage: the old drooling and mumbling man who was dragged down a flight of stairs or Anastasia Segovia. At any rate, with a description like that, perhaps she should check in on him. "Where is he now?"(edited)

## Chew I Venus I Cole I Dee Dee10/25/2018

*Spare Room*

Holman groaned and rolled his head to the side when he was poked by Leo, the polled having exited his system for the greater part since he left the mansion and breathed clean air for the first time in months. The old man's eye slowly opened and took some time to focus on the face staring down at him. As he detailed the stranger his hand instinctively moved to cover the left wrist where his Rolex would normally sit (had Dee Dee not *borrowed* it and chucked it into the ocean in a drunken moment of drama). His eyes widened at the realization that this wasn't his estate "where am I?"(edited)

## Mob Boss Peggy10/25/2018

*Spare room*
Leo blinked down at Holtman and pulled up a chair to sit beside him as he stirred. He had a small, casual smile on his face, not unlike the one he would have if ever the Dean of CKU walked by. He found himself taking a similar deep breath as the old man and hoped that his awakening would be calm. It slowly dawned on him that he was probably the first one to check on the guy since he got here and lamented that it couldn't have been someone *else* who had to go through this.
"Hello," Leo spoke very cautiously, which was really hard for someone like him to do. His accent temporarily retreated. "Don't panic, you have not gone back in time to the seventies. You are in the home of a very nice little asian boy, and you are safe." He placed a hand on his chest to introduce himself. "My name is Leonardo, you can call me Leo. You are here because you have been rescued from your estate. You were being slowly poisoned to death by one of your, ehm... residents. And you have been missing for months. Just... give me one second." Slowly and careful not to make any sudden, suspicious movements, Leo stepped over to the door and poked his head out only to scream out into the house:
"DAYA!!!"

## whipding10/25/2018

*Spare Room III->Living Room*
Sam had stripped off his dirty clothes as soon as he could, leaving them strewn unceremoniously over the floor of the room. He hadn't been left quite as exhausted as yesterday - there'd been much less almost-dying and rib-breaking this time around - but he'd been lazy enough that he'd been spent a fair while curled up with his eyes closed in the smallest room of the house regardless. This'd likely be an issue for anyone else, but after throwing on some slightly-ragged old clothes, he'd reduced his size enough that he could pull a cushion over himself.
Eventually, he opened his eyes, and decided it was probably time to actually go and do something with the rest of the day, as much as he'd wasted already. His body expanded out to normal size as he groggily wandered out in the hallway. Of course, he was just in time to have Leo shouting Daya's name straight into his ear. He shot him an incredibly disgruntled look, before continuing downstairs towards the living room.

## Vodka Aunt10/25/2018

Anastasia nods as if there was nothing wrong with what she had said. "Yeah, it was the fastest way for me to get him down. There were alarms blaring and guards on the ground and everything, I just got him out of there." She shrugs, transfering some snacks and her fries into an empty bag.

She jumps when she hears Leo screaming for Vindaya. "What's wrong up there?" She asks Sam as he enters the living room. She begins filling Kyle'smug of coffee, adding a hearty splash of vodka.

## Elysium | Vindaya | al-Fasis10/25/2018

*Living room/kitchen -> Spare Room: The Empire Strikes Back*
Hearing her name shouted from upstairs - unmistakably Leo's voice, not to mention his volume - answered her question for her before Annie could. With Leo, it was hard to tell whether the situation was urgent or he just urgently wanted to be relieved of responsibility. Either way, probably best not to dally.
Leaving her wine behind for now and bidding Sam a quick greeting in passing, she headed up the stairs and towards one of the many spare rooms. Somehow, Vindaya wasn't surprised that Annie hadn't told her right away where Holtman was. With the amount of spare rooms in this house, it would've been nigh impossible to tell.
"How did you know I was here?" she asked Leo, her voice hushed as she stepped into the room and took in Holtman himself. Not doing too shabby, considering all he'd been through. She could relieve him of what lingered if it truly ailed him, but she wasn't doing too well herself and was in the habit of erring on the side of not revealing her powers when possible. So she'd hold off, for now.
"Mr. Holtman, I'm glad to see you're awake," Vindaya said, coming to sit by his bedside as though they were in her ER, not an illicit superhero headquarters. "I hear you've had quite the experience. My name's Dr. Mhasalkar, how are you feeling?"(edited)

## Mob Boss Peggy10/25/2018

Leo gave Sam a big smile in response to that awfully bothered look from the shrinking man and waited for a response that he hoped would come from their resident doctor.
Thankfully, Vindaya appeared in the hall and Leo was incredibly relieved. "*Hola, bella,"* He said fondly as he let her into the room. "I didn't. I guessed. And hoped."
Half-closing the door behind them, Leo stood a little further away from the bed while the doctor dealt with the old man. He folded his arms and watched.(edited)

## whipding10/25/2018

*Living Room*
"Dunno." Sam simply gave a fairly uninformative shrug to Anastasia's question.
In truth, he hardly cared what was going on up there - after the last couple of days being filled with life-threatening situations, he was quite happy to ignore whatever insanity was happening now. He nodded politely at Vindaya as she shuffled past.
Well, at least Annie was here, looking much better than she had on the journey back. Whether this was alcohol or caffeine-induced was unclear, but it was nice to see all the same. At least something was normal today. He raised a singular eyebrow at the large pile of food on the counter.
"Where did all...?", he began to ask, before a more interesting object caught his eye. "Wait, was Daya *drinking*?" He didn't think he'd ever seen her as anything less than stone-old sober. He couldn't even picture her with a drink in her hand. Maybe something had happened?

## sephet10/25/2018

*Balcony -> Living Room*
Kyle sighed as the balcony began to clear out. He considered staying there, bundled in the quilt and getting some more sleep, but it seemed things were beginning to bustle in the main rooms. “Let’s see what all the fuss is about, shall we?”
He picked himself up out of the quilt and deposited it on the couch before heading down to see where everyone was running to and from. The bounty of food on the counter looked interesting, as did Annie pouring vodka into a coffee cup. “Mixing depressants with stimulants?”

## Chew I Venus I Cole I Dee Dee10/25/2018

*Second floor hallway > living room*

Cole yawed and stretched as he stepped out of Andy’s bedroom where he’d taken the liberty of borrowing his bed for a post-old-man-sponging nap. His eyes were puffy from sleep and his hair was sticking out in odd directions but he didn’t bother to pat it down. The moment he heard voices coming from one of the other spare rooms he curiously peeked into the doorway to find Leo and Daya talking to Holtman. “Oh shit, he’s up” he said with a wide smile “groovy.”
Knowing this wasn’t the place for him to be he continued on his way down to the first floor to see if there was any of that pizza left. Unfortunately, it was all gone. Fortunately, there was a bunch of food on the kitchen counter. Cole poked through the new groceries before settling for a cupcake.
“Sam, my dude” he greeted and sat down on the couch opposite to Sam to dove into the frosted treat. Cole looked at the wine glass on the table and quirked a brow “you think she’s done with that?” Before Sam could answer he was already reaching for it and bringing it his lips for a sip. He wasn’t much of a drinker and disliked the feeling of being drunk but his impulse to eat anything in his path overpowered him.(edited)

## Chew I Venus I Cole I Dee Dee10/25/2018

*Spare room*

Holman stares at Leonardo with creases of confusion appearing on his already wrinkled face. “A resident?” He asked quietly, bringing a hand to his chest. Looking around a second time he concluded this was definitely not a hospital room. The sudden shout made him jolt.
A few second later a second woman entered the room with professionalism and sat by his side. She began to look over him. “I’m feeling... what happened?” At this moment a young boy poked his head through the door and used the word groovy unironically. Holtman looked at his young face as he left, then at the man with dreads, and lastly at the woman, and suddenly his expression turned to worry. This wasn’t Westmount. “I-I... where’d Dee Dee? What’s the ransom? I’ll double it if you let me go right now!”

## Elysium | Vindaya | al-Fasis10/25/2018

Vindaya whipped her head around to look at Cole, then back at Holtman, who was very quickly getting his wits about him. Unfortunately, she didn't really have many answers for him. "Mr. Holtman, please relax, there's no ransom and you're perfectly safe here," she said, trying to use her best bedside manner to soothe him. As for the rest, she barely knew who Dee Dee was or what had transpired at all aside from Kyle's kidnapping, so she turned to look back at Leo, imploring him to step in and fill in the gaps.

## sephet10/25/2018

*basement*
Lilah blushes and ducks her head when he asks about the orbs. “They were broken. I’m sorry. I don’t know why I thought breaking it was the best plan…” She fiddles her fingers together feeling stupid. It probably would have been very useful to have an orb now. “They’re pretty fragile. But they give off this like…. Really terrible mist thing that makes you really sick. They gave off a like. An *un*light? And were a little like glass… kinda.”
“How do we find this lady? We have a picture but like, unless she’s some Instagram model we’re not gonna find her super easy. I dunno I don’t think we can just call the news with her headshot like ‘we got a necromancer on the prowl’ or something?” Lilah crossed her arms and scowled trying to think of what to do. “I mean we could do like super creeps do online and pretend she’s a missing person and be all ‘if you see her call us’ or something?”

## Mob Boss Peggy10/25/2018

Leo knew the guy would have questions and that's why he stuck around instead of leaving the good doctor to deal with the mess. He wanted to just yell at him about how much of a dumb fool he was to fuck with batshit crazy, and to thank him for the awesome wine and prod him with quips about his bad decisions, but somehow Vindaya's calm presence there kept Leo grounded. Something about her face when he said something idiotic made him *not* want to say idiotic things.
"There's no ransom, like she said, bud. That guy, DeeDee, he was the one poisoning you. Watch." Leo reached into the pocket of his spare pants and pulled out his phone. In a moment, he pulled up that photo he took of Holtman strapped to the bed back in the mansion. He held it up for the man to see.
"The kid kept you locked in a room shackled to a cot. You see those black things lining the walls? Poisonous plants. You're lucky to be alive, *señor.* What is the last thing you remember?"(edited)

## Chew I Venus I Cole I Dee Dee10/25/2018

*Basement*

Venus leaned forward to look at the pictures on the table and studied the woman in question. She had a presence about her, a memorable face, she was sure they could use bystanders to track her whereabouts. To think someone had planned this who thing and deliberately toyed with a child’s corpse. “Right... that’s probably why the lights were out too.” She exhaled through her mouth— this was heavy.
Being a proper coward Venus presses her lips shut and leaned back in her chair when Andy asked about the orbs. It had been her idea to shatter them after all and it wasn’t a contribution she felt very proud of at the moment. “We thought they would be dangerous to bring back here” she added, justifying their decision “so we destroyed them... for everyone’s safety.”
Venus shifted in her chair and pulled out the bath bomb from the bag, idly holding it up to her nose to inhale the lavender scent as Lilah spoke. “That’s not a bad idea... but she could trace the ad back to us and, you know” kill them all before they could get to her.

October 26, 2018

## Jax (token white guy)10/26/2018

*basement*
While the others talked through the problem Eli was distracted by a buzz from his phone. He had subscribed to some news outlets and set it to alert him of anything regarding the Hospital. Looks like the police chief had made a statement. "Andy we've got something else." He began reading from the article.
"Chief Taylor spoke with members of the press this afternoon and confirmed reports that they were investigating a biological attack at central city hospital. While police have yet to release further details of the incident or to list any suspects they have confirmed through witnesses and examination of the crime scene the involvement of a small group of super powered individuals. But how these super powered group were involved is still unclear. Were they the cause of the biological attack or did they attempt to stop it?"
Eli put the phone down. "I think its safe to assume that the police know more than the press do at the moment. They have the footage of out necromancer entering so they will be looking for her too. It might be a matter of waiting for them to find her then we take her down." Eli knew what he was suggesting. Supers working near police always ended messy but it might be there best option at the moment.

## birdman | Valentine10/26/2018

*Second floor spare room*
 As he'd gone upstairs to set up his spare room (which was more like a corner of the upstairs with a bed in it), Valentine had missed a good portion of the commotion a minute before anyone had arrived. It always seemed to be his way, finding his way out of messes before they happened. He'd changed out of his coat and another pair of jeans he kept in his backpack, and made his way downstairs cautiously and with much hesitancy, at the sound of... several new voices cluttering the house. He could hear Cole, somewhere off in the house, and the voice of... ah, that'd be Sam, he'd had visions of that guy. Particularly normal, supposedly, but he knew there'd be a point soon where he'd find him useful.
"Hey Cole, you still down here?" Valentine called, leaning over the bannister so his voice could carry into the living room, where Cole would inevitably be. "Who's this?" he asked, finally making his way entirely down the stairs. He was moving very slowly, keeping one hand on the wall at all times and the other firmly grasping his cane, which he used more like an auxiliary toe to stub instead of one of his own, when indoors.

## Chew I Venus I Cole I Dee Dee10/26/2018

*Spare room*

The distress was visible in Holtman's features as the confusion simply kept getting worse the more these two answered his questions. He felt like just yesterday he had been smoking his pipe and watching the love of his long life swim in the indoor pool. However, that wasn't a thought he was about to share with some strangers even if one of them was a nurse. The old man looked away from the photo being presented to him and faced the window with a shuddering breath "my God... what have I done?" All of his estates, all of his accounts, the passwords to his safes– he'd handed it all over without giving it a second thought. "I remember..." what day had it been? He'd been reading the news "the lighting of the christmas tree in the square." This had been over two months ago, not that he was aware "what day is it?"

## Chew I Venus I Cole I Dee Dee10/26/2018

*Living room*

The sound of his name caused him to turn to face the second floor stairwell, where he found Val perched by the bannister "yes, sir!" He called back and nervously watched the blind man make his way down the stairs hoping he wouldn't fall because if he did then Andy would no doubt drill him for not standing from his seat to give their new member a hand. "This is Sam, Redux" he explained, and turned to Sam with frosting resting on his cheek "Sam, this is Valentine. He's new." This was the extent of his introduction.
"Settling in up there?" He asked, assuming Val had been looking into one of the spare rooms that would now be his.

## Elysium | Vindaya | al-Fasis10/26/2018

*Spare room*
Vindaya frowned, examining Holtman closely. She didn't *see* anything outrageously wrong with him, which meant that the amnesia wasn't due to brain damage - which meant that there was little she could do about it, if there wasn't a physical cause. The drugs had mostly left his system, but she could only imagine what this Dee Dee character had done. Seeing the evidence Leo presented as well left a bad feeling in her chest.
"He seems alright," she said as an aside to Leo, and then folded her hands in her lap as she addressed Holtman again. "Today is February 10th, Mr. Holtman." There wasn't much more for her to say on the topic; Leo had all the answers, not her. Besides, she was playing doctor at the moment, not investigator and superhero. "Is there anything we can get you? Anything we can do for you?"

## Mob Boss Peggy10/26/2018

*Basement*
Andy tried not to show any disappointment at the orbs being destroyed when he noticed that Lilah was rather fidgety. Like him, he was starting to notice that she wore her feelings all over her face, and he even started to feel a little guilty for even *wanting* to be disappointed. But when she explained the features of the orb and what it was like, his expression softened a lot.
His eyes shifted to Venus as she explained their reasoning for not taking any samples back. Andy wasn't sure what he would've done with that thing anyway. He glanced back and forth between Lilah and Venus. "I think you made the right decision by not bringing those here. And by destroying them. You guys did a really fine job. It could've been way worse. Any of you could have gotten really hurt. Or worse." He glanced downward. "I'm really sorry that I wasn't here. I would have gone with you."
Looking at the photo again, Andy furrowed his brow, trying to jumble up his mind as Elijah read the article aloud to them. Wow, those reporters worked fast.
"We're not dealing with the police." Andy was quick to answer. Hero work was illegal, and he didn't trust law enforcement to do a sufficient job on the case either. "Unfortunately, they don't have a great track record when it comes to superpowered people or crimes involving them. If the cops get to her first, we might have to deal with a squad of *officer* zombies, which is... Unappealing."
He was quiet for a moment before an idea crept into the front of his mind. "She... Targeted a morgue. In a hospital. Lots of fresh, um... Bodies." He cringed at the morbidity. "So, if she strikes again, it'll be someplace similar."

## Mob Boss Peggy10/26/2018

Leo pressed his lips together and nodded when Vindaya regarded him, and as Mr. Holtman was quickly realizing the trouble he had gotten himself into. He was beginning to really regret not making sure that DeeDee had been secured for the police to find. They must've discovered the damage by now... and noticed that Holtman himself was missing from the scene.
"Your house is a biohazard, so you can't go back to it yet. It might actually be better to burn the place to the ground and build a new mansion. That kid was evil, *guey*, you really picked a crazy one. He was bleedin' you dry. He even kidnapped my friend and trapped him in a wine cellar. But, hey!" He exclaimed, clapping his hands together once, with a big, shiny smile gracing his features. "You're in good hands now! We're good people, eh?"
Leo stepped closer to Vindaya, placing himself at her side. "*Senor* Holtman, did you ever notice something odd about DeeDee, like... any unusual *abilities* or *features* he had? Like--- stuff having to do with *flowers?*"(edited)

## Rose | Rhett | Marci10/26/2018

*balcony --> hallway*
After being both pushed away and abandoned by both occupants of the balcony, Rhett decided to get up and follow Kyle's lead. Starting to shiver, he realized the dark haired boy hadn't taken the quilt upon exit therefor it would be his. He quickly snatched it up and wrapped it tightly around his thin frame and headed back indoors. Of course turning back into a cat would have been a great option but he was growing a bit bored of playing with people.
That was his mindset until he had once again entered the hallway just into time for Sam to get an earful of Leo's boisterous yells for Vindaya. If he'd been a cat just then every fur on his body would have been sticking straight up but he was not a cat so a small jump of surprise was all he could muster. Tightening his grip on the quilt, he inched closer to the door before pausing for Daya to reach it first. Once her and Leo had vanished inside and the door had been nearly shut, Rhett became even more curious.
Letting the quilt slide to the floor, Prowler soon became his cat self and finished his walk to the door. By that time he was just outside the door, he could hear Daya talking. He was about to make a move to enter when Cole came up to poke his head in as well. Once he'd wandered on off, Rhett made his way into the room. He couldn't see the old man but he could hear him speaking. The guy sounded in rough shape.

Moving around to the side where Daya and Leo wasn't, he sat back on his hind legs and stretched upward to have a look at this Holtman guy. He wasn't anything the young man was expecting. For a guy almost at the end of his life, he sure looked alright. Ya know, besides his shitty circumstances. Eventually, he got up the balls to jump up onto the bed near his feet and watch as Leo explained the current situation. At the question of DeeDee, Rhett moved his head back to Holtman wondering what the old man would have to say. This whole thing was strange but the boy couldn't help but feel sorry for the old fool.

## whipding10/26/2018

*Living Room*
The approach of the next two people to enter the room was less abrupt, the newer person he'd glimpsed earlier taking his time down to get down the stairs, gentle thuds preceding his arrival. Sam hadn't quite worked out what was... *different*... about him earlier, but the cane in his hands made it much more obvious. He noted his height, but such things were fairly irrelevant to him - a foot here and there didn't seem like much when he'd been around people literally hundreds of times larger.
Cole, of course, he'd met many times before. The stunted introductions were fairly typical of him.
"Nice to meet ya," he aimed at Valentine, giving another polite nod, realizing too late how pointless than action was. He opened his mouth to ask further questions - hopefully tasteful - but Cole managed to get one in first. He was staying here, huh? Looked like Andy had adopted yet another wandering stranger.

## Chew I Venus I Cole I Dee Dee10/26/2018

*Spare room*

February 10th. It was almost impossible to believe he had been away for two months. During the next few days Holtman would recuperate some of his memories and realize just how horrible Dee Dee's plan had been. For now, he was left to believe the two people sitting here with him. "If I could borrow a phone to make a couple of phone calls that would be fantastic. Thank you, darling." He needed to call the bank and ensure they fixed his portfolio and closed all cards, he needed to alert his lawyers and begin undoing whatever mess Dee Dee had made of his property, and he needed a car to take him to the nearest hotel where he could get some proper rest.
"I owe you." The old man nodded in Leo's direction. It was a mundane expression of gratitude, but coming from someone of his financial stature it offered a window of opportunity. A big window. "Flowers?" He thought about it for a second, watching as a cat climbed on his bed "he *wore* a lot of flowers and he has amazing abilities, not that it's any of your business, but I wouldn't say he had a green thumb. Why do you ask?"

## Mob Boss Peggy10/26/2018

Leo grimaced in response to the old man's answer. "Ew, *no*, not *those* kind of abilities..." The opportunity wasn't lost on the stretchy man, however. Leo didn't *know* what to do. He was flying by the seat of his pants and trying to sound totally convincing. He wasn't sure whether to reveal that they were actually superhumans. He deflcted the old man's question, even though it was Leo himself who prompted it.
"There *is* something that you can help us with, but you'll have to speak with our leader. I'm afraid I can't let you contact the outside until then. He's a pretty tough and fearsome guy, but... I think he'll be nice to you." He chuckled lightly, looking at Rhett and then Vindaya for validation that his joke was funny.(edited)

## sephet10/26/2018

*Basement*
“Mmm true we don’t want her finding us. I don’t need dead people surprising me at work or something, I like them not knowing how strong I am.” Lilah pursed her lips and considered. “Should… should I get a motorcycle helmet too? I didn’t really think of it before, but…”
“Do we prowl morgues and funeral homes? We can ask Vindaya about her hospital? I don’t… I don’t know anything that we could do to prepare? We don’t have enough people to just guard places with dead people all the time…” She hated feeling useless, but honestly the idea of seeking out more corpses freaked her out. The idea that someone was out there, planning to do more was horrifying. The image of that dead little girl was going to haunt her forever. “I don’t know what to do…”

October 27, 2018

## Elysium | Vindaya | al-Fasis10/27/2018

*Spare room -> Basement*
Vindaya was finally beginning to feel like the situation was under control. Holtman seemed calm, receptive, and cooperative, and Leo was actually behaving like the college professor he was. Rhett's added presence complicated things a little - she gave him a brief, discerning look - but overall, she wasn't too worried.
The phone request was a little problematic, considering any phone they gave him could and would be traced with how high profile Holtman was. Vindaya was glad when Leo suggested Holtman talk to Andy and even offered a small smile at the idea of Andy being anything close to tough and fearsome. To Holtman, she said, "I can go get him now. I don't think you'll have anything to worry about." Present company excluded, of course.
She stood up to leave the room and then paused, looking down at the cat at the foot of Holtman's bed. "By the way, the cat's name is Prowler. He's friendly," she said almost cheekily, and then on her way out, stopped next to Leo. She rested a hand on his arm for a brief moment and said, quietly, "You did a good thing today."
She passed through the living room on her way down to the basement where Rhett had told her Andy was. Though she didn't stop to say hello, headquarters had clearly filled out more than she'd realized tonight, including a face she didn't think she recognized. Introductions could be made later, if need be.
When she entered the basement, she wasn't really sure what to expect, but the atmosphere didn't seem cheery. No surprise there. "Hello," she said, with only half an idea of what she'd just walked into. "Holtman's awake and doing well and wants to make some phone calls. Leo suggested he talk to you first, Andy."

October 28, 2018

## Jax (token white guy)10/28/2018

*Basement*

Eli's right foot began to tap nervously as he thought about Andy's last words. Every morgue, every cemetery, every hospital and medical centre, hell ever fatal car crash or crime scene, had all become sudden targets for this necromancer. Any major incident or supervillain attack had the potential to turn into an all out zombie attack. They barely had enough heroes to handle the hospital and holtman incident at the same time. How were they supposed to stop hordes of the undead.
"We don't have the manpower. Andy I know that you..." Eli went silent when he heard the door open at the top of the stairs. He wasn't sure what andy wanted the whole team to know or if he would brief them later. When Vindaya entered the room Eli felt a wave of relief roll over him. She was the only one he hadn't seen since leaving the hospital and seeing her confirmed that they had all made it out relatively okay. After she finished Eli turned to look at andy kind of hoping he would adjourn the meeting. Eli was hungry and hadn't had a chance to grab anything while at his shop.

## Chew I Venus I Cole I Dee Dee10/28/2018

*Spare room*

Holtman frowned at Leo's response, unhappy with being denied the use of a phone as his assets lay at risk. A businessman at heart, be opted to remain calm and enter a negotiation instead of speaking from the mixture of fear and frustration he was currently brewing. "Alright then, I'll speak to him if it means I can use the phone afterwards." That sounded pretty fair, even if he wasn't exactly trilled about being face to face to whoever was in charge of these odd folks– it really must be someone with a backbone of steel to keep someone like the dread-headed man in check. "Thank you, nurse" he said with a nod and folded his hands on his lap.

## Chew I Venus I Cole I Dee Dee10/28/2018

*Basement*

Venus turned around, startled by the sound of the basement door opening but relaxing once she saw it was Daya. Yes, good, a managerial type was exactly what this conversation needed. "Holtman is here?" She asked with a gasp, having not been filled in on anything the rest of the heroes had been up to since this morning "as in Daddy Warbucks Holtman?" She looked between Daya and Andy. Never did she think there would come a day someone from the jet set would ask to speak to Andy– maybe she had underestimated him.

## sephet10/28/2018

*Basement*
She stood silently for a while, feeling useless. This seemed like such a big problem that she just didn’t have what it took to solve. When Vindaya came in she dug into her purse again and took out another little paper bag with a bath bomb in it. Very quietly, understanding there was a moment going on, she held it out to Vindaya. “I figured after today we all could use some relaxation and pampering…”(edited)

## Mob Boss Peggy10/28/2018

Basement-->Kitchen-->Spare room
Andy looked down in thought again, gazing through the table. Lilah and Elijah were right, of course, they couldn't patrol every place of interest all of the time. Their leader's mind was racing. What could they do...? He fell quiet just as everyone else did until Vindaya appeared at the stairs. "Oh, hello."
"He's awake?" Andy asked, looking up at the doctor. He noted how tired she looked. "I'll be right there." Looking to Venus, he nodded. "Yeah. That Holtman... It's a long story, but he was rescued from that guy who kidnapped Kyle today." To hopefully dispel some of the tension in the room, Andy gave a light laugh. "Today was very eventful!"
With that, he rose from the table, taking the photo of the morgue culprit in his hand. "Thank you all. I'll have to think about this and come up with a plan. If any of you think of anything else, my phone is always on and my door is always open."
With a soft smile toward the whole group, Andy exited the basement and climbed the stairs back to the main floor. "Hi, guys!" He said, happily, to the people standing around as he passed into the kitchen. He gave Kyle a warm pat on the shoulder as well. "Welcome back, buddy!" He exclaimed, as he took the photo of the necromancer and stuck it under a magnet on the refrigerator door for later.
Then, Andy rushed up the stairs and looked inside of every spare room until he found the old man, Leo, and the cat.

*Spare room-->hallway*
Leo's smile was ever present. When Vindaya left, complimenting him as she went, he felt more energetic than ever. Almost like he wanted to throw a party! "She likes me." He whispered to the other two after she was gone.
Soon enough, the door creaked open again.
"Hello, Mr. Holtm---"
"ANDREW!" Came Matador's enthusiastic voice. "This is our illustrious leader, Señor. Be careful, he's a real fireball, heh."
"It's-- it's Andy." The fire user muttered. "May we have some privacy, please?"
"Certainly, *jefe*," With a smile and a little wave, Leo gave the fuzzy kitty a last stroke along the back before leaving the room. He closed the door behind him.

## Chew I Venus I Cole I Dee Dee10/28/2018

*Spare room*

The old man rose an eyebrow at Matador's claim about the nurse, but didn't say a word. Women like that were difficult to read and even more difficult to romance, it's why he never bothered himself. Instead he'd picked a mother for his children, someone he could divorce easily.
When he leader had been described to him he expected something of a Genghis Khan, but what walked through that door didn't quite fulfill. Holtman gave a raspy chuckle as the door closed and left the two of them alone in the room. "Andy" he began, "I have a lot of questions, but I'm sure you do too." His hand extended to beckon the cat idly as he spoke "I'll start— is Dee Dee dead?"

## Mob Boss Peggy10/28/2018

*Spare room*

With Leo thankfully gone, Andy sat at the chair beside Mr. Holtman's bed. "Hi, I'm Andy. Welcome to my home," He said, with a gentle smile and no knowledge of how the others had hyped him up as their leader. He listened intently to the man speak and was grateful that there didn't seem to be anything wrong with him. Things had been a bit worrying before, but it was instantly clear that the older man's mind was intact.
"I know that you're eager to leave and take care of all of your business... Things. No, DeeDee isn't dead, as far as we know. He is currently missing... But our agents made sure to leave him there *alive*. I'm really sorry for the terrible trouble you've been put through. If we had known sooner about him, we would've been able to get to you before... All of this."

## Chew I Venus I Cole I Dee Dee10/28/2018

*Spare room*

Holtman shook his head and waved away the apologies "no need. I put myself in trouble, I was acting like a teenager all over again." The old man sighed, secretly grateful Dee Dee wasn't dead– it wouldn't been too much to mourn in a single day. "I'm grateful your men got to me at all" he added with a gentile smile, sensing the young man hadn't yet taken time to pat himself in the back for a job well done. "So tell me... what can I do for you?"

## Mob Boss Peggy10/28/2018

*Spare room*

Andy nodded gratefully, although he was happy that the mission was marginally successful, he was worried about the future. These days Andy found himself in a perpetual state of worry.
Whilst Leo had been unwilling to divulge information about who they were, Andy was not quite so careful. He knew, of course, that although they were 'friendly' superheroes, the ordinary public still harbored a fear of them. Sometimes, he found, it was pertinent to leverage that fear.
"DeeDee was what we call a 'superpowered human'." He was sure that Holtman had heard of such things. They weren't extremely uncommon. "He was able to produce a poison from his body that had toxic effects on people.
The group that I lead is tasked with solving and undoing the crimes that these malicious superhumans commit, and getting them locked up. The work we do isn't legal yet, but it would be beneficial for us to have your support. And your discretion."(edited)

## Vodka Aunt10/28/2018

*Kitchen*

"I know right, I figured she'd be afraid that alcohol would loosen that stick she always seem to have up her ass," it was obvious she was saying this in jest.
She glances up as Kyle speaks, grinning wickedly at him. "You know it, speaking of, here's your caffeine," she offers him said coffee mug, choosing to take a swig straight from the bottle,"I prefer not to ruin the flavour of my drink with mixers." No, she just liked introducing liquor into her system as fast as possible.
Anastasia seemed delighted as the heroes trickle into the room. She opens her box of fries and proceeds to grab a bottle of ranch dressing from the fridge and upending the bottle to douse her fries in the white liquid. She waves to them, too busy stuffing her face to make any quips.
Andy running through was a surprise, and she wasn't able to get a word out before he had stuck a picture to the fridge and darted off.
"Huh... Whoever took this needs to invest in better cameras," she remarks dryly.

October 29, 2018

## birdman | Valentine10/29/2018

*Living Room*

It took Valentine a moment to figure out who was talking to who- what with all the voices rattling about the house, both present and future- but eventually he found his way into the living room again. "Good t'meet you too, Sam, uh... I kinda get the feeling I'm the only one who has no idea what's going on here, hey Cole?" he turned to where Cole's voice was coming from, and found himself lining up to ask all the right questions. "Who's the old guy in the spare room, eh?"
He'd tried to steer as clear as possible from the newfound commotion in the household, but eventually curiosity had gotten the best of him, and he'd found himself nosing around in the future as much as he could before he'd gone downstairs. Now here, of course, he stood in the corridor between the kitchen and the living room, trying to make himself as small as possible, standing in the very thick of it.

## Jax (token white guy)10/29/2018

*Basement -> Kitchen*

Eli watched as andy left to speak with their esteemed guest, then stood and walked up the stairs to the kitchen. To be met with the wonderful sight of Anastasia filling her face with equal amounts of chips and ranch dressing. "Ill be sure to let the security guards know that they need an update if I get the chance." Eli began digging through the bags of groceries pulling out a cupcake and eating it as he continued to look. Between the bags and the fridge he was able to assemble a collection of chicken breasts, bacon,tomatoes,cheese and various sauces. Eli started looking through the cupboards for a pan and a spatula. After today Eli was tired and stressed but cooking always calmed him down. There was something methodical and rewarding about it. He always did it at home with his mom and dad, and since they left on their road trip across America it was the best way to make him miss them less. And he did miss them.
He cut open the packaging of the chicken breasts and placed them into the pan to sear.

## Rose | Rhett | Marci10/29/2018

*spare room*
Not being able to burst into laughter or speak while in the presence of the old man proved to be quite a challenge for the mischievous cat. His eyes kept darting from person to person as the conversation went on but as Leo talked about Andy, he watched Daya get up and move to the room's exit. He thought about following after her in hopes of going back to the couch and finishing the milk and cookies he had so foolishly left behind.
He stopped however at her introducing him. Smiling inwardly, the cat turned back to the man in the bed and a quiet meow left him. At least he'd try to play his part. Moving a bit closer to Holtman, he stopped once he'd gotten to his knees and looked back up when the door opened. It hadn't taken long for Andy to make his entrance.
Watching both Andy and Leo out the corner of his eye, Prowler wondered idly if he'd be shooed from the room as well. Expecting to be man handled yet again by Leonardo, he dug his claws into the bed sheets in resistance only to be stroked instead. He let out another happy mew before listening to the door close. Back in the quiet atmosphere, he relaxed against the bed and listened to the conversation taking place. He wouldn't move again until noticing the old man prompting him to come closer. Eagerly, the cat moved closer. Eventually making his way into the man's lap and quickly getting comfortable. Any attention was good attention.

## Chew I Venus I Cole I Dee Dee10/29/2018

*Spare room*

Holtman's initial reaction was to scoff in humor at the claims the young leader was laying out for him as he stroked the cat on his lap. Superpowered humans. He had just started his career in real estate when it all went up in flames and the debate began. Holtman could still recall the political ads running on the TV portraying these people as freaks and outcasts. No, his Dee Dee wasn't like that.
However, his denial was short-lived as he thought back to the auction, the one where he'd been outbid by a gentleman in the next row the whole night... the one that suddenly dozed off and left he and Dee Dee to reap the rest of the art collection. There was also the night they couldn't attend his family's Christmas gathering because he'd fallen asleep in his chair. The gathering Dee Dee had been so opposed to going to. Lastly he recalled the night Dee Dee had been pulled over for driving under the influence and somehow the police let him off the hook after he was already cuffed and back into the back of the cop car. "Oh, dear."
Holtman sighed and looked down at the cat with sad eyes. The red flags had all been there. "You have my support and my discretion" he confirmed "but I'm not sure I'll be of much use until my finances are sorted."

## Mob Boss Peggy10/29/2018

*Spare room*
Andy was happy and relieved that the conversation was civil. Holtman didn't even ask him if *he* was a superhuman.
Even so, Andy thought that the old man needed to know that he and his band of heroes weren't to be taken for a grain of salt.
"Rhett," He said, speaking to cat on the other's lap. "There's a box in my bedroom across the hall. All the way on the bottom shelf. Grab one of the burner phones and bring it back here, won't you?
And... Please don't touch anything else." He added, with a mildly pleading look.

## Elysium | Vindaya | al-Fasis10/29/2018

*Basement → living room/kitchen*
“Yes, that Holtman,” Vindaya said to Venus. The one who has referred to her as *nurse*, but she knew how to pick her battles. She accepted Lilah’s proffered gift and peeked inside the brown paper bag. A somewhat surprised smile formed on her face. “This was sweet of you, Lilah. Thank you.” It wasn’t normally the type of indulgence Vindaya cared for, if she cared for any indulgence at all, but it was thoughtful and she could appreciate that much.
She stood aside to let first Andy then Eli go back upstairs and then looked around, realizing she’d accomplished everything she’d come to headquarters to do. Was it worth sticking around?
“Well, if everything’s resolved down here, I suppose we head back upstairs,” she said to Lilah and Venus, and then turned around to do just that. Why she was idling, she didn’t know. Maybe it was just nice to be around people who knew her—*really* knew her, powers and all.
Then again, that was pretty much *all* they knew of her, which is to say, they didn’t know her well at all. But she only had herself to blame for that.
At any rate, for tonight, she’d enjoy the company without questioning it. Much.
Once back in the living room, she quickly zeroed in on her missing wine. Figured. The smell of food reminded her that she’d barely eaten today and drew her attention to first Annie then Eli.
“Can I help?” Vindaya asked, walking around to stand a little ways behind him. She wasn’t a great cook and only did it when necessary, which was next to never. But she could follow instructions well enough.(edited)

## Rose | Rhett | Marci10/29/2018

*spare room*
It didn’t take long for Prowler to begin to purr. His eyes were closed as the other two people spoke between themselves. However, the sudden change in Holtman’s tone made them flutter open. Glancing upward, his heart sank at the saddened expression on the old man’s face. It took everything for him not to hug the guy.
As Andy addressed him by his given name, the cat stood slowly before hopping out of Mr. Holtman’s lap. His tail flicked back and forth as he listened to his instructions. It sounded a whole lot like Andy *wanted* him to touch stuff. Regardless, he wasn’t gonna. Not that it didn’t sound like fun but the boy knew now was not the time for playing.
After giving his leader a curt nod, the cat jumped to the floor next to the bed and transformed back into his human self. He swung around to wave at Holtman before quickly heading out of the room with purpose. He’d come back shortly after with one of the phones as requested. “Here ya go, chief!” His cheery tone softened when he looked back to the old man. “I’m sorry to hear all that...that DeeDee guy is a monster for what he did.”

## Vodka Aunt10/29/2018

Anastasia grins at Eli with a mouth full of fries as he enters the room. "Oh fuck! We've got ourselves a personal chef now?" She jokes, leaning against the counter to watch him work. The Russian was a disaster in the kitchen, so much so that her mother banned her from using the stove.

Annie grins like a cat when she catches sight of Vindaya with the wine. She waves at her with the bottle of liquor in her hand.

## Mob Boss Peggy10/29/2018

Leo kind of wanted to eavesdrop but ultimately couldn't hear the quiet voices inside of the room after he left. Instead, he slid back down to the first floor where there were so many people convening that he couldn't help but be a bit excited. "'Ey, it's a *fiesta* down here! Something smells gooood..." Slipping into the kitchen, he came up from behind, wrapped his arms around Anastasia's waist and pulled her into a hug while he reached over to steal some of her fries. He popped a couple in his mouth before gagging and letting go of her.
"Ugh, what the fuck? Is this *ranch*? What are you, ten?" Forcing down the vile condiment, Leo reached for another bottle of wine and reached his elastic arm all the way around the counter to grab the bottle opener. Once the cork popped, Leo poured a glass and was about to hand it to his shapeshifting friend when he saw the bottle of vodka in her hands.
"...*Really?* You know this bottle of wine is worth like twelve grand, right? And you're drinking *that*? Annie." He said, putting on a serious face and placing his hand upon the girl's shoulder. "Your alcoholism has affected me in the following ways..."(edited)

## Chew I Venus I Cole I Dee Dee10/29/2018

*Spare room*

Holtman tried to hide his surprise at Andy speaking to the cat out of politeness, but he wasn't able to hide his surprise when the cat actually obeyed and stepped off the bed or the utter shock at watching the animal shift into a human being. "W-wha- how..." He stuttered, pointing a limp finger at the young man as he left the room. His eyes turned to look at Andy, wondering what type of coalition this man was running in the first place. The secretiveness, the keen eye on super-powered criminals...
Before he could gather the steadiness to word a question to Andy the cat man was back holding the cellphone and offering his sympathy for what had happened. That's right– he'd been here the whole time. "Thank you..." his eyes wandered to observe the younger of the two men as he spoke– what a sight for sore eyes. "So you're all... how many of you are there?"

## Mob Boss Peggy10/29/2018

*Spare room*
Andy couldn't help but break into a grin at Holtman's reaction to Rhett. Fortunately the man didn't have a heart attack. Andy was incredibly proud of the heroes he'd amassed in his coalition and the enthusiasm they presented. It really was a dream come true to have them all by his side.
"There's a lot of us, and our coalition is growing as more and more villains crawl out from the shadows." He held up his hand and snapped his fingers, producing a bright orange flame that he extinguished after a few seconds by closing his hand.
"It's far better to be allied with us than against us. Mr. Holtman, I'm going to leave you under Rhett's supervision. It's snowing out and you'll have to stay the night here, at least. We'll have food taken up shortly." Looking to his shapeshifting friend with a smile, he stood from his chair and pat the blonde on the shoulder. "Tell me if he calls the police," He muttered, perfectly in earshot, before turning to exit the room.