A Fright to Remember

## Premise

It's Halloween in Wellspring City, and it seems to be a calm holiday night... wait a minute, why can't any of the party transform out of their superhero forms?

## Cast

* Zen (DM)
* Kat Afka (Lordlyhour)
* Brittney Megan Bronson (Talatala)
* Nikola N. Change (Authorticity)
* Shaun (Verl)
* Tailwind (Tallest)

## Notable NPCs

* Rhett Bronson (Makes a brief announcement at the start of Part 1)
* Perspicuity Witt (Hides the group in his store at the beginning of Part 2)

## Plot Summary

#### Part 1

It's Halloween in Wellspring City, and mayor Rhett Bronson makes an announcement of all the city's festivities for the day. Halloween falls on a weekday, so the gang has to go to school before participating in any holiday activities. Nikola realizes they forgot to come up with a costume ahead of time. Shaun suggests using their 'built-in costume', aka their mutant transformation, and Nikola says that's a dangerous choice and asks Kat for help instead. Kat immediately starts taking the issue of Nikola's costume very seriously, and Nikola starts to regret their decision and goes to sit with Brittney to avoid Kat.

For the rest of the day, Kat keeps popping out of random places to ask Nikola questions about their costume, unintentionally jumpscaring them. Nikola complains to Shaun about Kat's behavior, and Tailwind shows up in a trash can costume to appreciate the fact that they're not the target of Kat's attention this year. Nikola asks what Shaun is dressing as, and when he says he's not planning on dressing up, Nikola offers to let him borrow some clothes to dress as a farmer. Nikola says he wishes Kat had a bell on him, and Shaun asks Tailwind if they actually have string and a bell, which they do. Nikola makes two bell necklaces and calls Kat over, presenting them as friendship necklaces so that Kat will wear one, putting the other bell necklace on themself.

After school lets out for the day, Kat brings Nikola to his house to put together their costume. Brittney gets changed into her witch costume and starts getting ready for a Halloween party, and Tailwind sets out to kidnap her away from the party so she spends Halloween with the group. At Kat's house, Kat shows Nikola his costume closet and starts showing them a variety of costume pieces, while Nikola puts on every one. Kat puts on an anime ninja cosplay. Shaun waits outside while the two put on their costumes, then Nikola brings him and Kat to their apartment to get Shaun a farmer costume. Meanwhile, Tailwind sneaks up on Brittney while she takes a break from her Halloween party and brings her across town in their trash can costume to join the others. Brittney tries to attack Tailwind in retaliation, and Kat tries to keep Tailwind from running away, knocking them onto their side. Kat starts rolling Tailwind's trash can along the road, balancing on top.

The group tries to head out trick-or-treating, but Brittney refuses, not wanting to be seen with them. Nikola convinces Brittney to come along by saying that they'll tell anyone who thinks Brittney was with them that it was just someone else in a Brittney costume. The gang start trick-or-treating near Nikola's apartment, where everyone but Tailwind starts hearing an annoying high-pitched noise, and Nikola and Shaun start feeling sick. Everyone but Brittney investigates the candy and finds that it hasn't been tampered with and has no poison in it, so it's not what's causing Shaun and Nik to feel bad. Nikola and Tailwind discern that the noise is coming from the center of town, but maybe some other places too. Kat suggests they head to the 8-12 and the group starts heading that way.

Nikola reads some minds to determine that no one outside of the group has noticed the noise. They suggest someone is trying to flush out mutants in hiding, while Shaun thinks the noise might just be to chase mutants away. Everyone in the group fails a Con save and starts feeling the nausea that Shaun and Nikola felt. The gang then start unwillingly transforming to their mutant forms. Everyone goes to check on Tailwind and finds that they've turned into a ball of pure electricity. Nikola tries to hustle everyone to the 8-12, but accidentally casts Cause Fear and scares all the others.

Everyone starts running from Nikola, who huddles in place and tries to calm down. Tailwind manages to get their wits about them and goes to comfort Nikola. As Nikola collects themself, they realize that the Catalyst in everyone's bodies is being forcibly energized and causing the more extreme transformations. Nikola picks up Tailwind and sets out after the rest of the group. Shaun and Brittney make the save to stop being afraid of Nikola and rejoin the group, but Kat keeps running towards the 8-12. Shaun tries to grab Kat to stop him running away, but fails. Brittney tries to use Maximilian's Earthen Grasp to catch Kat, but her aim is thrown off as she notices her own shadowy transformation for the first time and tries not to have a mental breakdown. Brittney grabs the group and hurries them to the 8-12 on Kat's heels.

#### Part 2

The group arrive at the 8-12 convenience store, and Nikola, Tailwind, and Brittney realize that the irritating noise they were hearing is quieter here, though they're still stuck in mutant form. Nikola put on their cloak and hides Tailwind under it. Brittney pushes everyone into the 8-12. Perspicuity greets the party, who waste no time revealing the fact that they're mutants, to which Perspicuity seems a bit surprised. Tailwind warns Kat that he risks setting off the smoke detector, so Brittney rips it from the ceiling. Nikola tells Perspicuity that the group are all stuck in mutant form, and Perspicuity ushers them to wait in the staff room while he clears out customers and closes the store. Brittney threatens to kill Perspicuity's loved ones if he tells anyone about the party being mutants, and the rest of the group rebukes her for the threat.

Brittney and Nikola usher everyone into the staff room and Perspicuity makes a closing announcement, closing the store fully and then retrieving the gang from the staff room. Perspicuity asks what happened to the group, and Tailwind tries to explain how everyone got mutated, but Brittney stops them and tries to lie, so Nikola tells Perspicuity the truth mentally. Perspicuity asks some questions about what happened, and Nikola mentions the noise the group were hearing, which Perspicuity says he hasn't heard. Brittney finds a mirror and starts having a breakdown, and Nikola tries to calm her down. Brittney suggests the group try to wait things out at the 8-12 and hope everything goes back to normal, but Nikola says that probably won't work. Nikola offers for Brittney to wear their cloak, which reassures Brittney. When Nikola reluctantly hands over the cloak, Brittney and Kat realize how much of a comfort it is for Nikola. Brittney gives the cloak back, claiming it will be easier for her to hide, and picks a gray blanket off the shelves instead.

Nikola picks up a camping lantern for Tailwind to go inside, and Kat goes inside a Mylar balloon of an anime character as a disguise. Nikola disguises Shaun as being in costume by adding some obvious seams to his slime with thread. The group discuss what they're going to do about their forced transformations, figuring it has something to do with the sound they all hear, which seems to be coming from near the center of town.

With their new disguises on, the group head out and quickly determine the noise is coming from the city center. Shaun can tell that the sound seems to be coming from somewhere outdoors. As the group walk further into the city, people avoid Nikola and consider them suspicious because Kat in the balloon isn't acting very accurate to a balloon, but several people approach Brittney and Shaun to compliment their costumes. Nikola and Shaun determine that the noise is coming from Wellspring Central Park, where the haybale maze is. Tailwind sees the Halloween parade floats at the opposite end of the park and determines that the noise is coming from that direction.

The parade takes off and the group follows it. The parade has five floats with different themes, with costumed actors on each float and policebots walking beside the procession. The group get closer to the parade, and determine that the noise is coming from the middle float, which features a witch stirring a huge cauldron with colored fog coming out. They also notice that the last float in the parade has a mutant theme, which none of them are happy to see. Tailwind suggests they destroy the witch float, and Nikola suggests they make a distraction before trying anything else. Tailwind decides to start fucking with the electronics at the parade, and goes inside one of the policebots to possess it.

Tailwind takes control of the police robot and tries to walk up to the witch float, but is confronted by another policebot, which tells them to go back to their assigned position. Tailwind tries to take over the robot that stopped them, but the bot shuts down before Tailwind can control it, so they return to the original robot and take the other robot's place. The audience assumes this is part of the parade, and Tailwind reaches the witch float without much more trouble. Tailwind looks around the witch float, which has many electronic elements as well as fog covering the float, but is able to figure out that the noise is coming from the oversized cauldron on the float. People watching the parade spot Tailwind on the float at this point, but again think they are part of the show.

The actress playing the witch on the float spots Tailwind and knows they aren't supposed to be there, so she's a little puzzled. Tailwind whispers something ominous to the witch actress and zips into the car mechanics of the float. While the group debate how best to destroy whatever's making the noise, and everyone except Brittney notices the actress starts speaking into an earpiece, reporting what's going on and calling for backup. Nikola casts Cause Fear on the actress playing the witch and another actor and tells them to get everyone away from the parade, and the actors run away while yelling. Kat casts Fog Cloud on the witch float to obscure the area, then Brittney crushes the cauldron with Maximilian's Earthen Grasp, breaking the fog machine but not stopping the noise. Tailwind looks inside the remains of the cauldron and finds an unusual machine, which they overload with electricity and break. The noise stops, and the group are returned to their normal forms. Tailwind takes the machine from the float and sticks it in their hammerspace to examine later.

Nikola takes their cloak off and tries to blend in with the crowd, loudly praising the performance and trying to convince other people that this was entirely planned. Brittney follows his lead, taking her own blanket off and acting like this is how the parade was supposed to go. Some people in the crowd seem confused, but many easily believe that this was planned and applaud the show. Nikola tries to fist-bump Brittney, who surprisingly returns the gesture. Tailwind sneaks off the parade float without being seen, and a group of new police bots arrive at the parade. Kat tries to get the others together to go trick-or-treating again, and Tailwind dons an impromptu Minion costume to replace their trash can costume. Kat picks Tailwind up, insisting he will find them a better costume. Brittney tries to split from the group and go home, but Tailwind pickpockets her phone to keep her from leaving the group. Tailwind holds up Brittney's phone and tells Kat to run, which he does, with Brittney chasing after him.

Shaun and Nikola trail behind the chase and talk over the night's events. They agree that the device was intentionally anti-mutant, though they're not sure if it was specifically for them, or maybe for more animal-like mutants. Nikola suggests this might have been organized by whoever the goop monster from the sewers works for. Shaun is skeptical that a mutant would be working for someone so obviously anti-mutant, but Nikola says money and self-hatred can go a long way. Nikola says the group should conduct themselves like they're being hunted, and suggests that Shaun and Nikola watch out for Kat and Tailwind, who are more impulsive. Shaun suggests looping Nikola's grandparents in on the mutant situation, but Nikola says they wouldn't be able to keep it secret from his mom. Nikola starts going into how much their grandparents dislike the mayor, but stops themself, and Shaun says he wouldn't mind hearing about their family bullshit. Shaun and Nikola help the others trick-or-treat and collect candy whilst still in their chase.

## Notes

Nikola says that Shaun would be fantastic at planning a murder. When Shaun says he's too lazy to kill anyone, Nikola says they would help him.

Kat's dogs are wearing a spiky collar, dressed as Orthrus for their Halloween costume, and Kat gives them a walk.

"The Funnies" is suggested as the team name.

There's a small debate over the name of the 8-12: is it open 8 hours a day, 12 days a week; or 12 hours a day, 8 days a week?

Nikola points out that the party in their super-mutated forms have all the states of matter: solid, liquid, gas, and Plasma (Tailwind).

Author points out that Nikola with their cloak on and super-mutated Brittney without a cloak are twinsies.

Tailwind demands Perspicuity does not tell Goat (their guardian) about the events of tonight.

## Session Recording

Part One

Part Two

## Art Gallery

Cover image for Part 1, drawn by ktTailwind in their trash can costume, drawn by ktTailwind peeking out of their trashcan costume, drawn by ktTailwind in costume, walking, drawn by ktTailwind letting Brittney out of the trashcan after kidnapping her, drawn by ktBrittney's super-mutated form, drawn by tala