Session 2

Session 2 took place in May 2023

Notes were taken by Donna Troy

## Recap - Bet on Blaze

### Chapter 1: Fight Club

The week since the Crucible breakout was rather quiet for our heroes. Donna kept to herself, content with the strange yet familiar space of her simulated “home”. Julie did not do much either, anxious about how she had unleashed her powers. Respawn, on the other hand, took frequent opportunities to slip in and out of the Oblivion to keep tabs around Halcyon.

As the three of them start meeting up in the bar area one day, Ricky learns that Donna and Julie don't have much in the line of clothing, and magically creates wardrobes for them. He then propositions Donna, Julie, and Respawn to check in with Angelica, an acquaintance of his in Halcyon that he hasn't heard from in a week, and is concerned that she usually gets up to trouble when he doesn't hear from her. They agree to visit her at her nightclub, The Blaze... but first, they need new outfits.

The three heroes get to Halcyon by way of the Oblivion's magical doors, which seem to function based on intent. After arriving, Respawn explains that their clothing isn't going to cut it for getting into the Blaze. He recommends that they go pickpocket some people for the money to buy new clothes. Donna protests, and quickly gets into an argument with Respawn and Julie over the ethics of stealing (and even killing) in the name of good intentions. Adjacent to this conversation is Donna's notion of what constitutes a "warrior" and whether warriors kill. Eventually, Respawn is able to convince Donna to do "fair work for fair pay" with her skills as a so-called warrior. Julie remains unconvinced.

The "fair work for fair pay" turns out to be an underground fight ring where people bet on fights. Upon arriving, they see a small woman clad in black tear apart a brick shithouse of a man. The manager of the ring is Whisper, a snake-like woman that Respawn seems to know. Donna is eager to test herself against the warrior she had just witnessed, but Respawn volunteers first to square off against The Detachable Kid for some money for himself. Donna is interested in an honorable fight with the small woman. Whisper remarks that she is a recent guest from "the League". Donna discovers that this girl is a much better fighter than she is, though it ultimately comes to a draw, much to everyone's dismay. Except Donna, she wins $25,000. She is likely to return to that place in the future (but not for the money).

### Chapter 2: Fitting In

With money in hand, our heroes go to the mall in search of new outfits to help them blend in. With some help from locals, Respawn, Donna, and Julie are able to find outfits for themselves with their hard-earned cash. While trying on their new outfits, Julie talks to Donna about trying to do more acting than punching little girls and superhero poses. It seems to get through… mostly.

Once they arrive at the club, Respawn bribes the bouncers so that they are able to get into the Blaze without worrying about the line. Respawn gets caught up in the club atmosphere at first, having usually visited these spaces purely on business with his dad. He takes point on investigating the club to try to locate Lady Blaze. Donna goes over to the bar, where there is a woman wearing what looks like Amazonian bracelets. The woman introduces herself as Madisynn, a professional party girl. She is a big fan of Wonder Woman too, enough to be wearing bracelets that are mundane replicas of the original. Donna makes a note to acquire some for herself.

Donna embraces her ignorance and goes for the strongest drink on the menu. The Everclear is regretful, but it gets Madisynn and the girls at the counter on her side. As consolation, Donna is introduced to the mild wonder of the “Fuzzy Navel”. Wary of the club crowd ogling her demon form, Julie quickly joins Donna and Madisynn’s crew. Now that the Girl Squad is together, they commiserate over in the VIP area, keen to enjoy themselves away from prying eyes.

### Chapter 3: Lady Blaze

Meanwhile, Respawn sneaks around in the club’s air ducts to try to break into Lady Blaze's office, but he quickly gets lost. The very architecture seemed to warp against him as he tried to find his way before running into Lady Blaze herself. They have a brief exchange before Lady Blaze collects Donna and Julie as well. If she hadn’t been expecting them, she had certainly become aware of them shortly after they had arrived.

In her office, Angelica tells them that she moved to Halcyon a few months ago, and has been getting into "pissing contests" with Lucifer over their respective dominions… on Earth, that is. While Respawn is ambivalent towards Angelica, Julie is terrified, and Donna trusts her too readily. To appease their errand for Ricky, she asks them to help her deal with a so-called thief that's been siphoning magic from her, which she describes as draining her own life force. She did not ask them to kill her, but simply to get her out of her club, away from Angelica’s affairs. Donna takes to this “mission” a little too boldly, and accepts a bargain from Lady Blaze in the process, one that smudges magic ash on her hand in the process.

When they meet the perp, she reveals herself to be Black Alice, a Halcyon local who has been fighting back against Lady Blaze’s influence in the community, from drug peddling to occult predation and other unspeakable things. Using her powers, Alice had temporarily stolen Raven’s powers to help her kill Lady Blaze, which had ended in failure, and trapped her in the Blaze. Donna tries to reason against Alice’s actions, but she is brought around to understand that the world is not as black and white as she would like it to be. They agree to let Black Alice go, with the hope that they can work with her later to get to the bottom of what Lady Blaze is up to in Halcyon. Lady Blaze seemed content with this resolution, though it was clear that she was not finished with our heroes after tonight. The feeling was mutual.

## Characters in this Session

### PCs

Donna Troy

Julie Barrada

Respawn

### NPCs

Black Alice

Cassandra Cain

Lady Blaze

Madisynn

Ricky

The Detachable Kid

Whisper D'Aire